First off can you state your name and what you do
in the band?
My name is Jeff and I play guitar in the band.
You just released your self titled album. You have a
couple albums already out, what made you decide to finally put out a self
titled album?
It was a few things. The main thing is that we thought the album was a
really good statement of who we are and where we’re at musically and
lyrically. Coming from Trainwreck and the lyrical content being entirely
based around an abstract concept and a chance to get away from ourselves,
this album is taking us back to us. Also, we have our drummer Ben back in
the band now. He’s our original drummer so it’s sort of like a family
reunion. It just felt really good, everything clicked. It seemed really
appropriate to make a self titled record.
How was the writing and recording process for this
album?
We always tend to procrastinate as much as possible and we knew when we had
to record. So we were like we have to record in a month, let’s write. We did
Trainwreck that way and Make Yourself Sick that way. We just work better
under pressure. Lock ourselves into our jamspace for a month and work our
asses off. We do our best work most easily that way.
How do you feel the band has progressed since
Trainwreck?
I think if anything, we have a more clear idea of where we want to be and
where we want to go with the band. I love Trainwreck and I’m proud of it but
it’s all over the place and just us freaking out creatively and cramming as
much musically into it as we can. Whereas with this record it’s a more
focused attempt and cohesive sound.
Did you have more time on this record?
Actually we had less time with this record. Trainwreck was written in a
month as well, but we had more time with pre production and recording.
How do you feel the new material has been received
live?
Pretty good. Kids are singing along and rocking out.
How has this tour been so far?
We don’t do a lot of headlining tours. Realistically, we aren’t a very big
band. We like to do headlining tours. We get to play longer and it’s a lot
of fun. Our last tour was with Plain White T’s and they were big shows, but
they weren’t necessarily Boys Night Out fans. It’s cool playing in front of
a lot of people but they don’t care. I’d rather play to a small crowd and
have them care deeply.
What are your plans for after this tour?
After the headlining tour we meet up with Scary Kids Scaring Kids for like a
month. Then we go into Canada. Then we go to Australia and then Europe for a
little while. We really don’t have any time off until we go home for a
little bit in October. Then we pretty much tour for the rest of the
year.
Have you been out of North America before?
We’ve only done the UK. We’ve been there three or four times. The last tour
we did there was a headlining tour and it was great. It was small crowds,
but the kids that were there were super into it. The tour before that we
played with Less Than Jake and the crowds were massive, but the kids weren’t
into us. They were throwing cigarettes at us and throwing beers at us, like
they fucking hated us. The headlining tour was great though.
How is it having Ben back in the band?
It’s fucking awesome. I’ve known Ben since I was like 12. It feels like a
family reunion.
Who came up with the concept for the Up With Me video
and what was the video making process like?
It was the director who came up with the concept. We worked with the same
guy who did the video for Trainwreck. We gave him the song and the next day
he was like “Here’s what I’m thinking”. He’s a great director. The video
making process is pretty hectic. We shot in like ten different locations. We
were up at five in the morning working until like nine at night. It was
pretty wild. We did a lot of it at my house. It was a lot of fun. A lot of
our friends got to be there and that was cool.
If you could play a show with any three artists, past
or present, who would they be?
It would be Lifetime, Knapsack, and Jawbreaker. They’re three of my all time
favorite bands. They’re all big influences as well.
Where did you get the bands name from?
It was originally from the Adam Sandler movie Billy Madison. I was in like a
ska-skate punk band and we changed our name to Boys Night Out. When this
version of the band got together in like 2000, we adopted the name.
You were previously an actor. What was it like being
on the Goosebumps show?
It was fun. I did it when I was like 9 years old until I was 14. It was a
lot of fun. I made some money and had some fun with it, but then music took
over. I started playing guitar and started playing in bands.
Besides Goosebumps, what other acting have you done?
I did The Santa Claus. Aside from that, I did a lot of voiceover work. A lot
of small roles and a lot of Canadian shows. Nothing else really big though.
That’s all that we have for you. Any last words?
Check out our new records.
