These days, it takes a lot for me to be impressed musically. Rarely does a new band come along that gets me truly excited, but thankfully, Baltimore’s Pianos Become The Teeth found their way to my ears recently and I’ve been hooked ever since. Mike (guitar) and Kyle (vocals) from Pianos were kind enough to let me pick their brains via email this week, which you can check out below. If you’re not yet familiar with these guys, PLEASE do yourself a favor: give them a listen HERE and then pick up their newest full length Old Pride. RIYL: Envy, City of Caterpillar, Modern Life is War and rad music.

First off, congrats on the Topshelf Records signing! Can you elaborate on the specifics (what release(s) are planned, how the relationship came to fruition, etc.)?

Mike: Thank you so much Aaron! We originally heard about Topshelf from our friends in My Heart to Joy, and simply contacted the label about our album. They seemed really enthusiastic and intrigued about everything. After numerous emails and conversations, plus some friends putting in some good words about us, they said they would like to release Old Pride early in 2010. They have been more than awesome to us, and we are really excited about working with them.

Read more after the jump.

One of the most exciting aspects to me about your newest full length Old Pride is the combination of the traditional “screamo” sound with a heavy dose of atmospheric instrumental rock elements. Was this a conscious effort during the writing process? If so, what bands inspired the sound?

Mike: Well, I think that, for myself anyway, it mostly just came out of bands that I was influenced by. I don’t think we ever set out to write a song saying, “well, we have to make sure we have some ambient stuff in here.” I think it just kinda happened. I listen to a lot of instrumental/post rock stuff along with more aggressive music as well, so I guess it just influenced the way I was writing at the time. As for the specific bands that influenced that, I would say Who Calls So Loud and This Will Destroy You influenced me a lot.

What were your first thoughts upon hearing the finished version of Old Pride? Satisfied? Excited? Critical?

Mike: Really excited, and proud. Very proud.

Kyle: We all were really happy with the outcome as well as the progression of our songwriting.

Is there a unifying lyrical theme throughout Old Pride or does each song have its own unique story to tell? To me personally, one of the most moving songs from a lyrical AND musical standpoint on the album is “Cripples Can’t Shiver.” Would you mind elaborating on its meaning?

Kyle: Well, I could write about this forever but I’ll try to keep it fairly brief. Personally, I tend to write about people and events in my life. I think the main theme is feelings and experiences you have while growing up and dwelling on your future.  Old Pride came from how you have this “young fire” when you’re younger and you have to have an “old pride” to feel right about your life.  I’ll run down the list:

• FILIAL is kind of like an older future version of myself talking to a younger version of myself (or my present self i guess you could say), and the two going back and forth.

• QUIT BENEFIT is about a few people in particular who believe relationships can work no matter what and not realizing that everyone is different and sometimes it is impossible to get along with everyone. It’s also about the regrets you are embarassed about once something is over.

• SLEEPSHAKER is about not being afraid to learn as you go.

• PENSIVE is kind of about worrying about every little thing and growing older but not really changing as a person…  constantly dwelling on the negatives of life.

• JESS AND CHARLIE is about doing what you feel is good for you no matter what people tell you, but sometimes it’s hard to know if something is what you really want, or just what you’ve told yourself you’ve wanted for so long.

• CRIPPLES CANT SHIVER is a song about my father’s multiple sclerosis and me feeling helpless to do anything about it.  I took the sound clip from a speech my mom gave about him at her church.  I can see myself turning into my father, his MS has crippled him but he keeps a great attitude about it.  This song is about how him being crippled has crippled my outlook on growing older.

If you could achieve 3 goals in the next year as a band, what would they be and why?

Mike: See another country because it would just be awesome to do. Pay off all our debt, and get air conditioning for the van.

What bands (big or small) inspire and excite you right now?

Mike: Modern Life is War, Who Calls So Loud, Planes Mistaken for Stars, and Have Heart. Even though they are all broken up, their albums continue to inspire and excite me.

What first drew you to the punk/hardcore music culture in the first place? And, what keeps you passionate about it and involved in it currently?

Mike: I guess for me it was unlike anything I had ever heard before. I would go see bands in basements and they would play as hard as possible whether it was for 2 kids or 50 kids. Just the amount of passion bands would put into their music was incredible. I guess,  just seeing passionate bands writing really heartfelt music was what first drew me to the culture in the first place. Bands who continue to play wherever they can, and just being passionate about whatever their doing is what keeps me excited about it.

Immediate future touring plans?  And, any hopes of a vinyl release of Old Pride?

Mike: Weekend tours through the Winter and a 10-14 day tour in January. Nothing real concrete yet after that, but definitely a big tour in the Summer of 2010. Definitely vinyl at some point, just whenever we get the money to do it, or someone contacts us about wanting to do it for us, or help us out with it. It’s so expensive!

What are your thoughts on touring? If the band got to a level that it could tour full time and sustain itself, is this something you’d be interested in doing?

Mike: I mean, stylistically, it’s really hard to make a band like this a full time thing. If we were able to, I would love to. If we had the opportunity to do so, I would definitely do so as long as it didn’t affect the music itself. If we were able to write the music we wanted to with no strings attached and be able to tour full time and sustain a modest lifestyle while doing so, why not? I have no interest in getting rich from music, but if I could make touring and music my life I would. I feel more alive on tour, in the studio, or at shows than anywhere else. If I could do it forever I would.

Is Lost the greatest television show in the history of television shows (cough, just say yes. cough)?

Mike: Haha! I have never actually seen the show but I know Chad would probably agree with this.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this guys. Anything else you’d like to add or throw out there to the people of the Internet?

Mike: Thank you! Thanks to everyone who has ever done anything for us, be it listen to us, come to a show, or let us sleep on your floor. You all mean the world to us.