Savoy Motel

Savoy Motel fuses contemporary indie rock with the visual style and sonic palette of 1970s pop and rock. Formed in Nashville, Tennessee, the group originated with Jeffrey Novak, the onetime founder and frontman of Cheap Time. While stationed at LBH Studios, Novak began shaping fresh songs alongside Jessica McFarland, another Cheap Time veteran. Handling bass himself, Novak paired McFarland’s drumming—augmented by her vintage Maestro Rhythm King—with the guitar work of Dillon Watson and Mimi Galbierz, both previously of Heavy Cream. Watson took lead lines while Galbierz supplied rhythm parts, completing the quartet. McFarland and Galbierz assumed primary vocal responsibilities, with Novak contributing occasional harmonies. The four began composing and tracking material at once, ultimately laying down three albums’ worth of songs prior to their first live appearance in early 2015. That November they issued their debut single, a limited-edition 7" coupling “Hot One” and “Souvenir Shop Rock.” Both tracks later surfaced on the self-titled album that appeared on the independent What’s Yr Rupture imprint in fall 2016.