Milk St. took a moment to tell us about their music and their songwriting process. Let’s see what they have to say!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
Well when we first started off, we were called Spaced. It was really just me with a batch of songs and ideas I wrote throughout highschool into early college, and I had met a few friends that I had tried to start it with, but I needed a lead guitarist and drummer for a show I somehow got booked on, and I messaged Gabe and our original drummer Josh because we had been friends forever and I knew they could hold their own. We literally got to the venue like 5 hours early and I showed them the songs and we just played them so well and tightly and had only ever briefly jammed together like a year before super casually. After that Gabe moved over to Bass and it became the three of us for a while and then eventually Josh stepped away and we had known Harry throughout our entire time in the music community. His other band, Borzoi, was the first band we really ever played with and he honestly was the best drummer we knew in the community. We always joked about him being our Dave Grohl and he had filled in for Josh in the past for shows so it just fit so perfectly. Now we’re like a perfect little family and all have a lot of the same musical influences like Alex G, Joyce Manor, Duster, all that kind of stuff.
How would you describe your sound?
At first we would always say we’re a punk band but eventually we realized our stuff really isn’t punk in a traditional sense, and we also didn’t want to put ourself in a box that we had to stay in. After that we always sort of made a point to not cater to any “sound,” in any sort of way and at one point we were getting breakfast, filling in our close friend Matt in on band stuff and showing him some newer demos. It was a super snowy day and we had been talking about how our environment in Maine was super beautifully depressing in this unique way and Matt said “it’s just like your music, Northeast Emo or something.” We’ve ran with that since and it’s really that grungy-ness mixed with some technicality and folk punk, but honestly it’s just whatever we want it to be at the time. We’re already working on new material past this upcoming album and it’s totally different than this record. I guess the one thing thats constant, and the only thing we really make a point of, is that it’s raw, emotional, and as genuine as possible.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
I’d say, in terms of common interests, the biggest artists that play a role are like Alex G, Joyce Manor, The Front Bottoms, Nirvana, Duster, that kind of stuff. I’m personally also super into stuff like Blind Melon and even some more modern experimental pop stuff like Joy Again. It’s really all over the place!
What’s the last song you listened to?
As of typing this I’m actually listening to “Tie Me Down,” by The Skin Cells which was one of Alex G’s projects.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
I use Youtube Music and I feel like it does a really good job at suggesting new things that I want to hear based on other things I listen to. It includes YouTube videos in there so if theres some old deep cut stuff, like The Skin Cells, it’ll pop up in there. I also just go to local shows or watch/listen to local scene podcast stuff like Punky’s Mixtape which is based out of Maine!
Who is your dream producer?
Someone we’ve actually all talked about over and over again that we’d love to have mix our next record is Steve Albini. I think he really goes for the same approach we do and that was one of the first things me and Harry specifically bonded over. The next record also has that very Pixies/Smashing Pumpkins 90’s feel going on so that’d be a dream come true for sure.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
I think in terms of feasibility, doing a split or something with Slaughter Beach, Dog or any of the projects that the guys from Modern Baseball have worked on would be absolutely incredible. Alex G or The Front Bottoms would be like a 1 in a million dream type situation but definitely anything Jake Ewald has touched would be beautiful.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
I started writing music personally just like all the corny stories go. I found The Front Bottoms when I was super like chronically depressed in high school and it “touched my soul,” or whatever line you want to use. It just really hit hard with me and I felt understood and all that stuff. I’d say what keeps me going is both that I want to write music that helps other people in that way, but also that I physically need to or I get depressed again. It’s definitely an outlet and expression for me. All the lyrics I write are super personal and meaningful to me. They’re a very raw expression of self and yelling them on stage genuinely always feels like I’m getting something out.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
With the first record, a lot of the songs were definitely things I had either fleshed out in my head prior, or like an idea that I had and brought to the guys and if they liked it, we’d flesh out, but a lot of it was definitely there. With the new album it feels a lot more collaborative and workshopping. We have a studio space that we have set up in this old tanning salon and we go in there a couple times a week and usually I might have like a verse or a couple chords or some motif that sounds cool. Sometimes it ends with all of us in a circle holding guitars fleshing out parts and stuff. It’s really cool because we can all play each others instruments, so we can all sort of give input on each others writing but in a lot of ways, we also make sure to stay out of each others way unless the person asks. For me personally, I’ve always written lyrics by pacing around my room alone playing until I find something that makes my chest fill up, and then I yell and ramble words over it until something yells “oh woah that’s actually how I’m feeling right now” and then I’ll use that as the rock that I write everything else around. That’s how the chorus of our song His House was written and same with the bridge in Coffee Cups. Those were originally the only parts I had to the song and then everything else was fleshed out around it.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
I think that coming to our shows is the biggest way we connect with our audience. We always hang out in the crowd and watch the other bands and are just part of the audience once we’re off stage. Often times we’ll make a lot of friends that way! Sometime’s we might even just be smoking outside or whatever and people will come say they dig our stuff and we’ll just hang and talk with them! We’ve never thought of anyone as like “Fans,” or anything and the first time we ever mentioned someone as a fan just in a conversation it felt really uncomfortable and weird for us. But now we have like people on social media asking us to come as far south as South Carolina and actually even Florida just because they like our music and that’s pretty cool to us and we appreciate that so much. In terms of social media, we mostly use instagram, for announcements and post videos we make that we think are funny and stuff on there. We also do have a Tik Tok but its definitely a more resentful process on there than everywhere else.
Milk St. | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree
Milk St. | Bangor ME | Facebook
Milk St. (@milkstreetband) on Instagram
Milk St. (@milkstreetband) | TikTok
Milk St. (@milkstreetband) / Twitter
What’s next for you?
Well we just had our first single from our upcoming album come out called China Town. Next up we have a couple more singles with music videos for all of them, and then the Album that’ll probably come out around September! We’re working with these dope dudes that run a company called Dont Blink Management too to help us book a tour around then, they’ve been in bands themselves and in the music community for a long time now and really know their shit. They’re definitely helping us bring it to the next level and get a full tour going which is definitely what I’m most excited for. Three smelly dudes in a mini-van for a month might not sound like the most enticing experience but to me its a road-trip with my best friends playing music that means so much to me, getting to express my self every single night.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
Well I never really had this opportunity on a bigger scale before, so I just wanna give a huge thank you to everyone who’s supported us in the local scene since we started really getting active in 2021! We’ve played all around Bangor area and made this huge family of people by our shows at OHop and all the surrounding venues. It really culminated in this festival I helped plan called DivestFest at our friend Yoni’s house and I cried really hard that night after all was said and done. I wasn’t sad but I was just so grateful for everything we had done and everyone thats supported us and made it possible in such a short time. I really love all of y’all, even if I havn’t had the time at shows to sit down with everyone and express it. We couldn’t have done this without all of the “Maggies,” and “Sams,” and “Emmis,” (They’ll know who they are) that we’ve been fortunate enough to have in our lives. We love all of you guys.
Bio:
Northeast emo from the Pine Tree State. While the foundations of the band date back to 2018, originally under the name Spaced, Milk St. officially launched in 2022 with the release of their debut album Spaced – an ode to their first name. Composed of founding vocalist and guitarist Jonah Wakefield, bassist Gabe Chambers, and drummer Harry Burns, Mill St. quickly followed up their debut effort with two singles – “I’m Sorry That I Left You (On New Years Day)” and “Just Lust” – that have been very well-received to date.
With the recent addition of Harry Burns to the band as a full-time member, Milk St. were motivated to get back into the studio, where they recorded 9+ demos in the span of just two weeks! One of these demos would form the foundation for “China Town” and the remainder of the singles to be included on their upcoming EP Vermont. With plenty more music in the tank to be mixed and mastered, this is just the beginning for Milk St.
