Interview: Chub – Talking About the New Single ‘Carolina Reaper’ (Written)
Fiery South punks Chub can’t be stopped. The rowdy quartet recently destroyed the new band stage at Bloodstock Festival, and now the party metal punkers will release their infectious new single and video, Carolina Reaper on Friday, October 25th. We chatted to the band, catching up with them following Bloodstock and finding out a little bit more about the new single.
Hey guys! It has been a minute. How are you and how’s everything in Chub following a highly successful showing at Bloodstock 2024?
Hey! We’re doing real good thanks. Playing Bloodstock was incredible for us, and we’re keeping the hype train going. Last month we completed our first little tour around the South of England, hitting Bristol, Bridgwater, Southampton, and London. That was a blast! We’ve got our new single, Carolina Reaper, coming out with a spicy music video on October 25th, and we’ve just had the pleasure of announcing that we’re returning to Rebellion Festival next August, which we’re planning on working into our first Northern tour. The fun never stops!
When you reflect on that show, what do you feel now that it is well and truly in the rear view mirror?
Gratitude, pride, wishing we could do it every day. We’re forever thankful to all the people that helped us reach that stage and turned up to watch us desecrate it. It went better than we ever imagined it would. Parts of it were stressful – pre-show jitters, a broken guitar string, the sheer pressure of playing to a crowd that size for the first time – but it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for all of us, and definitely a memory we’ll treasure. And who knows, maybe we’ll be back.
Has it been quite important to keep the momentum going and have you struggled to come down from the high?
We definitely wanted to make sure that we capitalised on the buzz from Bloodstock. Luckily we already had the tour in the works, and we’re always writing and recording new stuff so we were able to release several singles to coincide with BS and after. I’d say the high hasn’t worn off yet, so we’ll let you know when it does! But for now it’s onwards and upwards all the way.
Looking to the future now though! You have a new single out very soon. What’s the story behind Carolina Reaper?
So Greg, our guitarist, has always been a casual enjoyer of plant-based pain, and we wanted to capture the experience of eating the world’s (second) hottest chilli in a song. It’s vicious, violent, and very very spicy. It’s probably our fastest and most bombastic song to date, and we hope that anyone who’s shared in the agony of eating a Carolina Reaper will appreciate it. And for anyone who hasn’t, maybe it’ll inspire you to go ahead and try one. Do it. It’s… really something.
As far as the bar for Chub fun and silliness goes, where does this one rank? Have you outdone yourself in the absurdity department?
Yeah, this one’s on the sillier side for sure. We have a lot of songs with a strong message, and some that are a bit of both, but Carolina Reaper is pure ecstatic nonsense through and through. We kind of alternate, so we’re working on a song at the moment about landlords and the housing crisis, but after that it’s a DnD song called Gelatinous Cube, and we recently wrote one about always pooping on company time (an important message, I’m sure you’ll agree).
Have any of you ever had one? A Carolina Reaper? If so, what was the end result?
We sure have! That’s what the video is. We ate them, played the song, and danced around while our tongues boiled and our intestines cried. In fact, you can watch the uncut footage of our pain ahead of the release right now on our Youtube channel, @CHUBtheband. Kyle, our drummer, didn’t eat one because for medical reasons he might’ve actually died, so he’s the evil chef that serves them to us. And as for the end result… you know that Johnny Cash song?
Tell me a little bit about the video that goes with the new track.
Oh no, we just did… Well, it was filmed and edited by the wonderful L (@lbphoto.uk on Instagram) at Brighton Electric Studios. We ended up eating 1 and a half chillies each since shooting a video takes ages and we wanted to make sure the exquisite agony was captured on film (no fake tears here!). Our friends Dan and Mel of Brighton bands Gurf and Crowgod danced their hearts out dressed as a chilli and the glorious life-saving milk. Much ice cream was consumed, and a good time was had by all.
What do you hope listeners take away from this track? What do you hope they feel?
Most importantly, fun. We want to get heads banging and feet moving. The track has a pretty frantic energy and pace, and it’s caused many a moshpit at our shows, so hopefully the listeners feel that and go berserk with us! Not if you’re driving though. Listen responsibly.
How spicy are the tastes of the Chub members? On a scale of ‘is there spice in this!?’ to ‘my arsehole is falling out’ where does each member sit?
Greg: Funnily enough, I don’t actually like extremely spicy food. I just enjoy doing it when it’s a dumb challenge. So unless I’m intentionally suffering for fun, medium spicy for me.
Kyle: Yeah, as touched upon I’ve got either Crohn’s or IBS. An unfortunate symptom of our overworked and underfunded NHS means no official diagnosis yet – there’s definitely a song in there! Either way, I used to be a medium guy as well but now can’t even manage butter chicken without having to exorcise demons. Rogan Josh was my curry of choice!
Ben: I used to be so bad with spice but over the course of a few years my tolerance has gotten a lot better, so I love a good spicy meal, although my bowels may have a few choice words about it haha. All in all, I’d say Medium to Hot for me. Always up for a good Chicken Dhansak or Vindaloo.
Zakk: Hot.
How are you planning to immortalise this one via your live set? Inflatables? Eat as many as you can during the song? Throw out a golden one and whoever grabs it gets to come backstage and watch you seductively eat one?
Hahaha, I think giving out anything that intense to the crowd is asking for a lawsuit! Inflatables is a sick idea though, might have to steal that one. We had the biggest circle pit of any of our shows at Bloodstock and that was SO COOL, it’s a blistering, ravenous, swirling beast of a track so we love to see the crowd go mental for it. Keep your eyes peeled at the Northern tour and Rebellion next year.
