Hotel Books, is an American emo/spoken-word project from Porterville, CA revolving around the poetry of Cam Smith (born February 16, 1993). Hotel Books is a Christian band. The project is often presented on tour as a full band, but has also been shown as a solo project of Cam Smith. They are known for Smith's unique vocal style, which is often the central focus of their work.
The band's InVogue Records debut, "I'm Almost Happy Here, But I Never Feel at Home" was released July 1, 2014 via InVogue Records. The album received mostly positive reviews, as well as earning the band their first Billboard chartings, No. 9 on Alternative New Artists and No. 20 on Heatseekers, for the album's debut week. Their next effort, "Run Wild, Young Beauty," was released on April 7, 2015, and spent three total weeks on the Billboard charts.
In October of 2017, Hotel Books released "Equivalency" via InVogue Records.
Hotel Books has toured USA, Europe, and Australia, playing with a variety of notable acts, including Defeater, Counterparts, and Title Fight.
History
Hotel Books "Nothing Was The Same" - Off the Album "Run Wild, Young Beauty" CD: http://store.invoguerecords.com iTunes: https://itun.es/i67v5qd Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2pZulQG Stay up to date with Hotel Books: https://www.instagra...
Hotel Books began in 2011. After the release of "Call Me Human," many demos were released online, which ultimately became "Everything We Could Have Done Differently." After extensive touring in the US and overseas, the band signed to InVogue Records, in which they released a double-packaged EP, "I'm Almost Happy Here," as well two full band records, "Run Wild, Young Beauty," and "Run Wild, Stay Alive."
Vocalist Cam Smith announced plans to continue releasing an album every year, with low-key spoken-word opus "Equivalency" to quickly follow.
Discography
Other Appearances
- Happy Holidays, I Miss You (2016) - Christmas Eve Until I Leave
Style and influence
Hotel Books has been predominantly recognized for Cam Smith's spoken-word vocal style. According to an interview with OurVinyl, Smith cited Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou and Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse as his favorite lyricists.
Musically, Hotel Books has been referred to as emo. Cam Smith has stated that he does not see the band as real emo, but understands the constant connection people make. According to Smith, "music is music. If genres are necessary, we usually like saying we are ambient rock." Smith has listed The Click Five as a main influence in many interviews. The Click Five is also the only artist thanked in all three Hotel Books releases.
Cam Smith's writings
Cam Smith, the lead vocalist and sole founding member of Hotel Books, is most recognized for his writings with Hotel Books. His first published book was released April 7, 2015 via InVogue Records.
On September 9, 2016, Smith released his second book "Found Footage" via Almost Happy, a production company owned by Smith and Nicholas Moore.