The Cribs match Marr's ambitions
THEY’RE a band known for their haircuts and lo-fi aesthetic, but one out of two was enough to convince Johnny Marr that he could fit in to the family Jarman.
Because while the newest member of The Cribs is known for his lusciously produced guitar hooks, he certainly has the ace card on the haircut.
“I’d like to say it’s not important, but it is,” he smiles, “it really is. And who am I to disagree with you? That would be churlish.”
Being the elder statesman in a band all aged below 29 doesn’t phase a legend like Marr; his own busy work ethic is one that only a band like The Cribs could keep up with.
Famous for his bigamous attitude towards band membership, Johnny is constantly on the move. As we catch up at his home in Manchester, he’s just got back from his second home in Portland, USA, and fittingly he’s unpacking.
“I’m unpacking to pack again,” he jokes as we talk about the autumn tour he’s about to set off on with twin brothers Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross.
The suitcase scenario in which CityLife finds Johnny provides a neat analogy for how Marr has spent his career: he’s staffed six permanent bands and recorded over 25 guest appearances (writing and performing for everyone from Billy Bragg to Girls Aloud) in his quarter of a decade in music.
He’s even a guest music lecturer at Salford University. “When I agreed to it, it seemed like something that was going to happen in the very distant future, and then before I knew it I was storming around the house like a real piece of work complaining about what my manager had got me into,” he laughs.
“But like a lot of things that are terrifying, it was really worthwhile. It’s nice to be around some people who aren’t cynical.”
He’s built the kind of back catalogue that would make Bob Dylan blush and racked up more cameos than Snoop Dogg. But Johnny isn’t the boasting kind. In fact, when CityLife goes through edited highlights of his musical checklist, he only expresses disappointment that it isn’t longer.
“I started off in music when I was really young,” he muses. “The idea of playing with one bunch of people seems kind of odd to me; why would you want to do that if you didn’t have to?
“I always wanted to play with who I thought was interesting and, in a way, I wish I’d collaborated more. There are things I wish I’d done that I said no to,” he frowns, although he remains characteristically tight lipped about their identities for fear of looking ‘a bit rude’ for saying no.
“I feel fortunate that collaborating is what I’ve done lots of, but when I’m in a group I really know how to be in a group.”
In a group is where Johnny currently finds himself, and in one of the hardest working – and hardest living – bands of the decade. It’s a reputation they only half deserve, says Johnny.
“They love being in a group, and why not? There’s a lot of stuff that we all wanna do, and that is another non-musical reason why I decided to join because we all have ambitions.
Wildest night
“But honestly, the wildest night out we’ve had was Ross falling off a skateboard and breaking his arm the day before we started to record the album.
“It gets pretty wild on stage; you never really quite know what’s gonna happen. But I think Ryan’s exploits have probably given him a reputation when, in truth, he’s a very thoughtful person.
“Sometimes you can be a little bit straight jacketed by your public image, but if you’re going to be throwing yourself off public bridges and jumping into the audience with no shoes on, what do you expect?”
Johnny’s still not officially left his last group, Modest Mouse, but he says The Cribs are getting his undivided attention.
The latest chapter in Johnny’s musical life started at a showbiz party in Portland – a city where both the band and Johnny live (“They’re both real music cities and quite soulful places,” he explains. “And everyone makes a big deal about rain in both places, which might be a reason why I’m creative in both places.”) – when he met Gary.
Moot the idea
A fond friendship encouraged Johnny to moot the idea of recording an EP. But he says it always felt like it would be more than that, even before they went into the studio for their first session in Stockport.
“We went to a rehearsal room and plugged in and I started playing a riff and within about 20 minutes we’d written a song that opens the album now, We Were Aborted,” Johnny remembers.
“The chemistry was right musically, and that’s what all of us as individuals put first. You can’t plan that, and when it happens you have to follow it.
“It sounded like a group straight off and I don’t know what makes that happen. Other people are better at analysing that than I am, and I like a certain element of mystery.
"I think these days everybody seems to want to know everything about everything and I’m happy to not know about plenty of things, and particularly where music’s involved.”
Whatever that magic spark was, it resulted in Ignore The Ignorant – The Cribs’ most acclaimed record since their eponymous debut in 2004. But it also represented a massive progression from their classic lo-fi sound; it had to, to make room for the four-piece’s more adventurous writing.
So refreshing has the experience been for Johnny that he feels confident he can put the lid on all his old projects. Well, almost…
“I don’t think there’s anything I’d go back to, although the idea of the Healers is something that just keeps coming back to me – I might do an instrumental album.
“I think the bands that I’ve been in were all pretty complete, really. But I still hang out with Modest Mouse a lot, and those guys are my friends.
"So I might accidentally turn up on a bonus track on the Japanese album,” he laughs.
“There’s so much going on in your mind when you’re in a new band that there’s no room for looking at the past. Electronic did that once on our second record, and we just ended up with too many considerations.
“I learnt from the mistake of being too self conscious. If you do something that you’re really fired up about and you stay fired up about over a few months, then that’s plenty to be getting on with.
“Right now I feel like I’m in the best guitar band with the best guys and I’m really proud of what we’ve done. What’s really exciting is going home at the end of the day with a song that didn’t exist that morning.
“It’s my job to be the best Cribs guitar player I can be, it’s not to do something that sounds separate form the group or to make me stand out. It sounds good as a four piece, and what can I say? I love playing guitar, and these guys like the way I sound in the group.”
Which leads us to wonder only one question: is this band finally for keeps?
“Who can say what’s gonna happen?” he teases. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
The Cribs play the Apollo on Friday, October 2. Lissy Truille, Adam Green support. £14. Call 0844 4777677 to check availability.
Published: Fri, 02 October, 2009
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