Up and coming band Royal Teeth creates music that can delight anybody. The band consists of four members, Gary Larsen, Nora Patterson, Thomas Onebane and Josh Hefner, all from Louisiana. They are currently touring with alt-rock band Rooney in anticipation of their Nov. 18 release of their new EP, Amateurs, from Round Hill Records. The News-Letter’s Hayley Bronner was able to sit down for a phone interview with singer Gary before their Baltimore concert. Here is what he had to say about touring, New Orleans and their new EP.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
The News-Letter:Does the title of the EP,Amateurs, mean anything to you or the rest of the band?
GL: Yeah it does actually: The title was originally one of the first songs that we wrote together when we started writing for the new release. We spent a few days at our drummer, Josh’s, camp in the middle of nowhere. We went there to get away but also to stay cooped up together and try to be creative. That was one of the first things we made, and Nora had the lyrics written our for a song, called “Amateurs” and she had been reading this book where one of the messages was to embrace being an amateur. It came from a French word, which basically means to be a lover of something, to be passionate about something and not to be an expert. For us, that was a great starting point.
N-L: Do you have a favorite song off of the new EP?
GL: I think my favorite song is “Is It Just Me,” but it sometimes changes. It’s a little more of a moody song than people might be used to when they hear our music, but it’s a really energetic song with a cool vibe.
N-L: Earlier this year you guys got the opportunity to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. How does it feel to be a part of that event in a city (and an event) with so much history?
GL: It’s amazing. That was actually our fourth time doing it! The fact that we’ve been able to keep going and they keep asking us is even crazier. I’ve been going to that since I was a kid, and so many big names come through that. To be included is the biggest compliment. It’s huge, but we were in the middle of a tour, actually, so we had to cancel a night of our tour to make that show happen, but there was no way that we would miss Jazz Fest since they asked us. We made it work!
N-L: I was actually in New Orleans this past weekend, so do you have any favorite hang out spots or restaurants that you frequent when you’re there?
GL: I live uptown, so I definitely have my go-tos within a couple mile radius. I can walk up the street to grab a coffee at Rue or a place called Zat that’s really awesome. There’s also a handful of places to eat dinner, so I tend to stick to my own little bubble at times, but at the same time you’re only fifteen minutes away from downtown, so you can walk down Frenchmen’s Street, or you’re a short drive away from Magazine Street, where you can go shopping, where Nora gets all of her really cool clothes that she wears live at this place called Funky Monkey where it’s just a bunch of random vintage clothes that you just can’t quite find anywhere else. There’s a little bit of everything for whatever you need.
N-L: How does it feel to hear your own music on the radio and in commercials?
GL: It’s weird in the coolest way! I guess I’m more used to it now, but anytime you hear your music in a different place, it’s still kind of weird, but it’s still flattering that anybody likes something that you do enough to want to share it with somebody else. I love it, and I’ve always thought that it was a really cool thing to hear a friend say that they were someplace and they heard my song in the background. I hear it every once in a while, and I hope it’s something that keeps happening.
