Whereas most rock and roll bands take the end of year holidays off for a breather, December will indeed be a busy month for Maryland rockers CLUTCH. Not only will the veteran foursome end the calendar year with FIVE high-profile concerts to be filmed for their forthcoming DVD, they will celebrate the release of FOUR projects, which, in essence, have been a long time coming!

On December 15, CLUTCH will issue a double vinyl package of their latest studio effort, "Strange Cousins From the West", through the band's self-owned label Weathermaker Music. This vinyl edition will feature two tracks that cannot be found on the CD version of "Strange Cousins..." The first track is the recently recorded "Metroliner Special" and the second is an extended version of the band's latest single and video, "50,000 Unstoppable Watts".

The first 4,000 pieces of "Strange Cousins" vinyl will include a coupon for a free digital download of all 12 songs through the band's web site, www.pro-rock.com.

Also this fall, Weathermaker will make available for digital purchase the former DRT Entertainment catalog, which includes "Blast Tyrant" (2004), "Robot Hive/Exodus" (2005) and "From Beale Street to Oblivion" (2007). Weathermaker plans to reissue all three of these in 2010 with a heavy dose of bonus material. Double vinyl packages are in the works for these as well.

For now, look for the digital release of "Robot Hive/Exodus" on November 30 to be followed by "Blast Tyrant" on December 18. Due to the high amount of digital demand for the band's 2007 single "Electric Worry", Weathermaker has already issued "From Beale Street to Oblivion" on November 7 to coincide with the song's inclusion in the popular video game "Left 4 Dead 2" and its television commercial.

To end 2009, CLUTCH will headline shows in Washington, D.C.; Sayerville, NJ; Charlotte, NC; Boston, MA; and Albany, NY. These concerts will be filmed by producer and director extraodinaire Agent Ogden and featured on the "Strange Cousins From the West" DVD package to be released in the spring of 2010.

The dates are as follows:

Dec. 27 - Charlotte, NC @ Amos' Southend
Dec. 28 - Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
Dec. 29 - Clifton Park, NY (Albany) @ Northern Lights
Dec. 30 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues
Dec. 31 - Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom

"Strange Cousins From the West", the ninth studio album from CLUTCH, sold 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous studio CD, "From Beale Street To Oblivion", opened with around 15,000 units back in April 2007 to land at No. 52.

CLUTCH's 2005 effort, "Robot Hive / Exodus", entered the chart at No. 93 after premiering with 13,000 copies.

Gigz Giger of Rock Circus TV has uploaded quality video footage (see below) of CLUTCH's September 9, 2009 concert at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.