Strobobean started out just over a year ago with Katrina Eresman (Guitar, vocals) and Jake Langknecht (Drums, Synth and vocals); Brianna Kelly (Bass and vocals) joined last October, so it’s almost her first-year anniversary. Katrina and Brianna will both turn 30 in October and they joke about planning a big joint birthday party to celebrate, that’s a story for another time.  

They are on the road with Cleveland’s Forger celebrating the release of their limited purple split cassette single featuring Strobobean on the A side ("Ghost" and "Walking Alone") and Forager on the B side (“Forget It” and "Without You").

Strobobean put out their first EP in May and have been eager to release more music. Making the split single was a fun experience that happened almost randomly. They had a date set at MOTR and anticipated having an album ready, but things got pushed back. They still wanted to do something exciting and interesting to take advantage of the date. They met Raye Hart (from Forager) when she came to one of their shows in Cleveland, things licked and the project came together quickly. The decision to release a split cassette was driven by speed and economics and the desire to make tangible media. As vinyl’s popularity has increased, so has the cost and turnaround time for making it. For those without tape decks, the release comes with a download code and the Strobobean tracks are also available as a digital release via bandcamp.

The three band members are busy and split their time among several groups: Katrina and Jake play in Pop Empire and sometimes in Sky Hank; Brianna sings and plays guitar with Soften.  When she’s not with her other three bands, Katrina plays bass with Leggy. Is it artistic restlessness, the desire to explore different genres or play different instruments? Eresman laughs and says basically it’s a way for each of them to have their own songwriting projects.  “This one comes from ‘me’, but it’s also very influenced by [other ideas]... I think that’s why we’re all so active, because of individual creative needs. And I like supporting other people’s projects and staying in the scene.”