A Conversation with Kai Slater at the Armory

On March 18, 2026, the compilation record Red Xerox: Chicago Youth Beat 2020-2025 was released, featuring tracks from both Lifeguard and Sharp Pins and highlighting Chicago’s budding music scene.

WRBB’s Will Pettit (DJ Will) spoke with Slater before his show at The Armory.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Will Pettit: I feel like the Sharp Pins’ sound owes a lot to the equipment that it is recorded on and I’ve read in past interviews that you feel at home when you are using a 4-track [cassette recorder]. When you use that equipment are you trying for that Lo-Fi, analog, simple sound, or is your music just a product of recording on whatever resources you had available to you early on?

Kai Slater: I grew up on ‘60s and ‘70s music and then I got into more Lo-Fi music. It's kind of a postmodern approach to pop and I really like the element of destructiveness in pop music, the idea of crafting a perfect pop song and then just destroying it. My first favorite band was The Who and their big thing when they started was auto-destructive art. I'm really inspired by that destructive aspect. But, also, the limitation of 4-track just makes me work in a really interesting way. You get a lot more creative in terms of the actual music you're making, at least for me, [especially] the parts and harmonies.

Do you think it’s good to work with limitations because it will bring more out of yourself?

[I’m a] huge fan of limitations in everything for the most part. If I'm trying to watch a movie, I just want a DVD. I don't want all the options, you go crazy and you never commit.

I'm a big fan of Hallogallo. I really like that scene, and I know that it's completely handmade. Would you say that's another instance where you're setting limitations on yourself to coax out the creativity within?

Yeah, that’s a part of it, but also the zine as a revolutionary object, it really can’t be understated. It's just so vital to have physical print media especially in the age of the spectacle and social media. Having an actual printed thing allows people to voice their opinions and talk about music and art and class struggle or Palestine or whatever. The thing is, with a zine, you're just cutting through all, you know, the capitalist overlords…so it’s pretty awesome.

Considering Sharp Pins’ sound and Hallogallo’s style, it seems like you value simplicity. But now that I have learned about these predetermined limitations, I think that I could be oversimplifying your value of simplicity. Would you consider it a preference for simplicity or something completely different?

I've definitely gone through phases of really preferring simplicity. Right now, the project is becoming more ambitious in my mind, I'm incorporating more elements and musical influences. Simplicity, especially in a live sense, I think is always vital. No matter really where the records go, I think it's always vital to keep a really hard hitting rock and roll live band. But otherwise, the limitations are more like a starting ground for more expansive creativity.

I can definitely hear what you're saying with the difference between your live and recorded music.

Well, you know, it's like the Beatles. Their records went wherever but, live, it was the four of them and they could do what they could do.

Who’s your favorite Beatle?

John, for sure. He's the best, yeah, hands down.

On tour, do you feel that the new surroundings are giving you new ideas, or do you feel like you're being withheld from your creativity? Would you say that your creativity comes from one place and one mindset that you specifically have to be in, that you can't achieve during tour?

There are certain streams of consciousness, or something like that, that are always going into my music. [On] Balloon Balloon Balloon, I really wanted to get into a pure, creative state for that [and] I achieved that I feel like. It's interesting playing live, you never know how it's going to sound, if it will rock as much as on the record.

It did.

As a songwriter, the biggest part of your job is always trying to be inspired and keep the inspiration flowing. If I'm not inspired every day, I’m not doing my job well, so tour is always inspiring, meeting people and trying new songs and working out harmonies every night. It's always feeding into the inspiration.

Would you say writing is something you try to get to on tour, despite the busy schedule and changing location?

Writing is a document of where you are at as a person, so it’s good to keep on writing. Not to force ideas, but more so always giving ideas room to grow, because they could always turn out to be an awesome song.

How do you think your personal style ties into your inspirations and the music you make? A lot of people try to dress like their idols. Do you feel that way or do you mix in some of your own style?

I feel like the music is really honest, and I really just wear what I like to wear, and what makes me feel good on stage. [My style on stage] is not different at all from what I normally wear. I don't like the idea of putting on a costume, I like to wear what I feel comfortable in. Then again, [my style is] definitely informed by my idols. I watched “Quadrophenia” when I was 11. That was my first favorite album, and the movie definitely seeped into my subconscious, fashion mind. Others have come and gone. Noel Fielding was a big guy for me, Johnny Thunders, Paul Weller, people like that. But I don't know, I'm not trying to be a revivalist of a certain clothing subculture.

As a Chicagoan, do you think hit television show The Bear has been good or bad for the city?

My good friend Ralph Rivera, is the camera operator on that show, and he was filming and he slipped and tore his ACL so I'd have to say it's been bad.

Just based on bodily injury alone?

Right, yeah. I really like that guy. He's awesome. He does good organization in the city, he puts on great gigs. But also, Italian beef is just like, kind of shit, like, it's not good. I would say Philly cheese steak is like ten times better, chopped cheese is 20.

I’m in between those two geographically. I’m from New Jersey.

Okay, where do you lie on this issue?

I’ve actually never had a chopped cheese.

It’s so good dude. You can literally go to any corner shop and get a chopped cheese, and it would be the best decision of your life.

In the Chicago DIY scene, you took initiative to get your art and other people’s art out there, not letting age or anything, really, hold you back. What would you say to other young people looking to branch out and explore their creativity?

We're in very privileged situations. I'm not going to say just drop everything and go for it because that gets into the grindset kind of thing, which I really don't believe in. Making music shouldn't be like you're a machine.

Do you think it comes more naturally?

Yeah, it should come naturally. It should come from a healthy relationship with [creativity]. I think no matter where you are in your life, just trying to establish how you can have a healthy, flowing relationship with your art [is important]. Get a notebook and draw every day or try to sing in the shower, make a melody every morning. There’s always time for creativity.

You stress the importance of politics in DIY music. Can you explain that more?

DIY music is inherently a political thing. It's not just an aesthetic, [it’s not just being] punk rock, for some type of image. It's a way of life and it's being against the big music machine, which is just another part of the big money machine. It's super important to keep DIY art and music alive.

What's on aux in the Sharp Pins minivan that was just pushed up a hill in Montreal?

The last thing we listened to was Roger Miller, we listened to Gene Vincent, some Joe Meek, and we listened to this Zamrock compilation, which was cool. We put on the White Album this morning. We listened to this band that we met in Toronto at a bar, that was cool too. When you have nothing else to listen to, it's great to meet musicians you can put on.

What’s it like touring in a minivan?

It's great. We got everything; it’s the perfect amount of room. It's truly DIY. We don't have a tour manager, sound guy or merch person. It's just us three, and that's great. It's way easier to make a living off of [touring], and it's also more fun. You take more risks, but it's worth it.

What’s one question you always know the answer to?

What should I do today? The answer is always to make a song.