Band of the Week: Telograph

We are starting a new feature called IA's Band of the Week. Every week, we are going to pick a band that has a major event or release coming up in the region. What we do will probably be varied, but I will most likely sit down with them and conduct an interview as part of the feature. We'll see how it goes. For the first week, I choose DC's Telograph.

Telograph just released Little Bits of Plastic and are only hours removed from their arena debut. Next Saturday, they will have their official CD release party at the Black Cat with Two if by Sea and Cedars. Due to all of this, they seemed like the obvious choice for this week. Lead singer Andy Boliek was nice enough to talk with me for a few minutes…

IA: Thanks for taking the time to sit down and do this with me. I know that it has been crazy for you lately and I really appreciate it. For what it's worth, congrats on being our first ever Band of the Week.

AB: Thanks Joe, we really appreciate your interest in us and local music in general.

IA: We have a lot to talk about, but I wanted to start with your arena debut. It's only been a few hours since you got off of the stage at the Patriot Center. How did it go and how was the experience for you?

AB: It was an incredible experience.

We arrived at the venue around 2pm and spent most of the afternoon and evening preparing. The crew was nice enough to give us a pretty extensive sound check, which left us feeling very confident going into the night.

We hit the stage at 8pm, about an hour and a half after the doors opened. The place was pretty packed by this point. Playing in an arena like the Patriot Center with a powerful sound system, really gets you amped up. The kick drum and the bass sound enormous and the guitars, keyboards, and vocals fill the room. We opened with "Beneath Your Feet" and the crowd gave a very positive response. From there on out, we knew the rest of the set would be top notch.

Our set time was 25 minutes...but due to a production error, they had us come off stage one song too early. So we went back up on stage to play our last song and the crowd went crazy. It was like a mini encore.

All in all, it was an extremely positive experience. We hope to grace the stage again in the future. Oh yeah, and we have a live recording that will be surfacing soon.

Here is a link to some photos, including the one used for this piece.

IA: What aspects of that experience do you feel that you can apply to future shows at much smaller venues?

AB: The experience is much different when you play a large venue. You feel more detached because you are 5 feet off the ground and there is a wide pit in front of the stage, but the energy from the crowd is really really motivating. I'm not sure there's much that can be applied to future shows at smaller venues. However, we love playing regardless of the venue...our goal is simply to inspire the crowd and have fun.

IA: Hopefully some of that audience will come along too!

AB: I hope so! I was a bit unsure as to how O.A.R and Gomez fans would react to our music, but it was very positive. We sold a ton of CDs and t-shirts and we were approached by many people after the show asking about future shows.

IA: On Saturday, you will have your official CD release party at the Black Cat. You managed to put together an amazing bill with Two if by Sea and Cedars. How did that come about?

AB: We wanted to do our CD release show as an all local bill. Vicki at the Black Cat was nice enough to let us pick the bands. TibS and Cedars are friends of ours and we felt that it would be a fairly cohesive bill musically speaking.

IA: Do you have anything special in store for the audience at that show?

AB: You'll have to show up to find out! But yes, we do have something extra special planned. I will tell you this... it involves drum heads. And since others have decided to take over our kissing booth idea, Arash has decided to step it up a notch and give out "open mouth" kisses for $1.

IA: I wanted to talk a little bit about Little Bits of Plastic. As you know, I have had to CD for awhile. Whenever I read any press on it, everyone seems to mention "Eye For An Eye" and "Beneath Your Feet." I am guessing that those are the obvious singles?

AB: They have been noted as the catchiest songs on the CD, so we are promoting them as singles. We love all the songs equally. They're our babies and we don't pick favorites.

IA: Personally, I am a huge fan of "We Won't Settle Down." The build up and atmospheric qualities in that track are what get me.

AB: Glad you like it! We were lucky enough to have Benoit record the violin parts right before he left the band. The violin, synth pads, and guitar tracks give it the atmosphere. There's actually quite a bit of layering on this song that doesn't become obvious until you listen to it a few times.

IA: I am assuming that the EP title comes from the lyrics of "Beneath Your Feet?"

AB: Yes, "Little Bits of Plastic" is a lyric from Beneath Your Feet.

IA: What influences do you feel are apparent on this release?

AB: There are so many, but here are a few bands that we were listening to when these songs were written:

The Verve
Oasis
The Stills
Radiohead
The Strokes
The Secret Machines
Echo and the Bunnymen
Doves
The Dears

IA: If I had recently been turned on to your music either through your show at The Patriot Center or through any of the press that you have been doing lately, how could I get a copy of Little Bits of Plastic? Where is it available digitally and physically?

AB: I would tell you to come to a show and buy it. Then we can hang out and we'll say really nice things about you and your friends.

If you can't make it to a show you can order the physical copy here:

Our webpage
Myspace
CD Baby

Or you can get a digital copy at Amie Street.

We'll be on iTunes soon. We're just playing the waiting game right now.

IA: Where did the name Telograph come from?

AB: It's a secret

IA: I know that you have had some lineup changes recently. How has that changed the dynamic of the band?

AB: Benoit, our previous keyboard/violin player left the band in August to pursue a job in Montreal. It was quite a challenge to find someone to take his place... obviously, it would be difficult to find another keyboard/violin player. We played with a couple keyboardists in the months to follow, before we found JB who eventually became a full-time member.

He was a great addition to the band because of his multi-instrumental capabilities. He plays keyboard, guitar, and sings harmonies (which until now have been non-existent in a live setting). We are still secretly looking for a fifth member. If you play guitar and keyboard drop us a line at telograph@telograph.com.

IA: The DC music scene has been crazy lately. It seems like mere minutes until it explodes into the national conscience. What bands have been getting your attention?

AB: There are a lot of very talented bands in DC right now. Some of my personal favorites are Middle Distance Runner, Cedars, Army of Me, Paul Michel, and The Hard Tomorrows. I also really dig Lake Trout and Two if by Sea from Baltimore.

IA: What are your touring plans for the coming months? Also, how far are you planning on traveling to promote this release?

AB: In the next couple months, we are going to be doing several long weekends around the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. We are planning a larger scale tour for the end of Spring that will take us up the Northeast, into Canada and down through the Midwest. The objective is to play as many shows as humanly possible.

IA: Do you currently have any plans to return to the studio and put out another release?

AB: Yes. We are currently writing new material and aim to have a full-length album by this time next year. We are trying to find the right producer for our next record. Little Bits of Plastic was self-produced and we are very satisfied with the outcome, but it will be time to step it up a notch with the next album.

IA: Before we end, is there anything else that you would like to add?

AB: Come to The Black Cat this Saturday and there will be a 30% chance that you'll get a free CD and a 100% chance you will have the time of your life.

IA: Thanks again for taking the time to do this. I'll see you in a couple of weeks when you come to play in Pennsylvania.

AB: Look forward to seeing you. We're going to try to make it up the night before to catch some of our local favs.

That's it for our interview. If you would like to read more about Telograph, you can check out their piece from our 12 Bands of Christmas. I'll leave you with a couple of tracks to enjoy.

Eye For An Eye
We Won't Settle Down