INTERVIEW: Returning Solo Run — DIVE Presents Tim Kasher
05/30 @ The Hangar on the Hudson, Troy
Photo by Violet Foulk
“I don't really feel the need for this album to be on streamers anyway. It's a unique, niche body of work that I'd rather just be shared with people who are familiar with what I do.”
While I know I am biased, it’s clear that Troy and Albany have an undeniable draw to them. When I asked Tim Kasher about what keeps bringing him back to the Capital Region, he expressed a similar sentiment.
“It's just nice to be having good reception in [this] area lately. It makes you feel wanted and so you keep going back.”
Troy must have shown our love exceptionally well as singer-songwriter Tim Kasher returns after several runs up here in the past couple of years. In April and December of 2025, Kasher performed with his band Cursive at No Fun and Lark Hall, respectively. Before that, he opened for New Jersey post-hardcore band Thursday at Empire Underground in 2024 with an acoustic solo set. This year, DIVE Presents is bringing him back to Troy at The Hangar on the Hudson with a solo performance to support his new record, Sponges of Experience.
For his set, Kasher plans to perform songs from across his impressive discography, though part of the focus will be on his newest album. The album includes 12 individual songs all written and composed over a single four-day weekend in 2025. According to Kasher, the album exists as a “time capsule” of that particular weekend. With sheer determination and support from his Patreon group “Tim’s Home Phone,” Sponges of Experience was created without having to cut a single one of those tracks.
Sponges of Experience will be released by Philadelphia-based indie label, Born Losers. Despite the modern popularity of streaming, Kasher decided that this time capsule solo record will be limited to purchase on Bandcamp or through the Born Losers website. The decision to keep Sponges of Experience off streaming platforms was influenced by how the album was created; with the support and encouragement of Patreon members who understand the kind of art Kasher is dedicated to creating.
“It's a great opportunity to cut streamers out, you know? It feels good and it's nice to have that be part of the conversation,” he said. “But it's also important to me to offer the full disclosure that I don't really feel the need for this album to be on streamers anyway. It's a unique, niche body of work that I'd rather just be shared with people who are familiar with what I do.”
That Patreon group that Sponges of Experience came out of was started during COVID-19 as a regular livestream series. It was a way to connect with people despite the intense and scary circumstances that permeated everything in 2020. From there, Tim developed a connection with the returning viewers, forming a virtual community while physical meet ups were off-limits. Sponges of Experience, while written a few years before lockdowns were lifted, is a reflection of that community.
“It's more of a personal record and doesn't really need to be shared or promoted anyway,” Tim explained. “If you're coming out to see me play solo, then you might be the right candidate. You might be interested in this record.”
Alongside performing in Cursive and writing entire albums over the course of four days, Kasher also hosts a digital music trivia game show called “Musical Puke” with his partner Gwynedd Stuart. The show features members of bands within the same scene as Kasher, including Thursday, Touche Amore, Minus the Bear, and La Dispute. While creating and hosting a game show can take up even more time, he says it’s still an exciting thing to work on.
“The Musical Puke stuff, it takes up more time, you know, but we really enjoy it,” Kasher explained. “And it's something that Gwynedd and I do together.”
Adding on to even that, Kasher’s next feature film will be premiering in September of this year, with an accompanying tour. He also made mention of yet another solo album to come in the near future, released again with Born Losers.
You can also catch Kasher opening for Thursday on June 7 at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. They’re sure to be performances you won’t soon forget.
Follow Tim Kasher on Instagram at @timkasher. The full album Sponges Of Experience is available 5/22 for download and on CD and vinyl from timkasher.bandcamp.com and at bornlosersrecords.com. You can subscribe to Tim’s Patreon, Tim Kasher’s Home Phone at www.patreon.com/cw/timkasher. Tim’s other projects, Cursive, The Good Life, and more, are available on streaming everywhere.