Jeff Two-Names are not only one of the best bands in Savannah, they’re also flying the punk rock flag on a local level. They’ve been going for quite a while, and continue to put on memorable shows. Currently working on new material, the band is also about to embark on what they’re calling a "worldwide" tour of the state of Florida, which they’ll kick off with a show at The Wormhole on Mon., Dec. 16.
Ahead of the gig, we spoke to bandleader and namesake Jeff Two-Names to talk about what people can expect from the tour kickoff show and how they feel about fellow locals and longtime rock rivals The Ramages.
This is a very exciting world tour of Florida! Which city are you most excited about?
We can’t wait for this one! To be honest I am looking forward to every show. I’m excited to play a few places we’ve never been like Pompano Beach and Largo, but also looking forward to Tallanasty (Band Rule #453 requires me to say it like that), Jacksonville, and Orlando. We played at Uncle Lou’s in Orlando years ago but it was at, like, 4 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. It was still really fun but this should feel a little different!
What are y’all up to currently? Writing or recording at all?
So we have been sitting on our best recording yet for a few months. “Philthy” Phil, who has recorded us before, came up last March and we recorded 10 songs. We put two of the songs out on the World Wide Web but we are really excited to eventually release the rest. We have also written a few new ones, and by “we” I mean me...or I. (Please Google which one is grammatically correct before you print so my Mom doesn’t get mad at me.)
We are going to record a few of these new ones pretty soon at Hidden Audio in Rincon with Scary from Black Tusk.
For those who haven’t been to see a Jeff Two Names show before, what should they expect?
28 to 32 minutes of dad/bad jokes in pop punk format. We sing about ourselves, our friends, and life as a #DadBand. We are Savannah’s premier semi-professional #DadBand and we can back that claim up!
On a serious note, we genuinely enjoy playing and I think it is contagious to the crowd. We try to not take ourselves too seriously and just look at our shows as a chance for everyone in the room to have fun for half an hour.
If you have never been to a show we challenge you to come out to the Wormhole on 12/16 at 9:30 p.m. and try to not enjoy yourself. Even if you don’t like the music (very likely) you are guaranteed to laugh with/at us. Plus it’s Open Mic after and you can get up there and show us how it’s done after we play.
Is punk rock still exciting for in 2019? What keeps you interested as a player?
I have found so much good punk rock lately. One thing I will always love about punk is how discovering one band leads to the next which leads to the next and it’s like this never ending chain! I have the most narrow range of musical taste in Jeff Two-Names but there are still so many bands that are coming out with great stuff lately. There are tons of European bands that are absolutely rocking the Ramonescore sound right now.
Punk rock in 2019 still has the core of what it always had in my opinion. You can be a silly #DadBand or you can sing about the sad state of affairs the world is in, but whatever you are doing make sure to do it with passion and do it for yourself. I don’t think that will ever go away in this little subculture of music.
Lastly, any general comment or statement on The Ramages?
First of all, I had to Google who they were and still barely found out. If you mean the local #FraudRockers I’d like to publicly state that the Open Mic after our Wormhole show is open to anyone EXCEPT them (laughs).
It’s nothing personal, it’s just...actually it’s incredibly personal. I’ll leave it at that.
