Interview: Inside TeethOut's Relentless DIY Drive
We chat with TeethOut about their new EP, Brittle But Elite, balancing full-time jobs with band life, gear dreams, AI's impact on indie bands, what's ahead in 2025, and more.
TeethOut is a fast-rising skate punk band that fuses relentless energy with sharp, emotionally driven songwriting, grounded in tight musicianship and a strong do-it-yourself spirit.
In this interview, we talk with Ozone, the band’s drummer, about the making of their second EP, Brittle But Elite, the challenges of balancing full-time lives with music, gear dreams, their thoughts on Spotify, AI's impact on independent bands, what’s next for 2025, and more.
Chris Roditis, Musicngear: Hi TeethOut, Welcome to Musicngear! Let’s start with gear. What’s the secret sauce behind the TeethOut sound? Any must-have pedals, amps, or weird setups we should know about?
Ozone: We leave a lot of our tones on record in the hands of our producer, Shawn Taggart. He’s got a great ear and helps shape our sound in a way that really captures the energy we’re going for.
Live, we each bring our own flavor to the mix, but honestly, I’m not a gearhead at all. I know our guitarists love gear.
I think the TeethOut secret sauce is probably just: play fast, play tight, and trust Shawn to make us sound good in post.
Musicngear: If you could pick just one of these gear dreams to come true, which one are you going for and why? Owning a legendary or ultra-rare piece of gear, your own signature model, a fully custom rig, dream endorsements, or building a tone so unforgettable it becomes a signature sound?
Ozone: I’d go for a fully custom rig. I’ve played on custom drum kits before, and there’s something really special about using gear that’s built around how you play. It feels like an extension of yourself instead of something you’re just borrowing. Everything fits better, sounds better, and inspires you to push a little harder.
Musicngear: TeethOut may have formed recently, but you’ve already hit the ground running. What’s been the toughest challenge so far as a band, and what advice would you give to artists facing similar roadblocks?
Ozone: The toughest thing is just time. We’re not in our early twenties anymore; we all have full-time jobs, families, and other responsibilities. So we’ve had to be really intentional about how we spend our energy.
If I had any advice, it’d be: record a few solid tracks, get them out there, and then start playing live as soon and as often as you can. If you’re younger and have more freedom, take advantage of that. Hit the road. Meet people. Build your community.
Musicngear: If from now on you had to choose only one format to release visuals for your music, what would that be? Official music videos or TikToks/Shorts/Reels? And why?
Ozone: Oh geeze, probably official music videos, mostly because those are usually left to professionals, and they tend to look and feel a lot more cohesive.
Reels and TikToks are great for reach, but there’s something timeless about a well-made music video. It feels like a piece of art that can live on its own.
Musicngear: Madison Regan brings an incredible dynamic to ‘Lifeline II.’ Are there any other artists you’d love to collab with down the line? And what venues or festivals are still on your TeethOut bucket list?
Ozone: Yes! Madison crushed it. We’d love to keep collaborating with as many artists as possible. I’ve played with a ton of incredible musicians all over the world, and there’s no shortage of talent out there.
As for venues, there are so many we'd love to hit. The Fest in Florida would be a dream. Honestly, just getting to play on some bigger stages and festivals where people are there for the scene.
Musicngear: What are your goals when it comes to promoting your new EP, 'Brittle But Elite'? Are you aiming for streams, shows, blog coverage, or something totally different? And how are you planning to get there?
Ozone: Our main goal is just to get it in front of as many people as possible. We’re really proud of how this EP came together, it hits the sound we’ve been chasing since day one. We’ve got shows lined up, some video content in the works, and we’re working with as many people as possible to get the word out.
Any way we can keep building momentum, we’re going to try it.
If Spotify disappeared tomorrow, bands like ours would still be doing what we’re doing, we’d just burn a lot more CDs
Musicngear: ‘Walking Down’ feels like a late-night existential soundtrack. If that song were a street, what would it look like, and who or what would be waiting at the end of it?
Ozone: When I wrote that song, I had just come back from my first international tour playing with Trashed Ambulance, and I was dealing with some post-tour blues. It was a weird, aimless kind of sadness. ‘Walking Down’ came out of that haze.
That street could be anywhere, any late-night wander through a city you don’t fully know, but you feel connected to because of who you’re with. Maybe there’s nothing waiting at the end. Or maybe it’s just the next adventure.
Musicngear: Ηow do you navigate the challenges of making a living as a musician today? Is music your main source of income, or do you have other ways to sustain yourself financially?
Ozone: Music definitely doesn’t pay the bills for us. We all work full-time jobs on top of this. It’s a labor of love, plain and simple. Any money we do make, whether it’s through streaming, merch, or gigs, gets funneled right back into the band to keep it going.
Musicngear: Given that Spotify pays musicians mere pennies while raking in billions, do you believe the music industry would be better or worse off if the platform disappeared overnight?
Ozone: Personally, I don’t have a huge issue with Spotify. Bigger artists have every right to be frustrated with how it works, but in smaller punk scenes, it’s just another tool. Every band I’ve ever been in gets a few hundred bucks from it a year, which helps. But the real money, what little there is, comes from live shows and selling good merch.
If Spotify disappeared tomorrow, bands like ours would still be doing what we’re doing, we’d just burn a lot more CDs.
Musicngear: What’s something you think needs to seriously change to make life better for independent bands like yours?
Ozone: I think the rise of AI is a real concern for smaller bands. It’s starting to write songs that sound really good, and it’s getting harder to tell what’s authentic and what’s been pumped out by a machine.
It’s not just about creativity, it’s about how overwhelmed the market might become when human-made art gets buried in the noise.
Musicngear: Beyond the upcoming shows, what’s coming up for you? More music, tours, surprises we should watch out for?
Ozone: We’re always cooking something up. We’ve got a few shows lined up this summer, and we’re hoping to lock in a few more soon. We’ve already started writing for what’s next, too.
Nothing’s set in stone yet, but we’re not slowing down anytime soon.
Connect with TeethOut
Facebook // Instagram // Spotify // Bandcamp
About Chris Roditis
Chris Roditis has been an active musician since 1995 in various bands and projects across a variety of genres ranging from acoustic, electronic to nu metal, british rock and trip hop. He has extensive experience as a mixing engineer and producer and has built recording studios for most of the projects he has been involved with. His passion for music steered his entrepreneurial skills into founding MusicNGear in 2012.
Contact Chris Roditis at chrisroditis@musicngear.com
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