Editor’s Note: This week, Madison, Wisconsin/Los Angeles-based rockers Broken Tooth will release their self-titled fourth release on vinyl and digitally. The rock group is led by Madison-based singer-songwriter, guitarist, and frontman John Camron.
According to a press release, “Broken Tooth, the self-titled fourth release from the Madison, Wisconsin project, feels like taking a punch from life’s unpredictability and countering with 11 eloquently grungy tracks. Fresh yet comfortably vintage, the well-crafted but never overworked songs serve as an eyewitness account of frontman/songwriter John Camron’s not-so-ordinary path and life choices.
With a recognizable nod to Elliott Smith, post-Beatles John Lennon, and Radiohead, Broken Tooth’s lyrical themes—frustration, sarcasm, anger, and release, and awkward self-confidence—form a natural partnership with the deep, grooving, and psychedelically experimental tone of the music. There is love here, too—but not always the easy kind. There’s also purity, oddly intact after everything Camron has experienced in his 60-plus years on the planet.”
The cover for Broken Tooth finds Camron in rough shape, as if he had been in many rounds in a fierce fight. Camron understands what survival means. The album follows several years of treatment and surgery to treat his scoliosis and arthritis, including replacing metal rods to fix his disfigured spine. According to the album’s release, “Believing this might be his last album, he envisioned something different and expanded his team to accommodate that vision.”
That included Jason Roberts (Norah Jones, Spoon), Ben Alleman on keyboards (Social Distortion, Dr. John), Josh Adams on drums (Davendra Banhart, Jenny Lewis, Cat Power), and Patrick Kelly on bass (Perfume Genius, Sparks).
“In good spirits, the core group entered the studio with the bare bones of Camron’s songs,” the press release says. “A few tracks retained the raw vibe of his original demos, but most of the music led Camron and his team on an inspired journey that yielded what many consider his strongest work to date.”
Lyrically, the album features some of Camron’s most personal reflections on life.
Ahead of Broken Tooth’s L.A. release show April 25 at the Love Song Bar at The Regent Theater in L.A., Camron penned an exclusive essay for SWT about why this album features music and backstory you’ll want to take time on chomp on.
In a previous life, I would have spent paragraphs talking about myself and what I’ve been through to get here, but that was always because I thought there needed to be another reason to listen to my music, other than just my music. No more! Let’s wait until the second date to dig deeper into me, okay?
THIS ALBUM IS JUST SO GOOD!
Let me just tell you a little bit about it and how it came to be.
This is my fourth album I have made with Jason Roberts. Rami from the Foo Fighters introduced us in their studio in LA, and creating my first album spawned an addiction that has led to this album. I also own a tech company – that’s taught me to work with people who totally understand me and my vision…this always delivers something better than I could have imagined.
The Cover
(back of album) “OUCH! WTF?!” – right? Well, yeah…that’s my back. Sometimes it just sucks! Long story, but I am actually living tissue over a metal endoskeleton. By itself, this part of my story was quite the trip – but then to have to have all of the titanium removed and replaced four years later? (I know…this is second date stuff. Sorry)
Flip the album over, and it’s how I felt – imagine getting the shit beaten out of you, reduced to a wheelchair at its worst point. When you are able to finally get up and fight back, it’s a good day. A VERY good day! Step back and take that punch!
I had a couple of old friends from Cincinnati do the cover art for me. Steve Zieglemeyer (Instagram.com/ziegelmeyerphotography) and Dan Brill (Instagram.com/brillcreative/). Really good friends from a long time ago. It’s brilliant! So cool to go into a photo session and say “make me look like shit”.
The Sessions
Three months after my back replacement, delayed us twice, we assembled as a band at Valentine Studio (LA) in January of 2025 – Valentine is a vintage studio from the 1940’s that closed its doors after over twenty years with everything still locked up inside, sealed tight. When they reopened in 2016, it was a time capsule of gear and vibe. We landed in Studio A for a four-day stint.
Two days in and seven songs tracked to tape as full band performances, the epic wildfires took the helm, and we scrapped the rest of the session to evacuate. See – I have this thing – every time I record, natural and man-made disasters seem to follow. From NYC blackouts to missed flights that disappear from radar, the second session to finish the album welcomed the stock market freakout in April (re: Closing At The Low). We tracked vocals in May at my go-to studio, New Monkey in Studio City – Elliott Smith’s LA studio. I’ll leave me breaking my thumb at Honeytone Studios in Neenah (WI) two months before the session as part of our second date.
The Songs
I’m a child of the 60’s whose first rock concert was Aerosmith back in the late 70’s. I like to attribute Peter Frampton teaching me guitar even back from his time with Humble Pie. Every song I write needs to facilitate a rock concert in itself. Let’s look at a few of the songs and see how that claim ages…
“My Edge” – This was written and demoed back in 2011. I started writing music and doing demos on my brand new iPad 2 and GarageBand. I was texting with a friend who told me about her son, who was excoriating. This became a song that pulled in self-harm and abuse from a kid’s perspective. I always wanted to record this song and see how one of my first songs I had written survived the process.
“Hurricane” – Just to explain, I am a bit prescient. This was the last song we tracked vocals for in May, and I completely rewrote the lyrics right before recording them. The song speaks of how isolated we feel in a world where we are totally connected. It is about being on the edge…waiting to self-sacrifice to reset things to normal. The day after recording the new vocals, I flew home and had an exchange that I’d like to rearrange.
“Know What I Mean” – I wanted to pay homage to Elliott Smith’s song called “Division Day.” The idea is a bit like Rush’s “Limelight,” but speaks to social media, and the goat rodeo we have right now in Washington. “We’re all actors on the screen, neon green.” I want this song placed in the AppleTV show The Studio.
“I Am Here” – I’m sure someone had pissed me off the day I wrote this song, but I don’t remember much after I demoed this into my cell phone. I think I woke up on the floor? (my floor)
“What Would You Do” – This song always makes me feel happy when I play it. It starts out with finding my love in college, and how exciting that was. Then, when things are uncertain and scary, knowing exactly what to do wins out over the fight-or-flight paradox.
“Broken Tooth” – This ended up the name of the song, the project, and the album. I wanted to vibe some sounds of my youth with flavors of Black Oak Arkansas, or even farther south into the Louisiana bayou, like CCR. It’s a song about resilience, persistence, and strength…and not taking any shit from anyone.
“Well Hello There” – I love to tell the story about how, when we moved to Madison, we sold our 1890’s Victorian farmhouse and studio in Illinois to move to a two-bedroom condo on the west side. Living among others is fun and funny at the same time. Encounters with people you might see twice a year, you make up stories about who you imagine they are and their stories. I’ll let you listen to the interview for more of this one.
The Band
Jason Roberts – (guitarist/keys for Spoon) When I met Jason, I was recording my first album with a crazy group of superb studio/touring musicians. I have to thank Jessy Greene (Pink, Jayhawks, etc) for opening doors after she recorded on my first song I recorded for my first album (Of Sins Present and Past). Jason and I have worked together since. Even remotely, when I had my neck fused during my 2nd album (California Rain by Just Like Inara), and then the 3rd album during Covid (Sweet As You). Jason produced this new album and played lead guitar and other things that make noise. There wasn’t a whole lot of mixing that happened – Things were so good from the board mix thanks to engineering by Sean Cook!
Pat Kelly – Pat is from Neenah and tours and currently records with Hand Habits and Perfume Genius. When we gathered for our second session, Pat flew back just in time from NYC after playing Colbert the afternoon before.
Ben Alleman – Ben tours with Social Distortion and cut his teeth with Dr. John. From the New Orleans area, Ben had that sound that you only get by spending time in the Mississippi Valley.
Josh Adams – Josh has played with everybody. Devendra Banhart, Beck, Norah Jones, Jon Batiste, and my favorite – Cat Power. He’s also the guy who says that one quip heard in your headphones that makes you say, “wait a minute,” so you can stifle your laughter to play the song.
Ken Rose – although not a part of the recording, Ken creates all the art and video content captured in the random footage I shoot.
Conclusion
If enjoying what you’re doing and creating good works is any measure of success, I am successful – thanks largely in part to really good friends and collaborators. I hope you enjoy what you hear…lmk?
You can connect with and listen to John Camron and Broken Tooth in the author box links below
John Camron
Contributor
Madison-based singer/songwriter, John Camron, flies dangerously close to the sun in LA - creating his fourth album with an all-pro band of friends. No need for a podcast or TED talk to show how you do resilience. Broken Tooth (song/album/band) is a musical experience, documenting Camron's guide to surviving our insane world and personal challenges. Gracefully? Not so much...
