IamA Saint Motel AMA!

Is the SaintMotelevision album art just an overhead view of the My Type EP art??

;)

Do you think it's clever when your fans rework your lyrics into questions in an attempt to be humorous? Your honest feedback, please.

LOLZ. good one!! that's My Type of answer : )

Dak - I see what you did there :)

What were some of your favorite bands to listen to growing up?

When we first started playing together we listed to a lot of David Bowie, Talking Heads, and The Who

Growing up? How about currently?

We listen to all sorts of music. A consistent pre show song you will hear us listening to back stage would be, "Tour de France" by Kraftwerk

are y'all going to release any traditional music videos, or strictly 360 virtualizers? it would be sick if there was a visual album, please beyonce our asses

Official music videos for sure! "Move" music video coming out NEXT WEEK!!!

Can I still enjoy "Born Again" if I'm Jewish?

Hahaha of course!!!

Aaron - you are in good company

After you played that gig in the Hamptons and went back to the house to swim in the pool and smoke where did you put the bowl? The dude needs it.

Aaron - Oops. Word, I'll mail it.

Do you really make the best French toast?

A weird, interesting, funny fan memory?

How do you guys think you've changed as a band from way back to ForPlay to now saintmotelevision

Aaron - yes. We finally learned how to play our instruments. Kinda...

Any idea why EA games keeps coming to you guys for FIFA songs? Not complaining but "Move" bumps you up to 2 tracks!

We are attempting to be the first band to be on 20 FIFA soundtracks !!

Hey guys, love your music and you are so much fun live, you have so much energy on stage. Just wanted to know what happened to that incredible tiger keyboard you had at Lolla? Was devastated when I didn't see it at your Indy show.

Our tiger is out living in the wild again...but will most likely find us again someday in the jungle

I'm so in love with the art for this album and the album's packaging, the overall aesthetic, etc. Who designed this? What was the thought process behind the creation of the design?

A/J - I designed it with a guy named Matt from the label. The concept was a continuation of where we left off with the EP art. The initial design was slightly side angle and the diver was an older man. After many drafts, the art became less and less busy until we arrived at the simple, clean design we have now.

I noticed that when performing Born Again live, AJ you sang "now I've cleaned up and found Jesus, and SHE'S waiting...". But on the album you say HE'S. Idk if I heard that wrong, but if you actually did say "she", why the change?

A/J - I'm not exactly sure why I've been doing that but I kind of like it...

Why does Greg Erwin have such strong calves? Is it all foot slappy paddle stuff, or is it his sweet Fixie gear lifestyle?

implants...

Hey guys! I'm a huge fan and was recently at your show at Bogarts in Cincy! Just a few questions:

What is your favorite song to preform?

If you could choose any song in the world to play in your set, what would it be?

When will the saxophone/trumpet players become official members of the band?

A/J - I don't play faves personally. Each song has its own unique place in the set. Some are sweeter some saltier depends on what flavor the set needs at the moment...

Hey there! Thanks for doing this AMA.

• What inspired you to create this album?

• What was the most challenging part of writing/recording the album?

• Any great stories that happened you want to share?

1. We couldn't stop at just the EP could we ?!?

2. Trying to finish it while we were on tour.

3. LA2NY was written on an airplane, Move was one of the first songs written and last songs produced, Happy Accidents was really an accident, saintmotelevision is the name of a storied event we tried to throw in LA a couple years ago...

greg - AJ can certainly talk a little more about the inspiration and writing, but as for great stories.....well, we made this record over the course of a couple years, in a multitude of amazing and not so amazing places, all over the world. From a desert compound surrounded by absolute nothingness, to a beach house in santa barbara, to a back room in a shitty german nightclub. it's all over the place, and I know that's why it's so special to us as a band. we are def. not the band destined to lock themselves away in a dark studio for 3 months, and emerge with a record in our hands : ) it's just not as fun that way!

Hi! So glad you were able to fit in an AMA as your tour is wrapping up! I went to your show in NYC the other day, all around amazing set from both you guys and Weathers + Hippocampus.

What I'm curious about is what attracted you guys to the retro aesthetic and sound that makes up a big part of your style today? Also a quick merch question, do you think the saint motel hats will be available online at some point? Missed my opportunity to pick one up at the show, but I really dug the design and would be interested in picking one up.

Hyped to see what you guys will be up to next :)

Dak - hats will be available online at one point.

Dak - to answer the other question, we didn't sit down and decide how exactly we would look and sound. It has just happened in the most organic way. It's a result of our collective style. But we're glad you like it :)

Hey guys, I've been a fan ever since I first heard Benny Goodman and was thrilled to see you guys live at Bakersfield's Free for All about a year ago. I've always wondered with musicians and bands, do you remember playing shows like that? Or does it kinda fade from memory if nothing particularly interesting happens? We're not exactly the most interesting town but I hope we at least left a good memory!

Aaron - I definitely remember Bakersfield. Home of Korn!

Hey guys, huge fan, I'm actually coming to see you guys tomorrow in Charlotte and I have the backstage pass and I'm so pumped to meet you guys.

Anyway, my question is compared to Voyeur was Saintmotelevision harder to put together and what was the hardest part of putting your newest album together? It seems like there is a lot more going on in your newest album compared to your past albums and I was curious if it was actually harder to put together.

Aaron - hardest part was getting a dang release date! Took foreeeeevvveeerrrr.

Hey guys! You had mentioned in the Song A Day video for Sweet Talk (that was filmed in my city 😉) that it was inspired by Daydream/Wetdream/Nightmare. Was there an exact moment you recall where you decided to move forward with this idea and turn this into Sweet Talk?

A/J - I can't remember exactly when unfortunately but I can tell you the lyric subject matter came about while we were touring the UK

What is your dream collab, and what's your nightmare collab?

Aaron - Aliens.

Hey pals, I've been wondering how many songs have you written together? Roughly how many songs are in the "vault" and how many are still not quite finished yet?

Aaron - almost all of our songs are outsourced from China and Bangladesh.

do you like coffee?? it's for a friend

100 percent

do you remember the fans you meet? or are we all one collective, enthusiastically devoted blur

Aaron - if a fan comes up to me and clucks like a chicken, I always remember them.

1. What was your favorite song to record/favorite part of recording saintmotelevision? 2.Is there an Omnichord (or Q Chord) on Slow Motion or is that a keyboard patch?
2. Will you ever play Dear Dictator live again? 4.What's your favorite song to play live?
3. Have you considered coming back to Summerfest in Milwaukee?

Thanks for the show at the Rave in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago! (we apologize for the ceiling being too short)

greg - Dear Dictator is one of our absolute faves... we still jam it in soundchecks : ) it will never officially be off our list of possible live jams : )

What are your thoughts on lyricism in regards to the "business" aspect of music? It seems like a lot of musicians face the dilemma of having to make music that is catchy/accessible while also making music that is "from the heart" and something they enjoy.

I ask because I ran the lyrics of your single "Move" through a word counter, and found that there are only about 6 unique words in the entire chorus and only about 50 unique words in the entire song. The word "gotta" alone is spoken over 36 times. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the song, but I am wondering if this is fulfilling music for you to make considering it contrasts so much with your other works like "Daydream/Wetdream/Nightmare", "1997", and" Puzzle Pieces".

Anyways, thanks for doing this! You guys make dope tracks!

Aaron - we are constantly trying to simplify our music because simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Destroyer is marked as 'explicit'. Although I don't believe there's any fowl language in the song. So why mark it as so?

great question! we were actually wondering the same thing.. maybe the powers that be don't like all that talk of destroying hearts?

A/J - I noticed that too! It's because it used to have obscene language but it hasn't in a long time. It's just an error and should be fixed soon.

What's up, guys? Big fan of your music!

What has been your most memorable show to date?

Aaron - that time we played on the moon

What are your nerdy guilty pleasures?

Aaron - gushers

Would you rather fight 100 duck sized humans or 1 human sized duck?

greg - UMMMM i would go for the duck sized humans........i reallllllly realllllLLLY don't ever want to see a human sized duck. i mean... whoa....

Dak - we'd rather take on 100 human sized ducks

Aaron - I like turtles...

What was the song that took you the longest to finish on saintmotelevision and why?

A/J - I think it was Destroyer? There were probably 20 different mixes/versions of this one. Maybe some day we could release all the versions and you could hear the growth of the song from demo to completed master!

What song took you the longest to write?

Destroyer

Hey dudes! I saw you in AZ and I meet guys. When will we get the pics?

Which ones?

I just missed you guys at the Varsity Theater :( Did you enjoy Minneapolis? Hopefully you'll come back through soon!

Aaron - we had a blast!

I love the album. I just wanted to say I personally find the songs very positive and fun. Do you plan on keeping your music going in this direction? Is this the sound of your band or do you think it is more of a reflection of your life at the moment?

Aaron - we hope to constantly evolve our sound

what should i eat for lunch?

Tuna salad on wheat. No tomato.

Who's going to make the college football playoffs this season?

DEFINITELY the Pittsburgh Parakeets

I work as a lighting tech for a handful of local production companies in my area. Over all of your shows, from your very first ones to today, have you accumulated any funny/cool/frustrating stories or experiences while working with production staff?

Aaron - soooooo many stories!

who were some of your biggest musical influences while making this album?

Aaron - Gloria Gaynor, Air Supply, Petula Clark, and Rammstein

Remember playing Taste of Chicago with Weezer? I was there!

Yes. Yes we do!!

Hey Greg! One question.... How you like your eggz? Fried.... Or?

Poached. Thank you for your question.

What has been your favorite music video to create? You seem to be a very theatrical band when it comes to music videos (having so many).

Aaron - Unofficial My Type video

You guys are stylish, where do you get your threads from?!

Mostly Ross ;) jk. But seriously the one thing we all own and love are Peter Nappi boots - from nashville! :))

Aaron - Italy

if you could have dinner with anyone in the world who would it be? And what album would you put on in the background?

Aaron - Klaus Kinski. Mahler

If you had to recommend one track to people who don't know you, which would you choose and why?

Aaron - At least I have nothing. Lyrically strong

if Saint Motel were a real Motel - what would the rooms look like??

They would be 100% different from room to room. from jungle theme to space shuttle.

Ritz Carlton presidential suite

Hey guys, fairly new fan but have listened to your albums on repeat for a few months now. My favourite songs of yours are probably Puzzle Pieces, Ace in the Hole and Cold Cold Man.

Just wondering if there are any plans of Canadian dates soon? Would love to see you play near Toronto! Congrats on the new album, it's a fun listen.

Aaron - oh we'll definitely be back, eh.

Hey guys! So excited to have you doing this im such a big fan. Whats your favorite place to visit on a tour or one place you've wanted to tour and never have?

Also so excited you guys are finally playing in Ft Lauderdale in Dec! Ive waited years to finally see yall. Any chance of hooking up your biggest fan in Florida with a M&G?

Aaron - Gorman is quite exotic.

When will you guys release My Type and saintmotelevision on vinyl?

Shout out to Dax for being so nice after the show at weekend 2 at ACL. Didn't mean to interrupt your time with family but the security guy was about kick me out!

My Type EP is already out on vinyl!!! and preorders are avail for saintmotelevision... and will ship in the near future ! vinyl is crazy to make, apparently! we can't wait to get a copy either : ) )

Any ideas for your next album? 🙏

it's already recorded :) JK... no it is not.