Finn Wolfhard on Solo Songwriting Experiments and Stranger Things: Podcast

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Finn Wolfhard has officially gone solo. After fronting Calpurnia and The Aubreys, the Stranger Things star is stepping out under his own name with Happy Birthday, an album of tape-saturated indie rock that pulls from Elliott Smith, Ben Lee, Daniel Johnston, and some garage-punk loudness for good measure. The actor spoke with Kyle Meredith all about it, and you can listen to the episode above or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Wolfhard wrote 50 songs in a single year, then cherry-picked the most personal ones to record alone — initially planning to hide behind a band name. “But then I kind of decided to just go fully in and just do it under my name,” he says. “Because, you know, it’s a personal record.” It’s also a deeply nostalgic one. On tracks like “Crown,” he finds himself longing for simpler times: “When you’re a kid, everything’s done for you/ Looking back, that was actually such a luxury.”

Now that Stranger Things has wrapped, Wolfhard’s looking back on nearly a decade spent growing up inside one of the biggest shows of the 21st century. “I got to experience a once-in-a-lifetime thing while also just figuring out who I was,” he says. “It was weird. And beautiful. And very, very public.” The show may be over, but its influence lingers — not leastwise because of the relationships he made with the cast members.

“Joe [Keery] was highly influential for me… He sort of kicked off my love of indie rock,” he says, also crediting his past experience in PUP’s music video and Keery introducing him to Post Animal, Twin Peaks, and the Chicago music scene. “He’s very highly influential for me. And also, someone that I ask for advice. I’ll send demos to [him], or even album covers or whatever it is, asking him what he thinks about it. Because he’s a very collaborative guy, and he’s a great guy to have.”

Listen to Finn Wolfhard talk about Happy Birthday, Stranger Things, and more in the new episode above or by watching the video below. You can also check out Wolfhard on a short tour this June by getting tickets here. Keep up on all the latest episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… on your favorite podcast platform; plus, check out all the series on the Consequence Podcast Network.