2017 has been rubbo for a lot of things, but not bands. We’ve had a bumper crop of returning superstars, dazzling debut albums and live shows that’ll knock your socks off.
It was ’24/7 Rock Star Shit’ for The Cribs this year – a new album, anniversary tour dates, and Cribsmas still to come. Their plans don’t end there either, they’ve all sorts of surprises planned for next year…
Hey Gary, how has your 2017 been?
2017 was a very consequential year for us. Lots of ups and downs. We had our highest charting record, which was a huge highlight of course, and we took ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever’ back out on the road for its ten year anniversary. It was really nice to see how people still felt towards the record – very humbling.
Congrats on the album going Top Ten – did you expect it to go so well?
No, we absolutely didn’t – and we actually never intended it to be a record really. We were going to make it a six-eight song EP, and just use it to blow off some steam and get some frustrations out.
Surprise releasing something that was recorded in only a few days is really not a recipe for chart-success… particularly as we didn’t service any of the songs to radio or anything. We always say it, but it just shows how passionate our fans are, and how valuable they are to us – they made it what it became.
What’ve been your other highlights this year?
Headlining Leeds Arena. Totally surreal. The fact that Lee Ranaldo flew in to do ‘Be Safe’ was the icing on the cake too. Just a really special night.
Our US/Canada tour was a real adventure, and having PAWS supporting us made it even better. So much fun, camaraderie, and Crystal Pepsi.
Getting back to Mexico for the first time in nearly ten years was another major highlight – some of the best shows we have ever played.
2017 was pretty cool actually!
What do you think has been the biggest music-related news story of 2017?
Daisy Berkowitz [Marilyn Manson co-founder] dying. RIP.
What’s your album of the year?
Did the City Yelps ‘Half Hour’ come out this year? If so, it has to be that. By far the best record I have heard in a long while. I just got the new Lee Ranaldo album ‘Electric Trim’ the other night and am really enjoying that too. As for singles, PAWS’ new 7″ ‘Omaha’ is just a punk rock smash hit.
[sc name=”pull” text=”We have a stadium show in summer that we can’t talk about yet…”]
Where will The Cribs be this Christmas?
On the road! We are taking our (semi) traditional ‘Cribsmas’ shows on the road for the first time this December. We will be playing residencies in Glasgow, Manchester, London, and finishing up with about a million shows at the Brudenell in Leeds!
What’s the best Christmas present you’ve ever received from a fellow Jarman?
Me and Ryan received a Tascam cassette 4-track for Christmas 1996. A Porta 003. It was a joint present from all the elder Jarmans. It has always been our favourite present because it was just so liberating for us – we just immediately started recording and making demos together. We didn’t need to find a band or anything. Back then, recording was something that wasn’t anywhere near as readily available to everyone like it is now – you had to really work for it. It was so important to us.
How many Christmas jumpers do you own?
I have one of each colour of our ‘Cribsmas’ jumpers (shameless plug). So, three.
Which big or buzzy bands do you think will make a comeback in 2018?
I’m still holding out hope for the classic-era Hole line up reunion.
They got back together once – in NYC, 2012 – in the venue right next door to the one we were playing that night. I was really hoping that was gonna be the start of a comeback. My favourite band when I was a teen.
Do you have any plans for 2018 yet?
Yeah – we are getting off the beaten path and doing a UK tour of towns we don’t visit so often throughout January, then we MAY have a big tour of Europe planned for February, and we have a stadium show in summer that we can’t talk about yet. We are also considering putting on another one-off event like we did at Millennium Square last year.
Taken from the December/January issue of Dork, out now.