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Cub
(Canada) Vancouver
photo

Crush-pop trio cub formed in 1992 after vocalist/bassist Lisa Marr, guitarist/vocalist Robynn Iwata and drummer Valeria Fellini met while working at the college radio station of their alma mater, the University of British Columbia. Their first performance took place in front of a standing room only crowd in the basement of Marr's home for a summer solstice party in 1992.

Despite no prior musical experience - throughout the band's first year, Iwata played live seated cross-legged on the stage floor while looking at cheat sheets for chord progressions - cub's early live shows (during which the group tossed candy to the audience) won their unique brand of direct, infectious punk-pop a cult following on the Vancouver club circuit, and in October 1992 the trio issued their debut 7" EP, pep, on Mint Records, the Vancouver-based label co-owned by Iwata's brother Randy (future home of the New Pornographers, cub tour drummer Neko Case and Nardwuar The Human Serviette).

Following the release of their first album Betti-Cola - a superb collection of EP tracks and new recordings complete with a Josie and the Pussycats-styled cover by famed Archie Comics artist Dan DeCarlo - Fellini left the band to pursue her calling as a chocolatier; she was replaced by drummer Lisa G., whom Marr met through the pages of the fanzine Self-Esteem Queen. After the release of 1994's Come Out, Come Out (featuring the song "New York City" which would eventually become a mainstay of They Might Be Giants' covers repertoire), Mint signed a distribution deal with the U.S. punk label Lookout. 1996 brought the ambitious and edgy Box of Hair, as well as tours with They Might Be Giants, Sebadoh, and Elliott Smith (who played his cover of The Beatles' "I'm Only Sleeping" for Robynn on her birthday in L.A.!). Mauler, another collection of singles, followed in early 1997. On June 10 of that year, a series of three handwritten messages posted on the Mint Records website - one from each member - announced cub's breakup.

Robynn continued her graphic design (which was a constant visual presence on cub's t-shirts, posters, stickers, and the cub kids club newsletter), and in 1997 would go on to co-found I AM SPOONBENDER with composer / multi-instrumentalist / philosopher Dustin Donaldson.

Lisa Marr and Lisa G moved south to L.A. and formed the short-lived BUCK, a pop trio with guitarist Pepper Berry. Each would later pursue independent film endeavours. Marr would also take to the open road as a solo troubadour and in movies'n'music duo THE HERE AND NOW, as well as form THE BEARDS with Kim Shattuck of The Muffs and her ever-evolving country/rock group THE LISA MARR EXPERIMENT.

(Copy and pasted from cub's Myspace account; written by allmusic.com with contributions from Mint Records)



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Releases:
Pep (7") 16-Oct-1992
on Mint Records - MRS003
- Go Fish
- What the Water Gave Me
- The Day We Met
- Chico
- Motel 6
- A Party
Hot Dog Day (7") 14-May-1993
on Mint Records - MRS004
- Flying Carpet
- My Chinchilla
- Electric Chair
- Nicolas Bragg
- Through My Hoop
- Summer Samba
Betti-Cola (7"2+CD) 1993
on Mint Records - MRD002
- Go Fish
- What the Water Gave Me
- Motel 6
- A Party
- Flying Carpet
- My Chinchilla
- Electric Chair
- Nicolas Bragg
- Pretty Pictures
- They Don't
- A Picnic
- It's True
- Someday
- Cast a Shadow
- The Day We Met
- Surfer Girl
- Little Star
- My Assassin
- Tell Me Now
- Lucky 7
- Through My Hoop
- Leap Frog
- Backwoods
Volcano (7") 1994
on Mint Records - MRS009
- Your Bed
- Cast a Shadow
Come Out Come Out (7"3+CD) 15-Jan-1995
on Mint Records - MRD005
- Ticket to Spain
- Everything's Geometry
- My Flaming Red Bobsled
- Isabelle
- Your Bed
- Tomorrow Go Away
- Life of Crime
- I'm Your Angel
- Por Favor
- New York City
- Voracious
- So Far Apart
- Vacation
Box Of Hair (LP+CD) 16-Jul-1996
on Lookout Records
and Mint Records - MRD021
- Freaky
- Pillow Queen
- Magic 8 Ball
- Loaded
- Main and Broadway
- Box of Hair
- One Last Kiss
- Way To Go
- Mom and Dad
- S.G.
- Riverside
- Not What You Think [Live]
Mauler (CD) 25-Feb-1997
on Au Go Go - ANDA 214
- You Know He Did
- Nicolas Bragg
- The Day I Said Goodbye
- She's Like a Rainbow
- Exit
- Pregnant
- My Flaming Red Bobsled
- Pillow Queen
- Green Eyes
- Freaky
- FB Song
- Secret Nothing
- Go Fish
- New York City
- Runaway
- My Chinchilla
On compilations:
Ear of the Dragon  (CD) 15-May-1995
on Fortune 5 Records
- Secret Nothing
The Day I Said Goodbye  (7"+CD5) 29-Aug-1995
on Lookout Records - L124
- Exit
- Runaway
- The Day I Said Goodbye
Pop American Style  (CD+LP2) 1996
on March Records - MAR 24
vinyl has been released in Japan only
- Howard
FPAP  (7")
on Papercut Records - PCT 001
- Pillow Queen
on Overcome Some Records - FLOS-2
- She's Like a Rainbow
Last updated: 7-Jan-2026 © 1994-2026 TweeNet Creative Commons License