Over the phone, Alexis Mincolla sounds a bit drained. It's not even noon on the West Coast and he's already been in a meeting, and now he's taking our call.
Of course, Mincolla's work ethic isn't surprising. He hasn't gotten ahead by sleeping all day and making excuses. And despite any fatigue, he's excited to talk about 3 Teeth, his industrial band that's barely a year old but already making waves. He's also stoked about having a homecoming of sorts when 3 Teeth plays at The Garret on September 13.
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Mincolla, a Boston native, cut his teeth on Miami's nightlife scene before moving to Los Angeles in 2011. Upon arriving in the MIA, he was just another patron who could be seen hanging around nightclubs. But eventually, he assumed the role of promoter. His first hit was Black Sundays at Bella Rose, where he combined South Beach's hedonistic pursuits with weekly performance pieces.
"Nightlife, for me, sort of happened by accident. That's all there was in Miami. There wasn't much live music," he recalls. "We tried pushing the envelope, as far as nightlife is concerned, and brought in a different sort of energy."
Later, Mincolla would team up with Sam Baum to form the Overthrow, which helped throw parties at local clubs, before moving on to more ambitious projects like Basel Castle and Hard 2 Leave.
In L.A., the Overthrow launched the weekly party called Lil Death, which help Mincolla meet the people who would eventual come to be 3 Teeth.
"Lil Death brought a lot of likeminded individuals and talented musicians that I was able to flesh out some ideas with. I had an idea for the sound and the visual context. It was just finding the other people that saw eye to eye with me."
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However, while he admits that the Overthrow will "always be a part of [him]," he's now devoted to being the full-time frontman to 3 Teeth, which combines early '90s industrial music (think Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Ministry) with solid dance music foundation.
"It was me and Xavier Swafford who kicked around the idea [of 3 Teeth]. Then we ended up meeting another friend of ours, Andrew Means, because he had sent me something online that sort of looked like a computer virus. He's an amazing musician and a visual artist as well. We were also outsourcing guitar duties, but the turnaround time was too much, and Andrew knew a guitar player, [Chase Brawner], and he loved what we were doing and we ended becoming a foursome."
The group released its self-titled debut in June through Canadian industrial label Artoffact Records. That album, along with 3 Teeth's strong visuals, have garnered plenty of attention. LA Weekly, our sister paper, has already praised this exciting new "multi-media endeavor." And a string of North American shows has brought the band to a wider audience.
"When we decided we were going to take six months to write an album, I knew we could create hype around it. I knew we were going to love the album, but I didn't know other people were going to be as excited about it."
But will Miami show 3 Teeth some excitement? Mincolla hopes so.
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"I enjoy [performing live.] For me the live aspect is the most fun I've ever had."
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3 Teeth. With Ben Wash and Culture Prophet. Presented by King's Head Records' Brainwash party. Saturday, September 13. The Garret at Grand Central, 697 N. Miami Ave., Miami. The show starts at 11 p.m. and tickets cost $10 via wantickets.com; $20 at the door. Ages 21 and up. Call 305-377-2277 or visit grandcentralmiami.com.
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