Nightstand and Pink Houses

When people ask me where I go to school, I often jokingly answer, “In the middle of nowhere.” After spending so much of my life living near a big city, moving to Columbia, Missouri, was definitely an adjustment. However, I quickly fell for its charm. Columbia may be surrounded by farmlands, but it has a lot to offer. We’ve got my favorite coffee spot, Shortwave Coffee (where 90% of my summer earnings magically disappear), 6 massive columns in the middle of campus, Thomas Jefferson’s tombstone, and my personal favorite: a pretty great college music scene. 

There’s a lot of great local music here in Columbia, but two bands stand out to me: Nightstand and Pink Houses. They showed me what I really love about the music scene here; it’s not just about going to shows to listen to music, but immersing yourself in a small community of people who love music.

“It just made sense,” was Noah Schmitz, guitarist and vocalist of Nightstand’s, response when I asked him how the band started.  “Me, Rob, and Eric had been living together and making music for about three years in the dorms,” Schmitz says, “we had all of the pieces that would make a band, and thought it would be cool to do it.”

But Nightstand’s story actually started back in high school. “Me and Rob didn’t have any classes together, and he told me he was going to Mizzou, and I was like, I should ask him to be my roommate. I had always wanted to be in a band, and I knew he played the guitar, so it was a long time in coming,” Schmitz explains. Their 3 am dorm-room jam sessions turned into something bigger when they teamed up with keyboardist Eric Warnecke, drummer Colin Murphy, and their new bassist Matthew Lasswell. 

Nightstand played their first show last year in their backyard, and I discovered them shortly after. My first Nightstand show (which was also the same show Pink Houses played) was in October 2024. It was a wizard-themed house show in their backyard. I showed up with my wand (a tree branch) and my (non) alcoholic beverages, ready for my first live-music experience since getting to school that fall. At this point, Nightstand was only playing a few original songs, with the rest of their set full of indie covers. 

That night remains one of my favorite college memories. Ever since, my friends and I have found ourselves going to all of their shows we can. They don’t just play good music; they make sure everyone there is having a good time right along with them.

Now, Nightstand has two singles out on streaming services, both of which I think are solid, especially given that they were produced in a bedroom. Two-step is my personal favorite of the two.

When it comes to writing, the guys take a lot of inspiration from some artists we all know and love. “Me and Matthew love MJ Lenderman, he’s very relatable, very Midwest,” Schmitz explains. Considering their love for MJ, it didn’t surprise me when Noah also explained how he’s recently getting a lot of inspiration from the band Wednesday, after seeing lead singer Karly Hartzman perform solo in Nashville.  I’m excited to see those inspirations manifested in their new EP, which comes out this coming weekend. 

I interviewed them back in September, and at that time, they had just over half the EP recorded, “and then we want to start on the album,” Huhmann explained.  Nightstand’s debut EP, Mom’s Toolbox, is out this weekend. One song of theirs, Dogjaw, is my favorite Nightstand song. It’s got some really catchy chords that are super fun to dance to live and I’m super excited for it to release to streaming. We have the EP coming this weekend, and then hopefully that album will be on its way, which I know will have a lot of people in Columbia excited.

Nightstand wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for their “sister band”, Pink Houses. “I think we’re really just trying to impress those people,” Schmitz says in reference to the Pink Houses guys as well as another Columbia band, The Park.  Their crowds overlap a lot, partly because they often play together, but also because the two bands have collectively fostered a great community of college students here that loves live music as much as they do. 

“We’re just five guys that like rock music”, guitarist Charlie Warner, told me when I talked with him about his band, Pink Houses. “But underneath that we’re all really different”; the band– Warner, guitarist Josh Stohler, bassist Raph Sternadori, drummer Max Healy, and vocalist Charlie Bickel– takes inspiration from all different realms of the music world, which I think contributes a lot to their strength as a band. 

Pink Houses joined Columbia’s scene last fall. “We had our first show last September and like a hundred people came, and it was awesome,” Warner said. Now they’re headlining Rose Music Hall again this December. That’s the same venue that Peach Pitt played only a couple of months ago. Quite the accomplishment. “We love Rose so much… every time we get booked at a real venue, it’s just really encouraging.”

Speaking of performing, Pink Houses live is an incredibly fun experience. “We want to get up there and do something noisy, that makes people move, and it’s not too serious,” Warner told me, and they do exactly that. The crowd is always loud, moving, and matching the band’s energy throughout the entire show. 

Behind the scenes, there’s a lot that influences Pink Houses’ sound, as well as their dynamic as a band. When they started, most bands in Columbia followed the same pattern: a group of guys, with a female vocalist. Warner described this dynamic as a “peak lineup,” however, they wanted to do something different. “We felt like we needed to be boyish, and kinda dumb”, Warner laughed. The guys in Pink Houses found each other pretty naturally, however, when it came to the last piece, finding a vocalist, this mentality is what led them to Charlie Bickel. “Charlie sent us an audition tape, and before he even started singing, I was like ‘Okay, this is our guy’”, and that’s how their boyish chemistry as a band was finalized.

 When I asked Warner about his favorite artists and inspirations, he immediately started talking about The Replacements. “When it comes down to picking favorites, it’s what you can see yourself in the most,” he said. You can definitely hear The Replacements’ classic sound woven into Pink Houses’ music, but always with their own spin.  “I want to write like Paul Westerberg writes”, Charlie added. Westerberg has a reputation for being one of the best songwriters in the world; it’s easy to see how his influence fuels their sound. 

Their EP Road Runner came out last March, only 6 months after they started playing shows. “It’s funny because it is a big accomplishment, but after each milestone we cross, it’s like, what’s next?” Warner says regarding the release of their EP. The six-song record generously displays their shared love for rock music and that raw energy that defines their sound. 

Charlie described the milestone of Roadrunner as the catalyst for them to go bigger and better; “It’s just kind of that first experience of like ‘Oh, I would do this, this, and this differently. And now I’m so excited to record music again”. Roadrunner is a solid debut EP, and now that these guys have really solidified their relationship and dynamic as a band, I’m excited to see what they continue to create. 

Throughout my entire conversation with Warner, his passion for music was vibrantly on display: “This is what it’s all about, that’s why I’m here at college. I don’t want to get a job, I want to keep doing this”. That kind of enthusiasm is so critical to success in the music industry, which makes me hopeful for their future. 

What makes Columbia’s music scene so special isn’t just the music; it’s the environment that it thrives in. Smaller local scenes create a sense of intimacy: going to shows in the bands’ backyards, knowing the people playing personally, and just hanging out with people who share similar passions and lifestyles. Bands like Nightstand and Pink Houses have helped create that tight-knit environment here in Columbia, one that so many of us hold closely to our hearts.  I can’t wait to see all that these guys do next. For now, go stream Roadrunner and Mom’s Toolbox!