Years active 2010–present | Website www.milkband.org | |
Origin Allston, Massachusetts, United States Associated acts Easy Elliott, The Dear Abbeys, Palaver Strings, Pine, Racing Days Members Matt Brady
Sam Taber
Harold Lucas Weatherby
Brian Engles Past members Jesse Galkowski
Luke Savoca Genres Blues rock, Indie rock, Psychedelic rock | ||
Milk is an American indie rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2010. The band currently consists of Matt Brady (lead vocals, guitar), Sam Taber (piano), Harold Lucas Weatherby (drums), and Brian Engles (bass). The group formed while Brady and Taber were attending Boston University.
Contents
History
In 2009, Matt and Jesse met when they were living on the same floor of Warren Towers freshman year while at Boston University. It was not until 2010, their sophomore year, when they seriously started jamming together after hours in empty classrooms in the College of Arts and Sciences building. A mutual friend introduced them to Sam Taber, a fellow musician, who shortly after joined their musical efforts. In the fall of 2011, Luke joined the group on bass. Their first show, was at the Allston DIY basement, Gay Gardens, on December 12, 2011.
Name change and Hubba Hubba (2012-2013)
In the spring of 2012, with the line-up finalized, the decision to change the group name was agreed upon anonymously. The group changed their name on April 14, to what it currently is: Milk. Shortly after the name change, they released their first single, Emily. Through the rest of the spring, the group focuses on writing and playing live. The frequently play on campus, at BU Central, where Jesse works doing live sound. At the end of the '12 spring semester, they took a recording retreat to Windsor, Connecticut. During this time, little is known; drugs? hookers? back alley gambling? all very mysterious. The retreat, however, did complete with the tracking for their first EP, Hubba Hubba. During that summer, Jesse took a semester studying abroad in Australia. While Jesse was in Australia, Matt moved into his room in the same apartment with Sam. During that time, it allowed the members to recoup from recording and get their bearings. Matt saw the beginnings of a side project, with then roommate Tyler Gilroy, One Black Shoe, which did not take full form until later that fall.
At the end of the summer of 2012, the lease for the apartment that acted as their practice space ended and a move occurred. The new apartment, The Sun Palace, had more space for practice, and now included Matt as a full-time resident. The new space also acted as a DIY venue, hosting bands in the kitchen. The change of scenery delayed the EP, but shortly after full focus shifted towards it. Milk's first EP, Hubba Hubba, was released early winter on December 1 at the Cambridge-based alternative adult boutique,Hubba Hubba. With the beginning of 2013, the group began supporting the EP with bigger profile shows and making music videos. They shared the stage with We Are Scientists. During the spring semester, the group met and became heavily involved with the musician-led string orchestra, Palaver Strings, whose focus is one improving human life, specifically in Liberia. Milk frequently helps organize benefits performance with this group.
Et in Arcadia (2013-2014)
Still in the '13 spring semester, they were limited with how extensively they could play outside the state, but as the semester was quickly ending, they already were planning to head out on their first tour. Their extensive playing in the underground scene of Allston had built up their name, and they were getting ready to spread the milk seed. The group's plan was to embark on a tour at the end of the semester, after graduation. The Rolling Volvelle Tour was a week and a half long tour that took them from the far reaches of Portland, Maine down to the dirty south of Philly. Once back from tour, they immediately began recording their debut album. The tracking process was very extensive, incorporating a wide range of instruments and rewrites. The summer of 2013 was primarily spent tracking and mixing, playing live here and there, but focusing on recording. The summer turned to fall, then to winter, and then the new year. The late winter/early spring of 2014 show anticipation for the album release. They started headlined a couple big DIY, underground concerts.
As early spring rolled around, the record was still under the group's scrutiny to reach perfection. Since Matt Brady was still a student of Boston University, the school featured them on the March 31 BU Today Sessions and released three videos of tracks off of their upcoming album. This reinforced their BU connection and gave them a great deal of press to get ready for their upcoming album release. With this bit of press, the group was able to focus on putting the final touches on to the album. On July 3, the long-awaited debut album Et in Arcadia was released at the Church of Boston in Fenway. The record received positive review. Over the summer and fall, after the release, they focused on building up a following in the Greater Boston Area outside of the Boston University community.
They released the new EP Contact on March 5 at the Middle East. This release has so far seen positive reviews, describing it as "smooth as Jack Daniel's".
Drummer Jesse leaves the group and moves to Portland, ME in December of 2015 and is replaced by Harold Lucas Weatherby.
In August of 2016, bassist Luke departs the group to live in Southeast Asia. He is replaced by Brian Engles at the beginning of 2017.
The group is current in production with their second full length album.