Quick Hit Band Interview: BADTOOTH

BADTOOTH at The Satellite

Interview with the band (with Arden). Enjoy:

What’s the story behind how the band started out? I’ve always gone as BADTOOTH for my art endeavors. After my last band ended, I decided to start a dark avant-garde project on my own, under the same moniker as my art. With the help of my music partner Alex Williams, BADTOOTH was born in 2018.

Is there a process that you go through to come up with your song titles? Song titles change frequently thru the course of writing and recording. I finally settle on what feels right for the mood of the song, and usually at the very last minute.

The Hi Hat: Kat Leon with Naika, Badtooth and Roman the Cartoon

It was a rather diverse music line-up at The Hi Hat on a recent Monday night. Roman the Cartoon opened things up with a sound that was very similar to that of Magic Bronson. What made his set very amusing was that he had two individuals on stage who did some music box spins. Initially, there was an individual dressed in a suit, spinning in circles. Then a second individual came up on stage, in a mask that had one thinking of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.

Roman the Cartoon

Next up was Naika. Interestingly, Marley from The Colour Coast was in the audience. Why was this interesting? Well, the sounds of The Colour Coast and Naika are very similar with some tropical vibes. Naika mentioned that she is Haitian. She was also very personable, telling us how she came out to California after finishing college and had a mental meltdown due to the stress of being an adult. An experience that many feel throughout adulthood.

Naika

Kat Leon was the main attraction for the night. This was advertised as a one time event. A solid crowd showed up for this event. She mentioned that the 7 song set was inspired by a love of movies (well, one song was also a Radiohead cover, Exit Music). She was backed by six musicians, which included Holy War's Nick on keys and Dolly from Doctrin on vocals.

Closing out the night was Badtooth. So we went to heavy r'nb/rock beats of Roman the Cartoon to the Haitian sounds of Naika to the movie inspired rock tunes of Kat Leon. Badtooth ended the night with goth sounds played under the bath of red lights. At times, the band disappeared into the glow of the red lights while their music pierced it.

Badtooth

The Satellite: Badtooth, Deaf Dance, Ever So Android, GLAARE

This night was about the lights. Okay, that's just what I focused on for some reason. Badtooth played under red lights. Deaf Dance played under the bright greens and blues that The Satellite stage is known for. Ever So Android brought their own strobe lights, which made photography all about timing of the click. GLAARE attempted to use strobe lights, but they had mechanical issues and so asked for stage lights. As for GLAARE, their guitarist was having problems throughout the set due to the low lights. I could hear her begging for the stage lights, but her band mates couldn't hear her and so didn't inform the light guy to turn on the stage lights earlier in the set. At one point, she was down on her knees trying to figure out what buttons/pedals to push. I was feeling really bad for her.

Badtooth brought some shoegaze sounds. Dressed in black and under the red lights, they set up a gloomy atmosphere. Gloomy, but thrilling.

Badtooth

Deaf Dance had me thinking this one thought throughout the set: we have MacGyver (original) on guitars teaming up with a Goth Vampire playing keys and dancing on stage. I'm not going to lie, I found the dancing on stage weirdly robotic and fascinating.

Deaf Dance

This is my third time catching Ever So Android as a full band. Their punk sounds are fuller now, but that doesn't mean that lead singer Hope isn't still doing her onstage performances. One moment, she's doing a curtsy and the next she's pulling up her dress to flash her undergarments. It's like the ballerina that pops out of the music box going adult.

Ever So Android

Closing out the night was GLAARE. This was my first times seeing the band. Yet, some of the members of the band looked so familiar. Perhaps I've run across them in the scene. Hair flings and dark wave sounds drive this band. As mentioned above, they had to deal with some obstacles, but I'm more than wanting to catch this band again.

GLAARE