Newmarket, Ontario isn’t a town known for a lot of things. Aside from being placed fourth in “Canada’s Top 10 Small Cities” in 2013, it is the hometown of actor Jim Carrey and comedian John Candy. Now, however, it is also the birthplace of Block Party headliners Tokyo Police Club.
The band’s conception came about when the four members were in high school. “We started a band in high school playing piano-pop stuff, kind of inspired by Wilko, The Beatles and the Beach Boys,” said Greg Alsop, drummer for the band. “That ran its course over a couple years, and at university we really started focusing on Tokyo Police Club, getting together on weekends and playing music together.”
Tokyo Police Club, the unique name from an internet band name generator, has played Block Party in previous years, but got its beginnings following a series of small Toronto-based shows in 2005. Signed to Paper Bag Records after performing at the POP Montreal Festival, the band is known widely for their festival appearances.
At Block Party, students can expect a set containing both old and new music. “We’ll play a good range of material,” said Alsop. “It’ll be a really fun show, we’re really excited to be part of this line up.”
Tokyo Police Club’s newest album Forcefield came out in March 2014 and reached number 17 in the Canadian album charts. As the band’s third album, Alsop stated the importance of strong collaborations between band members. “Ideas just came from sitting in our rehearsal space for about two and a half years together every day for up to 10 hours,” he said. “It was a really long writing process that we really needed to go through.”
The hard work paid off in a number of successful concerts around Canada and Europe, and Alsop cites the collaborative effort of the whole band for this success. “I think we didn’t quite know what we wanted to do next, what we wanted our sound to be,” he said. “Holing up together like that just gave us an opportunity to explore every avenue that we possibly could for the record.”
This is the concept for Forcefield, tracks from which can be expected on Friday’s Block Party -- “trying everything and putting out what works.”
Alsop began playing the drums in the seventh grade as part of his school band. The selection process for the band involved a written essay on the drums and was the beginning of his career in the music industry. This has allowed Alsop to travel around the world with Tokyo Police Club, and he reminisces fondly about his experiences performing in the mud at Reading and Glastonbury Festivals.
For a band beginning in their parent’s basements, Tokyo Police Club is taking everything as it comes in their stride.
“It’ll be a really fun show,” said Alsop. “UBC has always treated us really well and we’re psyched to be asked back for this event.”