Diandra Interviews Royal Teeth: The Hard Luck Of Being An Artist
We live in a material world or, as Oprah says, “We are spiritual beings taking a physical journey.” In that, money is important and both the excess or lack off it can change the trajectory of your soul. As an artist, this is definitely true and terrifying. Money can change your art or, at least, your motivation and access to make it. In this interview with Royal Teeth, we discuss how much resilience it takes to make music that is “wealthy,” even if it doesn’t make you rich. As they put it, you earn a lot of “hard luck” as you maneuver through the industry. Moreover, you learn how badly you want to be an artist by withstanding how badly you get treated because you are one.
Diandra: Your new record talks about the lows and blockades throughout your career in the music industry. How do you feel the business side of music impedes the artful/ creative side?
Royal Teeth: It can get in the way if you let it. It’s hard to separate the two at times. In the beginning things are much simpler, I think, because your expectations are smaller. Once you build a team and fans there are just more expectations and more chances for you to fail. It becomes harder to shut out the noise and make music simply for the love of it.
Diandra: Describe what “hard luck” is, and when you felt you had it?
Royal Teeth – “Wild” (Music Video)
Royal Teeth: For us, it was just feeling like we couldn’t take a few steps forward without taking one back. I do believe we have been luckier than many others. We have been a band for 8 years now and we have found a way to keep the wheels spinning. I think many bands that have been in our situation wouldn’t have made it on the other side. I felt like hard luck was following us once our second record deal fell through before it even began. It really tested our spirit and will to survive in this industry.
Diandra: You have said you wanted the album to feel more aggressive and rough. Why? Moreover, how dod you feel the changing sound reflected how you had changed as people?
Royal Teeth: One reason was because we recorded and produced this album ourselves. We knew there would be mistakes along the way and that it wouldn’t be perfect if we did it this way. We wanted to embrace that and embrace the imperfections because thats how we felt at the time. We felt a bit flawed and a bit aggressive towards our situation. We have changed a lot from the start of this band, but our love for music and our joy for creating it hasn’t changed. I think that is the one constant that still comes out even on this album.
Royal Teeth “Show You What I Can Do” feat. Tunde Olaniran (Official Music Video)
Diandra: Often, artists cite money as the crack between artists and execs. Do you believe sales are important or should be an influence in the creation of art? Does “money” actually place worth on a song?
Royal Teeth: That is a tough one. I think it depends on who you ask and I’m not sure either answer would be wrong. From a business perspective, it absolutely does. I feel better about asking for more support from the team if I know that something I’ve made is making them money. I actually enjoy writing music for sync opportunities outside of Royal Teeth. I’m also getting into co-writing. Those are jobs that I rely on my influences and passion, but I hope will result in money. Our biggest song, “Wild,” has opened so many doors and has allowed us to pursue music full time. Even though it is not my favorite song I’ve made, it carries the most weight. On the flip side, I do also believe that a great album doesn’t need to have that perspective. Hard Luck doesn’t need to be commercially successful for me to feel like it is valuable, and I know many passionate music fans share that mind set.
Diandra: The album is testament to perseverance and the epiphany that, sometimes, you do what you want because you love it; not because it “loves you back.” Name a moment when your music helped you persevere from a situation.
Royal Teeth: When we were making this album we spent a month in Nashville working with great producers and recording in a beautiful studio. I think I just expected everything to fall into place but it didn’t. We weren’t really mentally ready and, after that month, we didn’t love what we had. It was a low for me personally because it felt like we failed before we even really got going. That experience inspired us to start recording from home and to rely on ourselves more. We could have easily accepted defeat, at that point, but we felt like if this was it then we needed to go down swinging.
Royal Teeth “Never Gonna Quit” (Official Music Video)
Diandra: Bouncing off that question, describe a time/ instance when you felt music “loved you back.”
Royal Teeth: I think seeing our new song used for a couple early syncs really boosted my confidence. Never Gonna Quit was used in an Australian Football League ad and I remember being really excited. I remember making that song at my house and seeing it used like that really helped with my confidence. The other thing that always keeps us going is our fans. Seeing people sing your music back to you never gets old. They are a huge reason we still do this.
Diandra: You have changed so much as individuals together. What are the newfound strengths you have seen grow within each other after years as a band?
Royal Teeth: We are a family now. We care about each other more than ever. We hope that the band will continue to share a place in our lives but what’s most important these days is that we are living our best lives.
Diandra: The group went in a “hiatus” of sorts. Describe what moment/ motivation moved you to get back together.
Royal Teeth: Our hiatus was really just a lot of label and business drama. We never really stopped writing and growing but we couldn’t release it. It was very frustrating. We met Roundhill (our current label) on tour and we were recently unsigned. We just never told anyone. I thought it was probably our last tour as Royal Teeth. After our show, we had dinner with them and we have been close ever since.
Diandra: How has the making of Hard Luck refreshed how you see yourselves as artists?
Royal Teeth “Rivalry” (Official Lyric Video)
Royal Teeth: We feel very self sufficient now. We can continue to grow and make music together this way without so many set backs. I’m already 10 ideas deep on the next album and I’m making other kinds of music for fun on the side. It has created a flood of creativity that I don’t want to end. I just need to remind myself to go outside once in a while.
Diandra: You have said this line of work requires you to be vulnerable and face your fears. What is the biggest vulnerability and fear this work has exposed to you?
Royal Teeth: I have a hard time with the negativity on social media. Social Media is such a good thing and such a bad thing at the same time. I get a nervous, anxious feeling in my gut every time I share music. I know I should feel excited to share myself with the world but I know that negative energy is never too far away. No matter how many amazing things I achieve because of this band, it is something I battle with every day. I also know that I will never let it define me or be the reason I stop making music. (insert cheesy moment) I guess you could say that I’m never gonna quit. 😉
Royal Teeth “Get A Load Of This One” (Official Lyric Video)
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