Meet Routine Caffeine | Band/Musical artist group from Louisville, KY.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Routine Caffeine and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Routine, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Each member of Routine Caffeine decided to pursue an artistic/creative career for different reasons.

Madison: “I hate corporate America and I don’t do well sitting behind a desk. I like artistic careers because you get something from performing, but so does the audience. I always wanted to be a professional dancer and when I got my first job, I knew that the only thing I wanted to do was create art.”

Tess: “I work in corporate America and if I didn’t do this, I’d kill myself. I had never played music before and when I got to college, I was introduced to the local music scene and I fell in love with it. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Emma: “My dad played music and I copied everything he did when I was little. He always encouraged me and supported me. I went to a boarding arts school at the age of 13 and went on to study classical guitar in college. Now, I teach kids music and have played in several bands.”

Katie: “I started dancing when I was little and I went on to do theatre. I didn’t get that special, sparkly feeling from anything else I did in my life. I kind of always knew that performing and making/playing music was going to be my ultimate dream, but it’s so hard to make that step and say that it’s going to be your career. So, I decided to study journalism on top of theatre/musical theatre in college. I had some up and downs trying to be an artist in college, and graduating into the pandemic wasn’t the best situation, but I was so lucky that I got to start Routine Caffeine with Emma, Tess and Madison. Playing music with them is truly one of the best parts of my life.”

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Routine Caffeine is an indie rock band that started in Louisville, KY in 2021. Emma Treganowan (lead guitar) and Katie Kelley (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) grew up in a very small town in Michigan and have been friends since kindergarten. Emma went to Louisville to study classical guitar and Katie stayed in Michigan. After they both graduated college in 2020, they weren’t exactly sure what to do next. Graduating into the pandemic left them questioning where to go and what to do. Emma decided to move back to Louisville and was looking for a roommate. Katie decided to take the leap and move there with her. They both worked on music together when they were little, writing their first song together when they were in middle school. They had a few songs already lined up and wanted to put together an all female-identifying band. That’s when Tess Fulkerson (drums) and Madison case (bass, vocals, keys) joined.

Since then, we’ve played several local shows, recorded and released our EP titled “Spaghetti Junction,” and even went on our first tour. Releasing our first EP was such a great feeling. The EP ranges from a song about peanut butter cookies to a song about reminiscing on growing up. We think our tunes are unique because we aren’t afraid to write something that’s emotional or funny or simple. We like that our individual personalities can shine through in our music.

We think we are the most excited about some of our upcoming shows and getting to work on some new tunes. We are really thankful for all of the things we’ve been able to do in such a short amount of time. We have been really lucky. Although we each have had our own individual challenges with being in the creative/arts community, it’s been refreshing to see some positive feedback and so much support from the local community. Getting to share our music is such a dream, so we’re really happy about where we are right now and where we’re going.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We can definitely give you some of our favorite spots in Louisville, KY. We love this place because it’s a bigger city, but it also has that feeling of a close-knit community. If you’re looking for a place to eat, let us recommend Heart and Soy, DiFabios and Dragon King’s Daughter. Their food is so yummy. If you’re looking for breakfast, hit up Highland Morning or Eggs Over Frankfort. For coffee — because we’re Routine Caffeine — you should go to Day’s Coffee, Safai or Full Stop.

If you’re looking to drink and have some fun — maybe even see some shows — Kaiju, the Flamingo Lounge and High Horse are fun! We’ve played in all of these places and they are a yeehaw time! The High Horse is air conditioned, so that’s cool.

We are also fans of local artists and we love thrifting, so you should definitely check out Barret Babes, Toza, Dot Fox, Germantown Vintage and Acorn Apparel.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We would love to give a shout out to Anne Gauthier, who has recorded all of our songs at La La Land in Louisville, KY. It’s such a pleasure working with her — she provides such a kind and creatively positive environment. We would also like to give a shout out to Seamus Coyle, who mixed and produced all of our songs. He worked so hard on these songs and helped them come to life.

Additionally, we want to shout out Jacob Corenflos and Megan Loveless at To-Go Records. To-Go Records is a sick indie label in Nashville, Tennesse, and we are lucky enough to be on it. We’d like to thank them for all of their help and support. Lastly, but of course not least, we want to shout out our good friend Israel McCullough. Israel has been one of the most positive and supportive people since we’ve become a band, and we don’t know what we’d do without their beautiful energy.

Website: https://routinecaffeineban.wixsite.com/website

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/routine_caffeine/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/routinecaffband

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/routinecaffeine

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZuMjtBAIpioLBV8VLa3mRg

Image Credits
Jacob Corenflos
Liza Cooper
Tommy Krause
Will Fenwick
Emily Quirk