By Heather Rest
For the Daily Titan

The rhythmic melodies and playful baselines of Saint Motel echoed through Becker Amphitheatre Wednesday as part of ASI Productions free concert series.

Fresh off a black and white themed performance at The Roxy, Nov. 7, the band made their finale tour stop at Cal State Fullerton to promote their debut EP ForPlay.

As students gathered, taking a break from the hectic day, the sunshine and rock ‘n’ roll was just what some spectators needed.

“This is my kind of music. I like that it is not manufactured like most pop music these days,” said Alyssa Furin, radio-TV-film major.

The album, released in September, includes six songs, each accompanied by a full length music video. Four out of the six films were directed and produced by the band themselves. The other two, including, “To My Enemies” and “Dear Dictator” were directed by a talented Chapman film student, Carlos Lopez Estrada.

The “big” sound produced by Saint Motel carried through the Quad all the way to far parking lots. The tunes ranged from dark, lonesome sounds of “Eat Your Heart Out” to more playful yet heartfelt toe tapping ones, such as “Butch.” Base guitarist Dak laid it on thick throughout the performance. The halting drums, thumping base and smashing guitar demand attention while A/J Jackson’s melodic voice adds a surprising twist.

Jackson and lead guitarist Aaron Sharp met while attending Chapman film school. Both of their passions for film have highly influenced their music and their drive to create an exciting visual experience in their performances and videos. “We try to make an epic experience in a small concert venue. Most of the nights have an idea behind them: Valentines Day, zombie prom; we constantly try to push further and further,” Jackson said.

Some highlights of their tour include the College Music Journal in New York. The five day music and film festival features 1,200 up-and-coming artists and will be held at New York University as well as more than 75 of the city’s greatest night clubs. It will also include the previously mentioned Roxy performance and one of Jackson’s favorites, an underground all underwear party. The band expresses serious gratitude for the recent catapult of success.

“It’s been a really great five/six months. We’ve been working really hard; we’ve gotten a lot of good press which always adds heat to the fire,” said drummer Greg Erwin.

Erwin graduated from CSUF in 2007 with a degree in communications entertainment. He seems humbled to be back on campus doing what he loves. His obvious passion for his band and their music radiates as he talks about their sound and what he thinks is one of their strongest songs.

“‘Eat Your Heart Out’ stands out a lot; I feel like sonically it’s really big,” Erwin said.

Saint Motel draws inspiration from some of their favorite bands, an eclectic mash up of Petula Clark, The Who and Black Sabbath, to name a few.

“We like stuff that makes you grind your teeth, stuff that makes you smile; those are the emotions we gravitate to,” Jackson said.

A GMC, Vandura Explorer, the bands beloved van, carried them across the United States in their first tour that began in October. Coming to an end, Saint Motel hopes to have a few surprise appearances and more importantly can’t wait to get back in the studio and make the music they believe in.

“We want to be a band that is relevant 25 years from now. We don’t want to be part of a fad,” Jackson said.

Sharp comes from a family of classically trained guitarists; both his father and grandfather were musicians. Sharp was a flamenco guitarist for years before he got into rock ‘n’ roll.

“Its all about the energy of rock ‘n’ roll. The abrasiveness, the extreme emotion of self expression,” Sharp said.