For most students, the Dunkin’ across the street from the Glenview Public Library is a place to grab coffee before studying. However, for upcoming indie band Satellite Radio, Dunkin’ is where junior Coco Schlucter first suggested to her friends that they start their own band for Variety Show (V-Show), junior Anna Pataky, said.
After Schlucter suggested it last November, Pataky, along with Schlucter and junior Lidiia Okilko, started the band as its singers; around a month later, junior Lukas House joined to play the cajón drum and sophomore Roman Vozniak joined to play electric guitar, according to House. Satellite Radio auditioned for V-Show last year with a cover of “The Night We Met” by Lord Huron, Pataky said.
“We weren’t trying to [form] a band,” Pataky said. “We [were just] three friends [who wanted to] sing something for V-Show.”
After rigorously rehearsing their routine, the band was accepted into the 2023 V-Show and additionally selected to be featured in its preview, House said. When House joined the band, he had no prior experience playing the cajón drum and had to learn it specifically for the band.
“[I learned the cajón drum] because [Anna, Lidiia, and Coco] asked me to,” House said. “I would go to the choir room, ask [Choral Director Robert] Shellard to borrow his [cajón], then I recorded him playing ‘The Night We Met’, and I learned [by watching] how he did it.”
Shellard, who teaches four of the band members, was touched by their new band and performance. “‘The Night We Met’ feels very acoustic, very vocal driven, and it’s a ballad, which is a tough lane to pick,” Shellard said.
“[However], as they sang for the [V-Show audition] committee, I felt excited to work with them [in order] to put [their act] on stage.”
Although it is not always easy, being a part of a band composed of friends has its benefits and challenges due to its informality, House said.
“It is nice that [Satellite Radio is] student-led because we have our own group chat and we can do whatever we want,” House said. “But, it is also difficult when someone can’t make it [to rehearsal], we just have to go on without them.”
Satellite Radio continued after V-Show, featuring in the Drama Club and Speech Team Open Mic Night, opening for the improv comedy theater, iO Theater, in Chicago, and performing in the Glenview Public Library’s Book Jam event, Pataky said.
On Aug. 25, the band uploaded a cover of “The Night We Met”, the song they performed at V-Show, on their YouTube channel, Satellite Radio, marking the first streamable cover song from Satellite Radio, Pataky said. There is a possibility that Satellite Radio will release their own music in the future, however, for now, they are choosing to only focus on performing covers at gigs, Pataky said.
“[Our band] didn’t know we were going to [get into V-Show],” Pataky said. “[After V-Show], we thought we could do other shows too.”
