Photo Credit: Kat Nijmeddin
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Maryland!
Formed in Baltimore, Maryland the 5 piece hardcore band Sharptooth have truly made a name for themselves on the East Coast. Did I mention they are also a dinosaur themed band? Who doesn’t love some fucking dinosaurs? Sometimes a new incredible band just appears in front of you and clicks instantly. That is just what happened after watching a recent interview with Jon’s Untitled Podcast and Sharptooth vocalist Lauren Kashan. The in depth chat opens a window into the singers personality and it makes their music even more alluring. You can hear the entire conversation here. Their fierce hardcore sound is known for it’s politically driven lyrics and their live shows are an unstoppable force of chaotic energy. Led by aforementioned vocalist Lauren Kashan the band is one of hardcore’s most promising up and coming acts. Sharptooth also includes the talents of Keith Higgins and Lance Donati on guitars, Phil Rasinski on bass and drummer Conor Mac. The bands debut came in the form of an EP in 2014 which was titled ‘Chompers’. Their debut full length ‘Clever Girl’, released on October 27, 2017 through Pure Noise Records. The first track released from the album was “No Sanctuary” which included some truly inspiring lyrics. Kashan stated about the song “This song is about us as LGBTQIA people telling the rest of society how you can and cannot talk to us, and the insidious ways that language shapes the way people interact with and treat each other. The lyric ‘every time that you say ‘f*ggot’ is a bullet through my head’ directly illustrates how hateful slurs and rhetoric lend credence to homophobic views, and negatively impacts the way the world treats people like me. It’s a slur that’s been used against me personally, and against all of the members of this band, queer and straight alike, and it feeds directly into a cycle of hate that has the potential to manifest as violence against us, and other members of the LGBTQIA community. People say “sticks and stones will break my bones”, but words can and do directly impact our culture and the ways that members of different groups are treated. We can ALL work together to be more mindful of the way we communicate with each other so as to create a safer world for all people.” Sharptooth isn’t the type of band that hides meaning in their lyrics, everything they want to say is screamed right in your face with pure aggression and angst. For example “Fuck You Donald Trump” also from ‘Clever Girl’ doesn’t beat around the bush, you know exactly what this song is about and the bands activism in lyric form makes them much more than just a hardcore band.
Sharptooth has already made their mark on the East Coast and the recent North American tour with Anti-Flag has really allowed more fans get to experience the band in the way they should be, live and in person. They are now they are about to embark on the 2018 2018 Vans Warped Tour as well as another U.S/Canadian tour with Senses Fail and Lil Lotus that runs from May 12th to May 31st. The band has certainly earned their spot on Warped Tour’s final nation wide run and they will appear on every date of the tour on the Mutant Red Dawn Stage. The way they compose music is an art form, tying together lyrical themes in several of their tracks which makes it so much more inspiring to hear knowing there is time, passion and a heart felt message dripping from each and every song. If you have yet to hear this band I suggest you do so now, get out and see them at Warped Tour and buy their record, you won’t be let down.
