‘The Black Keys meets Nancy Sinatra’ here’s Crybabycry…

[Images courtesy of Effective Immediately PR]

Crybabycry are a Northern trio that describe themselves as ‘The Black Keys meets Nancy Sinatra.’ They gig around the region like it’s going out of fashion, and have some outrageously cool videos out there. And so, ahead of a summer touring around festivals including Long Division and Galtres, The State of the Arts’ Paddy Garrigan sat down for a chat with drummer Nici Todd…

TSOTA: Hi guys! So, what have you been up to so far in 2015?
NT: Hey! We’ve been gigging around locally to keep the momentum going but our sound has developed quite a lot over the last six months so we’ve been doing some writing and recording. We recorded our new single (Spin City) in January and that is out this month. We also did a live BBC Introducing session in March which was great fun.

TSOTA: You were all solo musicians first, when did you decide to come together to do something new?
NT: Although we were solo musicians we still played together in each others bands. Jonny played guitar for Rosie’s solo music and vice versa and I (Nici) played drums for both solo projects. We came together as a threesome by chance really. A band had pulled out of a gig for a friend at last minute so Jonny and Rosie stepped in and quickly wrote a few songs which they brought to me and it all fell into place.

TSOTA: You bagged a couple of awards for the music video for ‘Go Go’ last year – is that kind of online presence important to you? Is it about driving people towards wanting to see you guys live?
NT: It was great to win the award and certainly great promotion for us. I think things have changed over the last few years. If people hear your name or see you in magazines the first place they go is YouTube and Facebook to check you out rather than straight to a gig. The Internet is a really important tool for bands and their music. It’s an open door to access millions of people all around the world and has become the prime way for providing opportunities for bands. We try and stay connected with all our fans through Twitter and Facebook and do all we can online to promote our music and gigs. Although as important as online presence is, I don’t think anything compares to seeing a band live and being a part of what they’re doing by physically supporting them.

TSOTA: Speaking of which, what’s the most fun?! Working together writing and rehearsing, gigging, or travelling round in a van?
NT: We all get on so well which I think is vital for a band. We love rehearsing and work really well together when writing. Poor Jonny has his times of “GET ME OUT OF HERE”as any male would when spending so much time with two girls,so it’s a good job he’s not answering this question [laughs]. We love travelling round gigging and I think there’s something really good about bands driving themselves and loading/unloading the van. It’s a real authentic part of being in a band and we love it. We have such a laugh all the time and I think our most enjoyable time was getting stuck in traffic having played Reading Festival. It took us 9 1/2 hours to get home but we laughed all the way! We do fight over the radio though as we all have completely different tastes in music.

TSOTA: Leeds’ music scene (not to mention food, art and culture in general) seem to have had a massive boost of late, does Leeds feel different at all to you?
NT: Leeds has become a real cultural hub over the last couple of years. The opening of the Trinity centre has given Leeds a massive boost and brought shoppers and music, food, and art lovers from far and wide. There’s always a real buzz when walking round Leeds. We’ve just been picked as finalists in the Trinity Sessions competition so will be performing in the Trinity Kitchen, then doing a live recording session in a vintage airstream studio out on one of the balconies in trinity. It will be great fun. There was a time when Leeds had a solid reputation for its music scene but it was more underground and relied on getting out there to the gigs and being “in the know” of the little venues and which bands were cool etc but now I’d say Leeds music and arts scene is coming up close to London. It’s vibrant,it’s hip and has something to offer everyone.

TSOTA: What’s coming up over the summer for you?
NT: We have a busy few months of festivals including Apollo Fest in York, Live at Leeds, Tramlines in Sheffield, Long Division in Wakefield, Galtres in North Yorkshire, Underneath The Stars, and we are hoping to return to Leeds and Reading Festival again but you’ll just have to wait and see.

Interview by Paddy Garrigan

If you want to see Crybabycry then you could do a lot worse than head to Long Division Festival (where you can see Pulled Apart by Horses, Ash and tonnes more awesome bands) buy your tickets here

You can also catch them at the Belgrave Music Hall on Friday the 29th May