September 11 / 2024 –

A Fond Farewell to Tokyo Police Club

When Tokyo Police Club announced that the band would be parting ways a few months ago, the initial reactions rolled in. The band was a staple of mid-2000s indie rock. With their debut EP in 2006, A Lesson In Crime, Tokyo Police Club broke onto the scene with energetic flair. With tracks like “Nature Of The Experiment” and “Be Good”, the Toronto natives demonstrated a youthful, guitar driven sound and quickly dug out a niche for themselves in the rock landscape. 

The prevailing thematic idea in Tokyo Police Club’s music, for me, was a sense of careless fun that was punctuated by a surprising musicianship. Over the years, it’s a part of their image that the band held on to. But it was easier to do in their growing period. As the high school friends got older and lives changed, the band began to slip away from the spotlight. A hiatus and two anniversary albums later, the group announced that they would be disbanding as of 2024. 

Ahead of their farewell tour, I was able to ask a few questions of TPC’s drummer and founding member Greg Alsop as he reflects on the story of Tokyo Police Club.

Real Goblin: I wanted to begin by saying that this band has been so formative for my music taste over the years. And I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that. How did Tokyo Police Club first begin?

Greg Alsop: We all grew up together in Newmarket Ontario – just north of Toronto. Dave, Graham and Josh were in the same class from 4th Grade on and I was at the same school, just two years ahead. I started hanging out with them a bit in high school – we were all in the school musical together and at the time, were the only people who knew bands like Bloc Party or The Rapture so we kind of bonded over that. 

They had been making music together for a bit, but needed a drummer, so over the summer I started jamming with them. It all clicked so instantly. We’d all work our summer jobs during the day, meet up in the evening at Graham or Josh’s basement, order a pizza and make music till it was too late to be that loud anymore and then pile into one of our parents’ cars and drive around town listening to Tyrannosaurus Hives or You Forgot it in People over and over again. 

Music was everything back then. There was so much freedom to just soak in together all day everyday. It was awesome. 

Real Goblin: A Lesson in Crime was an incredible debut EP. I remember checking this CD out from the library and listening to it on repeat in my LEGO brick shaped CD player. What were some of your biggest influences back in those days? And how did those change and evolve over the course of your discography?

Greg Alsop: In lots of ways it was all the music happening in that 2001-2005 era. The Strokes were massive for us. The Libertines, Yeah Yeah Yeahs,The Vines. Radiohead was at the very top for us, but in an almost inaccessible way. Kid A and Amnesiac seemed like they were almost another language musically – we didn’t have access to sampling and synths but we had guitars and drums and could crank a delay pedal, so it was more those garage rock bands that felt like something we could do ourselves.

Growing up in the suburbs and being teenagers then, we didn’t really have access to the city’s underground scene. It felt like that stuff was strictly 19+, but we could usually go to the all-ages shows when bands would come through Toronto and we would make a point of hitting those.  

We went to see The Vines with OKGo opening. The Libertines with Adam Green. Yeah Yeah Yeahs with TV on the Radio, when all TV on the Radio had was their first EP. Having bands like that come through Toronto and introduce you to other bands was one of the best ways to fall in love with something new. And the next day we’d all be charged up, meet up in a basement and go “let’s do THAT” and try to recreate the magic we’d just witnessed. 

Real Goblin: Do you have any standout memories from your time as a band?

Greg Alsop: Definitely, but the more I reminisce and the more we’ve been going through old footage and pictures from the past 18 years the more it’s the “chill” or “down” moments that have been sticking with me. Like playing a festival in Norway, staying up all night with the guys, watching the sun barely set and then almost immediately rise again. I don’t know. It’s the moments that don’t feel like “band” moments but that I wouldn’t have gotten if not for being in the band that feel the most present and special to me right now. 

Real Goblin: When did you decide it was time to hang up your hats?

Greg Alsop: We’re all just at a different time of our lives. Most of us have kids. We live in different places. I will always love these guys, this band and making and playing music together. It’s just time to move onto something new and it feels best to do it on our terms. To say a proper goodbye. Or – ‘so long for now’. I don’t know if we’ll never do Tokyo Police Club again. I just know that after this it’ll be a minute – and right now that feels like the right thing to do in the moment. 

Real Goblin: What will you miss most about Tokyo Police Club? And what are you looking forward to from the tour?

Greg Alsop: The shows have always been with this band. I can’t wait to play all of these final shows and be in those cities again. We’re also really on right now. We’ve got the energy and connection between us and every show has just felt like magic over this first run. I really can’t wait to do it one more time. 

Real Goblin: Fans will be sad to see you go. Is there any hope of future music from individual band members going forward? 

Greg Alsop: We all have other music going on, other solo things and projects. Definitely not the end of making music for any of us. And maybe we’ll all do stuff in different ways together in the future. We all have such a strong musical shorthand and connection together and I love creating with these people, so I’m sure we’ll all call on each other to do stuff when we can. Keep an ear out…!

Real Goblin: Just wanted to conclude by saying that you were a big part of my pre-teen years and that you will be greatly missed.

Greg Alsop: Thank you. Truly. Hearing that means so much, because I really can remember being that age and finding the music and bands that just soundtracked so much of my life. So it’s incredible that we got to be a part of that with you. 

Real Goblin: Any parting words for the fans?

Greg Alsop: We just really want to thank everyone for it all. It’s been an incredible run over all these years and having you be on this with us means everything. Let’s do it one last time. Can’t wait to see you all again soon 🙂

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Tokyo Police Club embarks on a farewell tour on September 13th. Dates are below.

TPC will say goodbye with a run of sold out hometown shows at HISTORY in Toronto, becoming
the first band ever to play four consecutive nights at the venue.