Rock & Roll

Michael Klooster, local musician, producer, and keyboardist for Smash Mouth, talks back

by JENN THORNTON

“All I ever really wanted to do was play drums,” admits 37-year-old Michael Klooster, a native and current resident of Stockton, who the night of his interview for this publication will play three different gigs with three different bands, but drums for none of them—or the trumpet either, which he settled for when his parents very quickly shut down the drumming idea. After playing trumpet for years, developing a deep appreciation for jazz in the process, Klooster also discovered bass and keyboards, the instrument he currently plays for his multi-platinum selling rock group, Smash Mouth.

Although Klooster has traveled the world with Smash Mouth, which he joined in 1996, just before the group’s mega-hit “Walking on the Sun” rocketed them to playing packed stadiums and appearing on Letterman, he prefers the band’s current “weekend warrior” schedule, which allows him to spend more time here in San Joaquin. Klooster spends his time off with wife Jenny-Faye, owner of Stockton-based San Francisco Floral, and their three-and-a-half-year-old son, while also helping to shape the Stockton music scene as an engineer, producer, performer, and collaborator.

“I like to take something that someone else is doing and make it into what it can be,” explains Klooster, adding that camaraderie and outright skill is what separates Stockton from better-known hotbeds of music. “Some of the best musicians I have ever played with are right here.” That’s no small endorsement given that Klooster has collaborated with the likes of Robby Krieger (The Doors), Ric Ocasek (The Cars), and George Clinton (P-Funk); and locally has joined forces with Icarus Jones, Snap Jackson and the Knock On Wood Players, The Shambulls, Odessa, Extended Walrus, and The Outlaw Dance Society, among others.

Klooster also has, on occasion, joined in a jazz jam with music students at University of the Pacific, and is currently working with the university’s music management program director, Keith Hatschek, to create a mentorship program that will pair Klooster with student interns majoring in music business to provide them with real-world industry experience. Klooster is the logical choice for this appointment, as he is successful, able, and models the cornerstones of working musicianship: preparation and smarts. With no Plan B, he approaches all facets of his professional career with an artist’s appreciation for process and an entrepreneur’s mind for business. Plus, he still practices every day.

“A lot of things have to happen in order to [pursue music professionally],” Klooster says. “You have to have a modest opinion of yourself and be willing to put the work in. You never know how much your efforts will bring, but you can control the effort you give. I still have a huge laundry list of what I want to learn as a musician.”

As he continues to embrace the learning curve, Klooster is looking to the future, which includes the completion of his massive new recording studio in Stockton, as well as a new Smash Mouth record, slated for release this spring. Until then, look for Klooster at his favorite local spots, The Blackwater or The Matinee.

For more information: www.smashmouth.com