We had the opportunity to chat with Sharks' Teeth for an Artist Spotlight interview! This alt act hails from New Orleans, Louisiana and has some fantastic electronic melodies and vocals for their tracks. Check out what they had to say below!
1. How did you come to pursue music and how long have you been at it?
I started playing music in elementary school band class on the trumpet, then my parents gave me a drum set for Christmas when I was 10 or 11. I’m 29 now, so about 20 years.
2. Could you walk us through your process of writing music?
Lately it’s been like I turn off my brain and get into a sort of flow people talk about with sports or yoga. I’ll start with some chords or melody on the piano and try to write the song from there, sort of like you might learn a song where you already know the way it goes but you don’t know technically which chords or notes, so you sit at the piano and hit notes until you find the one you know is supposed to come next. If something comes out of a session of working like that, I’ll send the demos to the group and they all do their own magical thing. All the people who play in Sharks’ Teeth live or on records are some of my closest friends who are drastically talented at various instruments and they take whatever I’ve come up with to another place that I never could have.
3. What artists have inspired you in your career?
Neil Young, David Bowie, The Carpenters, Air, Michael Jackson, and Yo La Tengo have inspired me my whole life but lately I’ve been really into Sade, Dinah Washington, and Connan Mockasin’s new record “Jassbusters” holy moly.
4. Do you have any favorite music gear (guitars, amps, effects pedals, keyboards, etc.) that you love to use? If so, what’s the story on them?
If I had to narrow it down to one I would say my 1973 Mark 1 Fender Rhodes piano. Spencer Darr (contributor to Sharks’ Teeth and life long friend) and I were on the way to his driver’s ed class when we were in high school. I was driving him there so he offered to get us some lunch and we turned into some drive thru to do so. There was a pawn shop next door so we said “might as well pop in” and there it was in all it’s glory. I’ve used this instrument on more recordings than any other and it’s still in use almost every day.
5. Can you describe the vibe at your live shows? Also, what do you enjoy most about a venue when you do a show?
I hope the vibe is friendly. We mostly play in and around New Orleans so shows often feel more like a party with our friends. It’s when a lot of us get to hang out and enjoy each others music. I really enjoy a venue that doesn’t feel like a bar. A lot of the places we end up playing are definitely bars, but feel more like living rooms.
6. What is one thing that you want the public to know about your music?
I hope if someone sees us do something outside of the mold or format of a band that they feel the same sort of freedom to create whatever and however they want. This is what makes art such a positive thing in our lives, so if anyone listening to us is ever wondering “can you play different arrangements of your songs at every show” why not? “Can you make your social media declare you as a beauty spa service?” of course you can! “Can you name an album after a song on your last record, start it with 20 seconds of banter, then put a 14 minute brutal ambient song in the middle” Hell yeah brother!
7. Do you have any upcoming projects you would like fans to know about?
We’ve got an EP called Brighter Candle coming out February 2nd, and another album, Further Than if You Use Strength coming out on Easter Sunday. Sharks’ Teeth is not scheduled to play any shows this year since we have hardwired most of the gear into our studio but we do all play in a Neil Young cover band called Year of the Horse playing in New Orleans at Gasa Gasa on Feb 28th to kick off the Mardi Gras weekend.