Tokyo Police Club's Graham Wright Goes With His 'Gut' on 'Shirts vs. Skins'

Posted on Jul 6th 2011 2:00PM by Jessica Lewis
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Mike Juneau

With the recent release of 'Shirts vs. Skins,' we've gotten to see a whole new side of Tokyo Police Club's keyboardist Graham Wright. He's stepped into the light with his solo debut, showcasing his vocals and other instrumental talents, and finally letting his intuition guide the music.

"My way is a lot more gut," he tells Spinner. "I'm more interested in capturing the moment that feels right and running with that rather than spending ages just trying to perfect it. I think by listening to my record and a Tokyo record, the differences are going to be obvious in terms of my vocals aren't always perfect, not every take is perfect, but the feeling of it is there."

Wright wrote nearly 60 songs after Tokyo Police Club finished touring their 'Elephant Shell' disc, the best material ending up on 'Shirts vs. Skins.' And now that TPC have entered a similar period of recuperating after touring their second album, 'Champ,' Wright can go back into solo mode.

"Tokyo has to come first just because it was there first -- it pays the bills, and it's also three other guys who I would be letting down. Obviously, Tokyo is important to me, anyway, regardless of any of that, I love it. But, at the same time, my stuff is my stuff, and there's no substitution for your baby.

"I like to think of myself as an important part of the band's creative process, but at the same time, Dave [Monks] is writing the songs. It's always one person's baby at the end of the day, and we collaborate and people can contribute to it, but it's someone's thing -- and this is my thing, in my heart of hearts, it will always be the most important thing."

Watch Graham Wright Perform 'No Hard Feelings'
Wright explains that his bandmates -- Monks, Josh Hook and Greg Aslop -- are cool with his burgeoning solo career. Getting it situated with their American label, Mom + Pop, however, was more complicated. He's only released from the Tokyo Police Club deal for one solo record (on the Canadian label File Under: Music.)

"It's sort of the City and Colour syndrome," he says, referencing Dallas Green, who balances his solo work with his duties in Alexisonfire. "Everyone's afraid that it's going to do well and they'll miss out on a bunch of money."

Tokyo Police Club have one more album on their contract, and Wright says, in the future he'll know to make more of an exemption for his solo work, as he's planning on keeping that project for the long haul. He already has three other albums -- two of the planned trilogy and one more he's writing now -- in the vault.

"I was writing my own songs before Tokyo Police Club existed. I always knew I would get to it sooner or later."

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