"Two Hours Traffic" - Interview!

I have been sitting on this short interview for a little while now. I ordered the new single by “Two Hours Traffic” from their label “Bumstead Records” and somewhere along the way the 45 got lost in the mail.

 

 

 

 

 

This was no fault to “Bumstead” and they were super eager to make it right by sending another copy ASAP! Great service! I highly recommend ordering from them to anybody!

 

I have to give “Bumstead Records” credit really. This 45 is beautiful! Nice glossy sleeve as well as a heavy piece of vinyl for a 45! They also packed it in its own poly sleeve which is always a bonus!

A very short intro of “Two Hours Traffic”, they are a great band based in Charlottetown, PEI. These guys met at University on the island and started jamming and recording together. They gave a copy of their demo to Joel Plaskett which proved to be a great move as he loved it!

Joel has been involved in their career over the years producing the majority of their albums, with this single being the first that has not been produced by Joel.

 

But enough about Joel! These guys have the talent and ability to pull their own weight in this business and have been doing a great job of doing just that!

 

 

Without further ado, the following is a short interview with “Two Hours Traffic” singer Liam Corcoran.

Maritime Vinyl – Aside from your initial demo EP "The April Storm", the "Siren Spell" EP is the first studio recording that was not produced by Joel Plaskett. How different is it having a new producer? Can you foresee working with Joel again on future releases?



Liam - We had gotten used to a certain routine with our last few records and it seemed like the right time to make a change. We had the new lineup together and we decided to switch everything else up as well - new studio, new producer, and for the first time we recorded outside of the Maritimes (in Mono, Ontario). We sent Darryl Neudorf our demos and he seemed to genuinely like them. Not only that, but he recognized a lot of our influences and he knew what kind of sound we were going for. Darryl has a great studio on his property in Mono and we felt very at home there. It was a pleasure to make the record.

Joel Plaskett is a good friend of ours and he continues to be a kind of mentor to us. We still go to him for advice on a regular basis. He is an excellent producer and without his help we probably wouldn't be making music today. I wouldn't be surprised if we worked with Joel again somewhere down the line. We simply felt that we had to step outside our comfort zone for this latest record.

 

Maritime Vinyl – A lot of "Two Hours Traffic" songs appear on American and Canadian television shows. How has this method of "getting your music out there" had an effect on your success?

Liam - Getting songs on TV shows is a decent way to expose your music to an American audience. We still haven't done a lot of touring in the US so we've got to take whatever exposure we can get. As a result of these TV placements, we have sold a considerable number of singles on iTunes. We would love to follow up on this by doing some more extensive touring south of the border.

 

Maritime Vinyl – You included with the "Armour than Amis" 7" a download card for the remaining songs that are on the EP. I absolutely love this idea! Do you think people are buying the 7" just for the nostalgia and using the download cards for the music or do you think many are spinning the vinyl like myself?

 

Liam - Some people are definitely buying the 7" as a keepsake but I know from talking to people at shows that many of them will be throwing it on the record player. We just like giving people both formats so you can have the superior vinyl sound at home but also take the mp3s with you on your iPod.

 

Maritime Vinyl – How has the 7" with the download card been received? Will you do this again?

 

Liam - We have actually been using the download cards for several years, ever since we put out Little Jabs on vinyl. Our last album Territory also had a download card included. We really love it when someone buys one of our records on vinyl so we don't have a problem throwing in the mp3s as a thank you.