College is the obvious answer for many graduating high school seniors. The members of soul-pop-punk band The Cab, however, decided to pursue fame and fortune. After writing their first single “I’ll Run” during their first practice session and two years of dedication they signed a record contract at the same time that their peers received acceptance letters. In little more than a semester, The Cab cut a record and crossed the country.

They were scheduled to play with Cobra Starship last Friday here in St. Louis, before the hazards of Wisconsin travel held them up. Alex Marshall was able to make some time to talk with The University News about his college alternative. He also wanted to let fans know that The Cab definitely plans on making it back through St. Louis before summer. Until then, you can check out The Cab’s new music video for “I’ll Run” on the band’s Myspace page at myspace.com/thecab.

Fans seemed concerned on your Myspace page about an accident. What happened?
Yeah, [there was] a patch of black ice on the road, and it kind of imbed[ded] itself on the road so [we couldn’t] even see it. We lost control. I was sleeping in the back, and, before I knew it, we were flipping. So that flip totaled the van, and the trailer broke. We had to go the hospital. I have like, 15 staples in my leg, and [I] hurt my foot pretty bad.

Has the band been recovering?
Yeah, we’re doing better. We are pretty sore still, but we are all walking and alive, which is all you can really ask for after something like that.

When will The Cab be back on the road?
We are on the road now. We [are] driving right now . through planet Hoth, you know, from Star Wars. Snow [is] blowing through the air and plateaus. It looks really weird. Friends gave us their old van. We are all really bummed, because St. Louis was one of our favorite cities. We have played St. Louis before and were all really looking forward to [the show]. [It is] one of the few cities we were looking forward to.

How does this compare to previous tours for The Cab?
This is our first big nationwide tour. We have done some small ones. And I know we’ll probably be touring in support of our first CD for the next two years.

Are you guys recording that now?
Yeah it’s recorded, they just doing all the post production stuff, mixing and mastering right now. It’s going be on store shelves April 29.

Did you guys record that while touring?
We did a brief tour in the summer. Then, we came home and then went to Los Angeles for about six weeks and recorded in Santa Monica California at Red Bull Studios. After we recorded, we had a little bit of time off for the holidays just to be with our family and friends. As soon as the holidays were over, we left for New York.

What are your inspirations for your music?
We don’t really have any songs about touring yet, because we really haven’t become accustomed to the lifestyle. A lot of the songs are inspired by personal issues or relationships and social roles, our outlooks on different situations. No songs about the road yet. I hope to get writing soon, but its super hard to write in a packed van. We really just finished recording, I was just finishing some vocal stuff a few weeks ago. So we just finished that record and are taking a breather. We should get back to writing soon, I never want to stop writing. Me and the other guys in the band, we like to write all the time. I’m sure we will have a lot of new stuff to write about, [and] a lot of new material right after this tour.

So what does an emerging band miss most while on tour?
Definitely family, friends, girlfriends and stuff like that. It’s really tough, especially for us-we just got out of high school-not being able to go out every night with friends, eat lunch and dinner with your family. It’s kind of weird. It’s just a whole different life, a whole different way of living, you’re in a different city everyday. Sometimes you forget where you are. There’s so many changes because every thing is so hectic, it’s so fast paced.

We’re not at home enjoying life with [our] family and friends. [We] miss out. But at the same time, you’ve got to keep your head up. This is what we signed up for, and it’s definitely a blast.

Have you guys ended up in any strange small towns, any place you didn’t know existed before?
Yeah. Baytown, Texas was the weirdest one. Really swampy [and] humid-there were giant spiders. We played at a skate park for kids. Some of them were flicking us off the whole time. We were basically playing for the other bands on the tour. It definitely wasn’t what we were used to.

Now that you’re on the verge of making it big, are there any luxuries you’re planning on buying?
My imagination goes crazy. I want a recording studio, an indoor basketball court and an indoor water slide. That would be pretty bad-ass.

Things look good for The Cab, then?
Hopefully we’ll work really hard and be successful. And if we’re not, well, we played the music we loved and worked our asses off. That’s all we can really do, right?