by brenton crozier bdcrozier@gmail.com
Who: Tokyo Police Club with Cold War Kids and Delta Spirit
Where: Café 11 in St. Augustine
When: Thursday, March 22nd
Tokyo Police Club is comprised of 4 college-aged indie rockers from Newmarket, Ontario. Their major break came from a dynamic set at the Pop Montreal Festival where they captured the ears of many. Paper Bag Records, whose roster has included Broken Social Scene, Stars, and Plastikman, signed them and released their EP A Lesson in Crime.
Since then, they have conquered Europe, fought the wicked Canadian elements, and remained humble by performing the trifling tasks that their parents request of them. I spoke with keyboardist/vocalist Graham Wright while the band was in their van on the way to the next show.
EU: The band missed their first North American date in Minneapolis due to a snow storm. Is being snowed in and missing a show one of the many perils of being a Canadian rock band?
GW: We’ve driven through a lot of tough weather. I think one of the many perils is not knowing when to stop. The chances of death or dismemberment were a little too high this time.
EU: The TPC bio makes it sound like you made it in only 3 easy steps; start a rocking good band, get the show of a lifetime, and then get signed to a fantastic label. What’s the real story?
GW: The 4th step is missing: touring our asses off for a year. A label helps, but at the same time, it’s not going to make you a successful band. You’ve got to pay some dues.
EU: Did you realize how much had changed for you guys immediately after playing the Pop Montreal Festival?
GW: Yeah, it wasn’t so much that things changed for us, it wasn’t as if everyone knew of us. It changed more in how we perceived what we were doing; it actually made it a viable career option.
EU: How were you received in Europe?
GW: Surprisingly well. Normally, if you’re lucky, you open for a band and play to their fans. It was a new territory that we have never played before and didn’t have high expectations. But we had 4 or 5 sold out shows. They were some of the best crowds we’ve ever played to and they knew the songs even though the EP was released there the day we stepped off the plane. It was incredibly cool.
EU: What are some of the staple albums that all band members can always agree on when you guys are touring?
GW: Room on Fire by The Strokes, we are huge Radiohead fans, but it has to be the right time to listen to them. Band of Horses is a new band that we are getting into.
EU: For those who haven’t had the pleasure of listening to you guys, would my label of “Ruckus, self-referential stylings of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion meets the compact indie pop rock sensibility of The Strokes but with a sci-fi fetish twist” fit?
GW: There are a lot of words, but it must be accurate. I haven’t heard Jon Spencer before, I guess that’s not so indie rock these days.
EU: You guys are young and have a lot of buzz, are you able to keep from getting big heads?
GW: We still live with our parents. I get home and they say “Hello Graham, welcome home. You need to clean the bathroom.” I still worry about how I’m going to pay my credit card bill.
EU: EYE Weekly said that Lessons in Crime provided an “upbeat soundtrack to our troubled times.” Are your goals that lofty?
GW: No, not at this point at all. We were 18 and 19 when we wrote this album. We just wanted to make songs we liked and thought were fun. It would be nice to make some money to move out of our parent’s houses.
EU: And your name?
GW: It was from the first song on A Lesson in Crime. It was a good example of our early idealogy. We never thought anyone would hear our songs outside ourselves. We thought it would be funny.
EU: Ok, time for the Barbara Walters Lightning Round. Guilty pleasure album?
GW: Anything Blink 182.
EU: Favorite mix song?
GW: That’s a great question. Um, a Spoon song called ‘Anything You Want’. It’s the perfect first song for a mix.
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