In the middle of 2015, I learned about 3TEETH, a 'transgressive art' band based in Los Angeles. At the time, 3TEETH was two years old. Considering the newness of the rock-electronic outfit, they were doing a good job, receiving press from the New Yorker and the Gawker for singer Alexis Mincolla's style.

Fast forward to 2016, and 3TEETH announced a collaboration with New Jersey-native duo ho99o9. 

We chatted with Mincolla about social media, re-imagining Baraka and titling. We also talked about their tour with TOOL and Primus, and this year's election.

Hometown: Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington DC. 

Homebase: Los Angeles 

You choose unusual names for song titles: SLAVEGOD, NIHIL, and PEARLS 2 SWINE. What are some of the things going through your minds when you come up with these names? What inspires the naming process?

Most of the inspiration for our music comes directly from what we feel is a very stripped down look at the current state of the world around us. To us, industrial music is simply a way for us to suck some of the poison out of our society and spit it back in its own face in a sort of sardonic reflectivity. 

On social media, it seems you weren't afraid to share your thoughts about this year's presidential candidates; Republican and Democratic. Did the members of the 3TEETH band vote in this year's election?

The ideas and imagery we have created regarding this years election are certainly not in support of any particular candidate but often doing our best to expose the absolute absurdity that is our political system. As far as this year's elections are concerned, I [did] not [vote] and I’m not saying this because I’m being apathetic or ignorant. I'm actually quite passionate about these subject being that I spent four years of my life getting a degree in Political Science. I just have a huge issue with the idea of leaving our future in the hands of people whose primary skill sets are to pander to the largest crowd. I also think we deserve better then some binary choice of lesser evil at this point. That being said, I [thought] Bernie [was] an honest man but I don’t believe in his policies. Not because they weren't good-hearted or well-intentioned, of course, but rather because the state is monopoly and like any monopoly it brings inefficiency and stagnation to everything it runs. It has become far too evident that government institutions pursue the inflation of their own budgets to form unholy alliances with extractive institutions rather than create effective service for its customers. I don’t believe this will change by giving it more money and more aspects of your life to run even with an honest man at the helm.

Reimagined footage from the 1992 Ron Fricke-directed Baraka is the basis of your music video for "NIHIL." What are some other movies, or films, that inspire[d] you as a band? Are you in any of your music videos? If no, do you plan on appearing in any videos in the future?

Film makers like Mathew Barney, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Kenneth Anger have been big inspirations for myself as i’ve always enjoyed the way in which they send their audience down a rabbit hole and allow a lot of room for that sense of autonomy that comes with your own of discovery of certain subject matter as opposed to being beaten over the head with exposition and literal meaning. We’re currently working on a music video for the first single off our new album and yes we’ll definitely be in that one but won’t say anymore about it for now because we want it to be a surprise. 

Earlier this year, you guys toured with TOOL, who is one of the biggest and most controversial metal bands from Los Angeles: Their song "Prison Sex" was removed from MTV's playlist and MuchMusic called it "too graphic and offensive." What was it like touring with Tool? What did you learn on tour? Who else would you like to tour with someday?

Touring with TOOL was really a dream come true for us and also really an incredible learning experience. I don’t think there will ever be another band like TOOL, and to be able to share in some of their touring legacy is something that we will treasure forever.  As far as the things we learned on that tour; I suppose we learned how to tour arenas and be comfortable with audiences of that scale, which actually came very naturally to us and we’re really excited to finish up this new album and hit the road again. In terms of other bands we’d like to tour with… Rammstein. 

What does free time look like for 3TEETH? Do you all hang out with TOOL and Primus, or any other bands, often?

Free time is fairly rare for us as right now as we’ve all got a lot going on regarding the creation of this new album but yes we definitely hang out with the guys from TOOL a bit. 

Your music has been called "transgressive art." Could you explain what that means?

Well we’re very interested in the idea of temporarily dismantling reality tunnels through things like cognitive dissonance and discomfort. So really it's probably referring to the idea we want our live show to feel like a sort of ontological one night stand that helps us transgress ourselves.  

Xavier (keyboards), Andrew (drums), and Chase (guitars) all do a great job, but if you were to add another instrument to your ensemble, what would it be?

I think maybe a bass player or maybe some extra live percussion because more people banging on shit always looks fun on stage, but definitely not in a rush for anything like that because its hard enough feeding four mouths right now. 

Do you have a cool Myspace story? Or an early Myspace memory?

I remember getting into some really important arguments about who was and wasn’t in my Top 8 friends. 

Where do you see the band in 2025?

Probably playing a show on top of a mountain of burning plastic or something classy like that.  

Is there anything else that you want to share with us?

Stay tuned to www.3TEETH.org for the latest information on our new album. 

For more profiles on up-and-coming artists, visit our Artist of the Day page.