Interviews: Showing Teeth
1. Showing Teeth has quickly become one of the most talked-about new names in heavy music. Has the speed of your rise changed the way you approach your career, or are you trying to stay focused on the same goals you had from the beginning?
The speed of growth has been amazing and horrifying at the same time. I knew my music was very raw and emotional, and I would eventually be able to cultivate an atmosphere that brings people together, but I truly never expected the immediate virality. As any musician would be, I am so grateful to have people hearing the music and relating to the songs, but with that comes a lot of hate and resentment for moving so quickly. And I get it more than anyone. I’ve watched artists climb super fast and wonder to myself, “what do they have that I don't?" but the reality is, the internet is a bit random with what it gloms onto. And in all honesty, I do wish I had more time to be a little secret and not have to be so organized, but I’m glad to move into these next songwriting chapters with people that already care about it.
2. Your music moves effortlessly between brutal deathcore vocals and delicate, melodic passages. How did you develop that duality as a vocalist, and what does each side allow you to express emotionally?
I'm really just a big music fan and don't want to box myself in with a genre or a style. The lyrics and song shape always come first for me before an instrumental or even a melody or cadence. So I let the lyrics tell the story of the song and everything else is just a vehicle for the emotion. Once I have a song written lyrically, it’s like the rest of the song fills itself in inside of my head and I am very hard-headed and will chase the sound until I get to it.
3. The title A Fate Worse Than Loneliness is both intriguing and unsettling. What does it represent to you, and how does it connect the songs on the EP?
I am a very reclusive person, and I genuinely love it. But growing up, I was raised in a very sheltered, christian-conservative environment, and I had a severely warped perception of how I was supposed to be as a woman. That environment led me to places and relationships that have damaged me for life. I felt truly more isolated growing up than I do now. Removing myself from everyone and everything I knew was the best decision I made and it inspired every song in the EP. Every track is a different chapter of experiencing loss of self and grief. I pulled the title from my lyrics in Shallow Grave: “I sacrifice my loneliness for something much worse, I beg a God for changes but I can't be heard”
4. "Bad Exchanges," "Labyrinth," and "Rip" each have their own identity while still feeling connected. How did you decide these were the right songs to introduce listeners to the EP?
Labyrinth was a funny choice for my first single honestly. It was a last-minute addition to the EP I was working on and felt kind of ridiculous and impromptu. I wrote and recorded the initial vocals in one go over a jersey club beat, so it felt kind of like a fun way of showing people who come across the song that I just want to write music and have fun and that's all Showing Teeth is about. No drama, no goals, no expectations. Just fun and pissed off.
Rip and Bad Exchanges felt like the heart of what Showing Teeth is though, and that's why they were important to get out immediately. Rip is about religious trauma and Bad Exchanges is about social trauma, and that’s pretty much all I write about most of the time. Showing Teeth is rage derived from fear.
5. You've built a massive audience through social media before releasing a full EP. How do you balance creating content for online platforms with protecting your creativity and avoiding burnout?
I’ve always just posted what I want whenever I want, and I don’t think I’m capable of changing that flow. Now that I have labels involved, I am always open to hearing ideas and strategies, but I really can’t do anything that doesn’t feel authentic to me. I like talking to people and having a conversation about music, not just making a post selling the project. I think that’s why everything has worked the way it is, people want to be real and not be sold stuff all the time.
6. Signing with both Republic Records and Spinefarm is a significant milestone. What made this partnership feel like the right home for Showing Teeth, and what opportunities does it open up for you?
After Labyrinth came out, I was met with messages from a lot of producers and labels and management companies. To be totally transparent, the process of talking to labels made me a bit cynical. Although I was extremely grateful for the opportunity, I didn’t trust anyone and it would be hard having all these meetings full of big promises while I was working a full time job, struggling financially, and keeping up with social media popping off. I was not super excited about label involvement, but I knew it could be the ticket to make music my job. I met with Republic and Spinefarm individually and did really like them both, but when they suggested working all together, it showed me they were really invested in me as a writer and they could see my vision. My favorite thing about working with both of them is I feel like everyone really trusts me and just lets me follow my passions; and they have all the smart people to put things into motion. I just send them the songs and we go. They haven't made me change the way I do anything and that’s honestly so cool.
7. You've already shared stages with bands like Bring Me the Horizon and will now be touring with President. What have those live experiences taught you about connecting with audiences in such a demanding genre?
Opening for other artists as a very new, small artist is fun and easy for me. I feel like a little jester that just gets to go crazy before the main event. Obviously, the hope is that people will watch and love the music, but I think I’d go insane if I didn't simplify the task. I like to assume no one has ever heard of me and I get to set the expectation in that moment and just have fun. But if I really stopped and thought about opening for fucking Bring Me The Horizon, I’d be way too scared to do it. But I really loved those shows, getting to just have fun with people and be able to interact is one of the best feelings in the world.
8. Many listeners describe your music as unpredictable, constantly shifting between beauty and chaos. When you're writing, do those contrasts happen naturally, or are they something you consciously build into each song?
It happens very naturally in my writing to the point where I never really considered it would shock people. I am always lyrics first, and once I have those, I just know how I’m going to deliver the lyrics and how the instrumental will go. I am a very visual songwriter, so I can see the songs in my head if that makes sense. It’s kind of like writing a play for me, the emotions I’m feeling determine the delivery.
9. Heavy music is constantly evolving, with genre boundaries becoming less important than ever. Where do you see Showing Teeth fitting into the current scene, and where would you like to push it next?
I’ve always used electronic elements in my demo writing process, but I’d like to combine those worlds more I think. I think some metal artists use electronic elements as a gimmick and some use them more like tools, but I really want to do justice to both genres. I’m still learning a lot and just always trying new things.
10. For someone discovering Showing Teeth for the very first time through A Fate Worse Than Loneliness, what do you hope they understand about you as both an artist and a person by the time the EP ends?
That I’m not angry, I’m just scared.
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