ADAM GONTIER Explains SAINT ASONIA Lineup Changes

In a new interview with Rock 100.5 The KATT's Cameron Buchholtz, SAINT ASONIA frontman Adam Gontier addressed the fact that he is the sole remaining musician in the band's current touring lineup who was present when SAINT ASONIA made its live debut at the 2015 edition of the Rock On The Range festival. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The original lineup was myself and Corey Lowery [bass] and Rich Beddoe [drums] and Mike Mushok [guitar]. And Mike Mushok is still in the band. So it's me and Mike. But Corey Lowery left to play guitar for SEETHER. I think at the time we were basically on a break and SEETHER was going out and they needed somebody. And we're all kind of friends; we're this little group of friends. So, yeah, it was a good opportunity for me to invite Cale [Gontier], my cousin, into the band to play bass. Same with [drummer] Cody [Watkins]. Rich had some other stuff to do, so we got Cody on board, and here we are. This lineup is the lineup. But, yeah, because Mike's busy, he's pretty busy with STAIND and stuff, too, so we sort of have to balance that out. So he's doing stuff with STAIND, so we have Tavis Stanley, another friend of ours and great guitar player, filling in for Mike."

Gontier went on to say that it wasn't much of a surprise when Mushok stepped back from his touring activities with SAINT ASONIA in order to focus on STAIND.

"When Mike and I started the band, we talked about that, the chances of STAIND reuniting and doing stuff," Adam explained. "So it was always kind of expected. And we just figured we'd cross the bridge when we got it, and, yeah, we got to it. It's good, though. This lineup's great. The live show is killer. So, yeah, no complaints."

SAINT ASONIA released its second EP of 2022, "Extrovert", in November 2022 via Spinefarm.

"Extrovert" followed the "Introvert" EP, which dropped in the summer of 2022 and featured seven new tracks, including a Weeknd cover.

Both EPs were released physically as "Introvert/Extrovert" with bonus tracks in December 2022.

In 2022, Adam Gontier told Sonic Perspectives about "Introvert": "The title was fitting with the way the songs were written. We wrote and recorded individually. It's a weird situation to make a record and not be in the same room as your band. I felt like an introvert when I was working on these songs."

The EP was recorded outside of Toronto with producer Anton DeLost. Meanwhile, Mushok recorded remotely from his home studio in Connecticut.

"We had a blast with Anton," Adam told Sonic Perspectives. "He played a big part in the sonic changes. It's a little different for us, but it's still pretty heavy. He understood what we were hoping to accomplish. It's SAINT ASONIA."