Treble Charger is a Canadian rock group, consisting of vocalist Greig Nori, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Trevor MacGregor. Guitarist Bill Priddle, a founding member of the band, left in 2003. They began with a melodic indie rock style, but have evolved into more of a pop punk band since signing to a major label in 1997.
Originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the band consisted of Nori, Priddle, Martin and Morris Palter, and was named nc-17 (after the movie rating) until an American band with the same name threatened to sue. They adopted the name Treble Charger, but named their debut album nc17.
nc17 was released independently at first by Smokin' Worm in 1994, but it was a hit on campus radio, MuchMusic, and CFNY when it was re-released by Sonic Unyon Records in 1997.
In 1995, the band released self=title, which included a CD-ROM track promoting 30 of Treble Charger's favourite Canadian indie bands, including The Inbreds, Change of Heart, By Divine Right, Hayden and Thrush Hermit.
1997's Maybe It's Me was the band's major label debut. It featured a more polished, commercial sound than the band's earlier albums, and launched the hit "Friend of Mine". Soon afterward, MacGregor replaced Palter as the band's drummer.
Wide Awake Bored, released in 2000, completed the band's evolution to a punk rock style. This album also featured the hit singles "American Psycho" and "Brand New Low".
In 2002, Treble Charger also released Detox featuring singles "Hundred Million" and "Don't Believe It All".
Bill Priddle, identified with Treble Charger's early indie rock direction rather than the later pop-punk, left the band in 2003. Initially, it was said he was taking a break from the group , but it later came out the departure was permanent, and Nori had asked him to leave sooner than Priddle had intended. He told Chart: "I was always into music for music’s sake, when it got all corporate and about gimmicks and imaging and wearing the right clothes and having the right lingo, that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. We had a market of 16-year-old kids and we had to try to guess what our fans wanted. Which is really the opposite of where I was coming from. I’ve always thought the best music was, obviously, done by people that did music for themselves."
