Cub Sport bandmates roar message of equality

DON’T be fooled by the sweet moniker of indie-pop foursome Cub Sport; these Brisbane musicians are using their lyrics and personal lives to roar a message of equality.

Brisbane band Cub Sport. Picture: Jennifer Embleton

Don’t be fooled by the sweet moniker of indie-pop foursome Cub Sport; these Brisbane musicians are using their lyrics and personal lives to roar a message of equality.

Tim Nelson, Sam Netterfield, Zoe Davis and Dan Puusaari have been recording music together for eight years, but 2018 has seen them break into the mainstream.

Last month they supported Vance Joy at Riverstage — their dream Brisbane venue.

A week earlier they released a music video produced by American social media megastars The Dolan Twins.

Hawaiian Party notched up more than 4 million views in two weeks.

Frontman Tim, 26, credits the success to finding his authentic voice.

In August he married Cub Sport keyboardist Sam, 28, two years after coming out as a

same-sex couple.

The pair met at Northside Christian College, but their religious upbringings meant a romantic relationship was never on the cards.

It took nearly a decade for them to confirm their relationship status and tell their families.

The effect of the lie on Tim’s songwriting is probably best summed up in some of his lyrics. “There’s a sadness in my eyes/’Cause there’s an anchor in my heart/And it weighs me down inside/And it’s holding back my art,” he sings in the 2017 release O Lord.

But now he is liberated — “out and proud” — and spreading a message of love.

“We had put off coming out (as gay) for a really long time, and then when we admitted we loved each other, it changed everything,” Tim says.

Cub Sport's Sam Netterfield and Tim Nelson with their dogs Missy and Evie who formed the bridal party for their August 2018 wedding. Picture: Supplied

It was this love story that caught the attention of Dolan brothers Grayson and Ethan, of the hugely popular Dolan Twins YouTube channel.

The twins heard Tim telling the story at a Cub Sport gig in the US and knew immediately they wanted to make a movie about it. It became the video clip for Hawaiian Party, which features relationships of every kind.

“The exposure from the video has been something we’ve never really had before,” Tim says. “We’ve been charting all around the world since the Dolan video.

“I don’t think I properly understood the impact the video would have on people’s lives. I got literally hundreds of messages from people saying it had given them the encouragement and confidence to come out (as gay) to their parents.

Zoe Davis, Dan Puusaari, Tim Nelson and Sam Netterfield are Brisbane band Cub Sport. Picture: Jennifer Embleton

“When I was growing up, I would have loved to have had someone telling me I’m perfect how I am and I don’t need to change for anyone,” Tim says.

“It’s a pretty amazing opportunity we’ve been given to send that message.”

Cub Sport guitarist Zoe Davis, 26, is also in a same-sex relationship. Her journey to acceptance was perhaps less idyllic than Tim and Sam’s. Zoe was “outed” by a member of the Pentecostal Christian Church where her father was a pastor.

“(Cub Sport) all came from quite Christian homes,” Zoe says.

“I didn’t realise (I was gay) until a year or so into university, because it had always been such a taboo thing. It was not allowed.”

She admits her upbringing meant she was once “quite homophobic” herself.

“At university there was an equal marriage petition and I was like, ‘No, I’m not signing that’,” Zoe says.

She has been with girlfriend Bridie McQueenie, 25, for four years now and says her parents have become her greatest supporters.

Tim says Cub Sport drummer Dan, 28, was also an amazing support for his bandmates as they grappled with their sexuality.

“It’s all worked out like a dream,” he says.

Cub Sport will release their next single, Sometimes, on Oct 5 prior to a North American tour. cubsport.com