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“It’s really strange, everyone keeps telling us how fast everything is happening, but it’s the first time we’ve ever done it. So we just think ‘This is normal isn’t it?’.” But playing T In The Park, performing on ‘Later …with Jools Holland’, supporting Snow Patrol and being awarded ‘single of the week’ on numerous radio stations, means life for the Air Traffic lads has been far from normal.
Lead guitarist Tom Pritchard admits to Gigwise in their Newcastle dressing room: “Yeah actually…it does feel crazy. But it’s the kind of thing that when you get to one step you suddenly want to better that. Now we’ve played a festival, we want to headline it in the future. We were going around for years in the back of vans, then we got a tour bus and we were so happy as we’d always wanted one. But now we are like ‘we want a plane!’ When does it stop? That’s the thing.”
Ambitious yes, arrogant definitely not. Air Traffic are four south-coast lads who understand the significance of their roots and are appreciative of the chance they have worked so hard to create. Tom explains: “The main advantage of coming from Bournemouth was there’s not a massive music heritage there, if there is anything at all from Bournemouth. We didn’t have any competition or anyone to live up to. We could just be ourselves. When we moved to London it did help a bit but there are so many bands in London all trying to compete with each other and that can be a downfall. So it was kind of nice coming from the outside, in.”
The story of Air Traffic started nearly four years ago as Tom recollects: “Me and Dave the drummer went to school together and started the band. Then we came across Chris (lead singer) through various other friends we’d made and that’s when Air Traffic started. Jim our bass player joined a few months later as the guy we had before decided to do something else. Then we did the whole practising and playing around Bournemouth. When it became time to go to Uni we decided to all head to London.”
Although the success of their band was the ultimate goal, the safety net of also getting further education and a degree relieved any pressure to make it. Worries it seemed they didn’t have, as the lads’ views on London and the record label industry were firmly seen through rose-tinted spectacles. This was soon smashed by the stark reality of their first capital gig, as Tom winches: “Our first ever London gig was a complete shambles, we were so naïve. We had this mentality that ‘We are in London now, we are going to get signed straight away’. Tom lets out an embarrassed chuckle then states: “how wrong we turned out to be. Everything just went wrong that day.”
A little bit more realism set in and things started to soon pick up for the band and the big break was made. “We did a few gigs on the unsigned bands circuit, a guy turned up, who ended up producing our album and eventually got us signed to EMI, he just really liked us and saw potential. He helped us with demos and paid for some rehearsal time so he really sorted us out and developed us. We started chipping away at the labels and eventually we were lucky enough to be signed to one.”
EMI were chosen for a reason. Air Traffic craved control of their own sound and EMI granted their wishes. Tom confirmed: “We went with EMI because of the fact they let us get on with it rather than commanding ‘do this, do that’. We had control of our sound and that was vital to us.”
Air Traffic are amassing fans at a huge rate thanks to stunning performances, a peach of a debut album and, of course, Myspace. Tom is aware of what a vital role Myspace plays in a modern band’s success and stated: “We try and keep the whole Myspace thing to ourselves and monitor it as much as we can. It’s obviously hard when you are touring because we don’t have the internet or much time. It is great to get the feedback and reactions straight from the fans. At the end of the day they are the ones who tell you what is real.”
Feedback from fans is one thing, gifts are another. As some Japanese fans have recently taken to the lads and have gone to some length to show their devotion. A bemused Tom reveals: “There’s a few Japanese fans and they give you the weirdest little presents. We’ve had a necklace that had little pieces on it that looked just like the cereal Lucky Charms” Gigwise obviously enquired if they had a nibble to check? Tom straight-faced, admitted: “Yeah…..they weren’t Lucky Charms! …. They were pretty hard. We’ve also had weird puzzles and some origami things, it’s quite funny.”
Adoration in whatever form is a sign of success and appreciation of what they do. But the Air Traffic lads’ recent visit to Stoke did not exactly achieve such a warm reception. Tom laments: “We were in Stoke a couple of months back and there were a few crazy people trying to get into the tour bus. They smashed windows and everything. It’s pretty dangerous on a Friday night there.” Luckily the bus started that night which has not always been the case as Tom quietly complains: “Our tour bus is always breaking down” looking over his shoulder to check the driver was not in close proximity, admitting: “I don’t want to get slapped round the face.”
The foursome can already boast of having a sold-out single as their double A-side featuring ‘Charlotte’ and ‘Just Abuse Me’ was snapped up in super quick time. The fact there were only a couple of hundred copies available doesn’t need to be mentioned as Tom jokes: “We were only starting out then so we did a limited edition which was pretty cool. We can always say we’ve had a sold-out single, even though we didn’t sell mountains. But we can always pretend it was thousands and thousands!”
Air Traffic’s progression in 2007 has been rapid, with no sign of slowing down, but naturally a few of the opportunities handed to them has caused a bout of nerves or two. “When we did the Snow Patrol gig that was pretty crazy and we all felt very nervous” admitted Tom. “Its hard playing to festivals as well as they are probably not there to see you, so you have to try even harder to win them over and just pray for a warm reception. But so far we’ve had a good reaction.”
As Air Traffic’s world starts to get more chaotic with a massive chunk of it being on the road, it means life outside the band is on hold. The band is their life at present as Tom revealed: “We don’t really do anything else, it’s so full on at the moment.” Gigwise politely enquires if the lads would still all hang out if there wasn’t the band? “Yeah probably… I say probably, maybe we wouldn’t anymore” jokes Tom, his tongue firmly placed in his cheek. Life on the road can be tough but Tom is pretty objective about it all: “You occasionally miss people, as when you speak to them on the phone now you just keep saying ‘oh I haven’t seen you for ages’. But when you’re on tour you just forget everything really, it’s a different world.”
As a fledgling band Air Traffic are being labelled ‘the new Coldplay or Keane’ but Tom was expectant of this as he realises: “when you start out as a band you’ve got to be compared to someone that people can instantly latch onto, so because we have a piano we obviously get the Coldplay and Keane thing, but it’s ok.” The fact is Air Traffic are not a carbon copy of any band and comparisons do more harm than good, stripping away the band’s individuality and identity.
Hanging backstage at festivals such as T in the Park, the lads may have presumed they would be milling with their idols, but so far this has not been the case: “Everyone was in there own little world at T, I think when you get to a certain level, everyone has masses of people surrounding them so you just tend to leave them alone.”
A big money record deal with EMI may give you the impression the band are not short of a few bob, but this money will not be seen for some time yet as Tom tries to explain the complexities to Gigwise. “It a weird one, it’s all a big advance, it’s like a massive bank and you have to pay off the biggest loan of your life really. But he still harbours a dream for when the money does start coming in: “I’ve always wanted a Ford Mustang. I want the one on the end of the film ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds’. But I haven’t really thought of that side yet.” Of course not Tom, just the endless dreams of the Mustang then!
Looking to the future, he continues: “We are going to carry on touring and try and get a bigger profile of our name”. said Tom, “As we are still a very new, small band. There are a few European things we want to do as well.” Asked if he enjoys the PR side of it, Tom diplomatically states : “Its alright, I mean you always hear people moaning about it, but I think if you want to be a successful band, part of it is doing a lot of promo and it can be quite fun sometimes.”
If Air Traffic’s profile sky-rockets and they become the next big thing, will Tom be the same guy? “I hope so, if not, I think the other 3 guys will give me a slap hopefully. We kind of got a lot of the teething problems out the way a long time ago”
Air Traffic are four focused, level-headed lads armed with the charisma and, more importantly, the songs to go far. With V festival and a September tour to come, Air Traffic are certainly cleared for take off.
