Fans of Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails looking for the next flickering neon light in industrial music are sure to find it radiating in the bleak sonic textures of LA's 3Teeth.
The four-piece have already been singled out as a support act for Tool, and are currently gearing up to release second album <shutdown.exe>, a dystopian maelstrom of foreboding synths and chainsaw guitars.
We pinned down guitarist Chase Brawner to give him the 10 questions treatment, where he dished the dirt on a particularly eventful gig in Tijuana and how a broken string changed the way he learned guitar…
1. What was your first guitar and when did you get it?
I broke all the high strings in matter of days and only played powerchords for a year or so
“My first guitar was a Fender Squier that I got when I was 13. I broke all the high strings in matter of days and only played powerchords for a year or so until I learned how to change strings.”
2. The building’s burning down – what one guitar do you save?
“My primary Schecter KM-7.”
3. What's the one effects pedal you couldn't do without?
“DigiTech Whammy.”
4. Is there a guitar, or piece of gear, that you regret letting go?
“The original VHT Pitbull CL-50. The head was juiced.”
5. When did you last practice and what did you play?
“Last night. I played Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street hook over and over with the Whammy.”
6. Is there an aspect of guitar playing that you'd like to be better at?
“Maybe getting down on some different time signatures that wracks your brain but still somehow makes sense.”
7. If you could have a guitar lesson from one guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be?
“Dimebag.”
8. What item of gear would you take with you to a desert island?
“An instrument cable so I could off myself or catch dinner.”
9. What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you onstage?
The subs on the PA blew during our opening song, which smoked up the whole room and made it smell like burning bodies
“Probably a 3Teeth gig in Tijuana, Mexico on my 30th birthday. The subs on the PA blew during our opening song, which smoked up the whole room and made it smell like burning bodies while our eyes were watering. The crowd thought it was part of the show until we stopped.
“We had a quick 40-minute fix-it break filled with endless amounts of tequila and Tecates while they rigged up a makeshift PA of cabs and other blown-out speakers. We then continued to get fully ripe, forgot a bunch of parts and I barfed towards the end.”
10. What advice would you give your younger self about playing the guitar?
“Practise practise practise. Do it out of passion and not to be the cool kid on the block. The ones with the passion are the ones that really put a dent in the scene and carve out their own sound. Also learn how to record yourself ASAP. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can start to understand yourself and how you want your riffs to sound and be played.”
<shutdown.exe> is out on 19 May via OMF Records.
