SXSW Music Festival is an opportunity to discover new bands and artists. And so it was that I headed to the Austin Hilton where the Press Centre had been established to interview Texas band Saint Blonde. The five-piece comprise Hunter Fitch (vocals), Tré Rollins (guitar), Alexander Hernandez (guitar), Kyle Cade (bass) and Tyler Lee Cooper (drums) and in August 2024 they released ‘Trendsetter’, the first on their new label Pale Chord / Rise Records having signed with them earlier in the year.
You’re from Denton in Texas, and you’ve done one show already. How is it playing at SXSW?
Hunter: Yeah, we did a show on Sunday. I don’t know if that was an official showcase, but it was some sort of RSVP event, and it was really cool. And then we’ve got two more this week. It’s been fun. We’ve always wanted to, and it’s right down the road!
Saint Blonde formed in 2018 and your sound has really evolved. I think it’s interesting how music nowadays doesn’t have to sit in one genre, that there’s such a blend. There’s a lot more freedom now to do that than there was in the past. Did you feel that freedom to evolve your sound?
Hunter: I mean, there’s still a pressure to kind of fit one sound. But we’ve always played in multiple pools of genre, I guess. Stuff gets kind of stale, you know. We all write multiple styles of music and sometimes you’re sitting in a session, and whatever comes out, comes out. And I guess it’s just about deciding whether or not you’re going to put your name on it. And, yeah, with the newer stuff, we’ve gotten to look a little more liberal with putting our name on something that might be a little more, heavy isn’t the right word, more rock inspired, more chaotic, or more guitar driven versus some of the more pop adjacent stuff we’ve put out before.
As a band, you’ve been together for a few years, so it’s inevitable there would be a shift because why would you just keep doing the same thing?
Hunter: Yeah, I think in the past bands used to be able to kind of get away with it more. Bands always write in, like a season, right? You look at bands from 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, even 90’s. You write an album and the album is a snapshot of that period of time. And bands progress sound wise as albums go on, and I think people are hearing us for the first time are, “you guys kind of changed your sound“. Well, we’re just technically on album two, right? We just did the single thing for years, and we had kind of a sound that we did for that first batch of songs. We’ve evolved and with this season of writing, it reflects the time, it reflects where we’re at, it reflects how we’re feeling a little bit more. It used to not be called into question as much, right? Like as it is now. People say “Hey you guys have a different sound or different genre.” Well, no, it’s just we haven’t been putting out LPs, so it seems like a departure of genre. But if you listen through the gradient of the songs, you kind of go, “Oh, I see where this is going.”
A couple of the bands that I’ve seen here already they’re hardcore, but they’ll have songs within the set that’s completely quiet and still. I think it’s really liberating. Previously I think bands would be called out more because they sat in one lane and then they did one very different track and then its “what are you doing!?!”
You signed last year for Pale Chord / Rise Records. How did that come about?
Hunter: It came about through our management. Every band has a different journey to get to that point, but we went the production, to management, to deal route. We played them some songs, and there’s a lot of buy in, especially with some of the new stuff and they were super on board with it.
Congratulations, that’s a serious milestone for a band.
Hunter: Thank you, absolutely, it’s felt like a long time coming so it was nice.
And so are there plans for an album?
Hunter: We’re allowed to say we’re working on it!!
And what about the rest of the year after SXSW?
Hunter: A ton of shows, and a good chunk of songs we’re planning to release over the next four or five months. So yeah releases and hopefully playing those releases live for people.
And Hunter, I have to ask. What is your favourite animal!?
Hunter: I like bears!
I believe this is the best question that you said you’d never been asked in an interview so I had to ask!
And finally did you know there is a Denton in Manchester in the UK? You’ll have to go!
Hunter: I did not. I would love to! I really want to go there. That’s sick, yeah, how cool is that? It’s definitely older, it’s definitely the original one!
For more information on Saint Blonde please check their facebook and instagram.
