Tokyo Police Club

The Tokyo Police Club certainly knows how to be playful.
The band’s video for their single "Wait Up" features a pack a dogs rampaging through town, with
some of them ending up taking a dip in a swimming pool.
The shots of the joyous pack intercut with shots of the band members David Monks, Josh Hook, Graham
Wright and Greg Alsop, playing in what looks like a finished basement, captures the spirit of the band.
Their sound has the crunch of indie rock with a knack for catchy pop hooks.
Though they’ve toured widely both with top flight headliners or on their own, and though they’ve toured
with Weezer and played "The David Letterman Show" and "Desperate Housewives," they
retain the freshness of a band of buddies who have known each other since grade school.
The band came together in the members hometown of Newmarket, Ontario, drawn by similar tastes in music,
bands such as Arcade Fire and The Strokes, said guitarist Josh Hook, in a recent telephone interview. It
was the last year in high school, he said. After that some members went off to college. Starting with
the 16 minutes of music on "A Lesson In Crime" released in 2006, they decided to make a run
with the band. University would wait.
More music spilled out including the debut album "Elephant Shell" in 2008 and last year’s
"Champ."
The band has been touring constantly in support of "Champ," and now is looking toward heading
back to the studio, maybe in spring, Hook said, to start on a new album.
In the meantime they’ll be stopping in Bowling Green at Howard’s Club H, 210 N. Main St. for a show
Friday at 9 p.m. Tickets are $13. Call (419) 352-3195.
The Bowling Green show is the last in their latest swing, which has taken them to some "cool"
rooms, Hook said, including the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., and Terminal Five in New York City.
And though their touring will slow down after they wind up their America swing at Howard’s, they still
have some dates set in Canada including playing at the Heritage Classic outdoor hockey game in Calgary
in Feb. 20.
Being associated with the annual outdoor game between Canadian NHL franchises – the Calgary Flames and
Montreal Canadiens, this year – "is a true honor," Hook said. The best part, he added,
"is they’ll let us skate" on the game ice.
Hook said Tokyo Police Club is excited to play just about any venue.
They approach a performance "having confidence in knowing your craft and conveying the best possible
version of your songs."
That will include their singles, most of the songs off "Champ," and "a smattering from
previous releases," he said.
The songs are so compact, "we do cover a lot of ground."
Band members do "take a few liberties" with the songs, stretching out just a bit, Hook said.
"You don’t want to spread too much. People have a connection to what they heard on the album, but
you want to give another dynamic to the live performance."
While on tour, the band concentrates on the live shows. Still ideas for new songs crop up, and once it
comes time in the studio to air them "you realize how many you subconsciously have stored up while
touring."
Generally the songs start with lead singer and bassist David Monks. He’ll bring in some lyrics and maybe
a chord progression.
Then we "take it apart and reassemble it," Hook said. "You try to let the song mature in
its own way."
Hook said the band realized they were penetrating the market "when people start downloading your
music for free."
Of course, the band hopes that will lead to more sales. "That’s the idea behind it," Hook said.