Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
For years, Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites crossed musical paths while working on their own separate projects, which ranged from abrasive guitar rock to ethereal bedroom pop. All the while, Krauter wrote dreamy tracks that evoke the innocence of early 2000s radio-friendly adult contemporary. Armed with a catalog of songs that needed a proper outlet, he reached out to Pitchkites.
From there, the full five-piece ventured to Los Angeles to record their breakthrough debut album Triple Seven, a blissful concoction of self-discovery and nostalgia. Playful riffs nod to the early aughts with lyrics about personal transformation that stand the test of time, a formula they’ve doubled down on with their upcoming Planet Popstar EP. After an ambitious nationwide tour, including dates with American Football and Drop Nineteens, I caught up with Krauter and Pitchkites to discuss the band’s evolution, their love for sunny alt-pop, and stances on vaping.
You all had your own separate projects before starting to play together. How did you decide to form a band?
KEVIN KRAUTER: We had talked about it for a while, and then one day we did it. We had talked about it for a few years. Then Nina moved away and moved back. I was playing in some bands at the time, but I was writing a lot of music that I didn’t have an outlet for and fit the vibe Nina and I had been talking about.
NINA PITCHKITES: He asked me like four years ago right when I moved back. He wrote most of the first songs and then I slowly added songs here and there.
What were your solo projects like and how did you decide on your current sound?
NP: I haven’t done much with mine in the last couple years, but it’s more electronic and bedroom pop. There wasn’t much crossover with that in Wishy because Kevin introduced it as a rock project. It wasn’t really what I was writing, but there are definitely some similarities.
KK: My solo stuff was originally quiet folk music, and then I started making stuff that was a bit more involved with drum machines and synthesizers. Eventually, I started writing louder music and getting more into guitar rock. There came a point where I was solely writing guitar rock and missed being in a loud rock band, but also really like making poppy fun and accessible. The project evolved from that set of desires. My and Nina’s tastes align pretty naturally.
What did you listen to growing up and how does that influence the music you make?
NP: I was actually doing a puzzle today, and singing Tegan and Sara to myself because that’s like what I grew up listening to. They’ve always been an earworm for me. They were one of my first inspirations to write music. Rilo Kiley too. I had a cool older sister growing up and she turned me on to like a lot of stuff like Good Charlotte and Simple Plan, which was my segue into alternative music.
KK: Same for me with Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. Motion City Soundtrack was my favorite band for a second. I was raised really Christian, so I listened to a lot of Christian music. I listened to a lot of Switchfoot growing up. My brother got into cool stuff like Modest Mouse, Wilco, the Shins, and Bright Eyes. My older sisters followed indie blogs, and I think you can hear all of that in Wishy’s music.
You covered this a bit already, but you find a lot of inspiration in early 2000s pop and alternative rock. What about that era resonates with you?
NP: There’s an innocence about it. No one was afraid of being cringe, it was very forthright.
KK: Definitely, there’s a cheekiness.
NP: That post-9/11 vibe shift is very present. There’s an air of not really giving a fuck but also having fun. There’s a resurgence of the “indie sleaze” thing. When I first heard that term a few years ago, I was excited there was finally a way to adequately describe how I viewed that time period.
For sure, enough time has passed for people to be nostalgic for that era. A lot of it seems in opposition to the panopticon of social media. Everyone was originally so excited to connect with each other on these platforms, but now they’ve taken over our lives in a terrifying way.
KK: Definitely, I think the kids are going to start imitating the behaviors of 2000s hipsters. Now that TikTok is going under, I think the kids are going to start reading books. And smoking cigarettes outside of the coffee shop again and wearing scarves.
NP: Vapes are out.
Vapes are so out. You’ve opened for American Football and Drop Nineteens, who are kind of regarded as trailblazers in their respective genres. What have you learned from them, and how does it feel to be today’s iteration of however you categorize them?
KK: Both bands were full of really nice and down to earth people. American Football’s from Chicago and Drop Nineteens are from Boston, and we opened for both bands in their home cities. They felt like real people, so it was cool to have that realization while sharing the stage with them. I don’t know if I feel like a modern iteration of those bands, because the landscape is so different now. The world of like nineties music is barely relevant to what an artist goes through now. The industry and how people consume music has totally changed. There’s a generational divide.
NP: They’re all wonderful people, but we’ve had different experiences coming onto the scene. I talked to Greg [Ackell] from Drop Nineteens over Zoom a few months ago, and I loved hearing him talk about what it was like trying to put music out there back in his day.
KK: I have so much more respect for their ability to accrue so much success – not even that it’s about fame – but they put out music they believed in and connected with so many people. That was not an easy thing to do back then. Nowadays, you can put music on the internet quickly and easily, which is cool, but there’s a feeling of oversaturation. I feel a small pang of jealousy because I wonder what it was like to put out music before social media and smartphones. I don’t want to be the type who feels like they were “born in the wrong generation” because I can’t do anything about it, but it’s interesting to consider.
NP: It’s cool to know they took a break for 30 years and then came back and still had an audience. That was my biggest takeaway when we opened for them. It felt very reaffirming to know if any of us decided to step away from music for a long time, it doesn’t mean that we’d be fucked coming back. So many people showed up for them. Their legacy will live on for a long time.
What was the music scene like in Indianapolis, and what was it like being the only people in the city doing what you were doing?
KK: It’s pretty random. There are a lot of different bands and there’s no one overarching vibe. There are a lot of hardcore, punk, and rock bands, which are mainstays anywhere.
NP: There’s a good amount of experimental and ambient music, which is my favorite type of music to come out of Indy and what I’m most excited to see live. We’re around rock music so much and it’s nice to have a break from that. I sound like a diva, but it’s true. I love to be in a room where everyone is quiet and having a sonic experience.
KK: There’s a surprising amount of people who make and enjoy ambient music here. It’s a scene that’s been here for decades. The scene at large is always changing because of who moves here and who moves away, but weird experimental and ambient music has always endured.
You went to LA to record Triple Seven. What was so special and transformative about that experience?
NP: It just happened. We didn’t go there planning to record. We weren’t even called Wishy yet. Wishy was a separate project, but that didn’t even become a separate project until we went to LA. We went for shits and giggles to work on one song, which turned into about five songs.
KK: The whole trip was a main character moment.
NP: That’s the best way to put it. I cried when my roommate came to pick me up from the airport because I knew I’d have to go back to my normal job and this just gets to be a fun memory for me.
Planet Popstar is out April 25th.
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Giliann Karon | @lethalrejection
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