BARE TEETH - Teeth Out, Guard Up ! (France - Melodic HardCore - Interview with Greg).

- Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music?
I'm 10 years older than the two other guys in the band, so we've been introduced to music and punk rock in different ways. Speaking for myself, it all sparked something in my brain back in 1994. You know, "Smash" by the Offspring and "Dookie" by Green Day were aired all day long on the radio and I instantly fell in love with punk rock, its melodies, its fast-paced tempos, ... I've started to play the guitar a few weeks after. I eventually discovered other punk bands like The Clash, Bad Religion, Pennywise and formed bands with friends, practicing all Sunday afternoons at my parents house. I can't thank them enough for being so patient, as we really RUINED all their sunday afternoons for years.
I was already a fan of bands like Aerosmith or Nirvana as a teenager, but I never really identified myself as "grunge" or "hard rock". Metal and hardcore were a bit harsh to my ears, even if I love them now, and punk rock was like : "Damn, this is the music I want to listen to and have a band that sounds like this".

- Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band ?
Well, Bare Teeth is already 10 years old. Back in fall 2014, Titouan (guitar/vocals) settled in Lille and knew Gael, a local promoter, from his former life in the French alps. He got back in touch with him, and this guy told him I was looking for musicians to start a new band. So, we met at a local show and invited him to jam. 
Gael told him a was quite a local legend (lol) as I founded and played in several bands that toured in Europe and Japan a few years before we met. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect but it turned out that Titouan is an incredible guitar player and an awesome guy to hang out with, despite we're not really from the same generation. I called back JayJay, who now plays the guitar in Jodie Faster, as he used to play the bass in Icons Down!, one of my former bands. We had a first drummer that was not really into punk rock and was not confident in play this kind of music, so we called Jerome to play with us. Jerome was also about to join Icons Down! before we disbanded in 2014.
Jerome resigned in 2018, as he wanted to spend some time with his family and wasn't able to tour, and he got back with the band in 2023. Roch was our drummer in the meantime.
JayJay left the band in 2016 and Tom filled in, until 2023. We looked for a bass player, but we figured out we have a very deep connection, music-wise, together so I switched to the bass and Bare Teeth has been a trio since then.
As for "Why" this band ? I can't really tell. I've been involved in touring bands since I'm 21 and I'm now 44. I've always been into punk rock and melodic hardcore. Following the disbanding of Fast Motion and Icons Down!, I was still craving to play this kind of music.

- Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
Well, there aren't that many French punk rock bands, right ? This genre doesn't speak much to most of people, so you'd better have an ear on us, haha !
If you like 90's/2000's punk rock played with guts and smiles, I'm sure you're gonna love us. If not, I owe you a beer.

- Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?  
Let's say our biggest influences come from bands like A Wilhelm Scream, Propagandhi, Frenzal Rhomb, Blink 182 and Descendents. "Punk rock" may sound a bit restrictive, as we also love hardcore, thrash metal and pop stuff, and we try to add these to our music too.
At the beginning of the band, I wrote all the lyrics and I had a few songs ready, so Bare Teeth was mostly my work. Now, Tit writes a lot of music and lyrics, and it's more or less 50/50. Even if punk rock is about politics and social anger, most of our lyrics are about personal experiences. Sometimes very deep ones, like breakups, depression or suicide. Sometimes lighter ones about success or believing in yourself.

- A possible new release out soon ?
We have some new songs ready, that should be released in fall and winter. We are looping the loop. It's time to say goodbye to the former lineup and release something fresh and new as a trio.
We recorded these new songs with our good friend Olive at Electrik Box Studio and Boss Hog Studio. Mastering is done by Joe Reilly, the father of Trevor Reilly of A Wilhelm Scream. We've worked with them a few times in the past and they became very good friends.
We have no play for a physical release yet, but we will make one for sure. Probably in 2026, as we have some more songs we would like to record.

- Future plans ?
Now that we have new songs, it's time to get back on the road. I really miss being on tour and playing shows every night. COVID impacted us very badly and affected our motivation. It took years to feel alright again together.

- Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
It would be great to tour with some of the bands we love the most, and I sometimes fear I would lose all the magic with them if they are not good people. For example, I have a terrible experience with Fat Mike of NOFX and I was so disappointed. This guy is one of my teenage years hero and it turned out he is a fucking asshole. I still love NOFX though, as I eventually met Eric Melvin and he is a super nice dude.
I would love touring in countries we've never been before. Maybe south east Asia, south America or maybe Canada. If we can do this with a band we love, that would be even more awesome !

- Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ?
It's hard to pick only one for each, haha !
We played a ton of crap shows, in front of no one, got no money or no accomodation but many bands experienced this. 
Maybe not the best shows, but one of the most memorable one was in Tokyo, Japan. We were able to perform "These towns need guns" with Steve Rawles of Belvedere as a guest vocalist. There's even a Youtube video of this live song !
We played at Shinjuku ACB Hall and this venue is a bit special to me, as it's the first venue I played on my 2010 Japan tour with Fast Motion. My backstage pass has still sticked on the wall, and probably still is, so I was a bit emotional when I saw it.
My worst show is not really the worse one. Back in August 2018, we did a very short China tour and our first show was in a fucking stadium. The biggest stage we ever played !!!
The problem was we traveled for 2 days, got very little sleep and when I saw the video of our show, my voice was so bad I felt really ashamed of this. Note for later: arrive one or two days prior the first show to rest a bit.

- Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ?
Sure ! It seems that a few punk rock bands are poping around Lille and you should give them some strength : Tragic Johnson, Hipkiss, No Time To Explain, Stuck in Yesterday, Spon, Jodie Faster, Cabrochico, Needles, Corbillard, ... You can also check out Tom's new band, Coldphase - Roch's band, Sungrave and Tit and Jerome's other bands, November and Random Sitcom.

- Last word is yours..
Make us play, get some merch, we're broke ! Or at least, get us some beers.

Follow the Band