The Great Lakes haven’t been known for pumping out the same powerful riddims as the Caribbean, although they may contain about as much water. They do have something else in common -great live reggae- in the form of The Next Best Thing. Not just reggae, TNBT is from a region in Ontario full of British-style fish and chips and a climate suited to UK punk sensibilities. It’s neither England nor Jamaica but The Next Best Thing may be Canada’s hardest working live band.
There is a special magic when the angst of youth rock mixes with the pointed social commentary of reggae. While rasta lyrics can be biting, even the hardest of Jamaican singers use melody and an underlying Caribbean bounce. TNBT has followed this lead while retaining their punk/ska roots. Multi-instrumentalist Luke Marshall explains the evolution of TNBT’s diverse influences, "We started with punk like The Clash and early skinhead reggae bands from the UK. Sublime was a huge influence, we started hitting other bands in the ska genre, then turned to Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, The Abyssinians, Buju Banton, Damian Marley, The Slackers, and the Easy Star All-Stars."
For the Jamaican originals and our boys from Burlington, these lively backbeats translate well to dancehalls and keep the crowd in a perpetual sway. The live show is crucial to experiencing TNBT’s music as it is meant to be witnessed. Seeing no need for chairs at their gigs, drummer Colin Morgan states, "We are a live party band. We want people to have a great time. We take a lot of pride as musicians to do everything we can to hone our skills and write songs to complement the live performance with rhythm and tones. We make melodies that catch people and make them move."
This rare breed of slacker perfectionists is obsessed with honing their skills and expanding their musical range for the sake of making the party swing every time they take the stage. Playing music together since they were as young as ten, members of TNBT have evolved as one working unit. Similar to NY icons The Slackers, they concentrate on the live performance with lengthy sets involving the crowd. Like Ween, they take all requests, even improvising songs on the spot as diverse as "Gin and Juice", "Simmer Down", "Red Red Wine", old Zeppelin songs or even a Jay-Z track. Colin notes, "We play three-set gigs and throw in several unlikely covers. We like to be able to play about any reggae song shouted out at a show. Actually, we’ll try to cover any song requested at our shows."
Working Machine is their third album. Self-released on Transform Entertainment in Canada, Working Machine is working its way into the US market. Besides ska and reggae, Working Machine reeks of funk, soul, experimental and even a little heavy rock. Asking any of the band members about the new album title gets a similar response. Luke puts it this way, "We decided to ‘gig hard’ over the past few years. ‘Working Machine’ is meant to get across we are a hard working band, playing as often as possible, progressing into a well oiled machine. We keep chugging away, gigging three to four times a week, constantly pushing forward."
The Next Best Thing blends the best of reggae and punk into a sound all their own. So, save yourself the airfare and check out some damn good music right here in your own backyard.
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There is a special magic when the angst of youth rock mixes with the pointed social commentary of reggae. While rasta lyrics can be biting, even the hardest of Jamaican singers use melody and an underlying Caribbean bounce. TNBT has followed this lead while retaining their punk/ska roots. Multi-instrumentalist Luke Marshall explains the evolution of TNBT’s diverse influences, "We started with punk like The Clash and early skinhead reggae bands from the UK. Sublime was a huge influence, we started hitting other bands in the ska genre, then turned to Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, The Abyssinians, Buju Banton, Damian Marley, The Slackers, and the Easy Star All-Stars."
For the Jamaican originals and our boys from Burlington, these lively backbeats translate well to dancehalls and keep the crowd in a perpetual sway. The live show is crucial to experiencing TNBT’s music as it is meant to be witnessed. Seeing no need for chairs at their gigs, drummer Colin Morgan states, "We are a live party band. We want people to have a great time. We take a lot of pride as musicians to do everything we can to hone our skills and write songs to complement the live performance with rhythm and tones. We make melodies that catch people and make them move."
This rare breed of slacker perfectionists is obsessed with honing their skills and expanding their musical range for the sake of making the party swing every time they take the stage. Playing music together since they were as young as ten, members of TNBT have evolved as one working unit. Similar to NY icons The Slackers, they concentrate on the live performance with lengthy sets involving the crowd. Like Ween, they take all requests, even improvising songs on the spot as diverse as "Gin and Juice", "Simmer Down", "Red Red Wine", old Zeppelin songs or even a Jay-Z track. Colin notes, "We play three-set gigs and throw in several unlikely covers. We like to be able to play about any reggae song shouted out at a show. Actually, we’ll try to cover any song requested at our shows."
Working Machine is their third album. Self-released on Transform Entertainment in Canada, Working Machine is working its way into the US market. Besides ska and reggae, Working Machine reeks of funk, soul, experimental and even a little heavy rock. Asking any of the band members about the new album title gets a similar response. Luke puts it this way, "We decided to ‘gig hard’ over the past few years. ‘Working Machine’ is meant to get across we are a hard working band, playing as often as possible, progressing into a well oiled machine. We keep chugging away, gigging three to four times a week, constantly pushing forward."
The Next Best Thing blends the best of reggae and punk into a sound all their own. So, save yourself the airfare and check out some damn good music right here in your own backyard.
<- Back to Projects
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