• What does TNG stand for? and what does the band name mean to you?
Jeff: It’s a toss-up between Three Nice Guys or The Nice Genies. We’re actually just down with keeping it an acronym. Acronyms are hot right now. LOL.
• If you described TNG in one word, what would it be and why?
Jeff: Raw.
• Your debut album, It’s About Time…, was released in summer of 2011 after 3 years since the formation of the band. How was the process of song selection for this record?
Jeff: It was difficult. There was a lot of push and pull between including new material or putting a lot of our old stuff on the album. In the end, most of the songs on the album were songs that had been written in the few months before the album release. Most of it is very new, but we still wanted to give some of our old stuff justice.
• The album enclosed the high energy of the band.- It is the album that makes me want to see TNG live. Was it a challenging aspect to capture some of that on the record?
Jeff: It was definitely challenging, but I think many rock and roll bands have that problem. We dealt with it by recording most of the album live off the floor, which I think helped preserve our loose, raw feel. The tunes were cut as if they were live with Evan, Frank and I in the same room, with the vocals recorded after. It’s always hard to reproduce that live energy, but I think we came pretty close.
• It’s already six months from the album release. Do you think these songs from the album represent the path you are heading to or has it been evolving into a different form ?
Jeff: Already I think we’ve started to grow a little since we released these songs, but they definitely point in the same direction that we’re going. We’re becoming more focused on the sound we want to have, and It’s About Time… displays the beginning of that, but I think the next album will be a more concise picture of who we are.
• Any particular songs that you like to perform from the album and why.
Jeff: I’m partial to Hit Me, but You Better Run is also a favourite of mine.
• If you could tour across Canada with anyone from Toronto, who would it be?
Jeff: Opening for Death From Above 1979 would be a good match I think. We would probably have to cut some of our slower stuff, and mic the shit out of the bass drum, but I think we’d work well together.
• What’s on your playlist right now?
Jeff: I’ve been listening to Fucked Up’s new album “David Comes to Life”. It’s pretty intense. Cage the Elephant’s new live disc is also in the rotation.
• The last show at Parts and Labour on Feb 2rd was shut down by the police. What happened?
Jeff: Apparently we are just too loud for the side of Queen West. I don’t think they are used to wild rock and roll shows at that bar.
• A couple of shows coming up in Feb-April in Toronto. What can we expect from these shows?
Jeff: Hopefully a lesser police presence. But definitely a wild time including kazoo solos, dancing flowers, stage dives, and shin kicks. Catch us Feb. 15 at the Cherry Cola’s, or March 3 at the Silver Dollar. If you want all the show details, check us out on facebook.com/tngrules
