Royal Teeth Works from Home

Gary Larsen and Nora Patterson of Royal Teeth, by Victoria Conway

The New Orleans-based pop band works on growth in a field that rarely values it.

The risk of burnout is the music industry’s best kept secret. While the glamor and passion of the industry may be an object of envy to nine-to-fivers, there comes a point where the shimmer fades away and the surrealism of living out a dream simply becomes plain old reality. This isn’t to say that musicians don’t love what they do, but at the end of the day, work is work. When you’ve been in front of cameras and on stages for as long as Royal Teeth has, freedom and growth are imperative to staying afloat.

Royal Teeth came to be in 2010, hailing from Lafayette, Louisiana. They released their debut EP Act Naturally in 2011, followed by their debut album, Glow, in 2013. “Wild” from Act Naturally became their musical signature, and it now boasts more than 10.5 million streams on Spotify. It paved the way for the band to tour and grow, but growing together required growing up. Over the past decade, the band has seen members come and go. In 2017, two members of the group, guitarist Thomas Onebane and drummer Josh Hefner, moved to Nashville while singer and guitarist Gary Larsen and singer Nora Patterson remained in New Orleans. 

Royal Teeth, by Jakob Wandel

The inter-state move could have brought an end to the band, seeing as many have broken up for less. However, writing and recording music from 532 miles apart proved to be a manageable challenge. According to Larsen, “We’re used to working apart.” Even prior to the move, the band wrote and recorded from their own homes, then shared ideas via email. They workshopped separately, then responded with fresh revisions. 

While living two states apart, this process remained. Hard Luck, the band’s second full-length album, was written and recorded from their respective homes in New Orleans and Nashville. The 2019 release came six years after Glow, which made it difficult to cruise on the coattails of the previous album’s success. Nonetheless, the band’s persistence was not for naught; the sophomore album, filled with assertive anthems like “Never Gonna Quit,” was well-received by fans and strangers alike. 

Luckily for Royal Teeth, their experience with working independently granted them a leg up when facing COVID-19. Because they recorded in their own homes to begin with, this aspect of their work was not impaired by social isolation measures. Naturally, the group was disappointed by the inability to perform live, but as a positive, Larsen says, he has found himself with more time than ever to work on music and has learned to become a more self-sufficient musician. In addition to their standard writing and recording, the band has released at-home content, namely a two-part Buzzsession for TheWildHoneyPie.com. Filmed and edited by Larsen and Patterson in New Orleans, the videos provide an intimate glance into the musicians’ isolation experience—and a tender ode to this beautiful city.

The band has had to overcome a variety of challenges over its almost 10 years together. But at their current ages, they find themselves at odds with the expectations and rigidity of the music industry. They’re older than most pop bands, and their upbeat sound just doesn’t have the same currency as it did seven years ago.  Their most popular tracks on Spotify epitomize the genre of feel-good pop, with their lively beats and bright melodies. According to Larsen, “I was in a much more sad band before this. I just wanted to do something fun, something upbeat.”

Looking at Royal Teeth’s discography, Larsen has achieved this goal; however, the impression gathered by the band’s most-played songs fails to reflect the growth that they have gone through over the course of the past decade. The last few singles, with their moody harmonies and heavy percussion, reveal a darkness and edge that are seldom associated with the band’s sound. For example, the anti-love anthem “Rivalry,” released in April 2019, pulses with a slow, steady beat as Patterson sings, “Love don’t feel like something meant for me.” Luckily for fans who are pleased with this new direction, it appears as if the group will continue down this course.

“After working on one project for so long,” Larsen says, “I have to make music that’s interesting to me now.”  

In 2020, the band boasts a realistic approach toward its future. “It isn’t a full time job anymore,” says Larsen. During their rise to success, the group was touring practically full-time for two to three years; it was “a little world we created for ourselves,” but they’ve immersed themselves into reality and establishing careers in addition to maintaining the group. Onebane works as a producer, Hefner practices law as a music attorney, and Patterson has opened her own illustration and design studio. 

As the band has matured, so has their perspective. According to Larsen, “The best way to keep the band alive is by not completely depending on it.” They record and release new music as they please. By renouncing the expectant demands of the music industry, they find themselves with a freedom that allows them to have fun; they don’t have to do anything anymore. They can simply create music for the joy of creating music. 

Royal Teeth’s “All of Me” is available to purchase through Bandcamp as a name-your-price option. All proceeds will be donated to the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, an organization that broadens opportunities for underserved youth and musicians, and to the ACLU of Louisiana.