Follow Friday: Saint Motel, Rick Springfield, Cloud Nothings, and More

Saint Motel

With just over a decade under their belts, the indie pop rockers, Saint Motel, have developed hits that weasel into your head and stay there. Fans of the genre will surely recognize their smash-hit, “My Type,” which dominated airwaves and crashed into the Billboard Top 10 a few years back. Just this week, Saint Motel released an EP spanning five tracks titled The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Pt. 1. In a chat with Billboard, Saint Motel member A. J. Jackson discussed the behind-the-scenes of “Van Horn,” featured above.

The guitar riff in the beginning has a western tinge to it and we’d just gotten back from tour where we spent a crazy night in Van Horn, Texas. It just felt right to combine the two.

A. J. Jackson on “Van Horn”

If the incomplete title of the EP did not give it away already, this release is only part of a larger picture that spans three releases. Parts two and three of The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack are planned to unveil over the course of the next few months.

To stay updated with Saint Motel and know the instant the second part drops, stay tuned on their official website. There, you can also check out their upcoming tour dates.

Saint Motel craft their world-famous hits with Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms on guitar and Regular Slinky 5-String bass strings.

Listen to part one of The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack below.

Rick Springfield

Crafting tunes from the land down under, Rick Springfield is a well-known name across the globe. His smash hit “Jesse’s Girl” not only dominated airwaves, but also spawned countless parodies and renditions. Rick Springfield is far from a one-hit-wonder, though; with a Grammy under his belt and several more chart-topping tunes, he is a power-pop force to be reckoned with. He has not stopped, either — in 2019, Rick Springfield is still active in the music world with his latest tour, Orchestrating My Life.

Well, the two songs about my parents are meaningful to me and I think the audience gets them. My Fathers Chair I wrote for my dad when he died in 1981 and Irreplaceable I wrote for my mum when she died in 2016. They’re played together and it still affects me after all this time.

Rick Springfield, SoundVapors

If you want to hear the sentimental, heartstring-tugging renditions of Rick Springfield‘s discography, make sure to check out his latest release, Orchestrating My Life. If you want to experience it for yourself, check out Rick Springfield‘s official website for more information on the Orchestrating My Life Tour.

Rick Springfield uses Ernie Ball Power Slinky Paradigms and Regular Slinkys.

Delve into the Rick Springfield experience with Orchestrating My Life below.

Cloud Nothings

The Cleveland noise-rockers, Cloud Nothings, deliver a unique blend between the painfully nostalgic emo genre and the ear-splitting sounds of post-harcore. The evolution of their sound reflects that as well. Their first album, 2010’s Turning On, features soaked vocals and lo-fi instrumentations. Over the years — and with a hit or two along the way, including “Stay Useless” and “I’m Not Part of Me” — Cloud Nothings have found a new, angrier sound on their newest release, Last Burning Building.

Yeah, I just feel like the stuff that’s popular right now in the guitar music world isn’t necessarily as angry as a lot of the music that I like. I guess heavy is one word for it, but I just find it weird that nothing that’s big nowadays isn’t in the heavier world. A lot of the stark subject matter expressed on this current record is just my natural state… I guess there has to be some crazy parts on the album because I can be a little crazy, ha!

Dylan Baldi, The Seventh Hex

Cloud Nothings are currently on tour for the album, Last Burning Building. If you’re a fan of their work — or noisy rock in general — their show is one you do not want to miss. Check out their official website for tour dates near you.

Cloud Nothings get loud with Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms on guitar and Regular Slinky Cobalt Bass strings on the low-end.

Get your day off to a kick-start with Cloud Nothings‘ top tracks below.

Seaway

These up-north pop-punkers from Ontario make up an absolute powerhouse in the genre. Seaway is one of those bands that knows what they are doing and how to do it right. With a discography spanning back to 2011, Seaway has figured out how to condense everything we love about pop-punk into a one-inch punch of a sound. Their latest album, Fresh Produce, is exactly that.

Fresh Produce is a release that is somewhat years in the making. It is a compilation of new and old, fresh and reworked. It has two brand-new singles, a couple reimagined versions of tracks from Vacation, as well as the rerelease of our 2014 EP, All In My Head. We sat on some of these songs for quite a while now, not really too sure what to do with them. It finally boiled down to us wanting to get them out there, so we threw them all on one 12-inch for your consumption. We hope you enjoy Fresh Produce. It’s good for you.

Ryan Locke, AltPress

In addition to those reimagined tracks, the album also features some tongue-in-cheek covers of pop hits like “Just What I Needed” and “Closer.” Earlier this year, Seaway wrapped up their tour with fellow Ernie Ball bands Heart Attack Man, Free Throw, and Young Culture. Even though the best pop-punk lineup 2019 has seen may have passed, you can still catch Seaway live by hitting up their official website for tour dates.

Seaway get slinky with Ernie Ball Beefy Slinkys and Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms on guitar and Power Slinky bass strings to hold it down on bass.

Start rocking with Seaway‘s top tracks below.

Big Nothing

In the bustling music scene of Philadelphia, Big Nothing is making headway with their insanely catchy melodic punk tunes. After a self-titled 2017 release, the band kicked down the door of 2019 with their debut full-length, Chris.

How do they get such a passionate sound? Well, the answer is simple: they almost literally pour their heart and soul into their songs.

A lot of our actual lyrics are therapeutic in themselves (discussing topics we have trouble bringing up in conversation), but a lot of the help comes from the physical and mental release you get from actually playing music. Getting together for band practice once a week, playing shows, going on tour – it all creates a strong bond that can help anyone get through some seriously tough times.

Pat Graham, Punk Rock Theory

Big Nothing is capitalizing on the momentum they have gained with Chris by touring, of course. If you want to check them out live, hit up their official webpage.

Big Nothing gets it done with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys.

Check out the latest from Big Nothing below.