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I Was A Cub Scout
I Was A Cub Scout
If 2008 continues at its current hectic pace then the year promises to be a very busy, not to mention successful one indeed, for Lincolnshire duo I Was A Cub Scout.
Over the course of the past eighteen months they've seen their star rise inexorably: debut LP 'I Want You To Know That There Is Always Hope' was recorded with Phil Collins' producer Hugh Padgham (and then released to no little critical acclaim), they've toured the UK and Europe with some of their favourite bands and even found their faces plastered across the pages of The Sun newspaper.
We caught up with the band's singer/guitarist Todd Marriott and let him talk us through their whirlwind year-and-a-half. We didn't ask him whether they spent time as cub scouts, because that's what everybody asks them. For the record, they most certainly did.
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How did you end up working with a producer of Hugh Padgham's reputation on your debut album?
A kind gentleman who worked at Beggars [Banquet, the company that owns I Was A Cub Scout's label Abeano] knew Hugh quite well. After a lot of talking and thinking we decided he was the best producer for what we wanted to get out of this record.
A lot of the songs on the album sound quite different to the earlier
demos. How much of that was Padgham's influence?
I know some producers can be very bossy and forward in what they want to do, but Hugh was pretty much the opposite. He obviously had a lot of things which he has always has done in a particular way, but for us it was quite a new experience. His knowledge of what he was doing was pretty great.
Have you ever considered expanding from a two-piece? Particularly live, that must place some limitations on what you can actually play...
We have indeed. In the future things will hopefully change around a bit. There's only so much I find you can get out of playing in a two-piece band and I would definitely like to expand it in the future.
You've toured an awful lot in the past eighteen months. What lessons
have you learned from being on the road?
Not many - ha! We've run into our fair share of troubles these past few months. [Todd was glassed onstage in Southampton recently, and the band had equipment stolen at the SXSW festival]. Touring makes people go crazy. Seeing the same faces almost every waking minute can get pretty annoying, so trying to remember why I love playing helps too.
Of all the bands you've played with in that time, who are some of your favourites?
I really enjoyed the tours we did with Dartz!, Rolo Tomassi, Editors, This Town Needs Guns and Minus The Bear.
And what's the best place/country you've visited?
I really enjoyed Sweden. It was a very scenic drive - everyone else was asleep but I managed to keep awake. Lakes and more lakes, then odd houses in the middle of nowhere. Kind of like the Moomins.
Do you tend to read your own reviews?
I try not to read them, but I end up reading basically all of them! When reviewers really get the wrong end of what you are trying to do that's quite enjoyable. Being put in the same bracket as bands you know nothing about or have never heard a note of can be quite funny.
What was it like reading about yourself in The Sun?
Pretty cool actually! For what the newspaper is, it's pretty funny to find a band like us on its pages.
What are your plans for the remainder of 2008?
Keep on playing shows and continue to do what we set out to do - rockin' all over the world!
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To that end, I Was A Cub Scout play six dates with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly in April (2-8) before heading to America for the Bamboozle festival on May 4. Their debut album, 'I Want You To Know That There Is Always Hope', is available now on Abeano.
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