Whitney Has Landed
A new Chicago band steeped in heritage
by Katie Ingegneri
Whispers pervade the Chicago rock scene in early summer 2015. “Have you heard about Whitney yet?” Jack Simborg of Petty Crimes first mentioned them to me, then I noticed The Orwells posting a picture of them on their Instagram, a fairly nondescript scene of band boys in a basement. Something easy to breeze past if you’re not paying attention.
Then it was Cadien Lake James of Twin Peaks talking about them during our soon-to-be-published interview, before their show at a bar near me in Logan Square, which, due to lack of funds on a Sunday night and minimal understanding of the implications, I declined to come out to, like an idiot. So I finally saw Whitney at the excellent DIY venue La Cubierta in north Logan Square, a perfect summer rooftop scene on July 3. Jack was there, as were Grant and Henry Brinner of The Orwells, Sam Clancy and Charlie Gammill of The Symposium, Walter Kosner of The Walters, and more members of the Chicago music scene as the night progressed. People in the know, and a full rooftop, but by no means mobbed. That will come later — but soon enough.
So who is Whitney, and why the buzz? Whitney is the new project of former members of Smith Westerns and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich, also featuring the very talented Josiah Marshall, Will Miller, Ziyad Asrar (who also played with Smith Westerns) and Malcolm Brown. (If you follow them on Instagram at @whitneyband, they’ve featured introductory, mostly nude profiles of each band member with strategically placed records, cans and lightbulbs.)
With horns, keyboards, guitars, and vocals by drummer Julien, they’re an immersive dip into the tight rock and pop sounds that helped define Smith Westerns, with dashes of psychedelia and R&B. Their first single, “No Matter Where We Go,” is a mellow and incredibly addictive, 1970s-style summery rock tune about driving around with someone you like and the windows down that I keep playing on repeat. (I dig the sunny psychedelic video loop as well.)
When I was first hearing about Whitney, I knew the reverence with which the Smith Westerns were spoken about, and felt the acute heartbreak of their recent breakup, but I wasn’t a diehard fan — yet. I was in college in Montreal when they were having their garage rock moment in the sun in Chicago and creating major buzz across the country and world — buzz that I wasn’t very aware of. One of my hometown best friends recalls the guys coming through her dorm room at Bennington College in Vermont, as they were friends of a dorm-mate, and a few years younger than us. Ever since Whitney landed I’ve taken it as an opportunity to fall completely and belatedly in love with Smith Westerns (and start to try to piece together their place in the very recent history of the Chicago rock scene in relation to The Orwells, The Yolks and others) but I’m now ready for Whitney’s complete and imminent takeover. (As I recently searched for Smith Westerns records at Shuga Records in Wicker Park and talked to the kid behind the counter, he said “have you heard about Whitney yet?” Another local musician, of course.)
At La Cubierta, Whitney showed that they definitely weren’t just some new amateur band — the tightness of their sound as a larger group, their deft mix of genres beyond the usual garage rock n roll, and getting to finally witness Max’s unbelievable guitar playing in person made me truly understand just what all the fuss is about, and I can’t wait to see them again, as they represent what will no doubt be a significant part of the future of Chicago music. Out of the ashes rises this new dazzling phoenix.
Even now that I’m in the know, I’ve somehow still been missing most of their latest local shows (largely due to them being on nights like Mondays), which I know I can’t keep doing because it’s only a matter of time before they completely blow up and start selling out major venues. Their music is being published and promoted by the new label Lead Riders, who plan to release Whitney’s EP in September on vinyl, CD, and digitally, with an LP planned for early 2016. I’m so excited to see them perform again and so glad to be a witness to a very special time in Chicago music.
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