Jen talks to Tim from Cub Sport about their tour and debut album.

Posted on March 2, 2016 in Interviews, Uncategorized // 0 Comments

Their last few years has been spent on the road touring across the globe, honing their songs and live show while working on their debut album This Is Our Vice. Returning in late 2015 with their first single in two years ‘Only Friend’, Brisbane’s Cub Sport certainly have a lot to sing about. This year the band announced the signing of a global deal with indie label powerhouse Nettwerk Music in late 2015 with their second single ‘I Can’t Save You’ being added to triple J rotation and becoming one of their most critically acclaimed tracks yet, with its insightful lyrics and summery pop style turning heads around the world as fans await the band’s first long player.

Hi, thanks for taking some time to answer a few questions.

Tim, your video of showing where you record with the two dogs on the bed, I had to laugh. I am sitting here researching your band laying on my bed, with my two black labs stretched on the bed. Something about being relaxed and having Canine company helps me to be creative. Is that the case with you? (my dogs are still laying here listening to your music and I can tell you that some of the bands I interview makes them leave me for some peace!)

I’m so glad your dogs like our music! I love having them hanging out in my room while I’m recording. If she isn’t already in there, Evie will knock on the door until I let her in.

How did the four of you all meet and what is the story behind you coming a band?

Sam, Zoe and I all went to the same school and we met Dan through other school friends. Sam, Zoe and I were all in our school’s production of Les Mis so we were sort of friends from that, but it wasn’t until after school that we all started hanging out properly. I had been writing songs and I wanted a live band to play with. I just asked around people I knew and I was lucky enough to enlist Dan, Zoe and Sam. We did some proper recordings and released the debut Cub Sport EP in 2012. Four years on, we’re finally putting out our first full length album and we’re all still best friends :’)

You have recently signed with the Indie label Nettwork Music and your LP ‘This is Our Vice’ is due out on the 4^th of March. After listening to the album a few times I think that I think that this is one of those album I could put my headphones on and lay back on the bed and listen and drift away.

Thank you! We really wanted to create an album that’s a whole-album listen, so that’s really lovely to hear!

I think your song ‘I’m On Fire’ is the one I most connect to of the album, followed by ‘Runner’ this of course could change tomorrow!

That’s cool! I actually started writing I’m On Fire in 2010 before Cub Sport even existed. It’s been kicking around in various forms over the years, but we managed to breathe some new life into it and come up with an arrangement we really liked for the album. Runner is one of my fav tracks on the album, so I’m glad that was a stand out for you.

Is there a song that you are most proud of and means the most to you?

It’s hard to choose one, but I’d probably say ‘Come On Mess Me Up.’ It sounds like a desperate love ballad, I guess it kind of is a desperate love ballad about my relationship with music. Pursuing music can be pretty tough mentally and physically; I wrote it about how I want to keep doing this even if it messes me up a bit along the way.

Can you pick a song and tell us your inspiration for the song?

I’ll tell you about the third track on the album It Kills Me. I wrote it when one of my good friends started working as a sex worker. She’s a strong person and I knew that, so I just offered her my support however I could. I worried about her a lot and I struggled with the fact that someone I cared about so much was in that situation because it was so foreign to me. This song was like a promise that I’d be there for her if she ever felt like she needed me to help. When it started to wear on her she ended up getting out of it and she’s in a really great place now.

How does your writing process go? Is it a whole band process or I am thinking that you write most of the music and lyrics according to the facebook videos I have watched?

Yeah I usually write the lyrics/music and record a demo then send it on to the rest of the band for feedback. We do further arranging and record in more parts on live instruments when we’re recording properly in the studio.

You have spent the last few years touring, can you share a couple of stories, perhaps about something that went wrong and a funny story?

Probably the worst thing that has ever happened on tour was when I got some sort of *SUPERBUG* right at the end of our last European tour. We had just come off stage at London Calling festival in Amsterdam and I suddenly started feeling really faint and had terrible cramps. I felt like I was going to vomit but I couldn’t, so I was just walking around outside the venue retching and trying to get some fresh air. Security at the festival thought I was wasted and told me I had to move on, so I was just hanging out on the street and rapidly getting sicker. The others loaded our stuff out of the venue and into a cab and we went back to the hotel. As we arrived, I just made it out of the car and started vomiting. Stop reading here if you have a weak stomach, I’m about to go into too much detail about the worst stomach bug imaginable. At one point I was on the toilet and vomiting into the basin at the same time and I was crying. We were meant to be driving back to London the next morning but I ended up flying back. I had lost my wallet in Berlin the night before, so the rest of the band got out cash for me and organised my flight and dropped me off at the airport. I passed out at the airport and woke up as my flight was in its final stages of boarding, but I made it on the flight and managed not to vomit or anything until I arrived in London. This is what the line about ‘throwing up real hard’ in verse three of Come On Mess Me Up is about by the way!

On Feb 23^rd you were played on BBC Radio 1 using your iPhone headphones as the recording device. Certainly does not sound like that! One thing that I have noticed is that your music gets more airplay and seems popular in Europe. Do you have any idea why that is?

Yeah, it’s insane! Getting played on BBC Radio 1 is actually a dream come true. I’m really glad that it’s connecting in the UK and Europe ‘cause we love touring over there.

I love your Lyric Video for ‘Stay’, your Facebook says that it was done on a rather hot day, in a park behind your house. Can you tell us a bit about the shooting, I mean even the preparation writing all the signs would of taken ages!

It was shot and edited by our mate Joe Agius who also did the film clips for I Can’t Save You and Only Friend. It was a really hot afternoon just before Christmas, so we just smashed it out as quickly as we could which is why our sign-flipping isn’t quite perfect. Sam wrote out the lyrics in Japanese and our friend Brigid did all of the signs in English. Brigid does hand lettering for greeting cards, wedding invites and stuff she’s a pro – check out her insta @b.donelly if you wanna see more of her work. It also features our dogs Missy and Evie which is probably my favourite thing about it!

Although after watching all your videos, I do like to research well, I found the best music video I have seen for a long time. That video is ‘Paradise’, it has everything I love in it, the use of a Go Pro, Sun, beaches and take some references to other bands music videos, for example Queen. It certainly seems that you are super creative with your music videos, a close second was the Video for ‘ Told you so’.

Who comes up with the concepts for the videos and can you tell us a bit about the shooting of ‘Paradise’?

We shot the Go Pro footage when we were in Spain on an island called Majorca. We called in there for a little holiday on our way to the UK to play at The Great Escape in 2013. When we returned home, we shot the studio footage and put it all together. I usually come up with the concepts for our film clips, although for Only Friend and I Can’t Save You our mate Joe did most of the concept development. He’s a super creative, talented guy.

Thanks for your time Tim, I have enjoyed spending my morning listening to Cub Sport and they are definitely been added to my play list to listen to in my car.

Thank you! And thanks for the playlist add 😉

I wish you well for what is shaping up to be a successful 2016 for Cub Sport.

Check out their new music video for ‘I Can’t Save You’ here