Since posting a viral acoustic cover of Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” on YouTube back in 2010, New Trier graduate Katie Gavin has come a long way in the music industry.

Gavin, 23, who is originally from Winnetka, currently resides in Southern California where she makes music with her band, MUNA.

The group, which consists of Gavin on lead vocals/production, Josette Maskin on lead guitar, and Noami McPherson on rhythm guitar make “dark pop” music, which, as critic Ilana Kaplin describes it, “makes you want to cry and dance at the same time.”

Fortunately, this is exactly what Gavin was going for, “I didn’t just want to develope a rock sound…I wanted to develop music that would make people dance as well.”

However, Gavin’s sound hasn’t always been this very interesting blend of rock and dance music. And the same can be said for her band mates— “all three girls came from really different [musical] backgrounds.” From folk to R&B to progressive rock, the three completely different artists came together to form one sound.

“All three of us feel really connected to what we created. It’s just that we couldn’t have done it on our own.”

Gavin herself comes from a folk background. She mainly takes after the only other musician in her family—her grandfather—who was a jazz trumpeter and band leader in the Korean War.

If you’ve ever heard the song “Whip My Hair,” you most likely wouldn’t associate it with acoustics. This, along with other covers and original songs Gavin posted years ago on YouTube, are the best evidence of her folk background.

Although this may seem like a stark contrast from the dark pop Gavin currently produces, she claims this change in sound was a result of her growth as an adult.

As for her New Trier background, Gavin, who graduated with the class of 2011, spoke about the many different ways in which attending New Trier played an important role in both her personal and musical life.

“New Trier has a really special infrastructure for the arts, so I was lucky enough to feel part of a creative community and benefit from watching other creative people I admired as they were growing.”

Johannah Wininsky, a dance teacher here at New Trier, recalls Gavin as “being open-minded, engaged, and imitative, a budding young artist. She brought a positive energy to class and it was contagious.”

However, as all teenagers know, high school is tough, and being a talented musician did not excuse Gavin from enduring these difficulties.

“Attending high school in general (but specifically New Trier) is super stressful in terms of the way it can force you to construct and constrict your identity and thus your art.”

After graduating, Gavin moved across the country to attend the University of Southern California. Once on her own, Gavin was able to explore her own identity and art without pressure.

While doing so, she met the two other young artists and MUNA was born. Since then, the band put out their debut EP “More Perfect” and a handful of singles.
The band, which recently signed a record deal, is preparing to release the biggest collection of their work yet. Gavin would not reveal which record company MUNA signed with. The band, which handles everything concerning their work on their own (album artwork, production) doesn’t want all their efforts to be overshadowed by their label.

Despite making it on MTV and (more recently) Buzzfeed’s list of 16 Musicians To Add To Your New Years Playlist, Gavin insists that MUNA is far from being famous.

She recalls the attention she received a few years ago, while still at New Trier, “That was really hard for me. I think I was too young.”

As for any advice she has for upcoming artists, Gavin says to “allow yourself time to experiment and grow but also take it seriously.”