Episode 18: Karina Rykman!
Karina Rykman on her new album Late Checkout: a month of writing ten hours a day with Gabe Monro, tracking live at the Barn, finishing at DFA, and how the sad closer started as a System of a Down song. Plus the death crack in the van.
Bub & Pop | Episode 18: Karina Rykman (recorded September 15, 2026)
The first time Karina Rykman and I talked was not long after her first show in Philly, which I reviewed for Relix. She told me to remind her to tell me about the death crack in the van. It took a few years, but I finally asked, and that’s where this one starts.
Karina’s been touring since she was 17: a hired gun in a lot of bands, then on the road with Marco Benevento's trio, and now fronting her own. Along the way she worked a lot of music-related jobs, even while she was still at NYU, where she met the guys who would become her bandmates. While it may not be a conventional path, "everything has informed everything," as she puts it.
Most of our conversation is about her new album, Late Checkout, which I also reviewed for Relix. Her first record was called Joyride, a ride with no destination; a late checkout is staying right where you are. Either way, it’s all about the journey. We get into how “Easy, Rider” came out of a stay at a friend’s ranch in Boonville, California, after High Sierra; the month she and her producer and co-writer Gabe Monro spent writing ten hours a day; tracking live at the Barn in Vermont, then finishing the vocals and synths at DFA, James Murphy’s studio; and the non-obvious relationship between “Where You At,” her first sad song, and System of a Down’s “Mr. Jack."
Late Checkout came out September 25.
Baygrass was amazing – here's the review I wrote for JamBase. I met a ton of great artists, writers, podcasters, and others – we had a bunch of amazing conversations there as well and will look forward to sharing them with y'all soon!
My first CREEM and Guitar World pieces should hit soon. I also just wrote a piece for Live for Live Music about an old Rilo Kiley YouTube video – four of them, actually – that I've watched at least once a year since I first uncovered it over a decade ago. I first saw Rilo Kiley at the Troc (RIP) in 2007. (Just dug up my ticket stub.) I also saw them last year at the Met and reviewed the show.
Really enjoyed writing this one and will share as they go live.
What I'm Reading
I also connected with a writer named Michaelangelo Matos, who wrote a great article for Rolling Stone about private equity and music rights. (Here's a link to a version behind the paywall.) I've been following and thinking/talking/writing about this topic, so it was cool to connect with someone else who's done so.
Recently Added
I just connected with a great new band called Jawdropped – I'm currently working on a piece about them and will share it once it's live. In the meantime, check out their debut LP, Secret to Spare. They're playing a release show tonight in LA, for those who are around for a good show. (Tickets here.)
