While on tour in Australia with The Jezabels, we had the oppertunity to chat to Canada’s Two Hour Traffic – we find out how the tour is going, and learn a bit more about this wonderful band.
You’re currently back in Australia on a National tour with The Jezabels, with only a few shows left. How has the tour gone so far?
We have had a blast touring with the Jezabels. They are very generous people, and a pleasure to be around. It is a rare opportunity to get to play in front of a packed house every night, and that’s what this tour has been like. Things are only going to get bigger for them, and we’re glad we got to rub elbows with them on their way towards the stratosphere.
Were you familiar with the music of the Jezabels before you came down for the tour?
We played some shows with the Jezabels in North America prior to our Australian tour. The first time I really heard them was at their CMJ showcase in New York City and they truly blew me away. They have a dazzling sound, and Hayley is a master front-woman; the real deal.
This isn’t the first massive tour you’ve made in Australia – having toured earlier this year with mates Dead Letter Chorus. How is this tour comparing to your earlier one?
Dead Letter Chorus are an excellent band and we have become great friends with them. We had a lot of memorable nights with them during our first trip around Australia but they weren’t exactly blowing up like the Jezabels are right now. So this current tour has given us the chance to reach a lot more people and hopefully win a few of them over along the way.
Are you noticing a few new fans in the crowd?
Hitting a new country is always tough. It’s like starting over. We have never had a lot of success at radio, so we rely on word-of-mouth and relentless touring. So, in other words, it can take a long time for us to build up a fanbase in a new area. Thankfully, there have been a few nights on this tour where we have been approached by people who saw us play with Dead Letter Chorus and who liked it enough to come check us out again. We’re taking it one person at a time.
I had the opportunity to catch you on that tour, at Song Summit in Sydney – as part of the "Sydney Meets Sydney" showcase. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got involved in the Sydney meets Sydney project – as well as the beautiful collaborative song that came out of it, "Last Day In Your Town"?
Well, we come from Eastern Canada, and once a year there is a conference/awards show that brings the musicians of our region together called the East Coast Music Awards. Last year, the organizers decided to form a kind of exchange program with some Australian artists. Because the awards were being hosted in a town called Sydney, Nova Scotia, they called the program "sydney meets sydney". There was a song-writing aspect to the partnership, and Alec and I were teamed up with Gabby Huber from Dead Letter Chorus. We ended up with a song called "last day in your town" and everyone involved was very proud of it. We went on to perform it in Nova Scotia and Sydney, Australia at the song summit. Dead Letter Chorus even decided to record it – Alec and I added our parts in Canada and they released it as a B-side on their ‘Covered in Snow’ single.
We imagine you’re getting reasonably familiar with a few of the major cities around the country… what have been some of your favourite experiences "down under"?
We just finished three nights at the East Brunswick in Melbourne and that was pretty special. Everyone told us how amazing Melbourne was and it didn’t disappoint. On our last time around, we had a wild all-nighter in Towoomba, but unfortunately I can’t go into details. We’re looking forward to playing Brisbane again as it was one of the best nights on the first tour. Lastly, we did some very cool sight-seeing at Echo Point in Katoomba.
I’d like to move back to the early days of the band now for those unfamiliar with you – how did the band form?
Alec and I started playing as an acoustic duo while still in high school. Upon entering university, (the University of Prince Edward Island), we teamed up with Andy and Derek and they became the rhythm section. We have had the same lineup ever since.
Can you tell us about the area in Canada where you’re from?
We are from the east coast of Canada. We live in Canada’s smallest province – Prince Edward Island. Together with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, PEI is part of what is called the Maritime provinces. The pace of life is nice and slow in the Maritimes, and that suits us quite well. There are plenty of beautiful beaches on our island as well and the summer months can be spectacular. The winter is also very pretty, but you may not be able to leave your house when the snowstorms hit.
A bit of a cliche, but what can audiences expect from one of your live shows?
Our live show sounds a lot like our recordings except that we have a little more rock n roll edge on stage. Generally, the songs get louder and looser as we continue to tour around.
Please tell us a little about your latest LP Territory – was there a particular vision you had for the record?
We made a conscious effort to tackle some different lyrical themes on our newest record, Territory. In the past, many of our songs were very light and sunny and we wanted to go somewhere else. This time around, we focused on the darker side of our romantic relationships and also ventured into topics like alcoholism and our refusal to grow up and get real jobs. Musically, we used more piano and keyboard and in many cases we tried not to clutter the arrangements with too many layers. As a result, we have some of our most minimal recordings on this album.
What was it like working with Joel Plaskett? How did that come about?
We have been working with Joel Plaskett for several years now. Just when the band was getting started, he played a show in our hometown and somehow Alec got a copy of our first EP into his bands. A few weeks later, out of the blue, he emailed and said he was interested in producing an album for us. We were ecstatic and shortly thereafter we started work on our self-titled full-length record. We continued to work with Joel and he has now produced all three of our LPs. He has become a great friend and very much like a mentor to us. We owe him a lot.
Have the songs changed or grown at all as you’ve played them live? Have there been any "oh, I wish we’d done THAT on the record" moments?
Alec played a lot of piano and keyboard on Territory, and in bringing these songs to the stage, many of those piano parts turned into guitar parts. So some of the prettier moments on the record actually sound a lot more rockin’ in concert. I think this adds to the energy of the show and it’s a nice little curveball for those who are familiar with the recordings.
If we took a quick peek at your ipod/mp3 players – which artists would come up on the ‘most played’ list?
We listen to whatever we can get our hands on but I guess we could name a few: Spoon, the Magnetic Fields, Teenage Fanclub, Fleetwood Mac, Wilco, and the list goes on.
What do you think has been the single most memorable moment in your music careers so far?
When our previous record Little Jabs got nominated for Canada’s Polaris Prize that was a very exciting moment, and probably the most memorable.
And finally, looking into the future, what can we expect from THT in 2011?
We basically have to go home and start writing a bunch of new songs. Who knows what will take shape after that?
Thanks to Jennifer Peterson-Ward for her help with the questions.