Q + A: Williamsburg rockers Prometheus Clay jams

WILLIAMSBURG rock band Prometheus Clay knows how to jam. Its song “Temporary” clocks in at more than eight minutes.

Forming in 2006 with Bill Strack on guitar, Jason Parker on bass and Josh Dodd on drums – the trio released “Evil Dreams,” a 10-song CD, in 2007.

Norfolk  full-time jazz pianist Robb Van de Riet decided to take a break from playing what he calls “background music” to join the three-piece band as keyboardist last year. He brings with him a new voice – its members share vocal duties, and the goal of more shows.

“When I joined, I asked, 'So, what’s your gigs like?’ When they told me three or four a year, I was like, 'That’s just guys having fun; that’s not really a band,’ ” Van de Riet said, adding they now have a show once a month, with more shows being added. They’ll be playing The Spot in Williamsburg on Friday. This is how Van de Riet answered our questions:

How did the band get its name?

Prometheus Clay came about when Jason was driving to practice one day and was thinking, for some reason, about Greek mythology, and the name Prometheus struck him. Prometheus was, in mythology, a god who created man from clay and gave him fire.

Where does the band get its inspiration?

Most of our songwriting is inspired by real life – things we have gone through or witnessed or picked up along the way. We also have more than one songwriter, so that has a tendency to induce the drive to produce material – healthy competition.

What’s the band’s worst performance memory?

An early 2006 private party gig. Murphy’s Law was acting out in a big way. The place used to be a slaughterhouse, and it was all cinder block inside, so you can imagine how terrible the acoustics were. It still had meat hooks hanging around the place.  The band had only been together for six months at the time. … It was 30 degrees outside, and the sound was so bad that most everyone still stood outside.

If the band could write its own headline, what would it be?

Album of the year nominee Prometheus Clay gets escorted offstage at the Grammys for playing too long.

Patty Jenkins, (757) 446-2298, patty.jenkins@pilotonline.com