“WE STILL TURN UP WITH OUR GUITAR LEADS IN A CARRIER BAG”
Daryl from COCK SPARRER talks about their upcoming September and October dates…
How was the Ally Pally show with the Dropkick Murphys Daryl? What goes through your head playing in front of a crowd that size?
“It was a great experience. They’re super nice guys and despite how big they’ve become they’re still really down to earth and approachable. It was a bit strange for us to do a London show that wasn’t just ‘our’ gig but it’s great that at our stage of life we’re still getting challenges to go out of our comfort zone. We really thought there would just be a pocket full of Sparrer fans down the front and a few dotted around but it was rammed with people front to back singing along to us which was amazing. It’s interesting to watch bands like DKM and Rancid who are mates but have a totally professional set up from a production point of view. It’s a different level. We still turn up with our guitar leads in a carrier bag, one plectrum and a mate who is in charge of putting the beer on the stage.”
What makes a good Sparrer show for you? What’s that feeling like when you’re up on stage and everything is running right?
“Lots of other things go to making the show work well. A good stage, a good PA, being able to hear yourself etc. But at the end of the day you feed off the audience. We’ve had situations that should have been perfect and come off stage and thought it was pretty average and we’ve had nights where it’s been absolute carnage, loads of mistakes and chaos all around and the crowd have blown us away and lifted us. So, it’s definitely the reaction and the crowd that makes for a good Sparrer show. We don’t tour like some other bands. Sure it would make more sense financially but that’s not our motivation. Our aim is to make every gig a party night and give 100%. There’s no way we could do that if we were playing 14 nights in a row. The recipe for a good Sparrer show is friends, family, beer and a good singalong. When that all clicks there really is no other feeling like it.”
What’s the most recent gig you’ve done where you’ve thought ‘Yeah, this is why I do this’?
“Novi Sad in Serbia last June. We have a lot of really good Serbian friends but have only played there a couple of times. This show was insane. Probably the LOUDEST crowd I’ve ever heard. Singing back the melodies, singing the guitar solos etc. It was a wall of noise. Flares being let off indoors. Could have been very intimidating but thankfully they were all on our side! It was a real hair on the back of your neck standing up moment.”
What can VLR readers expect from the Sparrer shows this September and October?
“Seeing us up close in a decent sized club rather than a festival setting is the main reason we’re doing these shows. You can also expect some proper catchy ear candy from the support Spunk Volcano and the Eruptions. We’ve also been in the studio recently knocking out a few new tunes, so providing we’re all still healthy and this poxy Coronavirus doesn’t fuck things up any more than it already has, we might have some new songs out by then too.”
What’s on Cock Sparrer’s rider?
“Not a lot to be honest! I’ve seen some other bands and sometimes think we could ask for more due to the amount of bums we put on seats but we don’t want to burden any promoter with getting stuff for us. We’re more than capable of nipping to the shop, garage or going without. As long as we get beer, water and a bottle of Jack then we’re happy.”
4 Sept - Nottingham Rock City
5 Sept - Brighton Concorde 2
11 Sept - Norwich Waterfront
25 Sept - Manchester Academy 2
26 Sept - Wakefield Warehouse 23
9 Oct - Northampton Roadmender
10 Oct - Bristol Fleece
23 Oct - Newcastle O2 Academy
24 Oct - Glasgow Garage
30 Jan - Bilston Robin 2
Tickets available from Gigbox.co.uk
For the full Sparrer interview check out Issue 72 of Vive Le Rock!, on sale now.
Live pic by Sam Bruce