John Martin and Jeremy Huff, a couple of old friends and ex-bandmates, are just making music. John is the best guitar player you’ve never heard about and Jeremy’s working with him to get more exposure. John and Jeremy have a similar upbringing, as their Dads were professional musicians, and they have been playing all their lives. They play from the heart and just deal with the “industry,” from paying for promotion to “pay-to -play” gigs, and all the usual stuff that goes along with it. They are embarking on a new chapter with their project, “Bucktoothed Mosquitoes,” with a debut album dropping on December 20th. Jeremy sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview:
MTS: I think the obvious first question would be, how in the world did you come up with the name, Bucktoothed Mosquitoes? Did you consider any other names before selecting this one? How does the name represent who you are as a band?
Jeremy Huff: It’s all about the “buzz”… [laughing] It sticks with you, huh? Actually John and I released an EP last year under the name M H because we had some commercial interest in the music. We just slapped it together for technical purposes. When we decided to get serious with this and make it a project, we had to give it an official name. We were texting ideas back and forth one afternoon but nothing was hitting home with either one of us. Of course this lead to each of us trying to just make the other laugh harder and harder. John threw out Bucktoothed Mosquitoes and I buckled over laughing. That was that, we had our name. It really is more of a reflection of who we are as people than what the music is about. We are a couple of goof balls who love to joke around and just live life light hearted. We’re both pretty laid back and easy going.
MTS: Tell us about your past musical history. Where did you meet? What instruments to you both play? Any past successes on your own? Influences? Where are you from? etc.
JH: Well, it’s literally a lifetime of info so I’ll try to sum it up. John and I both had Dad’s that were working musicians so music has always been in our lives. As far back as I can trace there has been a musician in every generation of my family. It’s really in my blood I guess. My Dad is a drummer so I have played drums ever since I can remember. Naturally I play percussion also. I tinkered with guitar when I was younger and just recently started playing bass. John plays guitar, bass and some keys. Both of us are self-taught musicians.
As far as influences go, it’s the standard list. It would be better summed up as genres rather than bands. John was influenced by a lot of jazz, blues and rock. I was influenced by blues, country, southern rock and a lot of progressive rock. So we approach each song from a slightly different angle and end up with a recipe that gives us a unique sound.
Growing up in Kansas I used to be Dad’s roadie. I’d go to all the gigs and help him set up, sound check, whatever was needed. I got to sit in quite a bit. I think I was 6 or 7 the first time Dad had me play on stage. That’s really what set me on the music path. After high school I was in a band that cut a demo which eventually landed me in California. When that ended I was asked to join a multi-media project in L.A. and that’s where I met John. We hit it off right away and have been friends ever since. That project never saw the light of day and we went separate ways. John had some success with writing music for movies, video games and the like. I went on to play whatever gigs and tours I could find. Family issues brought me back to Kansas where I discovered the music scene had all but died. I sat in with my dad’s band a few times and was in a few short lived cover bands but nothing was filling my creative craving. John and I were talking one day about how we both felt that void and decided to try recording over the internet. It is challenging with John in Cali and me being in Kansas but the challenge is what makes it interesting. Originally we were just recording for fun, then we had a few production companies interested in our stuff, now it’s blown up into this. It’s great.
MTS: You have a new 17-song album coming out on December 20th. Tell us about the recording process, and why 17 songs?
JH: Yeah I’m excited about it being a physical release. It’s the debut album from Bucktoothed Mosquitoes. Maybe I’m just “old school” but I collect music for the art and liner notes as much as the recordings. The EP I mentioned earlier was digital only. I had a lot of requests for CDs believe it or not, so we lumped the songs from the EP in with our new stuff and are releasing it physically exclusively at Amazon, and digitally from your favorite provider. The physical release is what drove the number of songs. We wanted to have about an hour’s worth of music to fill up the album.
The way we record is pretty straight forward. It’s really just session work. I’ll lay the drum and bass tracks down and send them to John. He finishes it off. And vice versa. Sometimes he uses the bass track and sometimes he hears the melody differently and records his own bass. The cool dynamic in this is that we push each other, sometimes outside our comfort zones. It’s a challenge for sure but it’s how we end up with an eclectic mix. Sometimes within the same song. A good example would be the song Steps Ahead. I originally heard it as more of a progressive power ballad. John turned it into smooth jazz meets hard rock. But it works very well and it’s not the type of stuff you hear every day.
MTS: What do you think is the most difficult challenge that artists face in today’s music industry?
JH: The biggest challenge is and always has been the business side. The business model in the music industry is unlike any other business. I won’t go into details. I will say I like the independent side way better than the corporate though [laughing].
MTS: Any plans for taking this project on the road?
JH: We have had a few requests for shows and clinics but, no we have no plans to put together a live show at this time. This project is really geared more towards sync licensing, score work, etc. Besides, if we took it on the road it means we would have to learn the songs [laughing].
MTS: Do you have a music video available for any of the tracks, and if so, tell us about it. If not, are there any plans for something in the future?
JH: I don’t think that’s something John or I have any interest in. We have never even talked about a video. Maybe down the road but for now that just doesn’t fit in with what we are trying to accomplish. This project is a little unconventional in that way.
MTS: Critical praise, streams/sales or Industry Awards. Which is most important to you, and why?
JH: The most important thing to me is that people enjoy the music. I love it when someone is excited after a show or receiving fan mail that says they really connected to a song, because I was a part of making that happen. I know how songs have helped me in life and to know that someone else is getting that out of something I’m part of is very gratifying to me. Making people smile or forget their problems even just for 3 minutes is all worth it.
MTS: On a completely different note: What do the Bucktoothed Mosquitoes like to do outside of music, and if I were to come to dinner, what would you serve?
JH: John is a master chef. He’s always cooking up something delicious. So if you were to have dinner with John, you are sure to get a massive Italian feast. I like to build and ride motorcycles which is where the song Brat Bike Theme came from. It’s actually a theme song for my latest bobber build. If you stop by my place you’re sure to get my homemade Cajun creole. I’m no chef like John but I can do some mean Cajun cooking.
For more information on Bucktoothed Mosquitoes, please visit https://www.facebook.com/BucktoothedMosquitoes/.
http://jango.com/music/Bucktoothed+Mosquitoes
Their CD is exclusively on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Bucktoothed-Mosquitoes/dp/B07KZ36H85/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1544664740&sr=8-1&keywords=bucktoothed+mosquitoes