motel void

Baby Grendel (formerly small town sci-fi) is an experimental, indie-rock lo-fi artist from Salinas, California, currently residing in Portland, Oregon.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve changed your name from small town sci-fi to Baby Grendel recently. What was the reason for this step?

BABY GRENDEL: small town sci-fi was always a working title of a name. It was the name of a blog I used to run. My friend Kimberly and I were starting a band and needed a name and we just went with STSF. I’m fond of the small town sci-fi project, we made some fun merch and artwork. There’s nothing like your first real project, but the project evolved into something else and it was time for a new name, and thus, Baby Grendel was born.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released your new single Sidewalk (beautiful by the way!). Will it be part of your new album?

BABY GRENDEL: Thank you for saying that! Sidewalk is part of our self-titled EP. We’re not sure if it will be featured on a full length album in the near future but we’re thinking about it.

MOTEL VOID: I loved your previous small town sci-fi tracks as well, especially your debut ‘Psycho’ EP from May 2022. In December 2022 you teamed up with Joe Mengis. How would you describe your cooperation and your writing/recording process? What changed for you?

BABY GRENDEL: Thank you! Psycho was a lot of fun to make. Generally how it goes these days is I come up with the basic melodic structure, lyrics and chords; then Joe and I build the song up from there at Joe’s home studio. Harmonic elements, the energy of the song , the type of song it will be (sidewalk could’ve been anything from a folk song to a pop punk song), those are all things we hammer out together and Joe has an exceptional talent for these sorts of things. As far as what’s changed, I’d say I take more chances than I used to.

MOTEL VOID: You’re from Salinas, California. I visited Salinas in 2019, mostly because I used to be a big John Steinbeck fan. How is it with the indie music scene in Salinas? Is it alive? Do you have any favorite local venues and artists?

BABY GRENDEL: That’s really cool you visited Steinbeck country! I love Salinas and the nearby towns of Hollister and Gilroy and San Juan Batista, they all feel like home to me. I’m not sure I know of a music scene in Salinas. There’s a cafe in SJB called Vertigo that puts on music events and it’s a favorite for local artists.
Calavera coffee in Hollister is a Cafe and record store that is connected with the art / music scene. So there is some cool stuff around there!

MOTEL VOID: If I’m not mistaken, you lived in Berkeley for a while and now you’re residing in Portland, Oregon? Why did you decide to move? And how do you like it in Portland?

BABY GRENDEL: I moved up to Portland to work with Joe, he’s the other founder of Baby Grendel. He’s an incredible drummer and musician in general, as well as a really good friend and band mate. I really like it in Portland, I’ve met so many awesome people involved in the music scene. I feel fortunate to be around them.

MOTEL VOID: One of your inspirations is Pedro the Lion. I admire David Bazan’s work as well. What is your favorite album by PTL? Have you heard his new singles?

BABY GRENDEL: I love Achilles Heel. Bands with Managers is one of my all time favorite songs.

I’ve listened to his new singles. I really like the songs he writes about towns, I’m lucky to have been to some of them. He has a special relationship to these places. I think that’s just the kind of person he is. If you ever get to one of his smaller shows, he’s really easy to talk to.