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Music

THE CRIBS

Rating: NNNNN


RYAN JARMAN of wiry Yorkshire sibling-rock trio THE CRIBS, who hit Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor West) Tuesday (August 7). $15. 416-532-1598.

What album or song changed your life?

In Utero by Nirvana came out when I was at high school. It just sounded so fierce and raw and it was exactly what I wanted. Through that, I started getting into more underground music, actively seeking out obscure 7″s and stuff like that till I got Huggy Bear’s Taking The Rough With The Smooch that doubtless had a big effect upon me for much the same reasons. It also made me realize that a band should be about more than just the music ? they should have something else you can get on board with and relate to.

Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos produced your latest album. Did you pick up any tricks from him while working together?

Just that you can still make an album with personality and not have to be totally lo-fi. We were always really lo-fi on purpose, purely because most of the records we grew up listening to were lo-fi. Alex tried to bring out the power we have live, and helped us realize there’s no shame in laying down a few extra guitar tracks and stuff like that… it does sound closer to the way we sound onstage.

And hey, famed Orange Juice dude Edwyn Collins produced your second album… do you have a thing for Scots? Who’s a better producer ? Kapranos or Collins?

I guess we do have a thing for the Scots! We could never say who was the best producer because both of them were perfect for the time. We had so much fun working on the second album with Edwyn.His style of production perfectly fit that record because he could empathize with our frustrations, which created a really good atmosphere to record in ? like we were all on the same wavelength doing our own thing. Recording with Alex was also really good for some of the same reasons. I think because it was his first time producing there was a lot of enthusiasm in the studio, and we were super productive. The recording sessions for those two albums were some of the most significant times of my life and I have really fond memories of both.

Which artist or artists would you love to collaborate with?

We always wanted to collaborate with Sonic Youth and that’s happened now, so we can kind of draw a line under collaborations!

Which song do you wish you’d written and why?

I find that question a bit embarrassing really because I wouldn’t want to have written anyone else’s songs at all. I mean, I really like Julia by the Beatles. It’s one of my favourite songs, but I wouldn’t want to have written it because it’s about John Lennon’s mum, and why would I be writing a song about her?

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