The White Tie Affair
(aka TWTA) is a pop rock/electronica band from Chicago, Illinois. The members consist of: Sean-P (guitar), Chris Wallace (vocals), Tim McLaughlin (drums)and Ryan McClain (keyboard). In early 2007, the band signed with Epic Records/Slightly Dangerous and released their debut album, Walk This Way
in April 2008. The album contains the band's two singles, "Allow Me To Introduce Myself...Mr. Right" and "Candle (Sick and Tired)", which have been featured on MTV's TRL and The Hills. The latter song is also receiving significant airplay on mainstream top 40 radio stations as of March 19, 2009.
According to the band's biography, "the two founding members both agreed that they wanted to bring some fun back to a music scene that largely focuses on the negative aspects of life." The band's influences include Prince, Stevie Wonder, AFI, and The Police.
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THE WHITE TIE AFFAIR TICKETS
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History
Growing up in Chicago, the band started piecing together sounds - everything from Stevie Wonder to AFI to The Police and came up with original, catchy songs. The White Tie Affair finally unveiled their musical work, playing shows all over Chicago. Their home city continues to greet them with open arms as the band has sold out the Beat Kitchen and has been main support for Lucky Boys Confusion at the annual reunion show at the Metro.
The band signed with
Epic Records/Slightly Dangerous in 2007 and began touring with such artists as:
Secondhand Serenade,
Making April,
Innerpartysystem,
Metro Station,
The Medic Droid, and
Kill Hannah. In the fall of 2007, the band recorded their debut album,
Walk This Way,
at Annetenna Studios in Burbank, CA. In January 2008, bass player Jeremy Johnson left the band and was replaced by Ryan Cook, who also left the band in February 2009.
In March 2008, the band was invited to perform at the annual "Pajama Party" at the Playboy Mansion. That summer, TWTA joined the 2nd Annual
True Colors Tour for the show's Midwestern leg, sharing the stage with
Cyndi Lauper,
the B-52's and
Rosie O'Donnell. TWTA also headlined several dates of Kill Hannah's
Hope for the Hopeless tour during this time, along with
The Medic Droid. That fall the band was part of
Playboy's Girls of the Big 10 Tour and was featured in a fashion spread in the magazine's November issue. TWTA was also featured on episode six of
MTV's
The Hills. In December of 2008, the band's remix of
All Black
was included in
Good Charlotte's
Greatest Remixes
release.
In 2009, the White Tie Affair toured with
Secondhand Serenade and served as the opening act for
Lady Gaga, who started her first solo North American tour,
The Fame Ball Tour, in March. Following the Lady Gaga tour, the band will take part in Van's 2009
Warped Tour. The White Tie Affair (or at least Sean P., Chris Wallace, Ryan McClain, and Tim McLaughlin) will join bands such as
Thrice,
NOFX,
3OH!3,
All Time Low,
Cash Cash, and
Alexisonfire at the summer-long music festival.
Commercial Debut
On April 22, 2008, the White Tie Affair released its major label debut,
Walk This Way
. The album contains the singles
Allow Me To Introduce Myself...Mr. Right
and
Candle (Sick and Tired)
. Produced by
Matt Mahaffey and
Jeff Turzo of
Wired All Wrong, the album was recorded at Annetenna Studios in Burbank, CA. in the fall of 2007. The music videos for
Mr. Right
and
Candle (Sick and Tired)
debuted on
No Good TV in the spring of 2008 and were also featured on
MTV's
TRL. The uncut director's version of the two videos reached 400,000 views on
YouTube, and was the most watched
YouTube video on March 29, 2008. In December 2008, director Jon Watts filmed a new video for
Candle (Sick and Tired)
which featured
Jessica Lee Rose, as well as cameos by Joel and Benji Madden of the band
Good Charlotte in the tour bus scene. Watts has previously filmed videos for numerous bands including
Death Cab for Cutie and the artist
Fatboy Slim.
Live Show/Style
The band has been critically acclaimed for their dynamic live shows. Many of TWTA's songs are dance songs which the band performs with a kinetic energy that thrives off of audience interaction. An article from the
Chicago Sun Times
describes the sound:
There’s a chance the White Tie Affair is on the cutting edge by adopting that “has a beat and can be danced to” mentality. “In my opinion, it seems like music is leaning toward that,” Wallace says. “Hellogoodbye and Justin Timberlake kind of let us know that it was OK to do that. That took the pressure off and paved the way for us to do what we love without falling in line with a scene. The White Tie Affair sounds like a fusion of Timberlake and AFI working together to create pop for the PlayStation generation.
– Kyle Koster
, Staff Reporter, Chicago Sun Times
.
In an October 31, 2008
New York Times
review, music critic Jon Pareles writes that The White Tie Affair's style is "leaning toward new-wave guitar and mixing apologies with come-ons." The band's post-punk guitar riffs and driving drumbeats combined with catchy lyrics create a fresh poppy-rock sound that is both infectious and fun.
In early 2009,
The Price of Company
was used in advertisements for the movie
Miss March
. That March, they were featured in the Verizon Wireless's Rhapsody commercial with their song
Candle (Sick and Tired).
In April 2009, the band was also featured in .
Discography
Albums
| Year
| Album
| Chart peak positions
| Singles
|
| U.S. 200
| World
|
| 2008
| Walk This Way
- Released on April 22, 2008
- Label: Sony
| 59
| —
|
- "Allow Me To Introduce Myself... Mr. Right"
- "Candle (Sick and Tired)"
- "The Letdown"
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| "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
|
EP
| Year
| Album details
|
| 2007
| Scene Change
- Released:
- Label: Epic
- Format: CD
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| 2008
| Get In Where You Fit In
- Released:
- Label: Epic
- Format: CD
|