Cameron Wright sat down with Ross Jarman from The Cribs as they prepare for their upcoming performance at Newcastle’s beloved Boiler Shop.
How does it feel getting back out on tour?
Like everyone, we’ve had to reschedule and postpone the tour far too many times, so it’s obviously exciting. I’ve not been able to see the lads as brothers for a while – I’m the only one still living in the UK – so it’ll be real nice having that release of pent-up energy and hitting the road with them again.
How does it feel to finally be able to tour songs off your 2020 release?
It is weird when you tour a new record right after its release – the audience doesn’t get a chance to digest it and they’re just after the hits they know. Now everyone’s had time to sit with the album, so it’ll be really interesting to see how that’s changed things. Maybe it’s an advantage, but I guess we’ll find out. There’s nothing more exciting than playing a new venue and seeing how everything translates.
From Millennium Square to Middlesbrough’s Empire, where does that need to constantly play different types of venues come from?
Variety can often be the only thing keeping it interesting. Each type of venue has its own specific pros and cons, so getting to play around with them all is where the joy comes from. We once played some kids’ uni flat in York – there was like 10 people there – and it was probably the best gig we’ve done. The live performances are the reason for the whole thing. There’s a more business side to it where it really starts to feel like a job, that can be disheartening for sure, but being on stage is so special and liberating.
And you’ve opened up recently about the business side of things…
When you’ve been in the industry as long as we have, the record label bullshit is inevitable – we just felt chewed up and spat out. Nobody wants to hear about a band moaning about all that, but it was really having an impact for sure – so I’m glad we’re out of that slump.
How did you pull yourself out of that slump?
Being around as long as we had, we’d played everything from festivals to tiny venues and everything in between – except we’d never done stadiums. When the Foo Fighters asked us to support them at the Ethiad, we did it to tick that one final thing off the list. Honestly, we kind of thought it might be our grand finale – that’s how worn down we were. Dave Grohl grabbed us and said: “Just record some good music and the rest will take care of itself” and, somehow, that was true.
What was it like flying off to LA and recording in the Foo Fighters’ studio?
Surreal. Gary would be at a pinball machine and suddenly Dave is there giving us all hugs and stuff – it was madness. That studio is a shrine to Nirvana/Foo Fighters – it’s like a museum. Gary and Ryan would get talking to Taylor (Hawkins) about Queen, which was cute for the first day or two, then I’d have to walk away as they tried to out-queen each other. The whole experience was the pick me up we needed.
Now returning to the UK for a tour as one of the country’s finest ‘cult’ bands, what does that phrase mean to you?
It’s amazing. I think a lot of people stumbled into The Cribs very organically and that’s kind of found a place in people’s hearts. We’ve always been kind of uncompromising and I think that’s paid off in regard to our fans. It’s an honour to be someone’s band.
The Cribs head to Boiler Shop, Newcastle on Tuesday 8th March. Tickets, priced at £23.50 in advance, are available from boilershop.net.
