!!! Perform Live on the Interface

Try searching for "!!!" on Google and you'll find that not a single result comes up. These days, while web-savvy musicians use strategies to increase their visibility on internet search engines, it makes a serious statement when a band comes along with a patently unsearchable name. In a way, this sums up the philosophy of !!! (pronounced "chk chk chk" for the uninitiated), who have been bringing a punk attitude to dancefloor-ready beats for nearly 15 years. "We wanted something that would set us apart and it absolutely has," frontman Nic Offer told Spinner of his band's name during a recent Interface taping in our New York studio. "I had to give up on that concern a long time ago."

With their newly released fourth album, 'Strange Weather, Isn't It?,' the California band is focused on bringing their warped disco grooves and synthy textures to the masses. After numerous lineup changes over the years, the album represents an evolution in songwriting for the group. "Back in the '90s, we used to jam to a tape player then dub the best parts together," Offer said. "Now it's a lot of people bringing something and everybody jamming on it. Everyone's had their chance to throw their two cents in."

One might expect a constantly rotating lineup of musicians to affect !!!'s ability to work together, but Offer insisted that the key to maintaining positive band dynamic is simple. "The whole time through good times and bad times we've been able to laugh," he said. "It's one of those really corny things that's absolutely true."

There have certainly been some dark periods for the band. In 2005, !!!'s original drummer Mikel Gius was struck and killed by a car while biking, and in 2009, drummer Jerry Fuchs tragically passed away after falling down an elevator shaft. Yet the band continues to play on, unleashing a cathartic energy at their live shows. Offer has even garnered a reputation for asking venues to turn off their air-conditioning during performances. His logic? "If it's warmer and people are sweatier it kind of brings them together," he said.