Booty-shakin' for Boyardee is The Clarks' modus operandi, if you will.
The Pennsylvania-based rock quartet are headlining this Friday's show at Club Infinity as part of "Rock for Food 2005," to which they encourage audience members to bring in canned goods.
Experienced in the field of entertaining, The Clarks please fans with enjoyable straight-up rock rather than muddle through esoteric, non-melodic sounds.
"What we want our listeners to get from our music isn't a deep meaning, but simply any type of enjoyment or fulfillment in a positive direction," said Robert James, lead guitarist for The Clarks. "That, or at least a good song to shake your ass to."
The band's sound is difficult to categorize. They've been inspired by rock icons like U2, The Police, REM and Tom Petty. However, they have also managed to create a contemporary sound for each album.
"As we've matured as people, our music has matured as well," James said.
The Clarks blend their classic rock-n-roll flair with accessible '90s rock, bringing them into the same musical realm as Howie Day, Matchbox 20 or the Goo Goo Dolls.
Members of the band are also very acclimated to the stage. They've been touring non-stop for the past two decades. The quartet includes James on lead guitar, Scott Blasey on lead vocals and guitar, Greg Joseph on bass and Dave Minarik on drums.
"We've been the same four guys in the same band for the past 20 years," James said. "We're basically working musicians. We've been on-call for the entire 20 years, so we're pretty much always on tour."
Hopping from venue to venue for a living can be hectic, so the band looks forward to taking a break now and then.
"We love touring, we still have the passion for that aspect of being in a band, but we still yearn for the lean days, when we don't have to work and can spend time with our families," James said.
Their non-stop labor has paid off. The band has been awarded many exciting opportunities throughout the years.
"It feels good to have had career high points, such as playing on the David Letterman Show or having a song debut on the top 200 chart," James said.
The Clarks certainly don't take any of their fame for granted and don't let it go to their heads.
"We feel fortunate to do what we do. We certainly don't live like famous rock stars, but we each make a decent living," James said. "We're able to support an organization of agents and our own management team."
Like the upcoming food drive in Buffalo, The Clarks have created a charitable reputation for themselves by partaking in selfless events throughout the years.
"We've always been aware of a lot of things we could probably do with the fame we have," James said. "At least one band member tries to do at least one thing every year for charity."
The recent hurricane disaster in New Orleans inspired the band to start a drive.
"We recently stepped up and got a bunch of bands together to help raise money with a Hurricane Katrina Relief Concert," James said. "We raised $235,000 for the Red Cross with help from Rusted Root, the Povertyneck Hillbillies, and a bunch of other bands."
The band's current set includes music from their recently released compilation album "Between Now and Then," a retrospective look at their careers. The album features classics from their previous album "Fast Moving Cars" including "Anymore," "Wait a Minute" and "She Says Don't Miss Me."
"We asked our fans to go on our web site and select the songs they wanted to hear for our new CD," James said.
"Between Now and Then" also features three unreleased songs, "Bona Fide," "No Matter What" and "Nothing's Wrong Nothing's Right."
The show is today at 10:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on the band's website, clarksonline.com. Scott Celani, More Than Me and Fred Schafer will be open.
And don't forget the canned goods.
