I had the chance to interview members of THE MILLENIUM recently, a young new band fresh to the pop-rock scene. Having formed only in February 2014, they’ve already released a debut E.P “It’s So Much Friendlier With Two” and been touring extensively with the likes of The Summer Set, Hollywood Ending and The Big Time. These guys have a really powerful sound are going places fast!
SBN: Hey guys, how’re you? Introduce yourselves please…
Hi there. We’re doing excellent. Just finishing up tour!
Kyle Culver – 22 – Guitar [Eau Claire, WI], Kyle Featherstone – 23 – Guitar, Keys [Hudson, WI], Matt Hasenmueller – 23 – Vocals [Altoona, WI], Sean Koran – 20 – Bass [Marshfield, WI]
SBN: So you’re a really young band – how did you form?
We formed as a full band in February 2014, after our two local projects, The Picture Perfect (Kyle Featherstone, Sean Koran) and The Last Semester (Matt Hasenmueller, Kyle Culver) had disbanded around the same time. With of all us bringing different skill sets and expertise to the table, it only seemed fitting to form out of the ashes of the former and create something new. We also lived right down the street from each other, so that helped perpetuate things as well.
How has the response been for your debut EP “It’s So Much Friendlier With Two”? Considering that you formed in February, it was very impressive that you wrote/recorded/released in such short time – did one of you come in having some of the songs pre-written and ready to go, or did things just move very quickly as a group?
The EP was written by Kyle Culver and Matt Hasenmueller in 2013, and released February of 2014 – around the same time we added Kyle Featherstone and Sean Koran.
Kyle Culver – “The record was a culmination of ideas Matt and I had floating around for the last three or so years, but the writing came together in about a months time. As writers and people, we tend to binge. Take Me was written about a week before going into the studio. Not Enough Rain ended up being written – structurally and lyrically – in about twenty minutes. It all happened so fast and we didn’t really have any expectations while working on the material – a notion I think expedited the process”
As far as writing as a cohesive full band, we haven’t had the opportunity to do that, but are extremely excited to mend all of our musical abilities together. [Their EP is available for stream and downlaod on their Bandcamp as “pay what you want” here: http://www.themilleniumwi.bandcamp.com/ ]
You just recently released a music video for your single “Ghost Town” that came out very neat – how was working with Underscore Films? Did you come to them with a fully fledged idea, or did they help you build the concept? [Check out the video below their response!]
Rick Wayne is a saint. He’s a very hands on, active member in every facet of the process. We had an idea in mind of what we wanted, to which Rick presented the “1,000 paper crane” theme to us. From there it was just piggy backing ideas back and forth until we came up with the final concept. He’s a very valued asset for this band. Hey yo Rick, shout out to being a badass. Gonna see you soon.
We ended up recording on a Red Dragon camera, a $31,000 piece of equipment. The newest Hobbit movie coming out was shot on it, as well as the most recent Transformers. It was surreal to see the final product.
You’ve just finished touring with The Big Time – how did that go?
It has been an experience for the books. We’ve heard of a lot of instances in which tours can become very hierarchical, where bands are treated differently depending on if they are opening, headlining, direct support, local, etc. We’ve heard horror stories of vans breaking down, being stolen, and bands otherwise not getting along. There was absolutely none of that on this tour. We became a family. A 19 person family. There was adversity of course, and that comes with touring territory. But everyone was in support of everyone when it had to be overcome. The guys in The Big Time and An Honest Year are some of the most genuine people we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. We’re going to miss them in the meantime. Also, check them out. Insanely catchy tunes.
You’ve come really far in less than a years’ time… what’s your next big goal as a band?
As a band we just want to be relentless in everything we do. Relentless and consistent. That means pumping out new material, new tours, revisiting markets and discovering new.
For other young bands – best tips that come to mind for success? What’s been your drive as a band so far?
There’s a quote from Ira Glass, who hosts “This American Life” – an NPR radio show (which is incredible we might add) that we all have collectively aligned with.. He says “put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
So the trick, in the case of writing songs and music, is quantity over quality. You’re not going to get the best guitar tones off the bat, you’re not going to be Bob Dylan in your lyricism initially. Your demos aren’t going to be all that appealing to an audience at first. But don’t stop. For the love of God, don’t stop. Keep plugging away. Consider yourself a student of music and you will always propel yourself closer to bigger and better opportunities.
Thanks so much – anything else you’d like to add?
It’s a humbling experience to be able to play shows and make music for you. Everyone in the band has all gone through some dark times, and when we hear stories of you listening to the record and it making you feel – well it makes us feel too. It validates what we’re doing. We want to create an idea with this group, and make it one big family. Join us. You are the light of our world.
Debut E.P. “It’s So Much Friendlier With Two”
http://www.themilleniumwi.bandcamp.com/
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