You’d be forgiven for not being able to keep up with the levels of productivity and creativity sustained by Orlando percussionist and composer Gerald Law II over the last couple of years.
Aside from leading his band, the Clutch, through a number of high-profile gigs and recordings, he gave himself a crash course in the Sunhouse sensory percussion system and proceeded to release several albums using this technology, worked with his brothers Joel and Jamiel on the multimedia project Who We Are, and released a string of intimate home-brewed albums dedicated to family in the From G. To You series.
On Friday, Feb. 10, Law leads the Clutch back on stage at Timucua, and he’s already enthusing to Orlando Weekly about two new pieces he plans to debut.
“‘Voices’ speaks from the perspective of voices of our past, present and future that all see the world from different points of view. This show is the first time that I have arranged music for strings and we’ll hear them right out of the gate. This is also the first show that will feature a group of background vocalists. I really wanted to expand on what this band has been building over the last few years and my heart is so happy with its progress to this point,” says Law.
“The other tune is the title track of the project, Who We Are. I wrote the initial idea of this song almost a year ago but it was my friend, Arthur Brown, who really breathed life into it. He is a name I believe everyone should know and I’m excited that he will be joining us on piano for this show!”
Besides the guest musicians, the heart of the night’s music comes from the creative telepathy between Law and the Clutch. For Law, the key is that personal connections are inextricably linked to musical collaboration.
“My band is made of friends. I have built relationships with them and their families over the years and it’s the best part of this band to me. All the time we’ve spent together makes the stage experience special every time. I say often that the people I share the band stand with are clutch in my life outside of music as well,” says Law. “Once a part of The Clutch, you’re always a part.”
To hear a different side of Law ahead of Friday’s show, may we suggest you start out with the third volume of From G. To You on Bandcamp? The album is dedicated to his son and is a series of purposeful (and personal) experiments with the sensory percussion kit.
“I first found out about Sunhouse’s Sensory Percussion kits back in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were all home and out of work and I saw a drummer I follow playing with them and it led me to their instagram page. As I went on a scrolling binge and checked out the different ways they were being used, I knew I had to try them for myself … This album was intended to be a collection of lullabies for our newborn son to sleep with at night,” says Law. “This software gave me the ability to sample my cello and combine it with drum set playing in a way I had not heard before.”
And if that’s not enough, the fourth volume, dedicated to Law’s daughter, just dropped a few days ago. Lullabies from a performer you will never catch snoozing.
Beyond his own endeavors, Law is genuinely excited about the current state of Orlando’s art scene and ready to boost creatives in the city across genre.
“A buddy of mine used to call Orlando the ‘new L.A.’ It was interesting that people seemed to flock here the way they do to places like Los Angeles, New Year, Atlanta, etc. to look for opportunities to make a life for themselves in creative spaces. The phrase hit me in a different way,” says Law. “I’ve been in Orlando since 2014 and some of the most talented people I know, and I’m talking about some true hidden gems, are right here in this city. If you follow any of the arts pages that are centered around Orlando creatives, there is so much gold in this area. I can’t wait for more of the world to see what we have right in our backyard!”
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This article appears in Feb 8-14, 2023.