the ugly hug

Written by Shea Roney | Photos Courtesy of Featured Bands

On Thursday, January 22nd, the ugly hug will host our next showcase at Ramova Loft in Chicago with Yin Waster, Petsit and Ava Brennan in collab with The Apartment and Soinso Zine. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 day of show with doors opening at 6:30pm and show at 7:00pm.

We recently got to interview each of our featured artists on this bill in preparation for the show.

Last month, Petsit released their beloved self-titled debut album, one in which the band has been compiling for the past couple of years. As a collaborative unit, showcasing members Jim, Nick, Layton, and Sam as contributing songwriters, Petsit harness the meaningful sonic spells and the interchangeable fidelities that play to each of their own strengths as musicians. With a keen eye for some ruckus, wonder and observational obscurity, Petsit revels in its natural cadence, like banter tossed back and forth with a friend, where the stories they tell are full of trust and encouragement to join in.

You all just released your highly anticipated debut album, Petsit. What did it take to get to this moment? What does it mean to you to get this record out there?

Jim: Once we were recording we were drawing on two years of playing together, and each of our individual histories of musicmaking, so capturing that moment when we were all able to come together and put to wax something we’d put a lot of collective hours was important to all of us. Now that it’s out it feels less weighty in a way, in a cool and weird way. Its awesome though, to have the album out and share it with people and be like well here ya go, this is our music.

How did Petsit come into existence? Have your goals or expectations of what you want this project to be changed at all over time?

Jim: I moved back with my parents in Omaha for a summer and some change after college and started playing with Nick again (we were in a band together in high school). I moved in with Layton and our friend Nat who plays piano on a couple songs on Petsit. Our place had an extra room so Nick also moved to Chicago shortly after me. Layton and Nat played in a band called Blinker with Sam, who I had known previously and at one point shared a studio apartment with, and boomshakalaka, Petsit. Starting out we played a lot of shows at Archie’s Cafe, RIP. 

As far as expectations go I do think our standards for the music have gotten higher in a really natural feeling way as we’ve played together more and more. After releasing the album our goals have been to record more music and explore that process more just because the first time was so enlivening.

Nick: Petsit has always come from a very organic place that compliments each of our respective playing styles. From its birth, there has never been an explicit desire to take the project in any particular direction, rather focusing on the long term friendships and our combined appetite for a good jam sesh. As a result, the band stays pretty busy, experiencing very little resistance in finding the time and energy to continue collaborating! 

Every member is credited for writing these songs. What was the writing and recording process like for this record? How does Petsit work as a unit to share ideas?

Layton: Recording and producing a record was new for us. We all like to improvise and will play slightly different versions of our songs from show to show, so to set something in stone as a “final version” felt difficult for a bit. Recording did allow a lot of room for the songs to expand past what 4 people could play live, though, and that was really fun. We got to experiment with adding some flair to different songs, stuff like piano, violin, or synth and brought friends in to add some parts too. Those additions are some of my favorite moments on the album.

Jim: This is the part that necessitates a shoutout to one Cole Makuch, who recorded the album with us in our basement with his equipment. His expertise made the recording go smoothly and his presence made it go fun-ly. He also mixed the whole album, so yeah shoutout Cole.

Having played live shows for a few years now, did that translate over at all? Did you want to try anything new?

Jim: Yes, most of the songs on Petsit we’d been playing together for a while, a couple years say, and we recorded playing together live so the songs are presented pretty similarly to how we play them live. That being said, recording provided a good reflection point to make choices for songs that we’d been playing a while in a way that improved them from then onward. “In the Park” became more ballad-y when we went to record it because we were approaching from a recording mindset rather than for the live show which can at times fall into traps of keeping the energy level kind of the same in the interest of a cohesive set. So that was a learning experience and something that maybe we will play with going forward, be open to more natural variation. 

Nick: We are always open to opportunities, and we share an immense appreciation for supporting other friend’s projects, local bands, and artists alike. A lot of our inspiration as a band comes from the rich and seemingly endless amount of talent found here in our local scene. If there is a local band or artist performing, there is a good chance you will see at least one of our faces in the crowd.

What’s on the horizon for Petsit?

Layton: Hopefully some touring of the US, continuing to hone our sound, working on a new record, hosting more DIY shows at our house and hanging out a lot.Jim: Ugly Hug Showcase at Ramova Loft on January 22^nd with Yin Waster and Ava Brennan. Lets goo.

Yin Waster, the Chicago-based duo of Griffin Mang and Gabe Huff formed back in 2017, is a psychedelic composition of “Gas Station Folk” and hot-n-ready grooves. With deep, rich riffs that flow like the sleepy drip of Speedway coffee into a paper cup, the duo creates an atmosphere that is gritty, rhythmic and sincere. Last May, Yin Waster shared their latest EP, Every Garden Needs a Dog, this strange yet endearing collection of songs that weigh heavy in the moment, like a smoke break on the job or when the dog chooses your lap to sit on. But in their live sets, Yin Waster showcase their musicianship with groovy jams and improvisation, creating a unique experience that takes off with each time you see them.

You have coined this project as “gas station folk”. Where does that name come from and how does it influence the music you want to make?

The name came to me (Griffin) years ago as just a cheeky was to get around genre. I think folk music, regardless of the amount of fuzz pedals, atonal bashing or tripped out vocals on a song, has always been an influence.  so the idea of “gas station folk” as a kind of tapestry, janky and maybe even bizarre version of folk music really stuck with me.

Beyond your folk songs, you take the opportunity in live shows to try out some psychedelic jams. Being able to do that takes a lot of trust in each other’s instincts. How have you developed that relationship over the years, and what do you think it has offered you both artistically and personally?

I think our abilities as improvisers and live performers has grown directly with the friendship between Gabe and I. We have only grown closer and more intertwined since we started playing together and that level of comfort and lack of fear to fail or get strange or take a jam into a new place goes away cause we know that we are listening too each other and have each others back. Plus we live together and practice/play shows pretty often so if a jam isn’t our all time favorite we know there’s always going to be another. 

Having released several live shows on bandcamp, you have covered a lot of ground showing how expansive this duo can be. Do you have any standout live releases from your catalog? What does preserving these performances mean to you two?

I think my personal favorite is probably the solo acoustic “Live at The Apartment”. It’s putting the FOLK is “Gas Station Folk”. We recorded it at the original “The Apartment” location, which was just Cam Goulder’s actual apartment and it was just so much fun. We did two takes of every song and just had a hoot. Alex J Milne and Mark Capapas who shot it absolutely killed it on the camera work. It was just a labor of friendship and love. 

You two recently went on tour with fellow Chicago band, friendly faces, a long weekend Midwest trip under the apartment name. Having toured before, what was it like to tour with friends who haven’t done it before? What was that experience like for you?

It was great! Tour is such a magical time where you’re both insanely busy but also on vacation. So being able to do that with friends and go to antique stores and mill about the midwest for a few days and eat diner food was just the best. Not to put the cart before the horse but we are planning on doing more of those joint tours!

What’s on the horizon for Yin Waster in the near future?

We just mastered an EP that I still have yet to name. I think it should be out in a few months. We also are just wrapping mixing on our next full-length record. We also are working on getting out on the road again later this year. Beyond that we have a bunch of shows in Chicago booked already! I am very excited for the future.

Ava Brennan is a Chicago-based songwriter, who having only released her debut single this past summer, has become a live staple amongst the local DIY art communities. Brennan’s writing effortlessly shifts between conversational movements and articulated dynamic swells, allowing both her vocals and instrumentations to ground the track as her stories commute through the landscape. What Brennan does so well is build up a space of her own, a secret hideout made to be a perfect fit – one where each bit of wall is prime real estate for the most epic personalization and encouraged discovery that life has to offer.

This summer you released your debut single “Home (With You)”, a song that brought out much reflection for you as a writer and as a human. Now having some time to sit with it, where does that song live with you? What did it mean for this to be one of the first things people have heard from you?

“Home (with you)” is basically the first song I ever wrote. I wrote it around 2020. I have a complex relationship with it being the first “thing” people have heard from me. I was tentative about releasing it at all. I was having bad health problems when I recorded it in 2023. When I listened to the recording I felt like I could hear my weakness, discomfort, and de-centeredness. I had also written it so long ago, and I felt that the writing was naive or simplistic in a way that embarrassed me. To a level, I still feel these ways, but I wanted to share the song anyways. I think it’s important to do things that embarrass us. Now I see the song as a tender, fawn-legged embryo of a recorded music career to be. Huzzah for the embryo!

The release took on its own meaning. I felt compelled to keep the release off of Spotify because of Daniel Ek’s 680 million dollar investment in AI military drone technology amidst the genocide in Gaza. My dad had just found this crazy photo from right after my sister’s birth which I felt called to use as the cover art. It all came together to form this very simple, meaningful message through the release. We all deserve a home. We all deserve the right to know peace in our homeland. Violence is predicated on an illusion of separation. Belonging is created through loving embrace of one another.

2025 was the first year you began to play with a band behind you. Have you played off of other musicians before? What did that inclusion of this band mean to you as you navigate your abilities as an artist?

January of 2025 I wrote in my notebook “2025: Year of Band.” And so it was! Fiona Palensky has been drumming with me, Meredith Nesbitt has been bassing and celloing, Seth Lauver has been on the marimba, and Ryan Cordero has been doing their multi-instrumentalist magic. 

I have played off of other musicians before. I played in a duo with the long-bearded, strato-spell-casting Gandalf of guitar, Victor Sanders. He’s a wee Chicago legend and I love him. Other folks I’ve been playing with are beloved friends Garret Frank, Maeve Masterson, Zofia Majowsky, Victoria Park, and D Jean Baptiste. 

It feels like I’m dreaming when I hear other people extending my songs through their instrumentation and creativity. It’s like a mandala is growing around a small weaving I’ve made. It affirms my inner world, and it frees the project to live the life of a shared being. I’m definitely still in the learning curve of band-leading. I feel so lucky to play with such talented, beautiful people. 

You recently wrote an article for The Pub about the recent boycott of 100+ Chicago artists removing their music from Spotify. What do you think makes this movement so crucial for our community, as well as, what factors of the Chicago scene do you believe led to such a massive boycott? 

It is imperative to fight fascism with our art. Art exists to free us. When the money syphoned off of our music is used to subjugate others, we need to resist. Also… we need to get paid real dollars not pennies!! 

Chicago is primed to be a catalyst in the Spotify boycott because we have a close-knit, community oriented, politically aware, DIY forward scene. Organizing ties in art making translate very well to political organizing networks. The Chicago Off Spotify article features conversations with Hemlock, Minor Moon, Chaepter, and D Jean-Baptiste. It is print-only and can be found at sweet locations all over the city (for more info go to https://thepubchicago.com/newsletter/). 

You are also heavily involved in the dance world, helping run swing night at Judson and Moore. What is your relationship with dance, and how can people who may be nervous to try it out get involved?

Dance is the most joyous thing in my life. It is a cathartic, creative, silly, sexy, dramatic, dynamic hoot and a holler. It is so similar to music, but much more somatically engaged on a gross-body level. It’s the best thing for my mental health. I love swing dance, contra dance, contact improv, blues dance, African-Haitian dance, two step, salsa— basically any kind of dance! 

I have been working with a friend and choreographer, Jayde Kief, who started a workshop called Movementum. We collaborated on a set at The Great Gathering festival this summer. We took each of my songs and created a group movement practice out of them. The audience could participate in each song and experience its meaning through intentional, improvisational, interpersonal embodiment. It was truly a trip. 

Anyone that is nervous to try it out should DM or email me and we’ll go to something together! It is my secret mission to bring more movement into the Chicago music scene… slowly but surely we will get everyone addicted to dance. 

What’s next for you and your crew? Any new music in your future?
I am very stoked to share that I am working on an album and planning a midwest/east coast tour this summer. My next show is this Thursday at Ramova Loft hosted by Ugly Hug x The Apartment x Soinso zine. For info on other upcoming shows you can visit avabrennanmusic.com !

You can purchase tickets for this showcase HERE.