Australian alt-pop quartet Cub Sport released their highly anticipated sophomore album BATS last month and we’re obsessed! This deeply personal collection of songs chronicle lead singer Tim Nelson’s personal journey coming out as gay and admitting his love for fellow band member Sam (Bolan) Netterfield. The two are now happily engaged (can you say, couple goals?)
The band has received high praises from FADER, Culture Collide, and Australian radio station, Triple J, and has announced their BATS 2018 Australian tour which kicks off on February 28th in Perth, Australia and they’ll be following this with a US tour in
spring of 2018. Tickets for the Australian tour are available here.
We talked to the band about the band’s name, Tim’s coming out, and their favorite gifts they’ve received on tour. Read below!
How did the band come together?
We started playing together not long after finishing school. I had written a bunch of songs and was really keen to play them with a band, so I gave Dan, Zo and Bolan (Sam) the call up and we’ve been playing together ever since.
Who or what has inspired your sound and latest album, BATS?
My biggest inspiration for writing this album was my best friend/bandmate and now fiancé Bolan. The way the album sounds is a pretty true representation of how I felt throughout the two years I spent writing it. During that time I finally came to terms with being gay, I realized I was in love with Bolan and then we got together and came out – it’s been a momentous and inspiring couple of years! I listened to a lot of Frank Ocean and Solange while I was writing BATS, so there are some more chill R&B undertones rising up through this album.
Is there a story behind your band name?
When we first launched the band in 2011 we were called Cub Scouts. After receiving a legal letter from Scouts Australia we had to take the word Scout out of our name, so we ran through a hundred different options and landed on Sport.
What is your favorite show memory?
On our last tour in Australia, heaps of people brought presents along for our dogs Missy and Evie which was really sweet. Someone also handed me a bouquet of flowers during one of our Sydney shows – made me feel like Ariana Grande or something.
What would be your dream tour and why?
My dream tour would be opening for Frank Ocean or Solange, traveling in a big comfortable bus with Missy and Evie and good catering.
Tell us about your writing process; any unusual quirks?
I don’t always completely understand what I’m writing when I write it. I always try to be in the moment and open myself up to whatever I’m feeling and try follow it and channel it into the song. I often find that I understand the songs I’ve written on a deeper level after I’ve had time to reflect and listen.
What’s your favorite song to cover?
Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam.” We did a live cover of it on Australia’s national radio station triple j for the Like A Version segment and we’ve been playing it in our set ever since!
If you were to create a “soundtrack to your life,” what songs would be on it?
This would take me at least a week to put together but here’s a start:
Frank Ocean – “Solo”
Kanye West – “Ultralight Beam”
Frank Ocean – “White Ferrari”
Talking Heads – “This Must Be The Place”
Mariah Carey – “We Belong Together”
Postal Service – “Such Great Heights”
Would you like to add anything else?
If you’re in Australia and you’re reading this, please vote ‘yes’ in the marriage equality postal vote!
Filed under: Creation Stories Tagged: australia, BATS, cub sport
