Feature / Music
A389 Recordings VIII Anniverary Bash

Words: Gregg Harrington • January 30, 2012

A389 Recordings VIII Anniverary Bash
A389 Recordings VIII Anniverary Bash

 

PULLING TEETH

Mike Riley, vocals

 I'm sure everyone will be asking why Pulling Teeth is calling it a day, but in my eyes the statement you guys made is pretty clear. With that said, are you guys excited to play Baltimore one last time as part of the A389 showcase?

Pulling Teeth (Reid Haithcock www.bummercity.com) - 300 pxl.jpgOf course. I couldn't think of a better way to go out than to play with a bunch of amazing bands and friends in our hometown. It'll be bittersweet, for sure, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

With the release of Funerary, it seemed that Pulling Teeth’s overall sound reached a very well-crafted and mature level, especially in your lyrics. How do you guys think it turned out? 

Thanks a lot. I'm not sure we could do any better. It's certainly a culmination of years of playing together and getting comfortable with where we wanted to go musically from the very beginning. I think PD/PI was a good stepping stone to getting us there, but Funerary is where it all gelled and worked as a complete album.

Will that be the final Pulling Teeth release the world will see, or are there any plans for a posthumous release?

That will be the last release of new music. There is talk of a live EP and maybe another cassette version of Funerary for Southeast Asia, but I'm not sure if those will definitely happen.

Since Dom is putting the showcase together and I'm sure he's excited to see all the bands playing, who are the rest of you most excited to see?

Mike: Eyehategod, Weekend Nachos, Pick Your Side, Full of Hell
Alex: Integrity, Weekend Nachos, Triac, Full of Hell
Chris: Triac
Mitch: Hatewaves

What can we expect from the final Pulling Teeth set?

As much as we'd love to play a set of every song and every cover we've ever played, we're getting up there in age and just don't have the energy for that. It'll be 30-40 minutes of our best songs with a lot of ooey-gooey heartfelt thank-yous peppered in between, and hopefully a lot of people leaving with smiles on their faces.

What will the rest of 2012 see for all of you?

That's when the world ends, right? I didn't see the movie so I'm not sure if it's unavoidable or not.

If we're all still alive these things will be accomplished: Finishing college, more babies, more records from A389, Firestarter, and Toxic Pop. Alex is heading to Tupelo to play drums for Seraphim. Chris will have new music from Pala and Invitational. Hatewaves are also working on new songs. Mitch and I have talked about starting something, but as of yet we have not actually gotten together for it. Mitch also has a couple of other projects in the works that may or may not see the light of day. Charm City Art Space's 10 year anniversary!

---

Photography:  Reid Haithcock, http://bummercity.com

Skip to page View as a single page

A389 Recordings VIII Anniverary Bash
A389 Recordings VIII Anniverary Bash

Pages in this feature

  1. Opening page
  2. Triac
  3. Weekend Nachos
  4. Full of Hell
  5. Young and in the Way
  6. Low Places
  7. Homewrecker
  8. Gehenna
  9. Pulling Teeth

Related features

Flutter

One Question Interviews • September 16, 2025

Josh (Flutter) SPB: Where did you learn to drive and what kind of car was it? Josh: My first car was a 1997 Ford Taurus, mint green with matching mint green seats. I learned to drive in the rolling countryside outside of Dubuque, Iowa, where a year later I would … Read more

Demos You Want To Check #1

Music / New Kids On The Block • September 14, 2025

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and die out and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, it never hurts to help! So here we are, your humble … Read more

Little Low

One Question Interviews • August 6, 2025

Christine Atturio (Little Low) SPB: What is your favorite Disney soundtrack? Atturio: Aladdin, hands down. Robin Williams singing "Friend Like Me" is fire! The soundtrack as a whole goes from hopeful to scary to funny and back again, sometimes even sounding like the music from Indiana Jones when he's exploring … Read more

Normal Park

One Question Interviews • August 5, 2025

McKinnon (Normal Park) SPB: Your bio references math rock, [my opinion] one of the sillier genre names. Is there a music term you hear often that seems like it could have been phrased better? Tyler: I don’t mind math rock as a genre term because it’s simple and descriptive, plus … Read more

Foolsmate

One Question Interviews • August 4, 2025

Alex Gilliam (Foolsmate) SPB: What does the term “Midwest emo” mean to you? Gilliam: After getting this question, I immediately asked the other guys in Foolsmate for their input. Though their answers varied drastically, they all touched upon inclusion. Midwest emo has always been about being vulnerable about yourself and … Read more

More from this section

Demos You Want To Check #1

Music / New Kids On The Block • September 14, 2025

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and die out and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, it never hurts to help! So here we are, your humble … Read more

Sell The Heart Records – History 101

Music / History 101 • August 3, 2025

Like most independent labels, Sell The Heart started to document a scene without really asking themselves “Where do you see yourself in 15 years?” In 2010, founder Andy Pohl was barely even thinking about vinyl. In “History 101” tradition, Scene Point Blank picked out some of the label's notable releases … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: The Year So Far (July 2025)

Music • July 6, 2025

We're halfway through the year: when did that happen?! Luckily for you, SPB is on hand to share the music we've enjoyed most in 2025 thus far. Read on to hear about the records that have made our top list for this year as it stands, and also some bonus … Read more