The Clarks

Hertweck and Minarik (along with a bass player and saxophonist) were putting together a new band, and through a mutual friend, recruited Blasey to be their lead vocalist.

Settling on the quartet of Blasey, Hertweck, Joseph and Minarik, the group decided upon adopting a new name, effectively ending the Administration.

[4] Initially only released on LP record and cassette tape, the vinyl copies of the album were warped when they were left in the delivery truck for too long.

The Clarks closed out the 1980s playing at bars, clubs and college functions around Western Pennsylvania, heavily touring to promote themselves.

Thanks to heavy airplay of "Penny on the Floor" on the popular radio station 102.5 WDVE and promotion on Scott Paulsen and Jim Krenn's DVE Morning Show, the band reached an even broader audience in the region.

[5] Love Gone Sour, Suspicion, and Bad Debt begat the single "Cigarette," which (aside from the Clarks' home tri-state region of western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio) saw airplay from radio stations across the Northeastern United States.

On the heels of the success of "Cigarette," lead vocalist Scott Blasey released his first solo album, the acoustic Don't Try This at Home, on the band's King Mouse label in 1995.

The band's growing popularity did not go unnoticed by major label MCA Records, who inked the Clarks to a two-album deal in 1996.

[4] To make matters worse, the label suffered financially in 1997 and as a result, MCA dropped many newly-signed artists, including the Clarks.

The group continued to perform at packed shows throughout the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, but did not immediately record a follow-up to Someday Maybe.

[3] In partnering with the Clarks, producer Justin Niebank injected new energy into the band that had been left weary from dealing with MCA.

"Hell on Wheels," "Shimmy Low" and "Fast Moving Cars" were released as singles and the album settled at number 11 on the Heatseekers chart.

In a career highlight, on August 31, 2004, the group performed "Hell on Wheels" on the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS.

The band effectively retired from the widespread national touring of the Razor & Tie years, mainly playing shows in the Pittsburgh region, as well as a healthy dose of concerts throughout the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern United States.

In 2008, the number of members in the band unofficially grew with the additions of keyboardist Skip Sanders and pedal steel guitarist Gary Jacob.

On the forthcoming albums, Sanders and Jacob were credited only as "additional personnel;" however, the two also played live with the band on every concert date.

Though Scott Blasey, Rob James, Greg Joseph and Dave Minarik remain the only official members of the band, the Clarks became a six-piece group with Sanders and Jacob.

Also in 2008, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) commissioned the band to record a cover of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" for promotional usage during the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The album was co-released by High Wire Music and Clarkhouse Entertainment, the band's newly-formed label to self-release their own projects.

Days later, on January 1, 2011, the group performed during the first intermission of the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field between the Penguins and the Washington Capitals.

[13] The group reunited with producer Sean McDonald, whom they had worked with on Restless Days, at Red Medicine Recording in Swissvale, Pennsylvania.

The band's eleventh studio album and tenth of originally-composed material, Madly in Love at the End of the World, was released on June 8, 2018.