DRIVEN by a wide-eyed ambition and overwhelming passion for their craft, it’s safe to say that Cheap Teeth are ready to take 2018 by storm. The Edinburgh-based group had a taste of success last year when they beat off hundreds of talented applicants to win the inaugural T Break Tenement Trail competition. Taking full advantage of the platform awarded to them, it was a key moment for the band that thrust them into the eyes and ears of many new music fans around the country as they opened the sold-out festival in rousing fashion.
Now, they’re hungry for more. With a debut single on the way, the three-piece are about to set off on a small DIY venue that will take them to some of the most intimate venues in the UK. Ahead of the opening night in Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s this Friday (26th January), we caught up with lead singer Joe to hear about the band’s progress since Tenement Trail and what they’ve got in store for the rest of the year.
Looking back on that momentous period back in September, the frontman said: “It was pretty crazy to be honest with you. Everything seemed to go very quickly from when we found out as it was only a couple of weeks later that we were playing the actual festival. We didn’t have much time to settle in but the whole experience was amazing. From the privilege of winning and the excitement of being selected to then going straight to the festival and playing in front of such a good crowd in such a good venue in a new city for us was a bit surreal. It was definitely one of our highlights so far”
Many new and emerging artists will recognise the name for yourself in this tough industry. As a fairly new band in the infancy of their career, the T Break competition was exactly what Cheap Teeth needed to propel them to the next level: “It massively helped us as a band. It gave us the kick that we needed. We needed a little break and a push in the right direction. It managed to kick us forward as a band and allowed us to get the listeners in Glasgow, the type of people that are interested in our sort of music. It was extremely beneficial for us”.
Refusing to shy away from hard work though, the band were determined to make the most of this invaluable opportunity and have been hugely industrious ever since. Throwing themselves into their work, all the plans are in place to ensure that 2018 is their biggest and most productive year to date: “We’ve been extremely busy. At the end of 2017 we did a lot of the hard work to make sure that 2018 was going to be a big year for us. We did a lot of organising and preparations for the start of this year so we can smash it. We’ve been organising the tour so we’ve now got four or five dates across the UK and thinking about studio time and getting more practise in, trying to make the songs better. We’ve been very busy”
The tour he mentions kicks off on Friday at Sneaky Pete’s where they will be joined by Hollow Bodies. A bold and ambitious move, their first headline tour will also take them to some tiny venues around Nottingham, Manchester and Newcastle where they hope to make a lasting impression. Joe said: “I think it’s gong to be very different. We’ve got five shows in a row so we’re going to try and make every on a bit different, play a few different songs that we haven’t played before. For people that haven’t seen us it’s going to be pretty rocky, in your face, sweaty and hopefully something you’ve not heard before.”
Each venue was carefully selected though, with the hope of selling as much tickets as possible: “We prefer smaller venues and they have a better atmosphere. Half the band is from the north of England so we have a lot of mates in these cities. We aim eventually to go down south and spread it out a bit more but we felt as our first tour we’d go to these home cities as we have a lot of friends there. The northern crowds have always been pretty good to us aswell.”
With the prospect of a debut single on the way, a certain amount of intrigue surrounds their upcoming material. Having seized our attention with a couple of promising demos back in September, their diverse amalgamation of dark stoner rock and gruff indie is sure to flourish when it is unleashed in full recorded form:
“We’re still at the early stages so far, we’re going into the studio in the next couple of weeks to work on the debut single. We’ll be working with Ronan from Sweaty Palms at The Green Door Studios so we’re excited about that. That should be something new for us. In terms of sound it’ll be dark, brave and hopefully it’ll catch a few people out who are expecting something different from us”.
“We’ve honed in on the sound a bit more now. It’s changed a lot from where we were a couple of months ago. It’s what we want to play and a bit more creative. It seems to work well with us at the moment, we’ve definitely found more of our sound. I’m sure it’ll change more as we go on but we’re happy for now.”
In terms of 2018 though, what are their ambitions? “We’re hoping the tour goes well and the single and first couple of songs are received quite well. We’d love to play a festival to be honest and play a few of them in a summer. That would be the aim; to work hard for the first half of the year so we can enjoy our summer and get about to different places and get more people hearing the music”.
Check tour dates below while you can get tickets here.
26th January, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
1st February, JT Soar, Nottingham
4th February, The Castle Hotel, Manchester
5th February, Little Buildings Rehearsal Rooms, Newcastle
