Alternative Rock Band Saint Blonde Goes Pale On The Prowl

Pale Chord/ Rise Records has signed Saint Blonde, a five piece band creating new alternative rock songs. Saint Blonde formed in 2018 and has been working the circuit since. Like many bands grinding it out on the road, Saint Blonde has worked to define themselves and build an audience. To date they have built an audience with more than ten million streams. Now, with the support of Pale Chord/ Rise records, Saint Blonde is preparing for 2025 to be their breakout, with a heavy tour schedule contemplated and their debut album to be released.

Saint Blonde is Hunter Fitch on Vocals, Tré Rollins on Guitar, Alexander Hernandez on Guitar, Kyle Cade on Bass and Tyler Lee Cooper on drums. I like talking with bands while they are on the rise. There is an inherent honesty when you are still free to say what you want rather than what you think must be said.

Hunter and I went deep when we discussed the band. He is articulate and thoughtful. Hunter said “I mean, we’ve always had sort of like a kind of a sarcastic or cynical undertone, like, lyrically and, like, conceptually to a lot of the songs, but musically, they’ve always been a little bit brighter. And beachier is probably the best way to describe it. You know, major keys, pop hooks, beachier, surfy guitar riffs, which is still, like a mainstay for a lot of our material, but we’ve been exploring a little bit of, like, a toothier heavier sonic quality on the new record stuff. “

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Our conversation was prompted by my positive reaction to Saint Blonde’s song Trendsetter. That song seems to be the impetus for Saint Blonde moving to a record deal, and press attention. It’s a solid piece of music.

I asked Hunter “Why don’t you tell me who the members of the band are and how they contribute and who’s in the songwriting team?” His answer was thoughtful and complex. Hunter said “So with the new stuff, it’s been a lot more hands on deck, but historically, I mean, it’s me, I’m singing, and me and Trey Rollins, our guitar player. It’s a lot of self-produced songwriting. Kind of that, like starts the baking process of a song, and then I guess I’ll describe it in the way we write because that really will also highlight different members.

Me and Trey start a song, like, the core concept of a song melodically and, like, the progression of it. And then we add, sonic layers. We add each individual member’s input on top of the base of the song we write, and then it sort of becomes something else.

Our guitar player, Alex, there’s, like, a sonic quality that only we can really get from him that is kind of like a secret sauce to the top line of a song. A lot of gooey, complex, riffy guitar stuff. And that’s usually thrown into the pot at the end to really finalize what I think is a sound that is ours. And then our newest member, Kyle Cade. He’s been a longtime friend of the band and our bass player. He’s been involved a lot with the songwriting process, especially since we’re exploring a different way of doing it with the record.”

When you see as many bands as I do, you quickly learn to differentiate between performers who are always adapting to new alternatives from those who are simply locked into their historical patterns and playlists. My time with Hunter made clear that Saint Blonde is not at rest, they are on the move. It’s a big step to get signed and the support which comes along with that infrastructure. There is a team to assist the creative work the band must perform to build a body of songs which attract fans repeatedly.

Music requires a certain diligence. There are only so many notes in an octave, and almost every song on the planet can be played with four basic chords. So, to build an audience for both the performance and the songs performed requires constantly creating new ways to build audience with sound. This is the work I see Saint Blonde undertaking.

Saint Blonde is building their playlist, but more importantly, they are connecting with an expanding audience. Streams lead to ticket sales, and ticket sales build the fan base. The second key element to succeed as a performance band is whether the front man can hold the audience’s attention. Hunter Fitch has that gift of connecting with fans. With that, plus strong songs and a solid group of musicians there is much promise as Saint Blonde sails off to slay the dragon of anonymity. Go see them when they come to your town. You get bragging rights from going to an “A” list artist’s concert. But, there is nothing better than going to see a band for the first time and realizing there’s something new which demands your attention.