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The former Black Lips guitarist launches a new band with a sunshiny self-released EP.

“Saint Pé: We are not trying to reinvent the wheel. We are just trying to put shiny new rims on it.”

That’s the credo singer and guitarist Ian St. Pé proclaims from stage and in interviews to summate his eponymously named band’s sound. The slogan suits its self-released EP, Secular Music. All four songs are modern garage-punk, livened up by Saint Pé’s sunshiny disposition.

His other saying, “Take two steps back to go five steps forward,” may prove to be apt in the coming years. An equally hungry supporting cast and a positive mental attitude may be the necessary ingredients to propel Saint Pé into the touring stratosphere—a course its namesake conquered from 2004-14 as a guitarist for Atlanta-based hell raisers the Black Lips.

Despite its name, Saint Pé is not a solo venture. Early on, Ian met and bonded with an experienced engineer and capable musician in fellow guitarist Ian McDonald (ex-Turf War). Though both Ians now live in Nashville, three-fifths of the current lineup live in Georgia. The rhythm section of bassist Matt McCalvin (ex-Gringo Star, Paralyzer) and drummer John Restivo Jr. (Concord America) are Atlantans, with Athens-based keyboardist John Watkins (Dead Confederate) rounding out the current lineup. Myspace recently talked to Ian Saint Pé about leaving Black lips and starting a new project. 

Hometown/Homebase: Nashville via Atlanta and Athens

Though you are just now pushing the band by touring and self-releasing an EP, isn’t this an older project originally called the Fixed Focus?

About 2010, I got the idea for a recording project. I was touring the world with the Black Lips, and honestly all I ever wanted to do was play guitar. But I thought it might be fun to do a little singing here and there. What happened is I made a song called ‘Movin on Up’ for the Black Lips album 200 Million Thousand. It didn’t make the album, so I pretty much said, ‘well shit, I’m going to start a side deal basically where I call the shots.’ I love the Black Lips, but some of my tunes did not fit that mold, and I still wanted to use them.

Didn’t the original concept blend garage rock with hip-hop beats, as heard on "Movin on Up"?

It wasn’t going to be exclusively hip-hop beats, but it was going to have that as well. It was going to be a Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs type of project—shout out to that album—a collection of songs I had recorded.

You saw the world more than once with the Black Lips, and the other guys in the band are no strangers to the road. Was it a conscious decision to bring in seasoned touring musicians once this recording project became a proper band?

The key is finding people who are willing to eat, shit, and breathe this. If you want a musician, you can find them at Guitar Center or working at shoe stores. But to find entertainers is fucking hard. They are the people willing to go out there to get some. I did six continents with Black Lips, and I want to do seven with this band. Or at least take these guys to Antarctica so I can say I played there.

What prompted you to leave the Black Lips and take what was initially a recording project on the road?

One thing you don’t get back is time. I enjoy everything I did over the past 10 years, but I’m almost 40 now. Where the fuck did that go? I don’t even remember half of those nights. They were obviously fun. I’ve got six or seven records to prove it. But if I do another 10 years, I’ll be almost 50. If I’m going to try take a step in another direction, like those Choose Your Own Adventure books, I’d better turn that page, man. You get a choice in life, and if you don’t turn that page, you’ll be stuck on page 38.

Not everyone starting a new adventure has been a professional entertainer for a decade or toured India. That paired with your positive mindset surely gives the band an advantage over others.

There’s a million bands that want it, but not as fucking bad as I do. That’s the mentality you have to have. It worked for me once, so I’m going to go with that. I’m not saying Saint Pé is going to be as popular, but it’s going to be as fucking real as the Black Lips.

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