MILK TEETH are a young band that make music that represent well that same state of mind. The band that proved to be extremely energetic and one of the most exciting new acts around with their two first EPs went through some changes and have now released their debut full-length album. It was about Vile Child and everything that now surrounds Milk Teeth that we talked about with guitarist and songwriter Chris Webb.
How did it go the release show for Vile Child?
That was one of my favorite shows that we’ve ever done, I think. We invited some of our favorite bands to play, like local bands, and it was packed out with the kids going crazy. It’s the first venue that we’ve ever played as a band so it was nice to go back a few years later. There were something like 150 people in a very small room. Lot of sweat. [laughs]
How does it feel having finally your debut album out?
So good. We recorded it in August so there was some time waiting for it to be released and it’s crazy for us to see the responses and people buying it in shops… Lot of positive feedback. I was hoping that people would like it, but I wasn’t expecting them to like it as much as it has been happening.
Before talking about the new album I want to ask you how did you, as band, face and manage Josh Bannister (guitarist / vocalist) leaving the band? I guess it was a big deal for you as a band.
Honestly… I think a lot of people thought it would be a more of a big deal than us but for us it made sense with the atmosphere with Josh in the band. There was a lot of negativity. We kind of knew that he was be leaving and so once he announced it, we weren’t shock because we were almost preparingourselves for it to happen. We got our friend Billy on guitars and vocals now and he’s doing an excellent job. We’re excited for the new chapter in the band. I think a lot of people expected to be more upsetting for us than it was. For us it feels like a new beginning. Everyone’s a lot more excited for the future and everyone’s more positive. It’s a happier work place.
Did it change the dynamics within the band in terms of the writing process?
Me and Becky, we wrote the majority of the songs on the new record. I don’t know if it’s going to change so much. Billy is an excellent musician and songwriter so we’re excited to write with him as well. The only thing that is happening now is that before Josh was at the center and now Becky has stepped up and she’s now the proper frontwoman. I don’t think the songwriting will really suffer from it. In fact we’re already working on the new album. [laughs]
The EP format was working for you guys. Did you consider the option of releasing another one?
We released the Sad Sack EP like a year ago… I don’t know, we just wrote a lot of songs and the label wanted us to do an album so, since we had a bunch of them already written, we decided to proceed with an album. I guess we were just seeing how it happened. If we didn’t do as much touring as we did last year, we might had released another EP and wait for releasing an album until the time was right, but it just felt right.
“A lot of the songs are about being bored and stuck at home. I think that in a way being away for so long and then missing it really helped the songs to happen.”
During 2015 you released the Sad Sack EP, you signed with Hopeless Records, and you embarked in lengthy tours with Frank Iero, Title Fight and Frank Carter. Was it easy, or comfortable, to conceive Vile Child during what seems to be such agitated times?
We had a few songs written before we went away and then between tours… When you are on tour, you just want to go home and when you’re at home you just want to go out and play. Not being on tour really helped… A lot of the songs are about being bored and stuck at home. I think that in a way being away for so long and then missing it really helped the songs to happen.
Were you able to feel the effects of heavy touring while working on Vile Child?
In a way because we had so much touring. We did like three months back to back, or something… We probably would have liked to have more time to focus on the songs, but then again we had such a clear idea of how we wanted them to sound. We had all the songs done when we came to the studio. We just experimented a little bit and the songs really came to life.
I’m curious about the running order of Vile Child. How difficult was to end up with the running order that we now know?
The first thing was the song “Brickwork”. It’s a song to start straightaway. We wanted to kick it off with a bang, straight into a fast song. The second song, “Driveway Birthday”, it’s a softer one. It’s a matter of bringing it up and down. I think we just wanted to show all sides of us. Sometimes you have albums where all the fast song are on the first half and then you have all the sad and slower songs. We wanted to mix it up because we wanted to keep the energy going even if it is a slower song. People can really get into them and then a minute later we switch it up to something really fast
Why did you choose Vile Child and what did you want to convey with it?
I guess that comes from touring and us being really smelly from not having the opportunity of showering and all of that. When I was a kid my mom used to say, “Oh, you vile child.” When you’re being naughty, messy, or something bad. It was something that we wanted to capture… being a naughty little kid, really. [laughs]
You’ve been around the block a few times in terms of recording music, but I imagine that record an album might be a different experience. How was the recording process like? What were the big differences compared with the processes for Smiling Politely and Sad Sack?
We recorded Smiling Politely at our college with our friends, after lessons. We didn’t expect it to work so well. We recorded Sad Sack and Vile Child in the studio with our friend with Neil Kennedy [producer] and he really… A lot of people say that our sound is quite early 90s punk and he’s a really big fan of that sort of music. Going to him, he almost knows what we sound like better than we do, if that makes sense. [laughs] But with the album we had a lot more time, because with the Sad Sack it was quite rushed, to sit and think about the different ways we could approach each song and each process. We pushed ourselves to the limit this time around, but always trying to not get stressed at the same time.