Biography
Andrew Tschiltsch could have taken the easy way out. He could have continued to go where, well, many men have gone before. A comfortable upbringing in Southern California led to business school, which then led to a job in finance in Chicago upon graduation. The stage for the next acts of Andrew’s life was set, but he decided to change the story.
Well-aware of the societal advantages of being an educated white guy, he struggled with the knowledge that the doors he walked through would remain closed to so many – especially given the constant state of disarray in the world. Having become radicalized against corporate life and societal power structures, and craving a change that would allow him to act upon his values of justice and equality, Andrew planned to quit his job a year in advance. During that time, he readied himself to take the plunge and begin what would become Microcosms.
It may have been his first time in a band, but Tschiltsch had been drumming since childhood and teaching himself guitar after he was off the clock. The time he had spent discovering new bands while living in Chicago and London alike also played a role in inspiring the direction he knew he wanted to take his own. That direction was one that highlighted society’s countless ills and everyday emotions, but filtered through the band’s own existential, sarcastic, and punchy lens.
With Tschiltsch undertaking guitar and vocals, the lineup was later rounded out by Bryan Emer on bass, Jered Piepenbrink on drums, and Ronn Richardson on guitar and keys. In their time together, they’ve performed at iconic Chicago venues Metro and Empty Bottle, organized, hosted, and performed at a Bernie Sanders fundraiser (“Berniefest”) that raised over $1k, and Tschiltsch went on become a founder of HAZ Cooperative Studios, which makes pursuing creative careers more accessible for artists – particularly artists from disenfranchised communities – by providing resources, opportunities, an absence of paywalls, and a sense of community. Now, Microcosms are preparing for their ninth release, the EP 'Crying Laughing Here With You.'
'Crying Laughing Here With You 'contains five new tracks written by Tschiltsch. The EP sees pure protest punk about lying politicians and Wall Street crooks paired alongside tracks about love, fear, and anxiety – and regardless of the subject matter, all tracks are graced with the band’s signature Midas touch of vigor, sharpness, and buoyancy. In doing so, Microcosms sheds the trappings of machismo that still holds contemporary punk in a chokehold. After all, they’re by no means your standard punk band. They don’t pretend to have a certain type of background or set of life experiences to make their work fit into an ostensibly marketable version of the “punk ethos.” There’s no pint-swigging, stick-and-poke-giving character that’s toted out and tried on when the world happens to be watching. Rather, they’re simply themselves.
Their work highlights that there’s so much more room to explore emotional depth in the genre beyond anger, allowing them to stake their claim as one of its most candid outputs. Microcosms doesn’t aim to appear too cool to care, and in doing so, they cultivate their own kind of hardcore – one where it’s okay to crack the tough exterior; one where it’s okay bemoan both the highs and lows of overwhelming love and the fact that freedom doesn’t exist in seemingly “free” societies in equal measure. In other words, it’s one where listeners can feel free to cry and laugh about all of life’s many fickle features together.
Well-aware of the societal advantages of being an educated white guy, he struggled with the knowledge that the doors he walked through would remain closed to so many – especially given the constant state of disarray in the world. Having become radicalized against corporate life and societal power structures, and craving a change that would allow him to act upon his values of justice and equality, Andrew planned to quit his job a year in advance. During that time, he readied himself to take the plunge and begin what would become Microcosms.
It may have been his first time in a band, but Tschiltsch had been drumming since childhood and teaching himself guitar after he was off the clock. The time he had spent discovering new bands while living in Chicago and London alike also played a role in inspiring the direction he knew he wanted to take his own. That direction was one that highlighted society’s countless ills and everyday emotions, but filtered through the band’s own existential, sarcastic, and punchy lens.
With Tschiltsch undertaking guitar and vocals, the lineup was later rounded out by Bryan Emer on bass, Jered Piepenbrink on drums, and Ronn Richardson on guitar and keys. In their time together, they’ve performed at iconic Chicago venues Metro and Empty Bottle, organized, hosted, and performed at a Bernie Sanders fundraiser (“Berniefest”) that raised over $1k, and Tschiltsch went on become a founder of HAZ Cooperative Studios, which makes pursuing creative careers more accessible for artists – particularly artists from disenfranchised communities – by providing resources, opportunities, an absence of paywalls, and a sense of community. Now, Microcosms are preparing for their ninth release, the EP 'Crying Laughing Here With You.'
'Crying Laughing Here With You 'contains five new tracks written by Tschiltsch. The EP sees pure protest punk about lying politicians and Wall Street crooks paired alongside tracks about love, fear, and anxiety – and regardless of the subject matter, all tracks are graced with the band’s signature Midas touch of vigor, sharpness, and buoyancy. In doing so, Microcosms sheds the trappings of machismo that still holds contemporary punk in a chokehold. After all, they’re by no means your standard punk band. They don’t pretend to have a certain type of background or set of life experiences to make their work fit into an ostensibly marketable version of the “punk ethos.” There’s no pint-swigging, stick-and-poke-giving character that’s toted out and tried on when the world happens to be watching. Rather, they’re simply themselves.
Their work highlights that there’s so much more room to explore emotional depth in the genre beyond anger, allowing them to stake their claim as one of its most candid outputs. Microcosms doesn’t aim to appear too cool to care, and in doing so, they cultivate their own kind of hardcore – one where it’s okay to crack the tough exterior; one where it’s okay bemoan both the highs and lows of overwhelming love and the fact that freedom doesn’t exist in seemingly “free” societies in equal measure. In other words, it’s one where listeners can feel free to cry and laugh about all of life’s many fickle features together.
