PropertyOfZack spoke with the members of Pianos Become The Teeth over a month ago at one of their select dates with Converge for a great interview. The band and I discussed the success of their second album, past tours with Touché Amoré and Xerxes, Topshelf Records, their recent tour with Coheed And Cambria, and the future. Check it all out below!
For the record, could you state your names and roles in Pianos?
Mike: I’m Mike, I play guitar.
Kyle: I’m Kyle, I sing.
David: I’m David, I play drums.
Chad: Chad. I play guitar.
Zac: I’m Zac, I play bass.So this is your second of three shows with Converge. How was the first one? I guess this tour is really rad to be a part of at all.
David: I’m really stoked. Converge has been one of my favorite bands for so long.
Chad: Yeah they’re all one of our favorite bands.
David: First show was in Richmond. This is only our second show. It was awesome. Just the excitement of being on a show with Converge. Playing right before them it’s like, “Okay. Now I’m really nervous.”
Kyle: It’s cool too because I feel like the lineup is… I mean it works, but it’s also a little bit diverse, which I think is really cool.Were fans receptive the other night?
Zac: Richmond is hard to gauge. Our reception every night is kind of hard to gauge.
Chad: I definitely saw people singing along and getting into it, but there wasn’t people like stage diving and stuff, you know?
Zac: People stand with arms crossed and either sing along or look very confused.
David: We feel awkward all of the time.
Mike: I think one of the best comments somebody every said was, “Well, that was interesting.”
Zac: We were planning on opening all three shows. That’s what we thought was happening. We thought we were the opening band. Then we got there and found out that we were playing right before converge.
Kyle: Which is weird because we’re not really on the tour.
Mike: It’s incredible it’s just very weird room.
Kyle: Makes us more nervous.
Mike: Especially when you walk into a venue like this and it’s like, “Oh.. Right. Well.. Two floors, huh?”You guys have toured pretty extensively since the release of the record with the Touché tour and then the Xerxes tour. Have you noticed a steady increase in interest from fans?
Mike: I feel like in some places, yes. I feel like we would have never done as well in some of the major cities in Canada if it wasn’t for that Touché tour. We did a show in Toronto that was incredible. I don’t think it would have been that cool if we hadn’t done that Touché tour or touring behind the record. I feel like it’s a slow increase, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Kyle: Very slowly, but it’s always been an increase but it works out.
Zac: It’s hard to gauge that too, because a lot of places that we’ve played, especially in america going in and out of Canada in places we’ve never played before, I haven’t played in a long time. It’s kind of hard to tell.
Blog
From Chad McDonald:
It’s 6:40 AM. We arrived in Baltimore last night at 10:30 pm after an 18 hour van ride back from Baton Rouge, LA. We drove straight back to Baltimore after the show, which I think is the reason I am now awake at 7 AM on a Saturday. Over night van rides always mess with my sleeping schedule.
The last few shows of the tour were fine. Birmingham, Alabama was one of the better shows of tour for us. A few guys came up to the merch table and said they had seen us play in a garage outside of Birmingham 4 years ago. I vividly remember that show because we kept getting shocked during our set because the garage’s power supply wasn’t properly grounded. It’s odd to think how different that tour 4 yearsago was from this one. Two completely different experiences in the punk touring spectrum - from house shows and art spaces to bar venues and music halls with a well known band.
I wrote this a few years ago in the summer of 2010 after returning from a 41 day tour that was mostly house shows and art spaces:
Tour is fun because of the uncertainty that goes along with it. Not knowing what the show will be like, what kind of people you’ll encounter or where the night will end is a liberating feeling that you don’t often get to experience. You have the slightest bit of control over your daily destiny and it is up to you and your band mates to figure out how you’re going to eat, where you’re going to sleep, who’s going to drive, etc.If I were to write an end of tour round up right now it would go:
This tour was unlike any of our prior tours. Each day we had a scheduled arrival time, load in, sound check and set time. Uncertainty regarding the shows did not exist. We were never surprised by a broken PA system or a dilapidated punk house or no one showing up or not getting gas money at the end of the night. Everything just seemed to fall in to place, which is very unusual. We entered a new touring reality where punk time does not exist and everyone involved with the show is a professional. Shows start on time and run smoothly and at the end of the night the promoter pays you what you agreed on beforehand. The audience didn’t seem to like us very much, but some people said nice things after our set. We got a lot of blank stares and disinterested faces in the front row each night but eventually your skin thickens and you play harder.
Spain: We are stoked to announce that we will be playing this years Resurrection Fest. It will be our first time in Spain! See you then!
so i had the distinct pleasure to work with Pianos Become The Teeth (Top Shelf Records). Ive been a long time fan my self of the band, much like 99% of my touring clients. But mostly because of the lyrical content of loss of loved ones, and social distrust of significant others. Kyle the vocalist portrays these stories and scenes more vividly then any thing ive heard in a long while. And having heard it and met the guys they stand by their music and live it. they take the same personal vibe and close emotionally connected vibes from their music, and continue their connection with their fans. Something i was very excited to see, they genuinely care about their fans and the way music is effecting them. i mean by the end of the last song “ill get by” there wasnt a dry eye in the room from even the hardest looking hardstyle kids.
*(on a more personal note, since this is a blog it is a mixture of personal experience and art, i feel like i should explain why the connection means so much to me.)
I said all that to say this. this past year i went through just a tormenting time, loss of my best friend in a accident, loss of another friend to suicide, loss of girl i cared about to a drunk driver, and the vast amounts of friends who ran from their problems and abandoned florida. having been through all that and having used some one else’s art such as PBTT or B&C any one really who has helped me get by, and used their similar situations to create some thing wether art work, music, a book, etc. that in later time helped me in my own just devastating circumstances, it makes me feel good to repay the debt i feel in my heart that i owe to them…If that makes since.
but ill be posting more live shots and more promotional work form this, as well as polaroids ill be selling prints of.
as always this photo is ©Copywritten by Evan Dell (aka me) I Reserve All Rights, but feel free to reblog this post and share it on here. have a great day tumblr community.
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From Chad McDonald:
Day 8. Our second day off on this tour.
Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo so we got our celebraish’ on. We ate lunch at a Mexican Restaurant in Athens, Georgia called Taqueria El Sol De - I would recommend it, good green sauce. The restaurant’s building was connected to a gas station and had previously been a waffle house. A fine lineage for a mexican restaurant. Had a few $3 dollar margaritas to start the Cinco celebraish’ off right. After lunch we went to a Goodwill and bought some sombreros and breezy Hawaiian shirts. Showed up to the venue over dressed for the occasion. Feeling inspired by Dad Boner (@DadBoner on twitter) Zac and Mike went on the search for some Bud Light Margs to keep the celebration rolling all day long. DadBoner’s twitter feed may be the most ingenious viral marketing campaign ever devised. Just a theory. Luckily a guy at the venue knew a liquor store that carried them - so that was the drink of choice for the rest of the night. While it’s not the best Margarita I’ve ever had, it’s in a can so it gets some points for convenience. Some guy waiting in line lamely bantered in spanish with me for a bit - aside from that interaction, the Cinco celebraish was contained within our band for the most part.It’s strange how insular your reality becomes while you’re on tour. You lose touch with the events happening outside of your band. You live in a tour bubble. That’s why getting drunk in the afternoon and dressing up like assholes on Cinco De Mayo becomes acceptable behavior. When you’re together with a group of people for months at a time you develop a special kinship. Ours seems to revolve around trying to get each other to laugh at farts and childish humor. I guess that can become a slippery slope. When will we reach the point where farts are no longer funny? What will come after? Who will be the first to poop their pants for a laugh? You don’t want to become so self-involved to the point where you lose objectivity. That’s how you become an asshole and end up making bad records. Maybe that’s what happens to bands that completely morph into shit over the course of their career? I don’t know, just spit balling here.
Pianos Become The Teeth are out on a big tour this spring with Coheed And Cambria and Moving Mountains. The band will be doing a Road Blog for PropertyOfZack to keep fans updated from the Road, so check out the first update below and come back each week for more!
From Chad McDonald:
Hi, my name is Chad McDonald. I play guitar in a band from Baltimore, MD called Pianos Become the Teeth. We are currently on tour with Coheed and Cambria & Moving Mountains. Here’s a rambled tour journal.
Day One. Today was hectic. wake up at 530 am. drive girlfriend to airport. picked up by mike at 730. at kyle’s by 8. mcdonald’s drive thru. iced coffee is shockingly sweet, undeniably gross. Caffeine mixed with little sleep puts me in a haze. arrive at practice space. unpack the van, run the set, pack the van & drive to the show. 4 hours later - arrive, load in, wait, wait, wait & sound check. nervous energy for the first show. get on stage and play. no one throws food at us or boo’s. that’s a good sign. load out. Watch moving mountains play their set. eat free mexican food. Watch coheed. wait, wait wait. pack up merch. walk to the van. Dude across the street is blasting coheed from the back of his suv while fans stand in groups on the sidewalk waiting for them to exit. realize how surreal this situation is. back in the van. put on headphones and pass out. wake up two hours later at a super 8. 5 of us in one room. turn off the lights, lay down. someone has to pee, turn on the lights. see a cockroach scutter up the table. wake up, check out - complain about cock roach. no price break. They obviously get these complaints all the time and do not care. back in the van and onward we go.
Day 4. Sitting in the backseat of the van while Kyle drives us down to Mi-a-mi. Or actually, right outside of Miami - Pembroke Pines. Tour has been smooth so far. The two dates that we played with Coheed were surreal. Their fans are diehard. It’s a real pleasure to watch Coheed and Moving Mountains play each night. Three fans gave Kyle a huge birthday card that they had people sign at the show last night. Very sweet of them.
We leave next Sunday for this! Tickets and details for every show is available here: http://bnds.in/JZtzpW
Snag them quick, many are sold out or close to it.
PropertyOfZack has confirmed with our good friends at Bled Fest that Pianos Become The Teeth have been added to the beyond rad lineup, which includes The Early November, As Cities Burn, The Wonder Years, and so many more. Make sure to buy tickets here if you’ve yet to!
Pianos Become The Teeth - The Lack Long After
Clear w/ Black swirl /100
Topshelf Records 1st press
Pianos Become The Teeth - The Lack Long After
Translucent Amber /150
Topshelf Records 1st press
Pianos Become The Teeth - The Lack Long After
White /250
Topshelf Records 1st press
If you can get past the awkward subtitled questions, this is an awesome Pianos Become The Teeth interview!
Balance and Composure and Pianos Become The Teeth have confirmed a string of UK dates in August. The two band’s will co-headline, trading off the main slot each night.
Both acts are also set to perform at the Hevy Fest on August 4th in Kent.
Pianos Become The Teeth and Balance and Composure will be supporting their latest critically acclaimed releases, The Lack Long After (Topshelf Records) and Separation (No Sleep Records), respectively.
- August 04 - Hevy Fest KENT www.hevy.co.uk/2012
- August 05 - BRISTOL Fleece www.ticketweb.co.uk
- August 06 - LEEDS Cockpit II www.thecockpit.co.uk
- August 07 - GLASGOW Stereo www.ticketweb.co.uk
- August 08 - MANCHESTER Moho Live www.seetickets.com
- August 09 - SHEFFIELD Corporation www.corporation.org.uk
- August 10 - LONDON Borderline www.kililive.com
Pianos Become the Teeth on tour now with Xerxes.
