VERONICA So has no doubt what her band is all about. “It’s a miracle,” she laughs. “We are a shambolic miracle which shouldn’t really exist. We are all so different – but somehow it works.”
And she’s right.
While other bands bristle with personality, few are so mismatched as London electro-synth-punk three-piece Teeth.
The trio emerged from a chance encounter between feisty Californian fashion writer Veronica, now 25, and fellow Central St Martins School of Art student Ximon Tayki – aka composer Simon Leahy – who was working, at the time, in the cloakroom of a London nightclub, having recently quit a Spanish hippy commune.
The pair went on to recruit drummer Simon Whybray, via the musicians’ online social networking site of choice, Myspace.
“‘Simon drummer’ is a genius who insists on doing all this stuff on the Internet, where as ‘Ximon laptop’ is an overall weird guy,” she says. “But it’s great to know them both.”
“We are so unalike,” Veronica goes on, every inch the loud American. “And the real miracle is the fact we can tolerate each other at all.
“We are such a strange concept that many people thought we were messing about, at first.”
But while they look chaotic, nothing could be further from the truth.
Picking up where nu-rave left off, they make loud, ballsy electro-dance, with samples framed by Veronica’s somnolent vocals, musings and, well…screaming.
“I do scream!” she, err…screams, with immense pride. “But I only scream because I feel good. It’s something I need to do.”
The band’s debut album Whatever (out on Moshi Moshi – former home of The Drums and Friendly Fires) features layers of smooth synth and distorted noise, and has seen them earn favourable comparisons to Crystal Castles.
“It’s a wonderful comparison,” says Veronica. “It’s great that a band as unlikely as them have got as far as they have. They are game-changers.
“It’s an obvious comparison though… another yelling girl with laptop. But there are millions of other bands like that.
“People categorise us as dance-pop,” she goes on. “But we come from a DIY place and make do with what we have. And that makes us sassy and fabulous. We are divine…like a big drag queen.”
There hi-energy sound borrows heavily from the ethos and adrenaline of illicit warehouse parties and acid house. “When I was 16 I was never allowed to go to raves,” says Veronica, “So I am living out my fantasies: meeting people, going to shows and expressing myself. I like to leap around on stage a lot and definitely have a lot of fun being watched.
“I always wanted to be a star when I was a kid, but I don’t think I can sing. It’s about making weird combinations with my vocals.
“I write lyrics and deliver lines, Ximon samples sound and comes up with the structure, while Simon layers the beats. That’s how we bring the sound together. We do a third each; we are a real band.”
She is talking to me backstage before going on stage in Sheffield, at the start of a tour, which, on Saturday, arrives in Oxford, as guests of Guide club snapper Marc West’s Yoof! Night at The Cellar.
“We’ve been around the UK so many times, it’s like a recurring nightmare,” she giggles, before saying something very rude indeed about her two bandmates.
“It’s the same places…but with new people and new songs – although this time people actually know the words, which is quite different for us.”
A tight ball of energy, Veronica is a formidable presence on stage. But she claims to be very different away from the crowd’s glare. “We are not very rock ’n’ roll,” she says unconvincingly. “We are all nerds. Simon makes things quite crazy, but on this tour he is trying not to drink too much because he’s feeling quite rough.”
Mischievous and just a little naughty, Teeth courted controversy with their antics online – including shenanigans on Twitter, where they impersonated the writer Will Self for nine months and hacked into Lady Gaga’s account, by guessing her password, and inviting her 1.5 million followers to check them out.
But for all the silliness, they are serious about their music.
“It is great,” says Veronica. “We are a funny group, but we can bond over a appreciation of music from ‘back then’. We are from totally different places but have lots of similar ideas.”
Perhaps, I suggest, she is the unifying force. She likes that. “They need a strong American,” she laughs. “It’s the feminine touch. They are weird guys, but I’m just along for the ride.
“I’m not a diva, but I’m not shy either. I’m quite serious in normal life and don’t like attention. But I love fashion and the way it’s perceived. And I’m passionate. I care about what we do and don’t like it when people write that what we do is a joke.
“It’s all about having fun and being noisy. We are no-holds barred noise-lovers!”
And she called on gig-goers to join the racket. “Everyone who is working a crazy nine-to-five should come along and scream, not out of anger, but to let it out.
“It’s a great release!”
Teeth play The Cellar on Saturday. Support comes from My Grey Horse and others, with music from DJ Jack Olchawski. The fun runs from 9pm-3am. Tickets are £5
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here