Riding Shotgun With Tokyo Police Club
Tokyo Police Club are neither from Tokyo nor members of any sort of police force. They do, however, rock like nobody's business. They will make you shake, shimmy, and shuffle, all without breaking a sweat. TPC's fresh-faced singer/bassist Dave Monks took on the RS challenge. Read on for the inner workings of the TPC (not to be confused with the aforementioned TPS reports), where you'll find a love for Cat Power, Cat Power, and more Cat Power. Oh, and there's some stuff about the Spinto Band, drinking, and Tim Horton's. Bon appetite! And once you're well versed in the Tokyo Police Club, it is most highly recommended that you heed my advice and go to the Black Cat on October 17th to see TPC play with the Spinto Band and Art Brut ($13). Having seen them live last month, the term money well spent is an understatement.
Touring is:
(verb) ph: TOO-ring. The act or process or travelling to
various locations/towns in a practical order based on their
geographical positions. Participants endure ridiculous spans of time
travelling in a small van that lacks a passenger-side wing mirror and seems to be perpetually messy. When in Canada, breakfast and lunch consist of Tim Horton's food (see MALNUTRITION pg. 408). When in the US, breakfast and lunch consist a hefty portion of the participants' sorrow as they search desperately for Tim Horton's and find only Dunkin Donut's (see ABSOLUTE FUCKING GARBAGE FOOD pg. 25) Upon arrival at their various destinations, participants proceed to consume nachos and alcohol with a frenzied disposition (see SAVAGERY pg. 613). After dining, the group plays several musical renditions through equipment which begs for mercy. This performance aspect seems justify all the hardships that come with touring as it generates a thrill and meaning like no other for all those involved. When completed, touring leaves participants ever ever so slightly wealthier but highly aware of their tourmates' hygenic habits.
Our first gig was:
At the Reverb in Toronto - our friends danced in
front and we played our songs at a speed comparable to Mach III.
Our favorite venue to play is:
In Toronto, Sneaky Dee's. Best Tex Mex food and a really good grimy club atmosphere with relentlessly cheap drinks. In New York, The Annex and the Syrup Room. Generally in the States, any venue that will serve us gets an extra 10 points.
Hygiene on a tour is:
trivial/negligible.
Our favorite thing about touring is:
Playing our set for a great
audience or hacky-sack at gas stations.
And the least favorite:
Not being fed at a venue. We're growing boys!
City with the best audiences:
Calgary, New York.
The tour bus/van smells like:
Roses and lemon-lime.
What's the most unusual item on your rider?
Water, considering it's the only item.
Laundry is: a) washed regularly, b) washed irregularly, c) we go
shopping a lot:
Well I'd have to say A because recently we installed a
Kenmore washer and dryer into the back of our van. Oh and C because we have money to burn -I mean it's not like we're an indie band that, when not living with parents, tours the country in a decrepit Mercury Villager with 9 million miles on it.
Who controls the music in the touring vehicle? And what do you like to listen to while tooling around on tour?
Music is pretty democratic. Recent favourites have been Ryan Adams, Spinto Band, Okkervil River, Wilco, Bobby Dylan, Blink 182, Holy Fuck, and the Meligrove Band.
Your new favorite watering hole after being on tour? And/or the best place to get greasy, hangover-curing food?
The Alex P. Keaton has the greatest beer selection in Ontario. We don't get that many hangovers as we're not big drinkers. But the cities with the best food are New York and Toronto.
Most amusing memory from your current or most recent tour?
At Osheaga (Montreal) Greg attached our suction cup compass to the wing mirror and when he tried to pull it off, the whole mirror came with it. We attached it back on with rubber bands. General tour stories are the type where you really had to be there to get it. Except for that time we put red snapping fish in a bird's minge- blimey Bonzo was a menace that night!
Favorite tour activity (other than the gigs themselves):
Eating good
meals.
Are there any bands you've played with that you'd like to tour with
again? And/or bands that you have yet to tour with that you'd like to?
Andrea Bocelli. Generally any bands whose CD we bought before we started the band.
Please name the city you wouldn't ever play in again? Or, if not a
particular city, which venue makes your skin crawl?
The Distrikt in
Regina. Sorry, but it's terrible. Imagine Alice in Chains made a venue that was an architectural representation of their music.
Apart from the obvious cd, what's the merch item of yours you think people should shell out for?
I wish I could our cozy TPC pillows or our every-one-is-different hand pressed pins, but we don't have time to make those anymore. They are a thing of the past.
What are you most looking forward to about touring extensively in los Estados Unidos?
Seeing Enon play every night.
What's the best souvenir you've picked up on your touring?
I want to
marry Cat Power.
Have you been to the top of the Washington Monument?
I think the real question is: Has it been to the top of us?!
Have any of you ever been incarcerated?
That's personal.
Your debut EP is most excellent. When will you be gracing us with a full length?
Thank you. And - as soon as we write it. Next spring we hope.
What would you like people to be saying about Tokyo Police Club in 50 years?
"Did you know that their singer is happily married to Cat Power?"
"No, but that's beautiful"
And finally, it's BigYawn's round. What's your poison?
Juice.
For even more Tokyo Police Club, mouse yourself over to www.tokyopoliceclub.net or www.myspace.com/tokyopoliceclub.
picture by
Aaron Farley