The Cribs: 'The happiest days of my life were spent as part of the DIY community in Leeds'

Tom Newton caught up with bassist Gary Jarman on all things Cribs, both presently and their future plans.

The upcoming Millennium Square gig on July 11 will be 10 years since your 2016 gig there. What are your memories of the gig and the reception to it?

It was the best night of our lives at the time. The first feeling, after an ambitious undertaking like that is always relief – you are just relieved that you got through it and that it all went well. The time on stage is overwhelming and a blur. The memories only filter back to you later, like a dream of some kind. We were so proud to put that bill together – to have Thurston (Moore) open for us was just a real teenage dream come true, and really added to the sense of occasion.

You’ve released three albums since the last Millennium Square gig, you’ll have plenty material to choose from. Are there any particular ones you’ve selected, deep cuts or lesser aired live tracks?

There’s talk of playing one or two songs that we have never played before at this show. Depends how they come together in rehearsal – but either way it’s going to be very different from the last show we played there, that’s for sure.

You’ve always had Leeds as your spiritual home, what memories do you have of gigs you saw as teens there and which has been your favourite gig and venue you’ve played there yourselves?

The happiest days of my life were spent as part of the DIY community in Leeds. House shows in Headingley and parties in squats, the whole Hyde Park community etc etc. I’ve never felt more at home or more accepted than I did in that world. I think that’s why we were so disillusioned when we first got signed and started touring nationally – we couldn’t understand why everyone was competing against each other, and so dog eat dog. The media would try and create scenes – and the reality was that most of the bands had never met and had nothing in common.

Specific shows that come to mind from that era – Real Losers at Cardigan Arms, Bongoleros at the Brudenell, Comet Gain at Josephs Well, Pop Threat at Royal Park Cellars – it was one amazing show after another.

You recently reissued your first three albums. Placebo and fellow Yorkshire band Bring Me The Horizon have ‘re-worked’ their debut albums rather than a reissue. Is there any album of yours that you’d go back to and adapt or alter in any way?

No, albums are just a snapshot in time as far as I am concerned. They are what they are, and reflect who you were at that moment. That would be like going back and airbrushing your family photo albums because you didn’t like the way your ears looked or something.

You are predominantly known for the energy of your live shows but have only ever released The Cavern show on vinyl which was without an audience. Would this show get a recording and release or any previous shows like the Live At The Cockpit?

Pretty sure this show will be recorded in full, yeah. We don’t have any plans to release anything though at present. If anything, I think we would do a compilation of live stuff from throughout the years rather than one gig in full. We’ve got some great recordings from our latest US tour that we could easily put out – the full NYC show was incredible, Chicago too. Maybe even Minneapolis. As long as the vibe comes across, thats all that matters to us, more than the scale or significance.

After over 20 years of being a touring band, what song have you grown tired of or what song still surprises you with its reaction on a night?

I’m pretty bored of the ‘evergreens’ – the ones that have to be in the set. Not that I don’t like playing them, it’s just…they’re intractable so you end up feeling like the set has to work around them rather than vice versa. One song that always goes down really well – surprisingly to me, at least – is The Wrong Way To Be. It was definitely not written to be fan-friendly, it was more just a cathartic screed for us, so I’m always surprised that it’s treated like a ‘hit’ or whatever. But that’s cool.

Selling a Vibe, your recent studio album, was your sixth Top Ten album in a row. For three working class brothers who no-one took a chance on, does it feel gratifying to have infiltrated the mainstream in a punk-rock band?

If anything, I just really hope that things like that resonate with the kids coming up behind us – the kids that we used to be – so that they can see that things can operate on a different level. Maybe that gives them hope. At this point, that’s the main thing I get from it.

What does the future hold for The Cribs? New material? Collaborations? More production work for other artists? Where do you see the Cribs name going into the future?

There will be some Asia and Australia dates in the autumn, then maybe some more USA and Mexico. And then that’s probably it for this campaign. I think after that we wanna branch out a bit – there’s been several offers of books/biographies to consider, even talk of a documentary and movie. But we wouldn’t wanna half-ass any of that stuff. Would need to do it when we haven’t got any other obligations. Musically, Ryan has a great album that he is going to want to release at some point, I’ve also been working on a solo LP too.

The Cribs play in Millennium Square, Leeds on July 11. https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/the-cribs-sounds-of-the-city/millennium-square/3531304