The White Tie Affair: All About Fun

As The White Tie Affair played hit songs from its debut album Walk This Way on one of the side-stages at the Vans Warped Tour in Vancouver this summer, the crowd just grew and grew. The band’s popularity has increased exponentially this past year with the release of its first major label debut, an appearance on the hit MTV series The Hills, tour dates with pop diva Lady Gaga and an infectious mix of pop, rock and electronica confessed by many an iPod listener to be a guilty pleasure.

I met up with lead singer Chris Wallace and guitarist Sean-P after the Vancouver performance, and let me tell you, the band’s frenetic energy onstage is not unlike the guys’ personalities offstage. Eager to chat, but equally distracted as fans approached them for pictures, it was clear that these guys were buzzing from the excitement at Warped and their newfound fame. “[There are] just great crowds everyday,” Sean-P grins. “We just like to have fun up there,” adds Chris. “From the start our motto has kind of been: Play every show like it’s the last one you’re going to play.”

The White Tie Affair definitely has a raw, living-in-the-moment vibe that is hard to ignore – and the guys are just happy it has translated into music that reaches out to all sorts of music lovers. “Some people have told us, ‘You are like our guilty pleasure’ – guys and girls alike – that’s cool, it’s fun,” says Chris.

And although not all critics have been singing the praises of Walk This Way (“It’s had its controversy,” remarks Chris), the band is generally happy with the way the album has been received and is excited about its upcoming sophomore release. “We’re getting ready to drop another album too, so I’m excited about that. One song is called I Love Canada,” jokes Sean-P.

With the band’s wild mix of musical genres, one can only wonder where the guys get their inspiration. “Songs inspire us to write songs,” Sean-P answers simply. Given that answer, what does TWTA learn from other bands? “What to do, and what not to do,” answers Sean-P casually. “I mean how do you think I get all my material? I take it from other people,” he chuckles and gives a little nudge.

Carefree, energetic and fun, The White Tie Affair’s carpe-diem attitude is clearly contagious – and although the band claims to be playing every show like it’s the last, fans are certainly going to keep demanding more performances from these vibrant Chicago pop-rockers.