Pittsburgh local music spotlight: forty winks

Mike Palm
Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 8:05 a.m. | Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 8:05 a.m.

forty winks

Pittsburgh’s forty winks

forty winks

Pittsburgh’s forty winks released their “Love Is a Dog From Hell” EP earlier this year.

Pittsburgh noise rock band forty winks has only been around since 2024, but they’ve already made waves with their debut EP.

The EP — “Love Is a Dog From Hell” — earned a review via noted music site pitchfork.com.

“It was really exciting to make,” guitarist Connor McGee said.

The band announced Sept. 7 that their EP will be pressed as a 33 rpm, seven-inch record by Pittsburgh’s Hellbender Vinyl, with limited edition copies available Oct. 3 when forty winks opens for feeble little horse at Mr. Smalls Theatre.

“This forty winks EP is the exact kind of thing that Hellbender throws elbows to press: an awesome local band catching national attention and beyond,” Hellbender’s Matt Downling said. “Not only will we say ‘yes’ when the big plants say ‘no’ on timing, but we’re gonna show up to the show and help promote too.”

McGee cited Gooski’s and the Government Center, as well as the now-closed Hammer House, as favorite local venues to play, and gave a shoutout to Oakland DIY even though the band never played there.

“A huge part of the band are the moments we share together live,” he said. “I feel like we can just lose ourselves in the songs and interludes and do everything focused in a unique way; which to us, is just the nature of music.”

There’s more new music on the horizon “eventually,” McGee said, while noting surreal moments sharing a bill with a country-western band in Philadelphia, as well as getting to play a show in New York City.

And, for the record, the band has never played the “40 Winks” video game or seen the 2022 movie “Forty Winks.”

“No, but we get asked that question frequently,” he said with a laugh. “We do like the PS2 though.”

McGee filled in TribLive on what else to know about forty winks:

Band: forty winks

Band members: Conner McGee (guitar); Kyu Hwang (guitar); Cilia Catello (bass); Colin Klink (drums)

Founding story: forty winks began in early 2024 within the Pittsburgh college scene when the four of us got together and started writing and recording our 2025 EP “Love Is a Dog From Hell.”

Origin of band’s name: We used to be called “Whatever,” and we didn’t all agree on it, so we went and changed it to forty winks.

Influences: We are all influenced by different artists and types of music. We all come from liking a lot of rock music but some of us branch out further into new wave and punk and some of us listen to a lot more newer music like rap and electronic music. But at the end of the day, our music is most influenced by Pittsburgh.

Releases: “Love Is a Dog From Hell” EP, May 2025

Next show: Oct. 3 at Mr. Smalls Theater with Feeble Little Horse and Kassie Krut.

How to find them: forty winks can be found at their Bandcamp page.

Three other Pittsburgh area bands to check out: M ercy C linic, S afezonefire, Velvet Overkill

Favorite pizza shop: Fiori’s in Brookline

Mike Palm is a TribLive digital producer who also writes music reviews and features. A Westmoreland County native, he joined the Trib in 2001, where he spent years on the sports copy desk, including serving as night sports editor. He has been with the multimedia staff since 2013. He can be reached at mpalm@triblive.com.

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Pittsburgh local music spotlight: forty winks

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