The Cribs Call Johnny Marr 'Fundamental' Band Member

When Wakefield, England band of brothers the Cribs head stateside next week for a handful of dates, they'll be doing so with their fourth member, Johnny Marr. The band's co-guitarist and co-singer Gary Jarman tells Spinner that working with the former Smiths and Modest Mouse axeman was a treat.

"With your brothers, you never feel like it's a collaborative effort," Gary says of past studio sessions with his twin, Ryan, and younger brother, drummer Ross. "You're used to being around each other. The dynamics are quite singular, but to have someone else in the band ... it's exciting to me."

The first album for the Cribs as a four-piece, 'Ignore the Ignorant,' was recorded in Los Angeles over several months at the start of 2009 and not only does it offer a different sound -- at times more robust, at others more delicate -- but recording it offered an original experience that the Jarman brothers hadn't quite had before.

"I don't feel like I'm bouncing off my brothers because we all function as one when we play," Gary continues. "We write separately, so I get to exercise that part of what I want to do. It's nice to have someone else in the band because that's the first time you really feel like you're working with another musician, because I don't feel that way with my brothers. I don't think they feel that way either."

American audiences at the Los Angeles Roxy Theatre on Nov. 9 and at New York City's Bowery Ballroom on the 12th and 13th will get their first real glimpses at the retooled Cribs live, provided they can get tickets for the tiny shows. So far, Gary says having Marr in the band hasn't changed their audience, at least not noticeably.

"We played the UK shows and that was a sold-out tour and we played the Japanese shows and that was a sold-out tour also. I think those are markets where the band has always been popular," he says. It's not like a bunch of kids with quiffs or anything showing up. We haven't noticed that because we were selling the shows out on their own merit anyway. Whether that makes any difference in the US or not, I don't know."

And Gary isn't sure if having Marr in the band will affect a Cribs crowd at all.

"For the most part, a lot of our fans are definitely aware of the Smiths," he said. "Our fans seem to really care about him and really like him and that's good, but it certainly hasn't affected the dynamic of the shows. I don't think it's changed the median age of the audience. It does get suggested whether it will make a difference where we're not so well known. We'll see, but I hope that anyone who is a fan of Johnny's feel that this is justified. We feel like he's absolutely a fundamental member of the band."

'Ignore the Ignorant' is available for download now before its official release on Nov. 10.