Telegraph Canyon Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 15th 2010 11:00PM by Dan Manfield
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Chris Johnson's instinct was right when he decided his band fell somewhere in the middle ground between Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's retro southern harmonies and the Arcade Fire's orchestral sweep. Acclaimed almost from the moment Johnson and his six bandmates took the stage as Telegraph Canyon, the Fort Worth, Texas group has become a live dynamo and earned plaudits from no less than Rolling Stone. Its full-length album, 'The Tide And The Current,' topped 2009 year-end album polls in just about every Dallas-area media outlet. With an oversized RV hauling the band all over the Southwest en route to its second SXSW outing, Johnson talks about surviving ice storms, being a fearless backer of Kings of Leon and what to do when a band name drops out of the sky on you like an anvil.

How would you describe your sound?

It's American folk music with experimental rock elements, and some orchestral stuff as well. There [are] seven people in the band and everyone plays several different instruments, so there are real quiet portions and then loud rocking parts that keep it from being just a straight-up folk band.

Where and when did the band get started?

The main core has been together for over four years, and started with a band I was in Fort Worth. As that band was winding down we decided to switch gears and do this orchestral thing and we got right into it. I was lucky because we knew a bunch of people from the musical community here, I knew what I wanted to do and everyone I asked about it said yes. I grew up listening to Neil Young and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young so I wanted to have a bunch of harmonies with a southern feel to it.

Who are your influences?

I listen to so much music, I don't know what is and isn't an influence anymore. We get called a folky version of the Arcade Fire a lot and I like that band a lot, but I don't know if I see that comparison. Fleet Foxes is another one people say quite a bit, because of all the harmonies in what we do.

How did you pick the name Telegraph Canyon?

I was out in California before my other band wound down, out there picking up a van and I heard of this place that was along the way back called Telegraph Canyon and I knew right away that had to be a band name. When I got home I looked it up and it turns out there's a place in Texas called Telegraph Canyon because it was where they cut the first poles for the U.S. military's telegraph system. It's also great for the orchestral aspect of what we do because the name suggests space. While I was driving and my friend said the name I kind of blanked out for a minute because it was so perfect.

What's biggest vice?

Nicotine. I've been on the stuff since I was 12 or 13. Actually, nicotine and ice-cream. I picked up a hitchhiker once and he said that and I always liked that line.

What's your SXSW survival strategy?

We did SXSW last year. We travel in a 29-foot RV that sleeps all of us, so we've got canned food and burritos like you wouldn't believe. Also, lots of beer. Our band feels very campy when we're on tour because we're in this huge vehicle, so doing South By is like a cross between a vacation and an ass-whoop of work.

Any musical guilty pleasures?

I don't know if they're a guilty pleasure or not, but I like that band MGMT a lot. They felt guilty to me at first because the songs are so kinda fun and dancey but I like it so much I don't care. Kings of Leon is another. I actually started with the new stuff and like it fine, but I didn't like their first stuff at first. But as I listen more I find more and more to like about that stuff as well.

Beatles or Stones?

Beatles. I don't love the blues enough to listen to the Stones all day. The Beatles, again because of the harmonies. 'Magical Mystery Tour' is my favorite record of theirs because they got to a place where they could do whatever they wanted.

Craziest thing that's ever happened to you on the road?

We were doing a West Coast tour and coming back from Washington state, probably cut it a little too close with the winter weather and we hit this ice storm. There are trucks and 18 wheelers in ditches all over place but we kept on going, until the RV and trailer with all our gear slides and we get completely sideways on the road. Somehow, we stayed on the road and hit the next exit and motel we saw as soon as we could.

Dan Manfield is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.