When a band asks you to go for Sunday brunch for an interview, you know it’ll be fun.
And if you know Milwaukee band Chapped Lips, you know how incredibly layered their production is, how their contortive dance moves trademark their lively shows, and how they share unparalleled quips. While their energy seems kismet, the band members encompass a musical relationship that formed in adolescence. It’s something they say “can’t really be replaced.”
Chapped Lips and I recently met in a Riverwest diner, where we talked about anything and everything. The band members ranked the members of The Beatles, talked movies and tour stories, and explained why Milwaukee is a special place for artists, whether you’re a musician, photographer, printmaker, or you want to be in a band. It took less than two minutes to realize that their dynamic music comes from an equally dynamic friendship.
Chapped Lips is Sam Kaffine on vocals and guitar, Slater Gutierrez on lead guitar, Jonah Mueller on drums, and Zach Schroeder on bass. (Schroeder also assists with band management, social channels, and booking.) They play a hybrid of rock, indie-punk, and alternative rock. Their influences have ranged from Arcade Fire; The Beatles; Radiohead; and Black Country, New Road to Beach House and Geese. Their music is vibrant, shreddy, heavy, and twinkly. Strong riffs suck you into songs like “ROT” and “Freebird III.”
The members of Chapped Lips are longtime comrades, which plays a part in their mind-meld-y banter and ability to make music with one another. Schroeder and Mueller met as early as elementary school, and went on to meet Kaffine through high school jazz band. They would go to other schools and jam at talent shows. The band has undergone many names, forms, and fashions, and when they needed a guitarist, they asked Gutierrez to join.
“When I met you guys, my grades went down, we would just skip school and play music. As you get older, it ebbs and flows, but our passion for music still kept us together,” Kaffine says. “We’re so lucky to have met each other in our younger days where we learned how to play music together.”
In 2024, Chapped Lips went on a weekender tour that spanned Cleveland, Brooklyn, Chicago, Nashville, Madison, Dubuque, and St. Louis. In 2025, they ventured out west, playing California shows in La Jolla, Los Angeles, Fresno, Berkeley, Portland, Bellingham, and beyond. Some of their memorable tour spots over the past few years include the Union Pool in Brooklyn; a former pest control and pool store turned vibrant bar and music hub, The Smell, in LA; 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley; and The Che Café Collective in La Jolla, California on the UCSD campus.
As for Milwaukee, Chapped Lips are Cactus Club enthusiasts, frequenting the psychedelic black-and-white-patterned venue space with more dates to come. They are Summerfest veterans, having played the BMO Pavilion stage in July of 2025. They played The Rave in a 2024 show with Diet Lite, Modern Joey, and The Keystones. They’ve even signed the walls at The Rave’s underground basement pool.
“I think the Milwaukee music scene is a really good place to have an idea and have somebody help you with it,” Slater says. “Like, oh, you want to be in a band? Okay, everybody is in a band so we can find somebody to be in a band with you.”
Chapped Lips’ songwriting process comes in many forms. Oftentimes, band members come with scraps, riffs, and ideas, and fully flesh them out with the rest of the group. Sometimes they sit and play from scratch.
“Other times we have a whole rock opera written beforehand,” Gutierrez jokes.
“I think some of my favorite stuff is stuff we’ve worked on for a long time,” Schroeder says.
You can expect new music from Chapped Lips in the year ahead. They plan to lead with purpose, resurfacing their signature sounds while striking a balance between lightness and hardness, softness and punk.
Before that, you can see the deeply charismatic Chapped Lips January 23 at the Cactus Club, for the Lunde record release show with Zach Pietrini. They will also make an appearance March 13 at Cactus with The Thing, and March 14 with The Thing at 7th St Entry in Minneapolis.
Oh, and they do love a good theme, so make sure to follow their Instagram for updates and upcoming shows.
Important: The theme for the January 23 show at Cactus Club is wearing boots and a big coat.
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