Have some filth before the weekend kicks off.
Simple things first – Where are you guys from?
Josh: We’re from the sunny climes of Northamptonshire.
How did you meet?
Oli: Well, Josh and Adam have been playing together since 2014 when they were in a band called One More Year. I met them on the local circuit around a year or so later. Weirdly a bunch of bands split up around the same time in our local area, we just met up and wrote some songs, now we’re here.
How long have you been playing as band?
Josh: Roughly two years now, I think we all agree it’s the best couple years playing music any of us have had.
Before you get sick of being asked, where does the band name come from?
Oli: Well, it was mainly my idea, I had this pretty epic list of band name ideas in my phone and Adam really latched on to Loose Tooth. Our last bands had like five-word names and there was a definite desire to keep it short this time round.
What are your influences?
Oli: I’m a massive Depeche Mode fan and that generally comes through in my vocal melodies I think, as a guitarist I’m really into a lot of 80s new wave and indie so The Smiths, The Cure and U2 all factor into my approach to pedals and gear. As a songwriter I love really tightly structured tunes which probably comes from a love of 80s pop, I’m massively into Madonna, Duran Duran and Kate Bush. All that being said I also love big riffs and freaky time signatures so bands like the Dillinger Escape Plan, Black Peaks and Arcane Roots have been huge for me in recent years.
Josh: A lot of my biggest influences tend to be bands that push themselves on every record, be it The Mars Volta, Reuben or Pianos Become The Teeth, I love hearing the evolution of bands particularly when they’re skilled musicians. Like Oli I love pretty much most music so in the same playlist as Converge and Every Time I Die, I’ll have some Frank Ocean or Sampha thrown in the mix. Recently I’ve been absolutely nailing the most recent IDLES record, I think we definitely echo a lot of their sentiments.
Adam: I’m really into a lot of mid-2000s Britrock, Hundred Reasons, Million Dead and Hell is for Heroes are some of my favourites. As a vocalist I’m definitely influenced by guys like Sam Carter from Architects and Wes Thompson from Napoleon. I’ve always loved aggressive bass playing which is why I emulate that heavy-handed approach a lot, just a jazz bass, a pick and some fuzz and I’m a happy man. I’ve recently been listening to a lot of Employed to Serve and Palm Reader so I think that definitely comes through in my playing.
Describe your music, what makes you unique?
Oli: I’m not sure you can do much except strive for uniqueness, whether we achieve it isn’t really up to us. We do our best though. I think our combined influences are what set us apart. All three of us like so much different music but love so much of the same stuff. It all combines into this sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, heavy but soft riff rock. We hope we make people think and bob their heads.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Oli: Generally sadness. That and being critical of governing bodies, we’re not a punk band by any stretch but there’s definitely some anti-establishment rhetoric knocking about.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Josh: I think generally we’re pretty intense, Oli gets stuck to his pedalboard a lot so it’s up to me and Adam to give it the beans and make it an utter sweat fest.
Adam: People pretty much always say we’re the loudest band on the bill too.
Oli: In of how many shows we’ve played I legitimately don’t know! Probably less than we feel like we’ve played but it’s definitely up there!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Adam: Probably the time we played a gig in a practise room in Cardiff. We’d eaten some banging burritos earlier on in the day and Josh got the shits. He literally just got off the loo and then we played. I looked down at one point and my bass was covered in blood and Oli was headbutting the wall for some reason.
Josh: We love the tiny shows, the intimacy generally gets us pretty pumped.
What kit do you play/guitars do you use?
Josh: I use a DW performance series mostly, love my Zildjian Cymbals too. I’ve got a problem in that I keep buying awesome old kits though, I’ve got a couple piled up at home that need to see some more use.
Adam: I’ve got a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that I’ve ripped the innards out of. Literally doesn’t even have a volume pot. Other than that I use a Sansamp with a big muff and a POG for the chunky bits. I run it all through an Ashdown stack and generally it’s a rig for all occasions.
Oli: My main guitar is my Fender Jagstang, it’s my pride and joy and basically goes everywhere with me. I use a Jaguar that I’ve had modded for various bits and occasionally in the studio I’ll bring my Strat and Tele. I’ve got too many pedals to talk about, they’re all there to fill out the sound as there’s only of me. Everything goes through my Orange Thunderverb 50 head which is a pretty new addition.
What if anything are you plugging right now?
Josh: I’m really glad you asked that, our latest single “AXIS” is out now via Undead Collective Records! You can stream, buy and listen to it in all the usual spots. Check out the video too, it’s us three berks in a ball pit.
What are your plans for 2018?
Adam: Well, it’s just shows in of the new single for the next little while and then we’re going into full on pre-production on our next EP. No details on that yet, but we are pretty excited about these new tunes we’re writing.
If you were second on a three band bill, who would you want to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you?
Oli: I think all three of us would really want to Palm Reader, Braille is a pretty frequently spun record in the van! That and they’re a big influence on us for sure! We’d probably have our new mates Lastelle from Oxfordshire to open up, we’re trying to get a tour together with them next year sorted currently and they’re so good!
Loose Tooth: facebook | twitter | youtube
