MILKK, an indie-pop trio consisting of Pat Kiloran, Jack Vondrachek, and John Ogelby, have been rapidly growing in popularity over the past few months. The band is based in Nashville and Minnesota, with 2 EPs already out, and a full-length album coming this year. They recently released singles titled “Thinkin Bout U” and “Stupid,” both from their upcoming debut album. Ash got the chance to talk with the group and ask them a few questions about their work.
Can you introduce yourselves for the people who may not know who you are?
We are Pat, Jack, and John. And we are the band MILKK.
How did MILKK become a band, and did you guys think you would get this far? MILKK started as what was meant to be a side-project for myself (Pat) and Jack. It was just supposed to be an outlet for us to write fun songs. But after seeing an unexpected influx of people liking what we were doing, and also with the addition of John to the band, we decided that it was gonna be a lot more than that. We still have a long ways to go and a lot more work to do, but it's definitely still quite a shock to me that we've
gained the attention we have.
Your band name was a typo, is there any specific reason you went with it and not change it?
We just thought it was funny, and we didn't care.
How would you explain your music, like what bands would you consider similar?
I think our older music, especially the "Sad Girls" EP, sounds much more akin to a lot of what you've probably heard in the indie-pop sphere over the past couple years. But that was the original point anyway. We were just trying to write "trendy" songs at that point. But once we realized this was something we wanted to heavily pursue and pour ourselves into, we started putting our personalities very purposefully into the music. You can start to hear that on our IYRTILY EP, but you will hear it in its fullness on our debut album coming out early 2019.
Can you talk about your relationship with your fans?
It's really special, I think. It's a very love/hate/but-actually-love sort of thing. I am glad there are levels to it. There's the joking, dumb level. There's the encouragement and support level. There's the mutual humanity level. Even though we don't know very many of our fans personally, we want everyone to still feel like they are a part of a family and feel cared for, and I think that kind of relationship unfolds in every way from surface level to transparency.
What are some places that you haven’t gotten to go to on tour but would really like to?
Europe sounds great. We still haven't hit Texas or Florida or a few other parts of the country, but we hope we can do those in 2019. Also, Canada holds a special place in my heart since I lived there for a year.
What’s something about your past shows/tours that you’ll always remember throughout your career?
Our first show in Columbus, OH was really special to me for some reason. It just had a certain feeling and people were really excited and into it. Our summer 2018 show in Brooklyn, NY was also a good one because I basically got a concussion after hitting my head on stage and accidentally cussed out the crowd. It was fairly legendary.
You have an upcoming album, is there any insight we can get on it?
It's very special. It's very personal. It's very diverse. It's very MILKK. Early 2019.
Do you have any advice for bands and artists smaller than you that are trying to build a community like yours?
Don't worry about what anyone thinks. If you care about what people think, you can't be yourself, and then people won't believe you or your message. Just do your thing and be kind to people.
Make sure to follow MILKK on all their socials: @wearemilkk
Don't forget to check them out on Spotify
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