Skip to Content
Talkhouse home
Talkhouse home
Music

A Floatie Photo Essay

Let the rock band take you on a tour of their Chicago.

9:00 AM EDT on April 20, 2021

Don’t let your eyes deceive you. You can park almost anywhere you like here. You can even park your dumpster here. But if you want the music, you’ll have to go inside. This is the building that we practice in located at 3005 W Carroll Ave, formally known as Carroll St. It’s here that we feel like professionals with a dedicated space for rocking and eating Popeyes in secret.

 

Creativity manifests itself in many different ways, and it isn’t always pretty. This may seem like a tricky situation, but it’s just Gar (Luc) in a costume. He’s in a costume and the costume is on the wall. Don’t be scared. I’m glad that’s behind us now. Our friend TJ made the costume and it has adorned many walls in its brief seven years of life. Let’s hope it brings us many more years of good fortune.

 

This is engineer extraordinaire Seth Engel. If you think he looks good in this photo, you should see his face. Seth’s former studio Pallet Sound is where we recorded Voyage Out over five days of pure joy and camaraderie. If you’ve never had USA-themed Mountain Dew then consider yourself blessed.

 

On the back of this shirt, there are the same horses, but it features their rear ends. Sam wears this shirt everyday the sun is out. If you see them in it, then the sun is out.

 

Sometimes you go to the recording studio, and sometimes the recording studio comes to you. When the album is done, you’ll know which one was the better choice. Before moving into our practice space at Carroll St., we practiced in the depths of the former Floatie HQ. A house that has seen many faces and even more ants. We don’t miss the moist environment and classroom style drop ceiling, but we do miss the Xbox.

 

Those who have sat here and gazed at this are probably not allowed to smoke in the practice space. This piece is one of the many benefits of renting land at Carroll St. A breeding ground for fine art and definitely not 400 metal bands.

 

Sam made a riff, but it requires maximum focus in order to share it effectively. This photo was taken during one of our first recording attempts as Floatie. We moved all of the gear out of the basement in hopes that the shining sun would give us some answers. It didn’t work. We needed Will.

 

Gotchya. Who’s that behind Sam you ask? That’s Will. Not only did he solve our music problems, he also went to each of our houses and got a stew going.

Voyage Out is out now via Exploding In Sound.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

Related Stories

Mood Board: Dos Santos’ Es Amor

The Chicago quintet talks the importance of harmony and space in the making of their new record.

August 28, 2026

Madison Cunningham Talks with Johanna Samuels on the Talkhouse Podcast

"We actually can't talk about being women in music unless we're naked." (Relax, they're joking.)

August 27, 2026

Mal Not Bad and Jon Gries Have a Great Time

The LA-based musician Mal Hauser catches up with the star of their new music video.

August 25, 2026

Mood Board: Nina Winder-Lind’s Wild Love

The Brighton-based songwriter on the music and art that shaped her new record.

August 21, 2026

Mood Board: Wild Pink’s Still Coming Down

John Ross on Jeff Tweedy, The Mummy, and more that inspired the new record.

August 21, 2026

William Basinski (The Disintegration Loops) Talks with Sondre Lerche on the Talkhouse Podcast

Gorgeous pop and disintegrating soundscapes collide in one episode.

August 20, 2026