MILKK

Q: What led the three of you to pursue music? How did the band form?

A: We all kind of started in the same way, honestly. Jack and I grew up together in Minnesota playing in several different bands together. We had everything from a metal band to a folk project to an electronic thing and everything in between. Same thing with John, growing up on the east coast. I know for myself, I just loved the way it felt to express my thoughts to people in a way that only I could; being able to translate emotions that were hard to communicate otherwise. The band started as almost a “joke.” Maybe more of a non-expectancy. Jack was no longer a part of a band he had been in for a few years, and I had been pursuing my solo music in Nashville (where I still live) for a couple years to no avail. So, I haphazardly asked him if he wanted to start a side-project of sorts. I had read a satirical article on VICE about how to start a “trendy” band. So, I thought, “Why not?” Shortly after we started, I asked John to join, simply based on a premonition. But obviously, it has become so much more and means so much more now than its initial intention.

Q: How have your home cities inspired you/ influenced your sound?

A: I honestly think we’ve pushed against our home cities, in a way. Nashville is obviously known for certain styles and genres of music. Same with the Twin Cities, in a different way. We kind of wanted to figure out the best way to say, ‘Hey, we live here, and we love being here, but we don’t want to BE that,’ if that makes sense. I think sometimes people are afraid to push against what’s already working in their environment. But we’re trying to create something that transcends location or tradition or style. It’s obviously a work in progress, but we’re getting there.

Q: In what ways do you use visuals and media to support your music?

A: Our visual brand (the majority of which is curated by John) is definitely a super important aspect of MILKK as a brand. Mostly just pulling from what we like, we’ve tried to build around the ever-expanding high-fashion world. We want our thing to be accessible to anyone along the spectrum from skater to model. Utilizing focused styling points, blank space, and color pops has been a big attribution to that, as well as repping wellversed brands, while still cultivating looks with their own personality. Being particular with the details, from things as simple as our Instagram feed to as large scale as our music videos and overarching “style,” is what we’ve used to set us apart as much as we can.

Q: What is the most enjoyable and exciting part of the production process?

A: In my experience, it’s the moments you don’t plan for. You can sit down and map out a million things and try to make everything perfect. And that is obviously super important. But it’s those moments where inspiration or accident or surprise strikes and you find yourself in that feeling of: ‘Oh, my gosh. This is tight.’ You can’t force those moments. And those things often end up being your favorite parts on a song or album or whatever it is. I’ve experienced that a couple times recently as we’re scrambling to finish our debut album. The pressure squeezes the last few drops of gold out of you.

Q: What is the most important to you when songwriting?

A: Number one is having personality. A million people can write a good song. But only you can really express something in your way. If your voice doesn’t come out, then what’s the point? Another aspect for me that I personally love is exciting grammatical and linguistic moments. I’m a sucker for internal rhymes and alliteration and tying lines together for that perfectly rounded out pay off. An aesthetically pleasing, both visually and auditorily, and grammatically and logically correct line is really what gets me excited.

Q: Are there any songs that were written during the production of Sad Girls or If You're Reading This, I Love You that didn't make the cut? If so, how did you decide what went into your EPs?

A: Yes, there was one that didn’t make Sad Girls and a good handful that didn’t make IYRTILY (that doesn’t mean one might not make an appearance on the album though). I think we just went with our gut. If a song felt right and felt like “MILKK,” we recorded it. The album song selection process has been a little more interesting in that I’m mostly just letting the songs come to me naturally instead of writing a ton of songs and seeing how many we hate. I’ve just been waiting for the good ones to hit me and then writing them on the spot so I don’t lose that feeling.

Q: How do you see your style changing over time? Do certain genres or eras of music inspire you?

A: I honestly don’t know. I think we will just go with whatever is inspiring us at the time. Recently, it’s been a lot of pop, a lot of rap, a lot of indie. But that could change or shift focus. It’s just about following the feeling wherever it needs to go.

Q: Is there somewhere you've always wanted to play?

A: It would be cool to play First Avenue in Minneapolis. We all have history in Minnesota, and that’s just such a historic venue. I think it would mean a lot to all of us personally and collectively to headline that room someday. Also, I mean, Madison Square Garden is on my bucket list.

Q: In what ways do you prepare for tour? What kind of experience do you want your fans to have?

A: A lot of budgeting and a lot of schedule planning. The more locked in the boring details are, the more smooth everything else can go. And obviously, we rehearse and make sure the show is the best it can be. Show wise, we want our fans to be able to feel the full range of emotions. If someone can dance their heart out for half our set and then sob the other, I think we’ve done our job. More importantly than that even, we are very, very dedicated to a transparent, personal, and real relationship with our fans. We love spending time with them before or after shows, whether that’s at the merch table or whether that’s getting coffee down the road, the people who care about what we do mean the world to us, and we want to show that in as many ways as possible and make sure they feel valued and appreciated in return. We’re all just people together.

Q: What would you tell kids who are forming bands of their own?

A: Just freaking do it. Play shows. Suck. Write bad songs. Write good songs. Buy a cheap guitar off the internet. Whatever. Just don’t let fear of failing stop you. If that was the case, I would have stopped years ago.

INTERVIEW BY LAUREN SPEIGHT | PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN KANALY