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NQ3

Interviewed by Gary Hill
Interview with NQ3 from 2010
MSJ: Can you give our readers a look at the history of your group and your involvement in music?
Bill Engle:  NQ3 was formed in 2003 after building a home studio and discovering I'm not good at playing drums.   We started to record some older tunes I  wrote while going to school at Belmont University, but then it quickly got out of hand.  Because we both work day gigs in IT, the CD took a while to come together.  My involvement in music spans many decades from music schools through professional playing on many instruments (except drums).
 
Duffy Lasker:  After meeting Bill, it was evident that our tastes in music were mutual and that Bill can't play drums.  My involvement in music has been spotty but tasteful.  It dates back to playing in elementary school orchestra and progressed through various musical ventures.
MSJ: Where does the name NQ3 come from? Is there some significance to it?
Bill Engle:  It’s Duffy's idea.  It stands for "Not Quite 3", meaning it’s just us two , which isn't three.
 
Duffy Lasker:  Since there are only two of us, we're “Not Quite 3”.  Even though we had help on the CD's from various people, there are still only the two core members of Bill and myself.
MSJ: If you weren't involved in music, what do you think you'd be doing?
Bill Engle:  Grooming ski runs and chasing skiers with a speedy Piston Bully
 
Duffy Lasker:  I honestly don't know, but something my Mom I'm sure would not approve of.
MSJ: How would you describe the sound of NQ3?
Bill Engle:  Trippy, in-your-face prog rock that pulls its material from many styles. Put the CD on, sit back, relax and drink the Kool-Aid.
 
Duffy Lasker:  Great for listening to while traveling.
MSJ: What's ahead for you?
Bill Engle:  If the CD sells well and were getting good feed back, we will consider getting more musicians and putting together a tour of sorts. Other than that I see us starting another CD soon.
 
Duffy Lasker:  Pushing the CD and I'd like to get back into the studio, I like the work.
MSJ: Are there musicians you'd like to play with in the future?
Bill Engle:  Adrian Belew, Keith Emerson, Roine Stolt, Any of those folks in Ozric Tentacles or Porcupine Tree, Chick Corea, Joni Mitchell, and a host of others that are dead so that probably won't happen.
 
Duffy Lasker:  Yes there are! A number of them! But I'd also like to experience different styles of music.
MSJ: Do you think that downloading of music is a help or hindrance to the careers of musicians? It's been said by the major labels that it's essentially the heart of all the problems they are having in terms of lower sales - would you agree?
Bill Engle:  I think that it's actually both.   It really helps the independent musician get there stuff out there and to be heard but it can limit one’s revenue stream.
 
Duffy Lasker:  It’s not a problem because most of the people that are downloading are also the very same people that are buying music and influencing others to do the same.
MSJ: In a related question how do you feel about fans recording shows and trading them?
Bill Engle:  Rock on!  When I go to a show and the material is exactly the same as on the CD, I get bored.  This is why I like to twist things up a bit in a live scenario.  If folks want to record that and trade ‘em, so be it.  The CD's should be the musical baseline of your material.  Mix it up a bit in the live shows and people will come back.   It's like the Dead, lots of bootlegs out there, but none are really the same.  The thing is, the quality of those recordings isn't very good when compared to having a feed to a mixing console and a skilled engineer assisting with laying it down. Folks want to trade marginal recordings, I say “go for it”.
 
Duffy Lasker:  Don't ask, don't tell!
MSJ: If you were a superhero, what music person would be your arch-nemesis and why?
Bill Engle:  My old trombone professor because that dude would put the fear in yah.
 
Duffy Lasker:   Tony Williams because 1.)  He's dead and to come back would be a bit freaky  2..) He's still really, really good
MSJ: If you were to put together your ultimate band, who would be in it?
Bill Engle:  Bela Fleck, Terry Bozzio, Jeff Berlin, Alan Morse (Spock’s Beard),
Tower of Power Horn section, Tomas Bodin (Flower Kings)

Duffy Lasker:  Dennis Chambers, Jeff Beck, Earth Wind and Fire Horn Section,
Chris Squire, Chick Corea, Joe Cocker, the backup chicks from the Steely
Dan Tour of 2008
MSJ: If you were in charge of assembling a music festival and wanted it to be the ultimate one from your point of view, who would be playing?
Bill Engle:  This would be a two day fest featuring, Rush, Ozric Tentacles,
Stanley Clarke with George Duke, Return to Forever, The Flower Kings,
Spock’s Beard, Yes, Stone Temple Pilots, Jethro Tull, Chick Corea and 5
Peace Band, New Grass Revival, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and
String Cheese Incident.
 
Duffy Lasker:  This would be a two day fest featuring, Vince Gill, New Riders of
the Purple Sage, Diana Krall, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Sardinas, Eric Johnson,
Steely Dan, Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, Village People,
Dream Theater, Jeff Beck Group, Black Light Syndrome, Laurie Anderson,
Pink Floyd.
MSJ: What was the last CD you bought, or what have you been listening to lately?
Bill Engle:  Allan Holdsworth - IOU
 
Duffy Lasker:  Wolfmother - Wolfmother
MSJ: What about the last concert you attended for your enjoyment?
Bill Engle:  Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
 
Duffy Lasker: Bela Fleck, with Bill
MSJ: What has been your biggest Spinal Tap moment?
Bill Engle:  In the Studio recording Dot Two, we had Brandon come in and play through a new(ish) DrZ SRZ65 Amp. It went to 11 and the sound blew us away.
 
Duffy Lasker:  Forever tuning my drums searching for that perfect sustain.
MSJ: Finally, are there any closing thoughts you'd like to get out there?
Bill Engle:  Yes - I would like to have more people listen to and enjoy what ultimately took a few years to record.. We're available via CDBaby.com, Digstation.com, Amazon.com, CDUniverse.com, and iTUnes.
 
Duffy Lasker:  We've started working on Dot 3 - Stay tuned.
MSJ: This interview is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2010  Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.
 
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