To call the Toledo group, SHMOTEL, a rock band would be much too simple. Lead vocalist, Amanda Belt, instead describes music as a “kind of biting” mixture of rock, pop and funk. It’s dark and grungy, “but something you can dance to”.
SHMOTEL—comprised of Belt on vocals and guitar, Jess Hancock on drums, Jon Zenz on bass and Jared Struck on saxophone and computer—emerged on the local music scene about a year ago. Struck, a classically trained saxophonist from Bowling Green State University adds a technical, jazzy flair to the standard rock sounds of drums and electric guitar. The group’s debut album, “TOWNIE,” is a three-track EP recorded last October. The songs—”Possession,” “Can’t Wait” and “Divorcee”—feature wailing guitar and dark vocals that are balanced out by rapid sax solos and upbeat loops. Press play and dancing will ensue. Headbanging will also occur, especially during “Can’t Wait” when the saxophone takes a back seat to the grungy guitar riffs.
That tasty combination is exactly what Belt is going for. “When I write guitar, I tend to write very riff-heavy,” she said. So, when forming SHMOTEL, she knew that she needed Struck’s sax skills to lighten up the mood. “I wanted something more melodic,” she added. “With the music I try to not keep it too serious. I try to have fun.”
Yet another pleasant surprise about the TOWNIE EP is its connection to Toledo history. Belt describes the current version of TOWNIE as a trio of love songs. These love songs are all set in the Hotel Secor, a former Toledo hotel and current practicing space for SHMOTEL, this century-old building is the setting of all three songs. Belt imagines the relationships the hotel’s inhabitants might have had over the years, and Townies is their memoir.
“The bones are the easy part. Just getting an idea,” she said of her songwriting process. And while Belt never intended to write a cohesive set of songs, the experiences of the residents of the Hotel Secor “started to write themselves.”
For now, SHMOTEL is content performing live around the Toledo area, but Belt hopes to record a few more songs over the summer. “It’s like putting your music under a microscope,” she said. But it’s not about fame for Belt—it’s about contributing to the fun of live music and helping the crowd “understand the stories being told” from the Hotel Secor.
For more on Shmotel and what they are currently up to, visit them on Facebook and listen to their EP, Townies at theshmotel.bandcamp.com/releases
