It was fate that brought two rebellious teenagers together on the train platform at Union Station in Chicago
over a decade ago, as Company of Thieves’ founding members, Genevieve Schatz and Marc Walloch sat
across from one another and became fast friends over a conversation about The Beatles. With two records,
countless headlining tours, a late night television appearance, a charting alternative radio single “Oscar
Wilde” and a dream-come-true music biz discovery story under their belt, it seems that fate that has brought
the cult band back from hiatus.
The band quickly became a favorite amongst the Chicago indie rock community. After scraping together
recording funds, the kids took a risk and independently released their debut album “Ordinary Riches” in
2007. They soon played SXSW, got discovered and re-released "Ordinary Riches" via Wind-Up Records in
2009, following up with their sophomore LP, "Running From A Gamble," in 2011. With industry and personal
struggles, the band took a hiatus and decided to pursue other creative outlets in 2013. Genevieve went on to
release a solo EP “Show Your Colors” and tours the material accompanied by Chris. Marc released a solo
record “Through The Seasons” under the moniker Spill, and also plays bass for AWOLNATION. The time spent
apart for the band was an important step in each member’s journey to self-discovery, whether it be musical
or personal, but ultimately, fate played it’s hand of cards.
“We had been playing music separately and had been missing each other immensely. We would run into each
other at venues and shows in LA and get misty eyed,” says Gen of Marc. “One night Chris and I were driving
after a show and a car clipped the back of us. It was this moment where my life flashed before my eyes, and I
thought - oh my god, I miss Marc so much.”
Shortly after, the band embarked on a camping trip, where they built a fire together and expressed their
longing to bring Company of Thieves back to life.. Now, the band is stronger than ever with their gorgeous
new single, “Treasure,” a call-to-arms that was written immediately following the presidential election about
being faced with a climate of fear and division and what can happen when you look inside yourself to find
freedom and say yes to love. It seems that fate had a funny way of playing its role in the recording of the new
song, too.
“When we went to record vocals, our set-up was in Marc’s garage in LA and we were getting so much
interference from radio frequencies but we didn’t let that stop us - it was like our Chicago DIY roots all over
again,” Genevieve explains. “As we turned on the microphone, a man’s voice came on from a political radio
station- he was talking about US citizens’ constitutional right to assemble, and how people were coming
together to march and protest like they did back in the 60’s. He kept angrily asking, “Why are they doing
this?” We found his question to be a great mirror of the cultural divide and why our song was written in the
first place, so instead of letting his voice silence us we decided to hit ‘record’ anyway.”
Whether it was on that train platform in Chicago, on the streets of Austin in SXSW, or on the highway and
through the airwaves of LA, fate had it’s hand in bringing this esteemed tribe back together. As they say, You
can never break the chain.