Royal Teeth was an American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band from Lafayette and

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, Louisiana, formed in 2010. The group consisted of singer and guitarist Gary Larsen, singer Nora Patterson, guitarist Thomas Onebane, bassist Joshua Wells, and drummer Josh Hefner. They released their debut EP ''Act Naturally'' in 2011 and debut LP "Glow" in 2013.

History

Formation

Gary Larsen became acquainted online with Wells, Hefner, and keyboardist Andrew Poe, all of whom were at the time members of the band Oh Juliet based in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

. After the group's dissolution in 2010, Wells invited Larsen to move to Lafayette to work on a new musical project. The duo were eventually joined by Wells' ex-bandmates Poe and Hefner, and guitarist Steve Billeaud. The band was completed by the addition of

native Patterson."Royal Teeth Bio"
''MTV Artists''. MTV. Retrieved 23 August 2014. The band announcing its signing to Elektra Records on April 21, 2015

''Act Naturally'' (2010–2012)

The duo's initial music was mostly folk-driven, but shifted to a more electronic-based full band sound as more and more members were added. Royal Teeth recorded their 5-track debut extended play ''Act Naturally'' in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

with producer Eric Bass and released it July 2011. Upon their signing with

Dangerbird Records Dangerbird Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, California. The label is home to artists from around the world and part of the burgeoning Silver Lake music scene. The label has had international success from its small roster of ...

in April 2012, "Act Naturally" was re-released on May 8, 2012"Royal Teeth"
''Last.fm''. Last.fm Ltd. Retrieved 23 Aug. 2014. The EP features the song "Wild" along with a cover of

The Knife The Knife were a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consisted of siblings Karin and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They gained a large international following i ...

's single "Heartbeats". After the release of ''Act Naturally'', the band went on tour nationally, performing at festivals including CMJ, ACL, Snowglobe, Summerfest,

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

2012 alongside bands such as

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The current lineup consists of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, and Hugh Harris on bass, guitar, and synthesiser. Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s Br ...

, Fitz and the Tantrums, and Walk the Moon. Royal Teeth's first tour was opening for the 2012 reunion of NY

Nerdcore Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop music characterized by subject matter considered of interest to nerds and geeks. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term (to describe this genre) in the 2000 ...

act

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''Glow'' (2013–present)

In February 2013, Royal Teeth travelled to Toronto to begin recording their debut full-length studio album "Glow" with Gavin Brown (Metric). On March 25, 2013, the band appeared on ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with '' ...

'' performing "Wild". Royal Teeth released ''Glow'', on August 13, 2013 via Dangerbird Records. 2013 also included performances at Boston Calling, SXSW, CMJ, Jazzfest, Voodoo Music Experience and tours with The Mowglis, American Authors, Said The Whale, and The Rocket Summer. After ''Glows release, Poe and Billeaud left the band, which was then joined by another ex-Oh Juliet member, guitarist Thomas Onebane. On March 20, 2014, Royal Teeth made a guest appearance on season 13 of

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

, performing "Wild". Touring behind their debut LP, the band played marquee festivals such as the

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...

, as well as Bonnaroo, Firefly, Bunbury, Summerfest, Voodoo Music Experience and SXSW. "Wild" has been featured several times in commercials, ads, and TV, including the launches of the

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, and Buick Verano, State Farm, Bose, American Eagle, Metro AG, The Voice, 90210, ESPN, TLC, PBS, Yahoo & Fox. "Wild" was also featured on the popular soccer video game by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

, ''

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'', as well as the soundtrack and movie G.B.F. April 21, 2015, Royal Teeth announced that they had signed with Elektra Records. April 11, 2016, it was reported that the band and Elektra Records had "parted ways". On November 18, 2016 the band released their second extended play, ''Amateurs''. In 2018, Royal Teeth released two singles, ''It's Just the Start'' and ''Never Gonna Quit''. The band's second studio album, ''Hard Luck,'' was released in 2019. This group is disbanded on June 18, 2023

Band members

Current

* Gary Larsen – vocals, guitar, percussion * Nora Patterson – vocals * Josh Hefner – drums * Thomas Onebane – guitar

Former

* Andrew Poe – keyboard * Steve Billeaud – guitar * Joshua Wells – bass guitar

Sound Engineer

*Kieran McIntosh

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Glow'' (2013) * ''Hard Luck'' (2019)

Extended plays

* ''Act Naturally'' (2011) * ''Amateurs'' (2016)

References

External links

Official website
* *
Dangerbird Records official website
{{Authority control Indie pop groups from Louisiana Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Dangerbird Records artists 2010 establishments in Louisiana Musical groups disestablished in 2023