A Dirty Dozen with HUNTER FITCH from SAINT BLONDE – March 2025

According to a recent press release: “Alternative rock quintet Saint Blonde is thrilled to announce that they will be performing as an official artist at this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival. The annual Festival, taking place March 10-15 in Austin, TX, is known for bringing together the best in up-and-coming artists from around the world. Please see below for a full list of Saint Blonde’s scheduled performances. Saint Blonde are no strangers to evolution. Formed in 2018, Saint Blonde cut their teeth on the Southwest circuit, playing a mix of jangly and synth-driven bedroom pop tunes with infectious vocal hooks while slowly amassing a humble yet dedicated fanbase on their own terms. As time went on, the band – which consists of Hunter Fitch (Vocals), Tre Rollins (Guitar), Alexander Hernandez (Guitar), Tyler Lee Cooper (Drums), and Kyle Cade (Bass) – would pool their eclectic influences together to shape the future of Saint Blonde’s sound into something far more expansive in scale.” We get singer Hunter to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Our latest release is called “Prowl,” and it’s a little bit more mellow followup to “Trendsetter.” It’s about love and stuff. I like the Mad Max 2: Beyond Thunderdome reference in it. I don’t know why I compared a relationship to that but we kept it. We also like to tease ideas and song teasers in our merch AND MAYBE on instagram soon.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I always like music but what flipped the switch for me was the first club show I ever went to. It was MewithoutYou, Dredge, The Blood Brothers, and Coheed and Cambria on one bill in a like 400 cap venue. I think I was like 12? It blew. My mind.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Kinda answered the above question in a way I think? It’s tough to say. There were so many good artists and genres swirling around during my most formative years. Fuse TV was putting cool music videos on my screen constantly, the alt and punk scene was flourishing, my parents were constantly bumping great stuff from different decades, etc.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Rick Rubin seems like an interesting dude that would make us all have some sort of aggressive ego death, and I’m sure that would be a unique experience? Or like maybe a wicked-ass sax player.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

We like games and we like fajitas. We went to the place that invented fajitas (so they claimed) and we liked that EVEN more.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Do you remember those swimming goggles that had a holographic skull or shark in the lens? I think our new stuff sounds kinda similar to the way those goggles look.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

I’m usually napping. Lox is making something delicious to eat OR finger boarding (or just doin his own thing). Tre is trying to wrangle everyone to play a board game. Kyle is making drinks and making sure everyone is comfortable. Tyler is trying to NOT play a board game.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Every time I see someone with their dog on a walk I’m like “wow what a star can I meet that dog!” We spent a whole like 6 weeks in LA working on some tunes recently and there were so many good dogs every day that we starting doing a DOG OF WEEK ranking every week. I was starstruck each time.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of doing the whole band thing is the time we get to spend together. The whole band is really close and it’s kinda just like having infinite fun sleepovers with the homies. I think if I wasn’t singing in a band I’d want to work either somewhere in wildlife conservation or biology. I love all kinds of critters and creepy crawlies and how important their roles are on our planet.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I think summing up band bios or genres gets tiring, so I started just describing our sound in abstract terms (Like the goggles question). I’ve always wanted an interviewer to ask me what my favorite animal is. Thanks for asking! Here’s a list:

1. Bears
2. Orcas
3. Spotted Hyenas
4. Shoebills
5. Opossums

I could go on infinitely.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I think we would all probably say that we wish we woulda full sent into making it a priority sooner in life. More effort when we were young, more lessons, more shows, etc.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Any of the later Beatles records I think. Those dudes were literally inventing new ways to track and record songs on the fly.

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Category: Interviews