Broken Teeth @ Emo's, 7.19.08

“Rock & roll was the best friend I ran home to everyday after school.” That was part of the great anecdote that Jason McMaster shared with the crowd at Emo’s. He told of himself as a teenage outcast being mocked for wearing the same Kiss t-shirt everyday. But he explains that it wasn’t because of a lack of other clothes to wear; it was because that’s how dedicated he was. He has lived and breathed rock & roll since those days and it has made him into the man currently onstage. McMaster is the lead vocalist of the band Broken Teeth.


McMaster and the rest of Broken Teeth took the inside stage at Emo’s and immediately you knew that there was going to be some serious rocking going on. The five-man band was decked out in the tightest of tight black jeans and tees, while some sported the traditional heavy metal, shoulder-length locks. They look the type of guys that you don’t want to run into in a dark ally, or the type you want on your side in a bar brawl. McMaster, Dave Beeson and Jared Tuten on guitars, Brett McCormick with bass, and drummer Bruce Rivers personified what it means to be rock & roll.

The aforementioned story of teenage rock love came right before “Electric,” the title song off their latest CD released last year. Listening to the album is like jumping into a time machine and heading back to the glory days of bands like AC/DC and Judas Priest. Their live performance reflects that as well.

From the second the guitar hits, Broken Teeth have the crowd throwing up the devil horns. And to say that those guitars are fast paced would be an understatement. It’s more like speed has been injected straight into the instruments and McMaster’s snarl is the only thing that can corral the sound into a glorious mash of music.

Along with choice songs from Electric, they played some new tunes including “Explosions” and one I believe was titled “Down on Monday.” The new stuff smacks you just as hard and fast as any from their back catalog. McMaster even jokes, “We really just play the same song over and over again, and just add some new lyrics. I hope you’re ok with that.” To which the crowd answers an astounding, Hell Yeah!

By the time Broken Teeth end the show with “El Diablo,” I’m exhausted. Not because its 1:30 in the morning, but because my heart was feverishly pounding in my chest for the last hour. But it feels good; that’s the way you’re supposed to feel after a show. No matter how tired you are, you want to rush home or just to the car to crank up the stereo. You remember that music is your best friend and that it has been for years.

As for Broken Teeth, they have several shows coming up with one on August 8th at Room 710. Then they head out on a little tour of Texas soon after that. Keep an eye on their myspace so you can catch them live for a pure shot of rock adrenaline.

-William Trinity

photos by Mandy Russell.

This blog was first published on austinme.com.