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?
Of 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!
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Photography: Reid Haithcock, http://bummercity.com