#Moon Tooth #progressive rock #hard rock #heavy metal #progressive metal #neo-prog
REVOLVER: WHO IS MOON TOOTH? PLEASE GIVE US A BRIEF HISTORY ON WHAT INSPIRED THE BAND AND HOW IT CAME TOGETHER.
JOHN CARBONE: Nick Lee, Ray Marté, Vincent Romanelli and myself on guitar, drums, bass and vocals respectively. We formed when Nick and Ray's previous band Exemption ended as their singer-bassist Tom Moran was moving on to make incredible music of his own. I was playing drums in our brilliant friend Derek Smith's band Rice Cultivation Society. Nick had joined that band on second guitar so that's how I met him [and] Exemption and fell in love with their music. When they had disbanded, they made it clear that Ray and Nick were gonna keep going. So I wrote Nick a letter telling him how passionate I was about his music and that I knew I was the singer for the job. I got the gig after they watched me sing with my own band and saw what I did with a demo of theirs. Vin was their friend, playing bass in a band called Give Up the Goods and they said he was the first choice both musically and personally. I met Vin at the first practice and we both immediately felt like we had found a brother in each other. Then it was writing and playing 100 shows all in the first year. It all clicked right away because it was clear that the four of us needed to not only make music but throw absolutely every part of ourselves at it. It's been life or death for us from day one.
IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE YOUR BAND'S MISSION STATEMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
To follow our truth, our adventure, our muse at all costs. Living free and real for ourselves, but also to show others that they can do it too, in whatever form it takes. To show them that the man will try and keep them down for following their dreams but when that happens, you eat the fucking man and spit his bones on the rule book he tried to slap you with.
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO HEAVY MUSIC?
When nu-metal hit, I was 11 years old and I ate it all up. Korn at MSG was my first show. I shaved a mohawk that my sister dyed green — it came out blonde — and drove me and my friend Brian to the show. The next morning, Brian and I went to middle school graduation. Parents made me shave the mohawk, though.
IN TERMS OF MUSICAL INSPIRATION, WHO WOULD YOU SAY ARE YOUR TOP THREE INFLUENCES WHEN IT COMES TO MOON TOOTH, AND WHY?
I can never comfortably answer the "top 3" questions, so I'll just say Otis Redding, on the track and on the stage. Because you can hear his soul bleed when he sings. He can crush your heart or lift it up from song to song. And live? That's a fucking entertainer, any rock & roll front person would be wise to take notes. The rest you'll have to sniff out for yourself. I get compared to several singers and some of them I definitely listened to a lot growing up, so the influence got in there. A challenge as I started to develop my voice in this band was to not rip off my heroes. It's an easy trap to fall into.
MOON TOOTH HAIL FROM LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. HOW DOES YOUR BAND FIT INTO — OR STAND APART FROM — THE MUSIC SCENE OUT THERE?
The Island has a pretty diverse scene. We fit in by sharing stages and miles with great bands, the camaraderie is strong, even if the sounds are different. There's enough heft and enough melody in what we do to fit in with different bills. But, I feel that the particular way we instinctively blend heft and melody is pretty unique and sets us apart on the Island and frankly anywhere.
BEING IN A BAND, WHAT'S THE HARDEST CHALLENGE YOU HAVE COME ACROSS SO FAR, AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT?
The hardest challenge is the whole fucking thing. Going for it. This lifestyle will chew up and spit out anyone who doesn't have to do it. It feels like having to hold on to a lightning bolt and withstand the volts. There's so much that has to be sacrificed — comfort, security, stability, personal relationships — but if you have to do this, the reward is a truer freedom than you'll find anywhere else. I'll be facing the challenges of this for the rest of my life, but I'll be able to overcome them because of the peace it brings me. It's home.
DO YOU HAVE ANY "UNEXPECTED" MUSICAL INFLUENCES THAT MIGHT SURPRISE LISTENERS — AND HOW DO THEY IMPACT YOUR OWN CREATIVITY?
I don't know how surprising it is but I'm a big indie rock fan. Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses to name a few. I can't think of ways they actually make it into the writing process but I'm sure their lessons have gotten in there. At the very least by teaching me how to think outside the box.
WHAT BAND OR MUSICAL ARTIST ARE YOU THE BIGGEST FAN OF? ANY SUPERFAN STORIES?
Not easy to pick favorites but finding Tool at age 13 changed my life forever. I can say "The Patient" is my favorite song of all time. Around 2016, Intronaut took Entheos and us on tour and at the last show, about 5 minutes before we were about to open the show, I was hanging in their dressing room. My soul left my body as I realized one of their friends hanging out in the room was [Tool bassist] Justin Chancellor. It fueled me to put on the best show ever as he was watching, laughing and cheering along. Turns out the reason he was there was because Intronaut borrowed his gorilla costume to storm the stage on our last song with signs saying, "Bush did Harambe" and "Shine on you crazy gorilla" — a hilarious and touching way to end the tour. Afterwards, I didn't want to punish Justin, but I needed to at least quickly thank him for the music he's made over the years and how dear it was to me. We ended up chatting for like 20 minutes, absolutely lovely man. Also, Coheed and Cambria. They've been heroes of mine since I was 15 and we've toured with some of the same bands. Coheed, for the love of God, please take us on tour! We've been putting in the miles and the work for 9 years, we won't let you down! I mean they've been in Revolver — you guys could hook that up, right? Right? Okay great, thanks.
From: https://www.revolvermag.com/music/moon-tooth-meet-long-island-prog-metal-crew-inspired-tool-and-otis-redding
