Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Cincinatti’s Tooth Lures A Fang are set to release their fourth album, Fake Control, 29 April on Lo-Fi City Recordings. While the band is preparing for the record release with a pair of kick-ass singles “Pennies” and “Fake Control,” the band took some time to chat with TGEFM about the band, their influences and what’s next for Tooth Lures A Fang. Head over to the garage-inspired power-rock quartet’s Bandcamp page to preorder and hear more music from Tooth Lures A Fang.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats in advance on the upcoming Fake Control. For our readers not yet familiar with you, what can you tell us about the band and your sound?
Zach Starkie: We are a power pop quartet from Cincinnati, OH. We take a lot of musical influence from guitar rock from the 90s, like the Smashing Pumpkins, Superdrag, and Nirvana. We also draw on influences like Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Pedro the Lion, and Rozwell Kid. Sometimes we sound like a mix of those things, sometimes we sound like none of it!
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
Katy Evers: I saw the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and my teacher said “This is their job, they just got done with work for the day” I thought, that’s sweet, that’s what I want to do.
Johnny Kathman: I was 10 years old and I buy In Utero at KMart. I wasn’t allowed to have it, so I clandestinely purchased it. That album changed everything, the music, the lyrics were so foreign to me. I thought this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Nic Pater: For bass, it was Rage Against The Machine. Tim Comerford is like the full power of that band. When Tom and Tim are playing together, they do a lot of unison stuff. But Tom does his sound effect stuff and then Tim is holding it down.
Which song or songs off the new record are you most excited to be able to play in a live setting?
Zach: We’ve really been loving playing the new singles, they’re pretty high energy and our fans are into them. They are going to love the rest of the album though. It’s very dynamic and while not a departure from our past sound, it goes in a heavier direction than “Sharon is Karen.”
Johnny: I’m excited to play “Nice Try” live again. And “So Hard.” Those will be like big songs at show that will make people say “Whoa!”
Nic: “Better friends.” I can’t wait to play “Better Friends” live. It’s 80s hardcore, it’s so good.
Katy: My favorite one is “Real Love.” I like that one for the bendy boys.
What stood out the most to you with this recording compared to your previous trips to the studio?
Zach: We tracked and demoed everything pretty meticulously before recording this time. We had a good idea of how 90% of each song was going to sound on the record. When we went to actually record, we didn’t have to spend much time thinking about how the songs were arranged or how they should be fleshed out.
Nic: The album is the third time we recorded these songs. We recorded live demos, then fleshed out and overdubbed demos, then we recorded the final versions.
The world has been going through some shit over the last few years. What affect, if any, have the cultural and political landscapes of the last few years had on your music?
Zach: This is a really dark, heavy album both lyrically and musically. Some of the songs are older than the recording sessions, but they express the same themes that we were feeling because of the state of politics and social stuff.
Johnny: I channelled a lot of the anger and frustration I was feeling into the compositions.
Nic: A lot of the album seems to be focused primarily with exploring isolation and a fractured perspective of society. There is less tongue in cheek cynicism, it feels more earnest.
Where do you see the future of the music industry headed in the wake of pandemics, lockdowns and the proliferation of social media?
Nic: For 99% of bands, the “album” is dead. There is no getting signed and getting big anymore. It’s even more fleeting than it was. It’s just a continual output of singles and always being online. It’s always being in touch with your fans. In general, it’s the best it has even been for small bands, because it’s easy to record and distribute your own music. The equipment is the highest quality and cheapest it has even been.
Katy: This completely democratized the industry, instead of the producers making the choices for consumers.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?
Nic: National Barks and Lo, the Loyal Conscripts are both from Cincinnati and they’re both so good.
Johnny: I’d say Spotlights from Brooklyn, definitely Harlequins from Cinci.
Zach: Holding Hour is a great band from Des Moines that people should check out.
Beyond the album release, what’s next for the members of Tooth Lures A Fang?
Zach: We’ve got some music videos and fun social media stuff planned leading up to the album release. Then it will be finally playing these new songs live.
Nic: We’re in the swing of playing once a month in Cincinnati, we’re going to continue doing that and trying to do some small tours and weekenders.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Nic: Go see bands play live. It’s a weird thing now, in general that’s lagging.
Johnny: Support your local bands, go check em out, talk about em.
Nic: Add them to playlists, share them, basic punk stuff.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
