Image by Cybele Malinowski
Ever since The Rubens took out the Hottest 100 title earlier this year with their single ‘Hoops’ – edging out favourites like Kendrick Lamar and Major Lazer – it’s been non-stop for the five-piece, who come from humble beginnings in Menangle, New South Wales.
Having just released a deluxe, stripped-back edition of their platinum album Hoops, things are about to get even more hectic for The Rubens: They’ll be playing over 20 shows across the country in the space of a month for the Corona SunSets tour. It’s an ambitious trek that will see them visit some of the country’s favourite intimate watering holes, with all shows costing a grand total of zero dollars. And as announced this morning, The Rubens will be playing their first ever hometown show at The Gregory Hills Hotel come November 13 – and we’re expecting a hero’s welcome for the lads.
Before he hits the road, we had a chat to The Rubens’ vocalist and guitarist Sam Margin about the band’s return to smaller venues, the best things about Menangle and the lockout laws. Read our interview with Sam below, while the Corona SunSets tour kicks off this Thursday night at Beach Road Hotel. All the dates and details right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7eAAcPFjJc
It’s been a steady rise for The Rubens over the past few years. How do you think it’s going to feel going from playing these stadiums and festivals, back to more intimate venues on the Corona SunSets tour?
To be honest with you, we’re pretty psyched. I think having thousands of people at a show is pretty exciting, but you only get to interact on an eye-to-eye level with the first 20 rows anyway. But for me, as long as the room is full in any venue – as long as it’s heaving, it’s awesome.
I’m not really worried about transferring into that vibe because I think it’s going to be just as rowdy, if not more rowdy. They’re free gigs in pubs and we’re just going to be playing a sweaty intimate rock show. As long as the room’s full!
Do you think that these shows are going to rekindle memories from early in your career?
I think it will, except the rooms will actually have people in them this time. In the early pub days, we didn’t have much of a crowd – just Mum and Dad. So this will be a better version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFBe_wP2_gw
The Corona SunSets tour will also be hitting some more regional areas as well as capital cities. Coming from Menangle, how important is it for events like these and festivals like Groovin The Moo to keep hitting smaller towns?
I think it’s awesome for a few reasons. Firstly, it gives the people who live in those areas a really easy opportunity to see their favourite bands without going to the city, but it also brings people out of the city to those areas as well. It brings fans to new places and it might give them a reason to go somewhere new. It’s super important and Triple J has a massive reach out to those places, so there’s people out there who want to see those sort of bands.
I never really had access to music growing up – nobody really came out to where I was living. So the kids these days that are living in places like Menangle are a bit more lucky. Regional touring has become a lot more important for bands because the more shows the play, the more of a living you can create.
What are some of your favourite things about Menangle, because you guys seem to rep it pretty hard on your merchandise line?
We like repping it on the merch because it’s a place that nobody’s ever heard of, it’s kind of ironic in a way but it’s beautiful. It’s the first town you get to outside of the suburbs. It’s pretty suburban coming out of the city on the freeway and then suddenly it’s countryside, that’s where Menangle is.
It’s not too far removed from everything, but it does have that country vibe and I guess touring more and being in cities more – going back there and seeing Mum & Dad or going to the pub with the boys from the old days, you really appreciate it again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAgBt2D_IHs
You guys have just released a stripped-back EP. How will you approach performing on the SunSets tour?
For this, we’ll approach a few of our songs differently – maybe a few of the old songs from the first record and some of the favourites like ‘Lay It Down’ we’ll strip back and I might play most of the song on my own – restructure a couple of things to suit that vibe.
But also, we’re not an acoustic band and we’re pretty excited that there’s gonna be a rowdy pub vibe. So I think rather than thinking about it like a Jack Johnson acoustic vibe, it’s gonna be a rock n’ roll sweaty gig where we won’t lose any instruments onstage.
On the SunSets tour you’ll be playing a lot of shows – sometimes multiple shows on one day. What’s your key to staying afloat on the road?
Touring’s rough, but I’ve looked at the schedule and the way everything’s been organized and there’s a lot of professional people running this thing. We’ve got someone who’s gonna take us to and from venues, and nice hotels to stay in and at the end of the gig we’re not going back to some shithole.
A few comforts on the road are enough to keep you going, but also the adrenaline – we’re playing four days in row, sometimes two shows on one day. Two shows in a day will be fun because sometimes you get offstage wish you could play another one. It’ll be cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y5n4Er6LyE
The Rubens played their first show at Candy’s Apartment in Kings Cross. How do you think the lockout laws will affect future generations of bands in Sydney?
It’s a shame that bands won’t get that opportunity anymore. That side of the city has disappeared a little bit – a lot of bands started off in those sort of bars, it’s a shame that they’re not there anymore. It’s a bit shit.
We probably would’ve played somewhere else and landed in the same position, hopefully! It just might’ve been a little bit harder. I’d like to think that bands can still work it out and make it.
No one turned up to that gig, it’s not like it was instrumental in our career, but we definitely would have had to change our tactics and wherever they pull down an opportunity for a band, they’ll have to cook something else up. We didn’t break from those venues, but we definitely got our experience from them. You need those little places on the way up to learn how to play.
What’s on the cards for The Rubens for the rest of 2016 and into 2017?
After the SunSets tour we’ve got Falls Festival, and we’ve locked in the Melbourne Zoo and Taronga Zoo shows in the new year. We’re at the point now where shows will pop up, but it’s moving towards writing our next record. We’re lucky that we’re finishing the year playing the Corona tour and Falls, but in all this we’ve been writing and we’ll start recording.
