October 2nd, 2009 - Two Hours Traffic
with Spiral Beach & The Danks
$12 advance, $15 door (+$1.50 tx & sc) Buy your tickets for this show here
Doors at 7pm, show at 9pm, come early for dinner!
“Territory” is the follow up to the Charlottetown band’s Polaris Prize nominated and internationally acclaimed sophomore album, "Little Jabs". Once again produced by Joel Plaskett, Territory builds on the promise of Little Jabs as the band continues to write and record sunny pop gems for the heart and head. Territory, however also finds Two Hours Traffic discovering the shadows at the side of the road. Right from the get go this becomes apparent as the gold into lead alchemy of the rousing opener Noisemaker kicks in and by the time the title track tells its tale of disillusionment and betrayal you know you are settling in for a drive on the darker side. Indeed, songs such as Weightless One, Drop Alcohol, Wicked Side, and Lost Boys all explore the approaching dusk but just like the more hopeful tracks on the album (Happiness Burns, Sing A Little Hymn) they all lock into the close your eyes, sing along choruses and instantly memorable lyrics that have put Two Hours Traffic on the melodic map.
Initially conceived as a two-piece, lead singer Liam Corcoran and guitarist Alec O'Hanley recruited bassist Andrew MacDonald and drummer Derek Ellis while attending university in their hometown of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. After releasing their "April Storm" EP in 2003 a friendship was struck up with Halifax hero Joel Plaskett who offered to produce the band's first proper album. They've been working together ever since. While their eponymous debut and their follow up "Isolator" EP were received warmly by critics, it wasn't until 2007's breakthrough "Little Jabs" that the world really took notice. Appearing on dozens of year-end best of lists, Little Jabs also garnered an ECMA for Best Pop Recording and was a finalist for the coveted Polaris Music Prize. Add to this, three coast to coast tours, appearances at festivals such as Hillside, CMJ and SXSW and shows across the Atlantic and you have one of the most visible and successful Canadian independent acts of the last two years.
The road is indeed calling once again and with the strength of song on their side, Two Hours Traffic will continue to drive through both the brightening dawn and the darkening dusk. Bringing their Territory to yours.
“The sound reminded me of Frankenstein on ecstacy. Whatever that sounds like was totally Spiral Beach” – Jayphives Room
How much would you say it costs to take down eight do-it-yourself concert posters? Fifty bucks at most? Try $1,470 if you hit those silver garbage bins.
That’s what Toronto band Spiral Beach found out soon after going the DIY route to promote a show at the Opera House May 17.
Within a few days, they were given an invoice from EcoMedia Direct – the company behind those ubiquitous garbage/recycling boxes.
“It [the invoice] just appeared out of nowhere. To have something like this happen is kind of uninspiring,” says teen Airick Woodhead, Spiral Beach’s guitarist. He and sister Maddy did the postering, but didn’t expect to get stuck with a bill they certainly can’t pay.
“We barely made money on that show anyway,” says Woodhead. He laughs when asked how many shows it would take to pay such a bill, simply stating, “We’re in the hole big time.”
Frank Weinstock, manager of the city’s policy and business planning unit, chuckles at the price tag, too. Weinstock says the city has a new bylaw that levies removal costs for illegal posters, “but it wouldn’t be that high.” He explains that currently the city’s litter pickers just strip ads off.
“I know the band’s freaking out, but that was not a place to put it,” cautions Weinstock.
Now you’re asking, “The city doesn’t control its own garbage bins?”
“I know it’s in the fine print, but it says on them that they’re private property,” explains Spacing publisher Matthew Blackett, who’s followed the bin biz for years.
“This comes back to an issue of the city’s willingness to sell off its own infrastructure,” says Blackett, adding, “If it were city property, the fines would be a lot less, and people would understand the rules.”
It’s clear they don’t.
Woodhead stresses that he didn’t know the hand-drawn, letter-sized flyers would elicit threats of litigation.
“There’s not a lot of opportunity to know what’s legal and what’s not,” he says. The band offered to clean off the ads, glued with a mixture of flour and water, and to help remove other ads.
“Either they’re using us as an example or the [EcoMedia] guy’s just a total prick and is doing this to everyone,” figures Woodhead.
At EcoMedia, CEO Erich Genseberger is pretty emphatic. “I want people to understand to stay off the wild postering,” he says. “It is damaging my business. As far as we’re concerned, we will stop it one way or another.”
His company started sending out invoices and legal threats three months ago and has seen a 50 per cent decrease in postering on bins. “But there are people who just keep destroying our property, and I won’t stand for that,” says Genseberger.
The invoice billed Spiral Beach $780 for cleaning and poster removal, $320 for inspection and evidence collection, and a $300 admin fee. By way of contrast, a month of legit advertising on an EcoMedia box costs $900.
“There’s a fixed amount that basically covers the cost [of poster removal],” says Genseberger. It includes dispatching trucks with high-pressure cleaning devices, which also clean the street around the ads. He adds that “if you’re hit with 20, 30, 40 posters, the amount just goes up.
“It probably cost me more money to go there than the whole thing is worth,” he says, denying that this is a revenue-generating scheme.
“Eight boxes for $1,500 – oh, wow, they’re gouging. I’m sure that’s not their actual cost,” says Brent Bowman of the clean-up firm Goodbye Graffiti. He figures pro cleaning of a basic poster costs around $50 a box. “It sounds like they’re trying to punish somebody,” says Bowman, but he thinks EcoMedia has a right to protect its advertisers.
To keep his boxes clean, Genseberger says he will fight vandals all the way to court. “This is not something I like to do, but if I’m forced to, that’s the way I will go.”
Further complications could arise when the EcoMedia contract ends in October 2009, the city takes back the bins and Astral Media rolls out its slick new rubbish receptacles.
Will posterers run wild again? Will Astral raise the bar on legal threats?
We don’t know, but Blackett figures people should educate themselves on legit locations like the “99 per cent of the city’s utility poles you’re allowed to poster on.”
As for Spiral Beach’s options, Woodhead still isn’t sure if he’ll fight EcoMedia now that the June 2 ultimatum has passed, but it sure sounds like he’ll go digital with future promotion.
“It’s a cutthroat world anyway. Everyone posters over you the next day. We’ll see a shift to Facebook.”
(write-up taken from Now Magazine)
Buy your tickets for this show here
$12 advance, $15 door (+$1.50 tx & sc) Buy your tickets for this show here
Doors at 7pm, show at 9pm, come early for dinner!
“Territory” is the follow up to the Charlottetown band’s Polaris Prize nominated and internationally acclaimed sophomore album, "Little Jabs". Once again produced by Joel Plaskett, Territory builds on the promise of Little Jabs as the band continues to write and record sunny pop gems for the heart and head. Territory, however also finds Two Hours Traffic discovering the shadows at the side of the road. Right from the get go this becomes apparent as the gold into lead alchemy of the rousing opener Noisemaker kicks in and by the time the title track tells its tale of disillusionment and betrayal you know you are settling in for a drive on the darker side. Indeed, songs such as Weightless One, Drop Alcohol, Wicked Side, and Lost Boys all explore the approaching dusk but just like the more hopeful tracks on the album (Happiness Burns, Sing A Little Hymn) they all lock into the close your eyes, sing along choruses and instantly memorable lyrics that have put Two Hours Traffic on the melodic map.
Initially conceived as a two-piece, lead singer Liam Corcoran and guitarist Alec O'Hanley recruited bassist Andrew MacDonald and drummer Derek Ellis while attending university in their hometown of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. After releasing their "April Storm" EP in 2003 a friendship was struck up with Halifax hero Joel Plaskett who offered to produce the band's first proper album. They've been working together ever since. While their eponymous debut and their follow up "Isolator" EP were received warmly by critics, it wasn't until 2007's breakthrough "Little Jabs" that the world really took notice. Appearing on dozens of year-end best of lists, Little Jabs also garnered an ECMA for Best Pop Recording and was a finalist for the coveted Polaris Music Prize. Add to this, three coast to coast tours, appearances at festivals such as Hillside, CMJ and SXSW and shows across the Atlantic and you have one of the most visible and successful Canadian independent acts of the last two years.
The road is indeed calling once again and with the strength of song on their side, Two Hours Traffic will continue to drive through both the brightening dawn and the darkening dusk. Bringing their Territory to yours.
“The sound reminded me of Frankenstein on ecstacy. Whatever that sounds like was totally Spiral Beach” – Jayphives Room
How much would you say it costs to take down eight do-it-yourself concert posters? Fifty bucks at most? Try $1,470 if you hit those silver garbage bins.
That’s what Toronto band Spiral Beach found out soon after going the DIY route to promote a show at the Opera House May 17.
Within a few days, they were given an invoice from EcoMedia Direct – the company behind those ubiquitous garbage/recycling boxes.
“It [the invoice] just appeared out of nowhere. To have something like this happen is kind of uninspiring,” says teen Airick Woodhead, Spiral Beach’s guitarist. He and sister Maddy did the postering, but didn’t expect to get stuck with a bill they certainly can’t pay.
“We barely made money on that show anyway,” says Woodhead. He laughs when asked how many shows it would take to pay such a bill, simply stating, “We’re in the hole big time.”
Frank Weinstock, manager of the city’s policy and business planning unit, chuckles at the price tag, too. Weinstock says the city has a new bylaw that levies removal costs for illegal posters, “but it wouldn’t be that high.” He explains that currently the city’s litter pickers just strip ads off.
“I know the band’s freaking out, but that was not a place to put it,” cautions Weinstock.
Now you’re asking, “The city doesn’t control its own garbage bins?”
“I know it’s in the fine print, but it says on them that they’re private property,” explains Spacing publisher Matthew Blackett, who’s followed the bin biz for years.
“This comes back to an issue of the city’s willingness to sell off its own infrastructure,” says Blackett, adding, “If it were city property, the fines would be a lot less, and people would understand the rules.”
It’s clear they don’t.
Woodhead stresses that he didn’t know the hand-drawn, letter-sized flyers would elicit threats of litigation.
“There’s not a lot of opportunity to know what’s legal and what’s not,” he says. The band offered to clean off the ads, glued with a mixture of flour and water, and to help remove other ads.
“Either they’re using us as an example or the [EcoMedia] guy’s just a total prick and is doing this to everyone,” figures Woodhead.
At EcoMedia, CEO Erich Genseberger is pretty emphatic. “I want people to understand to stay off the wild postering,” he says. “It is damaging my business. As far as we’re concerned, we will stop it one way or another.”
His company started sending out invoices and legal threats three months ago and has seen a 50 per cent decrease in postering on bins. “But there are people who just keep destroying our property, and I won’t stand for that,” says Genseberger.
The invoice billed Spiral Beach $780 for cleaning and poster removal, $320 for inspection and evidence collection, and a $300 admin fee. By way of contrast, a month of legit advertising on an EcoMedia box costs $900.
“There’s a fixed amount that basically covers the cost [of poster removal],” says Genseberger. It includes dispatching trucks with high-pressure cleaning devices, which also clean the street around the ads. He adds that “if you’re hit with 20, 30, 40 posters, the amount just goes up.
“It probably cost me more money to go there than the whole thing is worth,” he says, denying that this is a revenue-generating scheme.
“Eight boxes for $1,500 – oh, wow, they’re gouging. I’m sure that’s not their actual cost,” says Brent Bowman of the clean-up firm Goodbye Graffiti. He figures pro cleaning of a basic poster costs around $50 a box. “It sounds like they’re trying to punish somebody,” says Bowman, but he thinks EcoMedia has a right to protect its advertisers.
To keep his boxes clean, Genseberger says he will fight vandals all the way to court. “This is not something I like to do, but if I’m forced to, that’s the way I will go.”
Further complications could arise when the EcoMedia contract ends in October 2009, the city takes back the bins and Astral Media rolls out its slick new rubbish receptacles.
Will posterers run wild again? Will Astral raise the bar on legal threats?
We don’t know, but Blackett figures people should educate themselves on legit locations like the “99 per cent of the city’s utility poles you’re allowed to poster on.”
As for Spiral Beach’s options, Woodhead still isn’t sure if he’ll fight EcoMedia now that the June 2 ultimatum has passed, but it sure sounds like he’ll go digital with future promotion.
“It’s a cutthroat world anyway. Everyone posters over you the next day. We’ll see a shift to Facebook.”
(write-up taken from Now Magazine)
Buy your tickets for this show here
- Categories: Past Events , Concerts , Indie Rock
