Saint Rich was born unexpectedly. As the story goes, the Delicate Steve bandmates Steve Marion and Christian Peslak — New Jersey natives whose collaborations date back to their high-school days — were holed up in the former’s home, weathering out a fierce storm that prevented the rest of that band from attending rehearsal. So instead, Marion put down his trusty six-string and got behind the drum kit, and Peslak began strumming the first chords to “Dreams,” a song they’d allegedly finish within an hour. A couple of days later, the two twentysomethings had seven new tracks and a new project on their hands: Saint Rich.
“It’s a little exaggerated,” Peslak says of the origin story. “It was really just a product of us hanging out.” Tall tale or not, the results of Saint Rich’s weekend-long writing and recording session are undeniable. On September 30, the Best New Artist honorees will release their debut album, Beyond the Drone, by way of North Carolina super label Merge Records. The upcoming effort delivers 12 sweetly shaggy tracks of wistful guitar-rock, shaped in the suburbs but colored by the country.
“I’ve just been waiting to show it to the world for so long,” Peslak says of the album, which was completed late last year. “It’s so exciting to be able to do that right now. It became a bit of a myth among our local friends.” That myth has now become a Spotify playlist, which you can stream below.
Saint Rich tour dates:
September 24 — Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge *
September 27 — Visalia, CA @ Cellar Door
September 28 — Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex *
September 29 — San Diego, CA @ Adams Ave Street Fair*
September 30 — Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *
October 3 — Dallas, TX @ HOB @ Cambridge Room *
October 4 — Little Rock, AR @ Vinos
October 5 — Athens, GA @ Green Room
October 6 — Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
October 7 — Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church Sanctuary *
October 8 — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
October 9 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
October 12 — New York, NY @ Bowery Electric (CBGB Festival)
October 16 — Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory (Panache CMJ Showcase)
October 22 — Washington, D.C. @ U Street Music Hall *
October 23 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater *
October 24 — Cleveland, OH @ The Spot *
October 26 — Chicago, IL @ Metro *
October 27 — Columbus, OH @ Kobo Live
* = with Wild Belle
