Adam Gontier Talks New Band SAINT ASONIA - "It's Above And Beyond Anything I Did With THREE DAYS GRACE"

July 31, 2015, 8 years ago

By Greg Prato

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Adam Gontier Talks New Band SAINT ASONIA - "It's Above And Beyond Anything I Did With THREE DAYS GRACE"

There's no denying that Three Days Grace was one of the more successful rock bands to hail from Canada during the early 21st century, as evidenced by such albums as One-X, Life Starts Now, and Transit of Venus, which not only nearly topped the charts in their homeland, but almost replicated the feat in the Unites States. So it understandably came as a shock when it was announced that singer Adam Gontier was abruptly leaving the band in 2013. But it hasn't taken long for Gontier to get back on track - as evidenced by the recently launched Saint Asonia, which in addition to the ex-3DG member, also includes guitarist Mike Mushok (of Staind), bassist Corey Lowery (Stuck Mojo), and drummer Rich Beddoe (Finger Eleven). Gontier spoke with BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato shortly before the quartet's self-titled debut full-length was issued (set for release today via Sony).

BraveWords: How did Saint Asonia come together?

Adam Gontier:  "When I quit Three Days Grace, Mike Mushok was probably one of the first guys to reach out to me, and asked me if I wanted to do some songwriting with him - not with any intention of making a record or starting a band or anything. It was just more so, 'Get together, hang out, and write some music.' And it went really well. So we ended up going into the studio and we recorded ten or eleven songs, and here we are. The writing process went really well and it was pretty seamless. We got along really well, so it was a lot of fun."

BraveWords: Why exactly did you leave Three Days Grace?

Adam Gontier:  "I mean, to narrow it down to one particular reason, I couldn't do that, but my real answer would be probably creative differences, I think."

BraveWords: How does the music of Saint Asonia compare to Three Days Grace?

Adam Gontier:  "I think if anything, it's above and beyond anything I did with Three Days Grace. I'm super proud of [Three Days Grace's] self-titled record and One-X, but I really feel that this record we made is really straight from the heart and soul, raw and real and organic. I think it's something that is going to stand out and something that rock music needs right now, I think."

BraveWords: How did you come up with the band's name?

Adam Gontier:  "Well, the word 'asonia' means to be tone deaf, so I thought that was kind of funny. We were throwing that word around for a while. And one of the guys put a 'saint' in front of it, to give it a better ring."

BraveWords: Let's talk about the debut single, 'Better Place.'

Adam Gontier:  "I've always written lyrics pretty bluntly, so it's pretty straightforward - the song is about not letting other people around you drag you down after a number of years of being dragged down. And it's about getting out of that, breaking out, and getting to a better place. And there is a lot of that that I had to do over the last couple of years. And the writing process was great - it was a song that Mike had for a long time, beginning with the riff, and then I laid down some melodies and it was done."

BraveWords: Is there going to be a video for the song?

Adam Gontier:  "Yeah, absolutely. We actually just shot the video in LA a few days ago. It was a lot of fun. I ended up co-directing the video and writing the treatment, so it was a great experience. Paul Brown directed it, and it was pretty amazing to sit with him and watch the whole process happen from a different perspective."

BraveWords: What are some other favorite songs?

Adam Gontier:  "I'd say some of my favorites are 'Live My Life,' 'Leaving Minnesota,' 'Blow Me Wide Open,' 'Dying Slowly'…there's a whole bunch, it's hard to narrow it down to a favorite - they all hit pretty close to home. They all have a serious meaning with me."

 BraveWords: What are the touring plans?

Adam Gontier:  "We do a headlining club tour for most of August, a couple of shows at the beginning of September, maybe a co-headlining bill for September, then festivals in October. So basically, the idea is to continue to tour and not stop."

BraveWords: Any other future plans?

Adam Gontier:  "Basically that. It's a new band for all of us. We don't take anything for granted, so we're starting from the bottom and making our way up. So, just a lot of touring. We're going to work our asses off, play a bunch of shows, and just get the music out there."

BraveWords: Would you ever consider doing a solo project, or is Saint Asonia your main focus?

Adam Gontier:  "I've got a lot of faith that Saint Asonia is going to be around for a while. I know Rich, Corey, and Mike are all really excited about this band. So we're not going to go away anytime soon."

"Fairy Tale”:

"Let Me Live My Life" lyric video:

“Better Place”:





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