Crooked Teeth - Sound In The Signals Interview
I recently had the opportunity to interview Tyson of Crooked Teeth ahead of the release of new song, “Hallelujah (Wish I Never Knew Ya)”, which is out today. We discussed the writing and recording process, lyrical inspiration, how he hopes listeners connect to the song, musical influences, his thoughts on how Travis Barker has been able to “redefine rock music in the pop world”, and more. Check it out below.
First, thanks for the interview.
My pleasure!! Thanks for thinking of me and having me!
Your new song, “Hallelujah (Wish I Never Knew Ya)” is out August 13th. Can you tell me about writing and recording the song?
Yeah, so I actually had the riff sitting in my back pocket of riffs for about 4 years. When I went into the studio with Matt Malpass back in the spring, he showed me this really cool beat he had made with some minimal midi stuff on top of it, but no concrete or defining guitar parts or melodies at that point. The vibe of what he had reminded me a lot of an AFI song on Decemberunderground in the sense that it went from this rock song into an outro that was super midi sounding and was something I hadn’t heard the band do before. I knew I wanted to do something in the same vein and the guitar part I had been saving for all those years finally had a home!
Can you tell us more about the inspiration for the song?
Lyrically, the song is about coming to terms with change no matter how hard it might be in that present moment. This song serves as a reminder to me to let things pass through me rather than endlessly fixate on the seemingly negative and toxic mindset that we fall into when things don’t go the way we planned them in our head. Overall, it’s about being emotionally liberated and embracing change.
The song sounds great. It feels like this could be a really special and big song for you. What are you hoping listeners connect to with the song?
Thanks so much! I’m hoping the listener can find something to relate to in the lyrics and story telling while still being able to enjoy how fun and huge it feels instrumentally. This one is absolutely my favorite yet and is especially vulnerable lyrically.
You’ve said this song will be for fans of artists like Mod Sun, Kennyhoopla, Box Car Racer, blink-182, as well as a few others. Did any of those artists inspire or influence you when writing this song?
Yeah, so the song itself is driven by this huge hip hop sort of backbeat. My instrumental writing style is always undeniably influenced by that period of blink from like 2001-2004 as well as Tom and Travis’ side project Box Car Racer. I think the two of them were pretty ahead of their time in the way they arranged these otherwise pop punk riffs and melodies in such a way that it has a huge, aggressive and sonic rock sound. I’ve always loved hearing super catchy pop melodies live inside a big punk rock sound. I like to think mod sun, kenny hoopla and myself are all cut from somewhat of the same clothe and I think this song showcases just that!
What are your thoughts on the whole pop-punk revival that’s been happening?
To be honest, I don’t really see any sort of revival. I think hip hop overtook rock music in the mainstream 15 years or so ago and it’s taken rock artists a while to come around to evolving their sound. I think Travis Barker has always had such a refined take on the rock genre for years now and through collaborating with a lot of these up and comers, has been able to redefine rock music in the pop world. I think everyone has always loved the aesthetic of the Warped Tour and Hot Topic world yet it’s been treated as mere nostalgia for the past ten years. I think we’re seeing a lot of pop punk bands that we were introduced to over the past 10 years start to have to get creative for the sake of career longevity because these tik tok stars are redefining and reinventing that scene in a much more household accessible way. A way we haven’t really seen since the early 2000s by way of networks like MTV, Fuse and VH1.
What else do you have coming up this year?
Well I’m constantly writing! Both for crooked teeth and with others! I have more music to come following this single that I am so so excited to share. Taking things one day at a time!
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks again for having me! I would add to just be good to yourself, be good to others and chase whatever dreams you’ve got burning up inside! All love, always!
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