{"id":33417,"date":"2016-05-02T12:09:42","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T17:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=33417"},"modified":"2016-05-02T12:09:42","modified_gmt":"2016-05-02T17:09:42","slug":"whitney-brings-slacker-pop-to-proud-larrys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/whitney-brings-slacker-pop-to-proud-larrys\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitney Brings Slacker Pop to Proud Larrys’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whitney<\/strong> formed from the ashes of Smith Westerns<\/strong>, a glam-garage group that received notable success in the indie market. Founders Julien Ehrlich<\/strong> and Max Kakacek<\/strong>, without a band to play in, started recording demos on an old tape deck.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first song we recorded super weird on this weird tape machine that I had,\u201d said Kakacek. \u201cWe were trying to learn our way around this tape machine as we were writing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The early tracks that would later become Whitney were far from their current form. They carried much less pop tendencies than they do now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first demos sound completely different than the current versions, but I think we both knew the songs were good enough to push forward in production,\u201d said Kakacek. \u201cWe showed them to people and they were probably like, \u2018what the f**k are you trying to make?\u2019 but I think Julien and I both knew what they could become later on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What they would quickly become are critically praised songs that have garnered the attention of most major media outlets within a surprisingly short span of time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt all began about spring of 2014 actually,\u201d said Kakacek. \u201cWe spent about a year writing the album and then started touring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Whitney, the writing process has always been about putting out music that they would want to hear.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like we were trying to craft an album that was going to explode,\u201d said Kakacek. \u201cWe\u2019re making the songs that are stuck in our head and we needed to put them down on tape\u2026the songs we want to listen to over and over again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The band\u2019s current sound combines warm, uplifting instrumental arrangements with despondent, downtrodden lyrics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely a cognitive decision,\u201d said Kakacek. \u201cLike, when we\u2019re sad we\u2019re aren\u2019t just sad. There\u2019s some hope in it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With the direction of their sound in place, Ehrlich and Kakacek then began recruiting friends to fill out the lineup. Their most recent addition is Oxford-resident Print Chouteau<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI made a YouTube cover and sent it to bands,\u201d jokes Chouteau. \u201cActually, I met Julien when he was on tour with [Unknown Mortal Orchestra] and we did some touring together then I met Max around the same time…I kept in touch and would stay with them when I went up to Chicago.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While talking about how they knew Chouteau, Kakacek recalled that he actually sent him the, \u201cfirst ever, actual Whitney demos a long time ago.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While on their way to SXSW, the band made a stop at Cat\u2019s Purring Dude Ranch<\/strong> here in Oxford to film visuals for their song \u201cGolden Days\u201d that you can now find online.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hit up Deg [Ronillo]<\/strong> and he helped us set up a video,\u201d said Chouteau. \u201cWe were kind of really pressed for time, but we have a lot of friends there so we set up kind of a last minute house party. We also just ran around Oxford shooting footage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Going forward Whitney plans to continue touring with a full schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis summer we\u2019re doing the festival run,\u201d said Kakacek. \u201cThen we\u2019re doing some date in the UK\u2026really, [we\u2019ll] just keep touring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Whitney will be playing Proud Larrys\u2019 on May 14 with local band Swear Tapes. Whitney is also still heavily campaigning for placement at next year\u2019s Stagecoach Festival.\u00a0\"The<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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