Tribes Grow From Wallet-Stealing to Opening for the Pixies, Releasing Debut LP

Posted on Jan 18th 2012 3:22PM by Theo Spielberg
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Rachel Been

When it came time to mobilize a fanbase, London band Tribes chose to start simply, in a place many would consider outdated in this day and age. Rather than take to Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp or any other social networking sites, the four-piece decided to forgo a Web presence in favor of more homegrown initiatives.

"We actually postered our gigs, which is totally unheard of in London," singer Johnny Lloyd tells Spinner in a thin voice that belies his plaintive onstage wail. "We put posters everywhere, flyered them and gave our mates a crate of beer if they went out and did all that."

Tribes have always done things in a slightly unorthodox way, including how guitarist Dan White met drummer Miguel Demelo. "Dan stole Miguel's wallet at a party when they were about 15," Lloyd says. "You can't leave anything lying around with Dan. He steals on a daily basis, I imagine. I just haven't caught him yet."

Despite White's sticky fingers, the band works relentlessly to forge a human connection. Without the financial backing of a record label, the band resorted to using a trusty old 8-track recorder. "We didn't have a deal so we didn't have any money to record," Lloyd explains. "I was just writing the songs on 8-track like I still do."

On these tapes, Lloyd's songs recall T. Rex if Marc Bolan sounded less like an alien, and his lyrics tackle human issues as weighty as life, death and morality (and as mundane as eating healthy). The band handed out these demos at shows and parties, stirring up some grassroots buzz, with one batch reaching us all the way in Los Angeles back in December 2010.

Tribes sounds far more muscular now, showing the influences of American grunge and the glammier aspects of Britpop. By the time they played their sixth show, Tribes had already been asked to open for the Pixies. Two years later, they are making their live debut in America.

Apart from slinging demos at shows and parties, Tribes look to relate to their fans on a more personal level. "It's important for us for everyone to feel like they can approach us," Lloyd insists. "The rock-star thing doesn't exist anymore. We hang out after shows."

In fact, at a recent show at New York City's Mercury Lounge, the band announced to the crowd the location and time of their afterparty, urging them to attend. In their music video for 'We Were Children,' the band brings their music directly to pedestrians, rocking on a roof a la the Beatles or U2.

Watch the video for 'We Were Children'

Their growing success in international markets has forced Tribes to change their gameplan slightly: The band now has to use computers. Back in November, the quartet posted a call to arms on their website, encouraging fans across Europe to go out busking with their friends in order to win tickets to a Tribes show in their home city. More recently, Tribes solicited participants for their House Party Tour of the U.K.

"We said, 'Send us an e-mail and we'll pick some random ones and we'll come your house and play," explains Lloyd. "We did that all around the U.K. That was a stupid idea. Too many people were turning up and it was getting dangerous. It was great fun, we were just a bit pissed for that week." Clarifying for the American vernacular he adds, "Like drunk."

In the U.S., Tribes are starting from scratch all over again. "Its nerve-wracking. You could see the room tonight was filled with journalists, a lot of label people. There was a few people who know us, which is great but its kind of mainly focusing on that, which is kind of our stepping stone to better things."

Still, Tribes aim to win fans the old-fashioned way -- touring relentlessly. February will see Tribes return to the U.K. for the NME Awards Tour, followed by a brief stint of European dates before they come back for a tour of the States in March and April.

Tribes released their debut album, 'Baby,' in the U.K. this week. Fans stateside will have to wait until March 13 to purchase it, but their 'We Were Children' EP is available here now.

Watch the video for 'Sappho'

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