In numerology, the number 777 symbolizes spiritual awakening and knowing oneself. It’s fitting, then, that Indianapolis rockers Wishy have named their debut album Triple Seven, a swirling collection of memories reflecting two hectic years of change, including living through the pandemic, but also new beginnings and self-discovery. As expected, Triple Seven is a rollercoaster of emotions, both bitter and sweet. It’s a hazier, dreamier, heavier alt-rock take on the hardcore and emo they grew up around in Indianapolis.

Founded by Nina Pitchkite and Kevin Krauter, Wishy now include guitarist Dimitri Morris, bassist Mitch Collins, and drummer Conner Host. Northern Transmissions chatted with Krauter and Pitchkites about Indiana’s punk rock scenes, the influence of the Pacific Northwest on their music, and numerology.

Northern Transmissions: Wishy has gone through various stylistic changes over the years. I know you wanted the band to be louder, more aggressive, and more fun, but what vestiges of Wishy’s past iterations have endured in the band’s current form?

Kevin Krauter: In its inception, it was loud, fun guitar music. Then [Wishy’s 2023] Paradise EP was more subdued, more dream poppy. Some of the songs on Triple Seven, like “Sick Sweet,” “Honey,” and “Little While,” we wrote with the band in its first inception. Those represent pretty true to form what the band started out sounding like.

NT: How much of your sound was simply based on the fact that no one else in Indiana (or the Midwest in general) was doing hardcore or emo the way you’re doing it?

KK: Emo was kind of phased out maybe five to ten years ago. There’s not much of that around here anymore. But definitely there’s punk and loud music around, and that kind of informed being like, “Well, everyone’s playing loud music. Let’s play loud music, but let’s do it in a way that’s poppy and kind of twee and different than straight up rock ‘n’ roll,” which is more of the norm around here.

Nina Pitchkites: At the end of the day, we’re just doing what we want to do. As far as our genre goes, we make music we enjoy listening to.

KK: The biggest inspiration I take from the Indianapolis music scene is that there’s not a lot of serious music. People go to shows to have fun. A lot of the bands are just fun music, higher energy, not exactly the stuff you cross your arms and lightly bob your head to, stuff people want to get active and excited about. That was definitely inspiring, to be like, “Cool, I don’t want to make boring indie music. I want to make lit music people want to rock out to.”

NP: There’s always been this revolving door effect where one year, Bloomington is really popping off with local bands, and then one year, Indianapolis is really popping off with new music. I think the scene right now is swinging towards Indy for sure.

KK: I think it’s reached an equilibrium. There’s a pretty solid amount of local bands in Bloomington that are doing stuff. They’re both kind of on par with each other at this point, but it definitely can swing either way.

NT: Is there an average amount of time where it’s like, “Okay, they’ve had their year, and now it’s this other town’s year”?

KK: It’s like a period of three or five years. People within that time frame move away and move back. The demographic of people who play music will naturally shift, and both places aren’t big enough to have holdovers when people move. It can totally change and turn the scene upside down.

NT: I live in Vancouver, and to me, Triple Seven sounds like a very Pacific Northwestern record: it’s heavy, dreary, dense, loud, distorted, and shoegazing, but it has a melodic, emotive current beneath it all, like a beautiful coastline obfuscated by fog or mist. Have you spent much time up in Oregon, Washington state, or British Columbia? Are there any particular bands from this region that you’re fans of?

KK: I’ve never actually thought about this, but it makes a ton of sense. I got really into Fleet Foxes in high school, and later in high school and college, I got really into Weed and became good friends with [Weed singer/guitarist] Will [Anderson]. Will is the man. Weed was huge for me. I hadn’t been into a ton of loud alt-rock at the time, and that got me really stoked on loud guitar music again in a way I hadn’t been since I was in middle school listening to Good Charlotte, Brand New, and New Found Glory, hearing it in a context that’s way more mature sounding and introspective. Just the way Will writes songs – the chords and changes he uses – there’s definitely a lot of that in Wishy songs.

NT: I heard the band had a particularly formative, affirming session in L.A. in 2022 where Triple Seven really took shape. What made that session so special?

NP: It all happened so organically. That’s the way the best things happen, when you’re not looking to do anything. It was literally just like a couple of things I had started to write with my friends who weren’t even in the band, and I invited Kevin to come. We put our heads together, and we just wrote a bunch of songs and didn’t even necessarily mean for it to be for our band, and we made a whole new project. It showed me that this path was meant to be because of how easy it was. It’s just inspiring to be able to write with people I’ve always admired as musicians. I always had a hard time writing lyrics and finishing a song. Having a motivator to get me to finish songs was a kick in the butt I really needed. Sometimes, it’s hard to write to just write. I love to have a deadline. Not to say I’m writing purely for career reasons, but it feels so good to be around people who motivate you to see something through.

KK: It was really fun. No one knew what was gonna come of it. But taking the opportunity to go out there and make some songs and take this trip and get creative with a really low-stakes mindset – writing and recording just to do it with Steve Marino and Ben Lumsdaine, they’re two of our old buddies that used to live in Bloomington. I already had a really solid working relationship with Ben because he did both of my solo albums, and we go way back with Steve. As soon as we got there, the vibes were great. We’re just hanging with our homies. We all click on a specific vibe of music. The way Steve writes songs is in a similar wheelhouse melodically and emotionally that we gravitate towards. Ben is just a sick producer, so easy and fun to work with. He’s so down to do some weird shit but also hone it in, reel it back, and not be afraid to cut an idea if it’s not working. It felt really free and fun.

NT: Does numerology play a part throughout the album or just in a particular song? Is that something that factors into your everyday lives?

NP: “Triple Seven” was the song that started it all in terms of the transition into Wishy, so it was fitting to name our debut album Triple Seven. Of course, we were a band well before, but this was the newest iteration of the band.

KK: It made sense to name it after that song. It fits with everything that’s led up to this album, the whole process of this band coming together, us going to L.A., working on these songs, and becoming this project as it is now. Everyone we’ve worked with so far, the band members we’ve found and clicked with, everything has felt very lucky and fortune-filled. I kind of fuck with numerology. I’ve done my chart, but I don’t really practice it. It’s not something that fills my daily life. But it’s a fun thing to think about, and that’s sort of the vibe Nina and I come from when we’re making music, trying to not take it too seriously, trying to have fun, have some levity and mystique. That’s kind of the vibe we try to bring to the table when we’re making these songs.

Pre order Triple Seven HERE