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Talkhouse

Varsity came to fruition one night in 2013 when several Chicago musicians gathered for a &#8220;salon night&#8221; where friends shared stories and songs. Singer-keyboardist Stephanie Smith was set to perform solo, but was quickly drawn to the sound of guitarists Dylan Weschler and Pat Stanton and asked them to join her. Shortly after their first performance as a trio, they recruited Jake Stolz on drums and his brother, Paul Stolz, on bass to fully round out their sound and become the quintet that they are today. Varsity played shows in the Chicago area the following year and spent one weekend at Chicago&#8217;s Public House Studio to record their debut self-titled LP released in March 2015.
Varsity has since found success in the growing indie-pop space. The powerful driving vocals of singer/keyboardist Stephanie Smith over infectious guitar melodies and exciting rhythm has them frequently sharing bills with artists including American Wrestlers, Alvvays, Courtney Barnett, The Hold Steady, and Car Seat Headrest. The band has further explored and developed their sound across a variety of digital releases—often two complementary singles at a time —that have earned rave reviews and a growing audience with millions of plays on YouTube and Spotify.
(Photo Credit: Alexa Viscius)

Varsity

Music

The Way We Get By: Varsity Has Gotten Really Good at Identifying Mushrooms

Your favorite musicians, filmmakers, and other creative minds one-on-one. No moderator, no script, no typical questions. The Talkhouse Podcast offers unique insights into creative work from all genres and generations. <a href="https://pod.link/Talkhouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Subscribe now</a>, and explore more illuminating shows on the <a href="https://talkhouse.com/category/podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Talkhouse Podcast Network.</a>

Talkhouse Podcast

Podcast

Joe Talbot (IDLES) on the Talkhouse Podcast

Named &#8220;One to Watch&#8221; by BBC tastemaker Annie Mac, Kat Cunning (aka Katrina Cunningham) is an actor and recording artist with a degree in concert dance. Cunning, who prefers to be gender neutral, made their television debut in HBO&#8217;s The Deuce starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, playing Franco’s love interest, Christina Fuego. They currently co-stars in the NETFLIX YA hit TRINKETS as Sabine. TRINKETS will see its second season this year.
A rising voice on the NYC arts scene, Cunning opened for recording artist LP on their sold out North American tour in late 2019, performed on Broadway in &#8216;Dangerous Liaisons,&#8217; Cirque Du Soleil&#8217;s &#8216;Paramour,&#8217; Punch Drunk’s  ‘Sleep No More’ and was a featured performer in Refinery 29&#8217;s sold out 29Rooms exhibit with famed artist Juno Calypso.

Kat Cunning

The Way We Get By: Kat Cunning Is Just Letting Emptiness Happen

Martin Courtney is the singer-guitarist of the Brooklyn band Real Estate, whose fifth album The Main Thing was released earlier this year. Like every other musician on the planet, his band’s touring hopes were dashed by the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped him from working. The band has recently launched their augmented reality “Quarantour,” which can be experienced by visiting <a class="c-link" href="https://slack-redir.net/link?url=http%3A%2F%2Frealestatequarantour.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-b2345888-2af2-46ab-881d-cef22bdd9c6f">realestatequarantour.com.</a>
(Photo Credit: Jake Michaels)

Martin Courtney

Martin Courtney (Real Estate) on Being a Quarantine Dad and Music Life in Limbo

Andy Jenkins is a musician based in Richmond, Virginia. His latest album, Sweet Bunch, was released in 2018 via Spacebomb Records.

Andy Jenkins

The Way We Get By: Andy Jenkins Borrowed Ninth Street Women From the Library Before It Closed

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Miles Francis is an artist from NYC. Their first full-length album, <a href="http://www.milesfrancis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.milesfrancis.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639143349441000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1abiipoku1WnzYmP6DaGXH">Good Man</a>, releases March 4, 2022. They have collaborated extensively with Will Butler (2015-present), Antibalas (drummer and conductor, 2010-2016), and EMEFE (bandleader, 2009-2016), plus Angelique Kidjo, Amber Mark, TEEN, and more. They have a dog named Tony. Follow them on <a href="http://instagram.com/instamiles" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://instagram.com/instamiles&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639143349441000&amp;usg=AOvVaw31q0d_q6MNBF2igKIIEL7X">Instagram</a>.
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(Photo Credit: Charles Billot)

Miles Francis

What I Learned From Tony Allen

The composer/electronic musician/healer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s new album The Mosaic of Transformation on Ghostly International is the follow up to the critically acclaimed 2017 album The Kid.
For her, expressions found in the physical body&#8217;s relationship to sound and color became the foundational frequency of the new album. A bright, sensorial glide through unbound wave phenomena and the radiant power discovered within oneself, with a distinct healing quality to it that existed long before society’s recent shift. Katilyn continued to explore the endless possibilities of electronic instruments as well as the shapes, movements, and expressions found in the physical body&#8217;s relationship to sound and color. It is this life-guiding interest that forms the foundational frequencies of the new album.  While writing and recording, she embraced a daily practice of physical movement, passing electricity through her body and into motion, in ways reflecting her audio practice, which sends currents through modular synthesizers and into the air through speakers.
Not a dancer by any traditional definition, she taught herself improvisatory movement realizing flexibility, strength, and unexpectedly, what she calls “a visual language” stemming from the human body and comprised of vibrational shapes. Understood as cymatics, as she says, &#8220;as a reference for how frequencies can be visualized,&#8221; much like a mosaic.
(Photo Credit: Chantal Anderson)

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Rick Moody Talk Physicality, Electricity, and Earworms

K Nkanza Hansen is a musician and visual artist from Maryland. They’re the producer and multi-instrumentalist behind projects Spring Silver and Blonde Duluth. As of May 2020, they have graduated from University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a BFA in Visual Arts.

Spring Silver

Introducing: Blonde Duluth’s “She’s Gone”

Stephen Morris is the legendary drummer of both Joy Division and New Order. His contributions to post-punk and beyond are immeasurable, both as a drummer and synthesizer expert. He’s part of both “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and “Blue Monday,” for God’s sake!
(Photo Credit: Warren Jackson)

Stephen Morris

Introducing: New Order’s Stephen Morris Remixes a Maps Song

Morgan Enos is a musician, essayist and music journalist specializing in classic rock. He records and performs as <a href="https://finalhouse.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://finalhouse.bandcamp.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1567703426703000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE969PQS5H6jwcQaH3Zb_8LZ4WVew">Other Houses</a> and has bylines in Billboard, HuffPost, the Recording Academy, Vinyl Me, Please, TIDAL and more. He is also the co-founder and editor of <a href="https://northoftheinternet.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://northoftheinternet.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1567703426703000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGi0xmSRKyGPRseoPZ41v4L7WkbQw">North of the Internet</a>, a series of conversations with creative people. He can be found at <a href="https://www.morganenos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.morganenos.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1567703426703000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG79-8vfghEO9sl4msNRI9Ts-3rdQ">his website</a>.
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Morgan Enos

The Who’s Live at Leeds is a Warhead of Innocent Joy

Pete Yorn is equally indebted to Bruce Springsteen’s blue-collar introspection as Lou Reed’s deadpan stream-of-consciousness. He first broke out in 2001 with his extraordinary Columbia Records debut, Musicforthemorningafter, which was hailed by NPR as one of the year’s finest and Rolling Stone praised it as “atmospheric, gently lit by sunlight and regret.” In the decades that followed, Yorn solidified his status as a songwriters’ songwriter, releasing six more solo albums and collaborating in the studio with everyone from Frank Black and Peter Buck to Liz Phair and Scarlett Johansson (Yorn and Johansson’s joint 2009 release, Break Up, went Platinum in France). Yorn has performed on a plethora of TV shows including Letterman, Fallon, Kimmel, Ellen and more; as well as sharing the stage on tours with artists as varied as R.E.M., Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Foo Fighters and The Dixie Chicks, and festival slots from Coachella and Bonnaroo to Glastonbury and Austin City Limits.
(Photo Credit: Jim Wright)

Pete Yorn

Pete Yorn’s Wholesome Quarantine Routine Includes Puzzles and Painting

Juiceboxxx is an American artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His forthcoming LP is slated for release on Dangerbird Records in early 2020.
(Photo Credit: Brad Dececco)