Pittsburgh honors The Clarks as hometown band marks 40th anniversary

You could say The Clarks have never had a hard time leaving Pittsburgh. 

Along with rock legends like Donnie Iris and Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, The Clarks are a band that's always sounded like home to Pittsburghers. On Wednesday, they got to hear those classic tunes live inside the Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O'Connor's office. 

"My generation, we definitely grew up with The Clarks," said Mayor O'Connor. "There's a lot of people that continue to listen to their music. I think it's something unique, that's Pittsburgh." 

Now, The Clarks are celebrating 40 years of rocking out.

"It's crazy to think, you know, 40 years ago when we started this, to think we would be here today in the mayor's office," said Scott Blasey, lead singer of The Clarks. "It's kind of unimaginable. Forty years, two-thirds of my life."

But even after four decades, there are still firsts to be had. Like the first time putting on a rock concert in the mayor's office, as O'Connor declared June 10 to be 'The Clarks Day' in Pittsburgh. 

"It's really an honor," Blasey said. "It's historic when you think about all the people that have inhabited this space. Lawrence and Caliguiri and Masloff, and now Corey O'Connor. It's just a thrill and an honor."

"That's what this office is for," O'Connor said. "It's to tell the Pittsburgh story, and we did that today." 

The 40th anniversary celebrations will continue on Saturday at Stage AE. 

"It's going to be a fantastic celebration," said Blasey. "It's going to be the biggest show we've done there."

While the crowd on Saturday will be big and loud, the rock show in the mayor's office was a good reminder of where The Clarks came from.

"Someone asked earlier if this is the smallest crowd you've played for, and the answer is an emphatic no," Blasey said, laughing. "We've played for much smaller audiences before, but this was fantastic."