Saturday Looks Good to Me has been making noise on the Detroit/Ann Arbor scene for the past two years.
- Jason Pesick
- <p>Saturday does look good to these guys.</p>
<p>Courtesy of PolyVinyl</p>
Combining a throwback sound reminiscent of the Beach Boys and old Motown with an indie rock ethic, the band could be one of the few in the local scene with a truly unique style.
Releasing their first four LPs without the help of any label, independent or otherwise, the band has managed to land major U.S. tours with the likes of Saves the Day and Rainer Maria and garner national attention. Their first release on PolyVinyl, All Your Summer Songs, came out earlier this month. Recently, The Michigan Daily had a chance to sit down with the brains of the operation, Fred Thomas.
The Michigan Daily: Congrats on signing with PolyVinyl. How did that come about?
Fred Thomas: Saturday Looks Good to Me almost accidentally became a band out of a 4-track project that kinda happened. I spent a couple of years making this record. They had been given the heads up on us from Kyle from Rainer Maria and some other people on college radio had been kinda hyping the band up to PolyVinyl. It’s not necessarily like a lot of the other bands on PolyVinyl, but that’s kinda what they’re excited about. They came and saw an awful, awful show we played in Milwaukee. But they signed us anyway.
TMD: How was the recent tour with Saves the Day? Were you received well by their fans? You’re not really even in the same ballpark as far as genres go.
FT: That was a crazy tour. I was surprised how receptive they were. We sold a ton of merchandise, made a lot of friends. There definitely were people who weren’t into it at all, but there was more people into it than I thought there would be.
TMD: Your live shows tend to sound a lot different than the recordings. Is it a matter of the people performing with you, or a matter of the crowd?
FT: In the beginning, everyone was so excited. But it was like, “Jesus Christ, we have 11 people on stage, this is ridiculous.” It’s hard not to suit up and freak out. Many times, most of the band is drunk and just going crazy. It’s more about having fun and motivating people to dance then sitting down and paying subtle attention to the intricacies in songs.
TMD: The SLGTM stuff talks a lot about love, longing, and other things along those lines. Do you ever find it difficult to avoid clich