The band Slow Teeth stopped by Live & Local last week, following the release of their debut EP.
Listen to the full EP and purchase it on Bandcamp.
With a ‘spooky folk’ sound and songs that build patiently to epic climaxes, Slow Teeth is a trio comprised of Robert Chamberlain, Justin Ellis, and Jeremy Haire. This is the band’s first full release, but they’ve been together since 2021, gradually building a reputation as one of the area’s best bands for live performance.
“We got together originally as a COVID bubble band,” says Ellis. “I met Jeremy in 2017 or 2018 and we just hit it off (immediately) …and I met Robert when (our previous bands) were playing together at Local 506 randomly. I loved watching Robert play: he was playing a standing kit, but also doing like synthesizers and bass with his hands and singing – like, he’s just an octopus, and it was cool to see somebody do that so effortlessly. And I just made a mental note: if in the future I need another drummer, if I have time for a new band, I’m going to reach out.”
Follow Slow Teeth on Instagram.
The trio finally did unite in 2021 – choosing “Slow Teeth” as their name as an amalgam after discovering that their first two choices (Slow Blade and American Teeth) were already taken. Now, four years later, they’re ready for their first release.
“We’ve all been playing in bands as side men for years and years,” says Ellis, “(but here) there are no leaders, it’s a collaborative equal-parts thing. And a big thing we bonded over was the fact that so many of our previous bands’ records got recorded too quickly, or some ideas weren’t fully fleshed out, (and) it’s like, ‘I wish I did this thing different.’ And what’s really cool about this project is (that) we could take it on tour, say ‘oh, we should add this or that,’ and that becomes part of the writing process as well. And I think people really respond to the organic grassroots nature of that.”
Now that the EP is out, the band is celebrating with an album release show Saturday, April 26, at Cats Cradle Back Room.
Visit CatsCradle.com for tickets.
And while Slow Teeth have only played a couple shows so far this year, their schedule is about to get busier: they’re booked to play the Haw River Ballroom as part of Sleepy Fest later this year, and they’re also planning a West Coast tour in August and September.
Robert Chamberlain, Justin Ellis, and Jeremy Haire stopped by Live & Local to discuss the album and Saturday’s show at Cats Cradle. They also played three songs live in our studio: “Holy Death/Peace on Earth,” “Sundials,” and “Still You Speak.” Listen:
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