Two Hours Traffic Interview: SXSW 2010

Sunny pop gems are usually the Canadian band Two Hours Traffic's songs of choice, but that doesn't mean they don't delve into the shadows occasionally to give their sound some edge. No matter the vibe, the quartet focuses on catchy melodic music; their 2007 breakthrough 'Little Jabs' appeared on year-end best of lists and garnered an East Coast Music Award for Best Pop Recording. With three coast-to-coast tours and performances at Hillside, CMJ and SXSW, the band is eager to keep moving. Spinner spoke with lead singer Liam Corcoran about the band's star-crossed moniker, their stay in a legendary Ontario club's basement and their excitement at the SXSW reunion of one of their favorite '80s bands.

How would you describe your sound?
We are a pop band essentially with some alt-country and punk influences, but we focus on the catchy aspect of lyrics and song.

How did your band form?

We formed in 2003 as a four-piece, we were attending university and have had the same line up ever since. We all knew each other for different reasons. Alec and I used to play as an acoustic duo and then we got the other two guys on board, too.

What are your musical influences?

I guess some of the main ones would be the Beach Boys, Teenage Fan Club, Fleetwood Mac, Big Star, the Magnetic Fields, Spoon and Wilco.

How did you come up with your band name?

It was taken from the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, which was what we were studying when Alec and I started playing together when we were back in high school.

What's in your festival survival kit?

It's our second time there -- there are a couple Canadian parties that offer food and there's a brunch every day and we will definitely be hitting it up. It will be easier to get around and to the venues, we have an idea of what we are getting into this time.
Survival kit, hmm, I am a little superstitious, I do have certain guitar picks over others -- even though they have the same gauge, it is good to have little pieces of gear around that make you feel ready to go.

Who was your first celeb crush?

Alicia Silverstone – from the 'Clueless' days.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Probably Bryan Adams.

Beatles or Stones?

That's really tough, I think I lean a little bit more towards the Beatles, for our music it's generally that melody comes first as opposed to swagger and the beat -- which is more the Beatles area, so we can relate to that.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

There is a club in Ontario called the Townehouse and they offer you the opportunity to stay downstairs instead of getting a hotel. So you basically go down to this musty old basement where there are couches and beds and writings all over the wall from bands and stickers everywhere. It was very cool, pretty shocking at the time but now we stay there any time we play there. I can't remember what it was but the first time we left some kind of mark. In terms of shows: One time we were playing a show for the Grey Cup -- it's like the Canadian football cup. It was freezing cold, we were wearing our jackets and gloves and fingers cut out of them. They had given out these little plush footballs, there were a lot of drunk guys that were throwing them at us, so we were getting pelted and we started throwing them back. It is really a once in a lifetime thing to have a football thrown in your face while you're playing. [Laughs].

Who are you most excited to see play or which band are you hoping you'll have a chance encounter with at SXSW this year?

We heard that this '70s-'80s group, the dBs, were going to be playing. I don't know if they are reuniting for SXSW or just in general but it got us really excited. If we can see them it would be a dream for us, we used to listen to their records a lot!


Summar Ghias is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.