Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Navid Marvi on vocals and guitar, Nick Glover on guitar, Ryan Hobbs on bass, and Steve Smith on drums. 

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Technicians? How long has the band been around?

Before Technicians, none. But we are all currently—or have recently been in—other bands. Navid is Drop Electric, Steve is also in Drop Electric, as well as FUNKMNKYZ and The Internal Frontier. Hobbs was in Grey Sky Eternal and Nick is in Gunblade X. We keep pretty busy. The band has been around since 2005 in one form or another. 

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

The name has gone through several changes. We started with the name Nightlight, but it sounded like we should be wearing mascara. We started searching for a new name and hit upon Technicians while watching the roadies set up at a Ben Folds show. We tried to change it after adding Hobbs and Steve, but no one seemed to be on board with Kamikaze Rocketsheep, so we just kept Technicians. Hobbs and Nick may resurrect Kamikaze Rocketsheep one day, though.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

Navid tends to write the basic outline of most of the songs. Nick and Hobbs have contributed a few, though. After the initial idea is fleshed out by the whole band, everyone has dominion over their instrument. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome though—collaboration is important. Most of our songs are about girls or politics, especially war, and a lot of that seems more relevant now than ever, so I doubt that will change any time soon.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making? 

So many! Deftones are a big inspiration to all of us. What else... A Perfect Circle. Gojira, Failure, Sigur Ros and Glassjaw.

 Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Navid and Nick actually met at a show and decided to start a band right then, but that was too long ago to remember who the band was. But all of us have a shared musical memory. We grew up in the same area—and the local rock station WHFS was our biggest tastemaker.

  What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …

Eating and drinking too much. We don’t like to sit quietly backstage and meditate—we’re usually walking around the venue or sitting at the bar until seconds before we go on.

 What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Finishing Now That We're Home has been huge highlight for us. It’s been a long journey… we fully recorded the album in 2015 but were just not 100% happy with it, so we decided to rerecord it ourselves. Naturally, it evolved a little and we’re so excited to finally share it.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Deftones or Queens of the Stone—just to have a drink with Chino and Josh Homme. Or Tool—watching their set every night would be incredibly inspiring and mind-blowing.
 
Is there anything else you would like to add?

Now That We’re Home is self recorded and released, and we’re all very proud of it. It’s out on April 14—you can pre-order it on Bandcamp now. Thanks for your time! Twas a pleasure. —Navid, Nick, Hobbs & Steve.