Expect a live acoustic recording from Telegraph Canyon in the next few months

by Jessica Harp

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They'll have an invitation-only show in Fort Worth and then turn out the record quickly thereafter.

DALLAS — Fort Worth indie/folk band Telegraph Canyon has been on the local music radar for four years now, but recently they have been accumulating a lot of buzz, both locally and nationally, for their most recent album The Tide and Current. The accolades for Telegraph Canyon have come from the likes of Paste Magazine as well as Rolling Stone, but the musicians still seem humble.

The seven-piece band – which features a multitude of instruments from the standard guitar/bass/drums combination, as well as the not-so-common banjo, violin, accordion, marching bass drum, harmonica, bells, and vibes – opened the 6th anniversary show at the Granada Theater in Dallas with their ethereal and fragile-yet-steadfast tunes.

Before the Telegraph Canyon went onstage to perform to the packed theater – who were also there to see Boise, Idaho band Finn Riggins and the renowned indie band Built To Spill – the septet chatted with PegNews, which revealed their upcoming release of an acoustic album, a new record to be released sometime in 2011, and just exactly how they feel about their music being featured in an episode of Gossip Girl.

PegNews: How was your European tour?

Chris Johnson (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo): The Netherlands is where it was all centered around; it was beautiful. The people were great and treated us really well. We got onto several really big festival shows. I think we were really lucky for it to be our first time to play in front of so many people.

How do you choose which instruments you want to use in each song?

It is all decided when we orchestrate it all. We need different parts covered, and when we are writing and arranging stuff together, a lot of times everyone is just switching around the whole time. Some things are obvious and sometimes they just stumble along.

Should fans expect any new music out any time soon?

We have done several shows that were all acoustic – meaning no microphones or anything like that – some of them in Europe, and they went over really well. We rearranged everything kind of on the spot, so we decided that we are going to do this somewhat-live acoustic recording that will all be done at one time. It is going to be an invitation-only thing that we will be doing in Fort Worth and we are going to put that record out in the next couple of months.

We are also working on doing a split 7-inch between now and the end of the year, which will have a new song on it. Then we are recording a new record in December and January. I don’t know how long it is going to take to get that done, but hopefully we will have at least some of it available by SXSW.

Who are your favorite local bands?

RTB2, Theater Fire from Fort Worth, [and] we all love Sarah Jaffe and Doug Burr.

How has Fort Worth (or DFW as a whole) influenced your music?

Honestly, I don’t think that it would be any different than if we all were living in Kentucky. I really don’t – unless you are trying to sound like people that are in your town. But I feel like most local bands sound different from each other. I don’t hear a lot of bands that all fall into the same category. I feel like there is a support network of people that effects how you get the job done and how it sounds musically. I don’t think the city or the area really has much to do with it.

What do you think about one of Telegraph Canyon’s songs being featured on Gossip Girl?

I don’t feel bad, I don’t have a punk image about it. I knew someone was going to give us a check, but I just wanted people to hear it. Song placement is one of those things that if you [are] in the business of being an indie band and you need money to tour and you are just trying to reach people, then it is a really good avenue to seek. Sometimes they put your music on Law & Order sometimes they put your music on Gossip Girl, but you basically sign with a company that pimps your music out.

How does it work?

There are song placement companies – that don’t pick up your music unless they like it and want to work it – and they basically are like contractors in a way. They work for the CW [for example] and they roundup the music, give some options that the network could be looking for, and then they hack your shit up and turn it down real low.

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