Saturday, July 16, 2011

My First Tooth

"My First Tooth" is an upbeat, alternative band from Northampton, England, consisting of Ross K. Witt (guitar and singer), Sophie Galpin (violin, bouzouki, guitar, percussion and singer), Jo Collis (bass and singer) and Gareth Amwel Jones (drummer).

“It initially began as a solo project for Ross but he got lonely so he recruited Sophie,” Gareth Amwel Jones, drummer of the band, said. “They played together for a while before realizing that they needed a bit more sex appeal in the band. They naturally turned to Jo and I for this.”

When first starting out, they aimed for a simple name.

“I think that Ross was initially looking for something that evoked a certain simplicity and innocence,” Jones said. “The simplicity soon fell by the wayside and innocence passed us by a long, long time ago. Now we always get asked about the name and wish that we were called something really cool, like ‘Slayer’ or ‘Megadeth’.”

The band has been influenced by many bands, including “Neutral Milk Hotel”, “Okkervil River”, “Eels” and “Bruce Springsteen” and got their record deal with Alcopop! Records and have been touring the UK for a couple years.

“We’ve played a lot of festivals, including Glastonbury this year, which was amazing,” Jones said.

The band doesn’t define itself in one specific genre.

“We all knew each other from playing in various other bands before “My First Tooth,” Jones said. “I think that we’ve probably been in about a hundred bands between us, playing different sorts of stuff. The key thing is to write really good songs and not necessarily be too defined by genre boundaries.”

This month they start touring with “Athlete.”

“The tour kicks off next week and we’re all really excited about it,” Jones said. “It’s a massive opportunity to play to a lot of people every night and 99 percent of them probably won’t know who we are, so it’s a good chance to convert people. I think we’re going to have a great time.”

The band plans to continue what it is doing.

“We tour with ‘Athlete’ this month and we have a few more festivals to play before the summer is out,” Jones said. “We are doing a short headline tour in September and then probably are going to take some time to knock the songs for the second album into shape. I think we’re committed to trying to make the next record better than the last, making the next show better than the last. We have a lot of fun doing what we do and we meet some amazing people and you’d be a fool to not want to continue doing that.”






Where is your band from and how did you get your start?

Northampton, via York and Rugby.  It initially began as a solo project for Ross but he got lonely so recruited Sophie.  They played together for a while before realizing that they needed a bit more sex appeal in the band.  They naturally turned to Jo and I for this.  In a handy twist of fate, we were able to play bass and drums respectively.

Who are the members of your band and what do they play?

Ross K. Witt plays guitar, drives the van and sings.  Sophie Galpin plays violin, bouzouki, guitar, percussion and sings.  Jo Collis plays bass and sings.  I (Gareth Amwel Jones) play the drumset, make the sandwiches and sing a bit sometimes.

How did you come up with the name My First Tooth?

I think that Ross was initially looking for something that evoked a certain simplicity and innocence.  The simplicity soon fell by the wayside and innocence passed us by a long, long time ago.  Now we always get asked about the name and wish that we were called something really cool, like Slayer or Megadeth.

How would you describe your music?

Lovely.  But not all of the time.  Watch your back, y’hear?

Who are your influences and have you been able to play with them?

We all listen to a varied amount of music but there are certain shared influences such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Okkervil River, Eels and Bruce Springsteen.  We’ve not yet been able to play with any of them (and never will in the case of NMH) but we’ve been lucky enough to share stages with a lot of bands that we really love and admire.  Frontier Ruckus and Rural Alberta Advantage have been particular highlights.

How did you get your record deal?

Jack Clothier (label manager of Alcopop! Records) is a fine man with discerning tastes.  He knows a good thing when he sees it.  Once we realized that we had a shared encyclopaedic knowledge of nineties indie rock it was a done deal.

How did you know what type of music you wanted to play? Have you played other music genres?

We all knew each other from playing in various other bands before My First Tooth.  I think that we’ve probably been in about a hundred bands between us, playing different sorts of stuff.  The key thing is to write really good songs and not necessarily be too defined by genre boundaries. There are songs on our album that wouldn’t have worked on our EP.  There will be songs on the second album that wouldn’t have fit on either.  I like to think that they all sound like My First Tooth.

What is it like to open for Athlete this month (July)?

The tour kicks off next week and we’re all really excited about it.  It’s a massive opportunity to play to a lot of people every night and 99% of them probably won’t know who we are so it’s a good chance to convert people.  We’ve been reliably informed that the Athlete boys are a good bunch - I think we’re going to have a great time. 

Where have you been able to perform?

We have toured pretty relentlessly all over the UK for the last couple of years playing everywhere we can.  We’ve played a lot of festivals, including Glastonbury this year which was amazing.  We made our first trip to Europe earlier in the year where we played on top of a mountain in Bergen, Norway among other shows.  That was pretty rad.

How did you create your music video for Orchards?

The director was our good friend Tom Levinge.  We borrowed the upstairs room of our local club, roped in a handful of extras and played.  Tom instructed the extras to mess with us while we played.  We didn’t quite know what they were going to do so the reactions are genuine.  We all got very drunk.

What is the driving force to continue your music?

I think we’re committed to trying to make the next record better than the last, making the next show better than the last.  We have a lot of fun doing what we do and we meet some amazing people and you’d be a fool to not want to continue doing that.  Also, I’d like a swimming pool and I think we’re going to need to sell a few more records before I can afford it.

What are your future plans?

We tour with Athlete this month and we have a few more festivals to play before the summer is out.  We are doing a short headline tour in September and then I think we’re probably going to take some time to knock the songs for the second album into shape.  Looking further ahead than that is asking for trouble.  I don’t even know what I’m having for dinner tonight.

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