THE LAUGHING HEARTS
Chicago’s up and coming garage rock band.
It’s hard to fathom going from playing 18 shows a month to no shows in the foreseeable future. The ambitious and fast-paced nature of Chicago’s The Laughing Hearts has come to an abrupt halt since lockdown- but quarantine won’t stop them from creating. With an EP on the way, this pop-rock trio has pushed through the monotonous abyss that is isolation, making the most of their time in quarantine.
Formed on the outskirts of the city, The Laughing Hearts have been on their music journey for nearly 6 years. Meeting at the University of Missouri, Guitarist and vocalist Tyler Stock, Bassist Ari Shellist, and Drummer Tom Hipchen, have climbed their way up the DIY ladder. From their humble beginnings as college musicians, the trio has gone on to play weekly shows around the Chicago scene everywhere from Hideout, to Schubas, to Sofar Sounds. The band’s hunger for live shows is a perfect fit for Chicago’s music fanatics. “There’s always somewhere to play a gig. It also has a history of legendary musicians and it’s fun to feel like a part of that.” Drawing inspiration from a diverse array of musicians and genres, The Laughing Hearts echo similarity to other Chicago pop-rock acts such as ROOKIE and Twin Peaks. Despite their undeniable laid back Chicago sound, the band puts a personal stamp on their sound by drawing from folk and classic rock acts like Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, and Cheap Trick. Considering the energy of their studio tracks, it’s no wonder this group prides themselves on their live presence.
With live shows coming to a screeching halt, the band has pivoted their focus to developing new material, but the daunting task of self-motivation is a struggle facing many musicians during this time. Tyler expresses his first few weeks in quarantine as “deeply uninspiring.” Typically relying on the fast pace of day to day life to keep him inspired and motivated, having extended time has proven to be a challenging test for these songwriters. Tom notes the dangers of having too much time to overthink things, but “All you can really do is write.”
With an EP in the works, the band has kept busy in the studio. “We worked with Alex Burns at Palisade Studios and recorded three new songs: “Fast and Free”, “Gold”, and “Slow Guy”. We recorded our last three singles: "This Is It", "Hardline" and "Doin' Right By You" with Alex as well…. Slow guy” Is a working title….we have a tendency to pick filler names when we are first learning the songs and will choose something that is totally stupid to prevent it from actually becoming the song title…” Between time to relax and reflect, and an opportunity to experiment with low stakes, the band has begun to find freedom in isolated creation. Tom expresses, “Music can feel like a competition at times. My hope is that artists and fans really life each other up and show-out when things open again.” Despite the band being adaptive to this strange time of music creation, they are eager and ready to get back on the live scene when it becomes safe to do so. “Things are changing but we will all have to adapt and move through it… Live performances will come back strong. I think it was easy to take things for granted before… at the very least we will appreciate it more.”
