Whitney On World Cafe

Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek were feeling pretty low in the winter of 2014. They had each gone through a romantic breakup; the band they used to play in, Smith Westerns, had broken up, too. Things were looking pretty grim until the day Kakacek brought home a tape machine, and an impromptu recording session made way for a new songwriting outlet. They called their new band Whitney.

Barely two years later, Whitney's warm and woozy debut record, Light Upon The Lake, has wooed critics, music lovers and even Sir Elton John. In this session, drummer Ehrlich and guitarist Kakacek talk about turning one chilly Chicago winter into an inviting new band. You'll also hear performances recorded onstage at World Cafe Live.