PAUL: “Hi, can you please introduce yourself and your band?”
JEFF: “My name’s Jeff, and i play in Boys Night Out.”
PAUL: “I believe some of you, if not all, were in bands before BNO…how did you become a band and what influences did your older bands have on the new incarnation?”
JEFF: “We’ve all been playing in different bands together for years. Anything from skatepunk to ska, to metal to indie rock. as far as influences go.. I was in a metal band called river city ransom and i ripped off tons of that stuff for older BNO material. i don’t know if the ska really influenced at all. if anything, the only influence the older bands had was just getting us to play better together and be better musicians.”
PAUL: “I guess some people are bound to lump you in with the ‘screamo’ genre explosion. Do you feel uncomfortable being tagged in with that scene when all you have in common with bands of that ilk are aggressive lyrics?”
JEFF: “I don’t think anyone in any band around right now likes their music being called screamo, it totally demeans what the music actually is. I guess it fits though. We have screaming and we put emotion into our music, so looks like we’re a screamo band. What a bummer.”
PAUL: “I think the best genre description I heard of you was ‘violentcore’. Have there been any others that you have heard that have made you laugh? For all the lazy journalists out there, how would you describe yourselves?”
JEFF: “Killcore, dickheadcore, pussycore, lifetimecore, cowbellcore. i’d just say we’re a punk rock band with many different influences in our writing and the end product is just more diverse songs. We have some lighter stuff, some acoustic stuff, some heavier stuff with breakdowns and aside from that i just spend all my time trying to rip off Grade songs.”
PAUL: “When many people think about Canadian music they think of Bryan Adams and Celine Dion, yet the likes of yourselves, Jude The Obscure and Alexisonfire seem to be doing your bit. Why do you think there has been an explosion in bands being recognised and coming from Canada?”
JEFF: “Because there’s lots of talent in the area we’re from and with the internet, and just a general international interest in this area of Canada, it’s become super easy for word to travel about the good bands we have up here.”
PAUL: “How did the deal with Ferret come about? That label is quickly developing into one of the most diverse around isn’t it?”
JEFF: “Ferret has a ton of really talented bands that are getting lots of well deserved recognition. It came about through MP3.com. Carl at ferret heard about us through the grapevine, checked us out on MP3.com, and signed us.”
PAUL: “Speaking of Ferret, have you had chance to check out labelmates, and UK band, Funeral for a Friend? What do you think?”
JEFF: “It’s not really my thing.”
PAUL: “You’ve toured with a diverse range of bands, from hardcore bands like Atreyu to bands like Straylight Run and even Catch 22. Is it difficult to play to a different audience and how have you gone down with fans of those bands?”
JEFF: “Metal shows suck, the kids hate us. The catch tour ruled, the fans were awesome, and lots of our own fans came out to all the shows, so it was a good mix. Aside from metal shows, any show we play, at least a few of the kids there will be into us.”
PAUL: “On a similar note, who has been your favourite band to tour with, and why?”
JEFF: “Probably catch 22. just cause it was the longest tour we did and we had an awesome time with those dudes every night. Other favourite bands are from autumn to ashes, fulblast and fordirelifesake.”
PAUL: “Whilst talking about touring, I know there are a lot of UK fans who would love to see you on these shores. Are there any plans in the pipeline to make it over to the UK?”
JEFF: “Ya, we just confirmed like a weeks worth of shows there at the end of February.”
PAUL: “The EP was obviously a lot more aggressive musically than ‘Make Yourself Sick’. Did you decide to tone it down slightly for the album or was the end result a more natural process?”
JEFF: “I wouldn’t say ‘Make Yourself Sick’ is less aggressive, the songs are just better put together. There’s no lame metal riffs, mismatched with lame emo parts. We just spent more time developing the songs. It was definately a natural process.”
PAUL: “Obviously the murder/death obsession is one that you’ve nailed as your own…how did that come about and are you all closet psychopaths or is just an unhealthy obsession?!”
JEFF: “I’d say it’s a completely healthy obsession. What better medium to get out the worst of us then in our lyrics. It’s just art immitating itself. We don’t want to kill anyone, it’s just catharsis for us and we’re excercising our artistic muscle in the best way we know how – drugs, death, and rock ‘n’roll.”
PAUL: “Lyrically BNO are quite possibly one of the best bands around, in my opinion, at the minute. There’s a lot of alliteration and sibilance used for dramatic effect so the lines are more poetic than most. Is there a conscious decision to pay particular detail to the lyrics by using such literary styles?”
JEFF: “Definately. Connor spends lots of time on lyrics and i help out where I can.”
PAUL: “On a similar note, how does the creative process work? Does the music come before the lyrics or vice-versa?”
JEFF: “Music usually comes first. I’ll write the song, bring it to practise, then as a band we’ll put it all together and eveyrone will contribute their own part.”
PAUL: “On the album one of my favourite songs is ‘Yeah, No…I Know’ – even though it’s so different to the other songs. Is this kind of style something we may see more of in the future?”
JEFF: “Possibly, yeah. it’s my favourite song on the record but i don’t know, i don’t think we have any idea what our new record is going to sound like yet.”
PAUL: “What other plans do you have for 2004? Are we likely to see another release?”
JEFF: “We’re definately going to have another full length recorded before the year is up. Aside from that, we’ll be touring our asses off all year.”