Afro-punk
American Fangs- Living a Great Life in the Fast Lane
If the equation for a promising new rock band includes great musicians (their "fuck corporate" lyrics make you want to quit your day job), extreme energy (they throw up from exhaustion after almost every set), fancy body art, and just rugged bad assness (the lead singer, Gus, pissed in a beer bottle during this interview), then the American Fangs are fit for a sure formula of success.
Comprised of five guys from Houston, Texas- Gabriel Cavazos "Gus" as the lead singer, Kenyon Puttenney on guitar, Jerry Nettles on guitar, Micah Miller on drums, and Kyle Shimek on bass - the Fangs were one of the main performing bands on the 2009 Afro-punk U.S. tour and were known for their rowdy boy energy on and off of the stage. The band is pretty much in their infancy, compared to their touring siblings Saul Williams and Earl Greyhound, (Gus started the band in 2007), but with a solid following in their hometown, one self-titled EP to their name, backlogs of new material for their next album, and an overwhelming response from the Afro-punk community across the U.S., these guys are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
From left to right: Gus, Kyle, Jerry, Micah, and Kenyon
Interview and pictures by Whitney Summer
AP- Who are the American Fangs?
Gus- Man that's crazy, uh we're just regular folks trying to roll at life.
Kenyon- Slayers, artists, musicians.
AP- Describe your sound.
Gus- Broke core, energetic, fun upbeat party rock.
AP- What got you into music?
Kyle- Like unemployment.
Micah- It kinda just happened, it's kind of who I am. I didn't want to be working that hamster wheel nine to five with the same traffic to and from work for the next thirty five years with a freakin' perfect pension plan when I retire. I'd rather take a road less traveled and be on the road with my best friends.
Kenyon- I like to travel, I like making good tunes, I like tall hoarsely women, and they all kinda come with the job.
AP- Where did you pick up your skills?
Gus- My high school marching band, American poets, even foreign poets, I started writing first before music then got to playing music in school then once I learned it I forgot all about it and started doing my own thing.
Kyle- I was in the band in school, listened to a lot of vinyl records, and started teaching myself how to play the guitar at sixteen.
Jerry- My parents put me in lessons and stuff when I was thirteen then a private arts academy when I was in high school.
Micah- I bought my own drum kit and had a bunch of Metallica records and a Walkman, and I would balance about six pillows behind me and put on my Walkman and try to play along.
Kenyon- I'd have to say thank you for my parents for not caring that I flunked out of school and for my dad for giving me my first guitar that was his original electric guitar and that killed a lot of lonely teenage nights and thank you for Jimi Hendrix for letting me hear his great work and for inspiring me to pursue the guitar even further.
AP- Right on. Your sets get pretty wild, you're almost always found hanging off of stage equipment. What's the deal with all the semantics?
Gus- We pretty much enjoy a show and we put ourselves in the audience's shoes. Sometimes I like to forget who I am physically and just cut loose and let what happens just happen. If the audience is feeding back energetically then it fuels the fire.
Kyle- We have a couple of really dynamic songs on our set but for the most part when we write, we like to keep it upbeat and dancy. We don't do too much talking on stage. We prefer to just let the music flow.
Micah- Yea, there is no scheme or formula, like we're not like at t-minus two seconds we are all going to jump up and scissor kick in unison, I think we go out and put out our good energy and hope people just feel it.
AP- Your energy has definitely been felt in every venue along the tour. What's been your favorite city to perform in during the Afro-punk tour?
Gus- There wasn't just one, all of them have been excellent but some stand outs have been Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, L.A.- all the shows have been bad ass though.
AP- What is the best and worst part about your job?
Gus- Probably not seeing your friends and family is the worst part and not having them around. The best part is the sweat and the smiles from the audience and being surprised that a band like us can generate that kind of response.
Kyle- I would say the drives but I would still rather be driving then working in a grocery store checking out people all day long.
Jerry- Being on a different stage in a different city is the best.
Kenyon- Worst part about the job, what the fuck, probably I let the fear get to me about being unsuccessful with a stable career but I think the best part about it is that I love what I do so much that it doesn't matter so it kind of equals out.
AP- Got a favorite club spot to visit on the tour?
Gus- Jay Bar with Hollywood Holt and his boy DJ Mano in Chicago, we had a blast. I know you had fun.
AP- Hey, hey, watch it.
Gus- Nah, I'm just playing. We all need a little fun.
AP- What about you guys. Any dope spots stick out in your head?
Jerry- New Orleans. I was drinking a beer in front of a cop, I was like yea, can't do shit.
Micah- L.A. because I'm labeled dad and don't really do shit. I had a couple of beers in L.A. so that was my party time.
AP- Where do your lyrics come from, some songs are about partying and some are political. Is there a set theme?
Gus- Lyrically, we try to balance out our message, like there are two sides to every coin. If I say something to one of the guys for what I was thinking about a song, everyone is pretty much open to any topic.
AP- What's your favorite song to perform?
Kenyon- "My Two Richards" is a really fun song to play, honestly, "Le kick" and "Duke" are really great songs to play.
AP- How has the touring with Afro-punk compared to your previous tours?
Gus- It's unique because obviously our headliner Saul just brings some very spontaneous reactions and the audience Afro-punk brings out is extremely high energy. The audience has been excellent and very unexpected, you never know what you are going to get in each town but everyone at these shows wants to be there, like they're not just there because they want to hang out with band guys. The people on this tour are just down right fun people but they also kind of have this energy that calls for very like minded intellectual crowd, too.
Kyle- It's opened the American Fangs up to a broad new bunch of fans, the people here are really looking for good music.
Micah- This tour has been good because a lot of tours there are musicians with egos and some bands wanting to be better than the other band but the Afro-punk tour has been like a family. I like the community vibe, its been a big thing for me.
AP- So, you're playing on an Afro-punk tour. What does the term "Afro-punk" mean to you?
Gus- That's a really common question on this tour.
AP- Well it seems to mean something different to everyone.
Gus- It means the tip top of expression. Being in this atmosphere the people we are working with have been extremely open minded musically. Even though it can get lost in translation as to what Afro-punk is and who can be Afro-punk, everyone can be involved. I think Afro-punk is ambitious in the most simple way.
AP- What musicians get your blood pumping?
Gus- Stone Temple Pilots and Rage Against the Machine.
Micah- Glass Jar and Deftones.
Kenyon- The Beatles and John Mayer.
AP- Do you consider yourself punk?
Gus- Shit, I just pissed on my hand. Absolutely, I tend to enjoy hip hop music and I think back when it was just getting popular I think punk was on the same level as far as fashion, fucking the system, pissing on your own hand while you are doing an interview, they were on different spectrums but they still spoke to disenfranchised youth.
Kyle- This band is grounded in punk roots, the things that we do and the messages in our music.
Jerry- I wouldn't consider myself punk.
Micah- I'm a gentleman.
Kenyon- I wouldn't say our band is punk but the way we survive day to day on a hustle is definitely punk.
AP- What are you guys working on now?
Gus- We probably have material for like two albums and some change but right now we are focusing on being on the road, being a solid band, and when the time comes to putting out the next album which will probably be some time next year, we will have the material to do so to make the album flow like our set does.
AP- So, it's just the self titled ep right now?
Gus- Yup.
AP- If you could collaborate with any artists, who would you work with?
Gus- I would love to do some things with Saul Williams. Damn, I enjoy CX Kidtronik, too. Being on this tour, I do enjoy those artists, I love electronic music so it would be cool to have some of that big beat sound that they produce during their set.
Kenyon- I would love to see what Tom Petty would have to say about some shit.
Micah- I would like to work with Rick Reuben.
AP- You guys on stage are like a perfect puzzle piece of performance perfection. What's it like working together behind the scenes?
Gus- It's the same energy as on stage, just more verbal abuse.
AP- Geez, okay. What's behind the band name and look. Your stickers have girls in tiny clothing and funky graphics. Isn't it a little naughty?
Gus- We all had these ideas. Originally, fangs was a play on American culture. We also had a good friend named Shelby who was in our band at one point and we all collaborated on some really funny ideas playing on American icons.
Kyle- We wanted to create our stickers so a kid could come to our show, pick it up and say I want this. Like, I have to put this under my bed so my mom won't find it. A little edgy and risky, as far as the Asian and the White girls are concerned, we wanted to represent all ethnicities.
AP- I know you guys aren't always on hype mode, how do the American Fangs chill out?
Kenyon- a nice cold mutha fuckin Budweiser, Jack Daniels, a lot of cigarettes, sneak into other people's rooms and steal their corn chips and hummus.
Gus- a shower and a bed, hopefully- if we can't be around some good people and some good conversation, then I will just be asleep.
Jerry- ima drink yo beer.
Micah- go wash my face and call my lady back home.
AP- Well, thanks for the interview. I have a couple of useless questions I would like to ask each of you individually.
Gus- fire away.
Gus-
First kiss- first grade.
Biggest pet peeve- hearing people eat and peeing on other people's pee.
Celebrity crush- Amanda Peet because she looks like a crack head.
Cell phone provider- Verizon until Nov. 28th.
Favorite decade for music- the 80s
Kyle-
First kiss- sixth grade.
Pet peeve- Mosquitoes.
Celebrity crush- Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Cell phone provider- AT&T.
Favorite decade of music- 90's.
Jerry-
First kiss- seventh grade
Pet Peeve- Mosquitoes
Celebrity Crush- Bridget Nelson
Cell phone provider- AT&T.
Favorite decade of music- 70's.
Micah-
First kiss- fourth grade.
Pet peeve- Disorganization.
Celebrity crush- The chick from Hairspray.
Cell phone provider- Verizon.
Favorite decade of music- Now.
Kenyon-
First kiss- I don't know, I kiss a lot.
Pet peeve- Gossip, shut the fuck up.
Celebrity crush- Megan Fox, call me.
Cell phone provider- AT&T.
Favorite decade of music- The 80's were dope.
AP- Any last comments?
Gus- ill say it again, I say it at the end of almost every show, personally, I feel like Afro-punk has given us a very exciting year. All of the people that have been there behind the scenes, the tour is closing and I don't want to go home.
Kenyon- thank you Afro-punk, don't stop, even if we're not on the tour line up, quit forgetting our buy-outs, thank you Matthew. Learn to play an instrument and support art.
American Fangs on the road
Comprised of five guys from Houston, Texas- Gabriel Cavazos "Gus" as the lead singer, Kenyon Puttenney on guitar, Jerry Nettles on guitar, Micah Miller on drums, and Kyle Shimek on bass - the Fangs were one of the main performing bands on the 2009 Afro-punk U.S. tour and were known for their rowdy boy energy on and off of the stage. The band is pretty much in their infancy, compared to their touring siblings Saul Williams and Earl Greyhound, (Gus started the band in 2007), but with a solid following in their hometown, one self-titled EP to their name, backlogs of new material for their next album, and an overwhelming response from the Afro-punk community across the U.S., these guys are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
From left to right: Gus, Kyle, Jerry, Micah, and Kenyon
Interview and pictures by Whitney Summer
AP- Who are the American Fangs?
Gus- Man that's crazy, uh we're just regular folks trying to roll at life.
Kenyon- Slayers, artists, musicians.
AP- Describe your sound.
Gus- Broke core, energetic, fun upbeat party rock.
AP- What got you into music?
Kyle- Like unemployment.
Micah- It kinda just happened, it's kind of who I am. I didn't want to be working that hamster wheel nine to five with the same traffic to and from work for the next thirty five years with a freakin' perfect pension plan when I retire. I'd rather take a road less traveled and be on the road with my best friends.
Kenyon- I like to travel, I like making good tunes, I like tall hoarsely women, and they all kinda come with the job.
AP- Where did you pick up your skills?
Gus- My high school marching band, American poets, even foreign poets, I started writing first before music then got to playing music in school then once I learned it I forgot all about it and started doing my own thing.
Kyle- I was in the band in school, listened to a lot of vinyl records, and started teaching myself how to play the guitar at sixteen.
Jerry- My parents put me in lessons and stuff when I was thirteen then a private arts academy when I was in high school.
Micah- I bought my own drum kit and had a bunch of Metallica records and a Walkman, and I would balance about six pillows behind me and put on my Walkman and try to play along.
Kenyon- I'd have to say thank you for my parents for not caring that I flunked out of school and for my dad for giving me my first guitar that was his original electric guitar and that killed a lot of lonely teenage nights and thank you for Jimi Hendrix for letting me hear his great work and for inspiring me to pursue the guitar even further.
AP- Right on. Your sets get pretty wild, you're almost always found hanging off of stage equipment. What's the deal with all the semantics?
Gus- We pretty much enjoy a show and we put ourselves in the audience's shoes. Sometimes I like to forget who I am physically and just cut loose and let what happens just happen. If the audience is feeding back energetically then it fuels the fire.
Kyle- We have a couple of really dynamic songs on our set but for the most part when we write, we like to keep it upbeat and dancy. We don't do too much talking on stage. We prefer to just let the music flow.
Micah- Yea, there is no scheme or formula, like we're not like at t-minus two seconds we are all going to jump up and scissor kick in unison, I think we go out and put out our good energy and hope people just feel it.
AP- Your energy has definitely been felt in every venue along the tour. What's been your favorite city to perform in during the Afro-punk tour?
Gus- There wasn't just one, all of them have been excellent but some stand outs have been Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, L.A.- all the shows have been bad ass though.
AP- What is the best and worst part about your job?
Gus- Probably not seeing your friends and family is the worst part and not having them around. The best part is the sweat and the smiles from the audience and being surprised that a band like us can generate that kind of response.
Kyle- I would say the drives but I would still rather be driving then working in a grocery store checking out people all day long.
Jerry- Being on a different stage in a different city is the best.
Kenyon- Worst part about the job, what the fuck, probably I let the fear get to me about being unsuccessful with a stable career but I think the best part about it is that I love what I do so much that it doesn't matter so it kind of equals out.
AP- Got a favorite club spot to visit on the tour?
Gus- Jay Bar with Hollywood Holt and his boy DJ Mano in Chicago, we had a blast. I know you had fun.
AP- Hey, hey, watch it.
Gus- Nah, I'm just playing. We all need a little fun.
AP- What about you guys. Any dope spots stick out in your head?
Jerry- New Orleans. I was drinking a beer in front of a cop, I was like yea, can't do shit.
Micah- L.A. because I'm labeled dad and don't really do shit. I had a couple of beers in L.A. so that was my party time.
AP- Where do your lyrics come from, some songs are about partying and some are political. Is there a set theme?
Gus- Lyrically, we try to balance out our message, like there are two sides to every coin. If I say something to one of the guys for what I was thinking about a song, everyone is pretty much open to any topic.
AP- What's your favorite song to perform?
Kenyon- "My Two Richards" is a really fun song to play, honestly, "Le kick" and "Duke" are really great songs to play.
AP- How has the touring with Afro-punk compared to your previous tours?
Gus- It's unique because obviously our headliner Saul just brings some very spontaneous reactions and the audience Afro-punk brings out is extremely high energy. The audience has been excellent and very unexpected, you never know what you are going to get in each town but everyone at these shows wants to be there, like they're not just there because they want to hang out with band guys. The people on this tour are just down right fun people but they also kind of have this energy that calls for very like minded intellectual crowd, too.
Kyle- It's opened the American Fangs up to a broad new bunch of fans, the people here are really looking for good music.
Micah- This tour has been good because a lot of tours there are musicians with egos and some bands wanting to be better than the other band but the Afro-punk tour has been like a family. I like the community vibe, its been a big thing for me.
AP- So, you're playing on an Afro-punk tour. What does the term "Afro-punk" mean to you?
Gus- That's a really common question on this tour.
AP- Well it seems to mean something different to everyone.
Gus- It means the tip top of expression. Being in this atmosphere the people we are working with have been extremely open minded musically. Even though it can get lost in translation as to what Afro-punk is and who can be Afro-punk, everyone can be involved. I think Afro-punk is ambitious in the most simple way.
AP- What musicians get your blood pumping?
Gus- Stone Temple Pilots and Rage Against the Machine.
Micah- Glass Jar and Deftones.
Kenyon- The Beatles and John Mayer.
AP- Do you consider yourself punk?
Gus- Shit, I just pissed on my hand. Absolutely, I tend to enjoy hip hop music and I think back when it was just getting popular I think punk was on the same level as far as fashion, fucking the system, pissing on your own hand while you are doing an interview, they were on different spectrums but they still spoke to disenfranchised youth.
Kyle- This band is grounded in punk roots, the things that we do and the messages in our music.
Jerry- I wouldn't consider myself punk.
Micah- I'm a gentleman.
Kenyon- I wouldn't say our band is punk but the way we survive day to day on a hustle is definitely punk.
AP- What are you guys working on now?
Gus- We probably have material for like two albums and some change but right now we are focusing on being on the road, being a solid band, and when the time comes to putting out the next album which will probably be some time next year, we will have the material to do so to make the album flow like our set does.
AP- So, it's just the self titled ep right now?
Gus- Yup.
AP- If you could collaborate with any artists, who would you work with?
Gus- I would love to do some things with Saul Williams. Damn, I enjoy CX Kidtronik, too. Being on this tour, I do enjoy those artists, I love electronic music so it would be cool to have some of that big beat sound that they produce during their set.
Kenyon- I would love to see what Tom Petty would have to say about some shit.
Micah- I would like to work with Rick Reuben.
AP- You guys on stage are like a perfect puzzle piece of performance perfection. What's it like working together behind the scenes?
Gus- It's the same energy as on stage, just more verbal abuse.
AP- Geez, okay. What's behind the band name and look. Your stickers have girls in tiny clothing and funky graphics. Isn't it a little naughty?
Gus- We all had these ideas. Originally, fangs was a play on American culture. We also had a good friend named Shelby who was in our band at one point and we all collaborated on some really funny ideas playing on American icons.
Kyle- We wanted to create our stickers so a kid could come to our show, pick it up and say I want this. Like, I have to put this under my bed so my mom won't find it. A little edgy and risky, as far as the Asian and the White girls are concerned, we wanted to represent all ethnicities.
AP- I know you guys aren't always on hype mode, how do the American Fangs chill out?
Kenyon- a nice cold mutha fuckin Budweiser, Jack Daniels, a lot of cigarettes, sneak into other people's rooms and steal their corn chips and hummus.
Gus- a shower and a bed, hopefully- if we can't be around some good people and some good conversation, then I will just be asleep.
Jerry- ima drink yo beer.
Micah- go wash my face and call my lady back home.
AP- Well, thanks for the interview. I have a couple of useless questions I would like to ask each of you individually.
Gus- fire away.
Gus-
First kiss- first grade.
Biggest pet peeve- hearing people eat and peeing on other people's pee.
Celebrity crush- Amanda Peet because she looks like a crack head.
Cell phone provider- Verizon until Nov. 28th.
Favorite decade for music- the 80s
Kyle-
First kiss- sixth grade.
Pet peeve- Mosquitoes.
Celebrity crush- Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Cell phone provider- AT&T.
Favorite decade of music- 90's.
Jerry-
First kiss- seventh grade
Pet Peeve- Mosquitoes
Celebrity Crush- Bridget Nelson
Cell phone provider- AT&T.
Favorite decade of music- 70's.
Micah-
First kiss- fourth grade.
Pet peeve- Disorganization.
Celebrity crush- The chick from Hairspray.
Cell phone provider- Verizon.
Favorite decade of music- Now.
Kenyon-
First kiss- I don't know, I kiss a lot.
Pet peeve- Gossip, shut the fuck up.
Celebrity crush- Megan Fox, call me.
Cell phone provider- AT&T.
Favorite decade of music- The 80's were dope.
AP- Any last comments?
Gus- ill say it again, I say it at the end of almost every show, personally, I feel like Afro-punk has given us a very exciting year. All of the people that have been there behind the scenes, the tour is closing and I don't want to go home.
Kenyon- thank you Afro-punk, don't stop, even if we're not on the tour line up, quit forgetting our buy-outs, thank you Matthew. Learn to play an instrument and support art.
American Fangs on the road
Tags: 2009, afro-punk, american, fangs, profile, saul, tour, williams
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