High frequency

>> Treble Charger's Trevor MacGregor takes it up a notch

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

After six years of guitar-playing and dues-paying, Toronto's pop-punk poster boys Treble Charger have hit the big time with their latest release Wide Awake Bored. The Mirror caught up with drummer Trevor MacGregor to talk about fame, midgets and taking the USA.

Mirror: The new album seems to be a big stretch from Maybe It's Me. Was there a conscious change or a gradual evolution?

Trevor MacGregor: A few years ago everyone was really into American indie rock. Now it's heavier stuff, more punk. We always wanted to make a heavier album 'cuz we thought our live sets were lacking in raucous. And our producer, Matt Hyde, basically took us from being a wannabe indie rock band to a rock band.

M: And now you're a famous rock band, right?

TM: We're fuckin' huge, end quote. Monstrous. Pretty soon we're gonna be able to afford to hire midgets to hang out with us, which we've always wanted to do. And my limo's waiting outside, there's champagne on ice. Actually, we're sharing a bus with Gob. They're probably, right now, as we speak, taking pictures of their genitalia and hiding them in our bunks.

M: I can't turn on the TV without seeing you guys.

TM: TV and radio have been great. And the song ["American Psycho"] is pretty catchy. I hope I'm not bragging but we kinda knew the song was gonna do fairly well for us, a lot better than the older stuff. But we never expected this.

M: So do you still have that indie ethic?

TM: Oh no, we would have sold out a lot sooner if we had figured out how to do it.

M: Have you made progress in the States?

TM: The album's gonna come out in the U.S. in March on Nettwerk Records and if it does well, we'll go down and tour. If not, we'll probably head back to the studio and write another one. It would be nice to crack the States but if we do, it's just gravy. We can support ourselves up here. We're not rich rock stars by any means but it's cool to get to do what we like and not have to get real jobs, which is the most important thing.

With Eve 6 and Gob at Club Soda, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 8pm, $15.50