Treble Charger

Originally operating under the name nc-17, the Canadian alternative pop/rock outfit later adopted a new identity once an American act sharing that title issued legal threats. Greig Nori, handling vocals, guitar, and keyboards, along with guitarist and vocalist Bill Priddle and bassist-keyboardist Rosie Martin, first connected during high school in Sault St. Marie, Ontario. They covered the five-thousand-dollar expense of issuing nc-17 themselves through their Smokin' Worm imprint as the group's inaugural full-length release in 1994. Teaming afterward with the independent Sonic Unyon label for a reissue, the album achieved status as Canada's top-selling indie title, while the ballad "Red" earned extensive airplay across college stations and Much Music.

In 1995 the band followed up with a self-titled EP that also functioned as a CD-ROM zine spotlighting thirty of its preferred Canadian indie acts; the same collection later appeared stateside as Treble Charger and incorporated tracks by American indie artists. The group's first major-label effort, Maybe It's Me, arrived in 1996 via Vik Records, BMG's Canadian division, and explored an expanded sonic palette that incorporated horns, keyboards, organs, Spanish guitar, and Mellotron. Shortly thereafter, Calgary drummer Trevor MacGregor came aboard in place of Morris Palter. Although RCA eventually issued the album in the United States, modest sales prompted the label to decline the follow-up, Wide Awake Bored.

Complications at BMG delayed the Canadian release of that record until 2000, at which point "American Psycho" climbed the charts north of the border—though not, ironically, in the U.S.—and propelled Wide Awake Bored to gold certification. During the summer of 2000, Treble Charger joined Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, and Our Lady Peace on Canada's Summersault tour. Nori also produces and manages the Canadian punk band Sum 41. The group resurfaced in 2003 with Detox, its most consistent collection to date.