By Natalie Schack, News correspondent
The Toothaches will tell you they’ve been called ‘sweet’ many times. Maybe it’s because of their name or their brand of dance-out-of-your-seat pop music.
But this Boston-bred group isn’t just saccharin pop. For a more accurate representation of their sound, take that boppy image, soak it in beer and introduce it to rock ‘n’ roll.
The five band members first met through a series of serendipitous encounters:’ a random street meeting, a lingerie party, a bagel shop shoulder-brushing.
Under their dentist-disapproved moniker, Rose Blakelock, 22, Zimmy Ayer, 21, Monica Hubbell, 29, Andrew Zizik, 21, and Johnny Jannetty, 21, quickly developed a tight, loyal fan base in the city ‘- slowly but surely working toward their self-proclaimed goal to ‘take over the world.”
Their brand of live showmanship hinges on a DIY dance-rock atmosphere and a penchant for the absurd, with stunts like bunny masks and matching outfits.
But Beantown proved too small, so they did what any band on the cusp of a new phase in its life does:’ Half of the group moved to the big city. While Blakelock, Hubbell, and Ayer packed up their lives and set up shop south, Zizik and Jannetty stayed in New England to continue their studies at Emerson College.
Now, The Toothaches have one foot in Boston and one in Brooklyn, N.Y. But tonight at 9 p.m., the whole band will be in one place ‘- Great Scott. Plan for ukuleles and glockenspiels galore, plus new T-shirts, at the band’s first Boston show in two months.’ ‘ ‘
Huntington News:’ What’s the best thing about The Toothaches?
Andrew Zizik:’ The rhythm section. Also, the collective respect and love for alcohol.
Johnny Jannetty:’ Yeah. The Toothaches know how to party. There have been comments about how much we drink and how we can still play.
AZ:’ Also, though, we have harmonies ‘- like three or four part harmonies. We have a lot of glockenspiel.
We have girls in our band.’ ‘
HN:’ What type of approach do you take with the music?
AZ:’ Lately we’ve been doing a lot more complex stuff. Johnny and I try to create our own little organism.
JJ:’ We used to be skippy rock. We’re moving toward more rock and roll and dance rock ‘- intricate but still catchy.
AZ:’ We try to create like a tight pulse; we’re very musical about our rhythm. The new songs are kind of Beatles-y.
RB:’ Some of the stuff that Zimmy has been writing is a little bit more sincere. Simpler, but it carries more weight.’ ‘ ‘
HN:’ Why the big move to New York?
RB:’ I was always like, ‘Zimmy, we’re moving to New York when I’m done with school.’ It’s just that there are a lot of bands in Boston that are still playing the same show they played 10 years ago. That’s fine, but there’s a certain point when you’ve done as much as you can there and it’s scary, but you have to move on. I’m not in college anymore and this is what I want to do. In a way, it’s freeing.
HN:’ What are you looking to achieve at your shows?
RB:’ We want to make a live show an actual show. I’m so sick of seeing someone just stand on stage and play their song. You know, that’s only half of it. We’re not afraid to make total asses of ourselves. It’s our energy level, and I think that because we all have a pretty different musical background, we have a lot more range than maybe a lot of other acts.
JJ:’ We get wacky sometimes, like dress up in dresses, or bunny masks. We’re just about having fun. That’s what we want our appeal to be ‘- people dancing and having fun.’ ‘ ‘
HN:’ What’s your fan response been like?
JJ:’ It’s very personal.
AZ:’ Honestly, I feel like most of our fans are our friends.
HN:’ How do you feel about tonight’s show?
RB:’ It’s going to be awesome. People are going to [expletive] themselves. I think it’s going to be really high energy. I think everyone’s going to dance until they bleed and there’s going to be lots of sweat. Zimmy’s chest hair is going to be there. And, we have new T-shirts, so that will be fun. We haven’t played in Boston in two months, so it’s been a while but we’re excited to play again. We hope people are excited to see us.’
HN:’ What’s The Toothaches’ journey been like?
JJ:’ I like being in The Toothaches and l love everyone in the band. I’ve been in lots of bands before. And it’s not easy. It takes a lot of work.
AZ:’ I’ve had a lot of letdowns, wake-up calls, reality checks.
JJ:’ It’s a tough decision, between a somewhat soft life and putting everything into it. I’m just enjoying it while it’s going on.
