Interview: Milo Greene
Sasquatch! Music Festival
The Gorge Amphitheater, George, WA
05.23.15
One of our favorite band discoveries of the year has been LA foursome Milo Greene. Though not new to the game, their sound has evolved from indie-folk to electro-centric pop without losing its harmonic sensibilities and cinematic sound. We were stoked to see them on the Sasquatch! festival lineup and luckily had the chance to chat with them after their set. Robbie Arnett, Marlana Sheetz, Andrew Heringer, and Graham Fink clearly have great band chemistry, keeping us laughing the length of the interview. Plus we discovered that Arnett actually grew up right around the corner!
SMN: We caught you guys at your Columbia City Theatre show. That was a great show.
RA: I like that venue a lot. I was pleasantly surprised. It’s got a great vibe to it.
SMN: And you guys are out on the road again right now.
RA: We were in Chicago yesterday and flew in last night.
SMN: Are you going to stick around today?
RA: Yeah, and the next day. We chose to vacation here.
SMN: I assume you’re not camping?
GF: Well Andrew is!
AH: Fuck Yeah. I’m stoked about it.
RA: That jacket won’t be very white after this weekend. [Heringer is wearing a very clean, white denim jacket.]
SMN: So anybody in particular you want to see while you’re here?
RA: My friend Ross, he lives right next door to me!
GF: He’s not performing, he’s just hanging out.
MS: Didn’t you see him already?
RA: Yeah I did, but I just want to keep hanging out.
MS: Yeah I just want to keep seeing Ross.
AH: I think she means acts: like The War On Drugs, [the whole group starts throwing out names] Ryan Adams, The Knocks, Sylvan Esso.
SMN: And you guys put on a great, super-energetic show this morning.
RA: Got our workout for the day.
SMN: Yeah we were thinking man they must be hot with all those leather jackets!
RA: It’s not a good show if there’s no sweat!
SMN: So here’s the big question, if you were stranded on a desert island and you got one book, one movie and one album, what would they be?
AH: Princess Bride, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon, and Joseph Campbell.
GF: Siddhartha.
MS: Damn it you took mine!
GF: Hunky Dory by Bowie and North by Northwest.
RA: I would take The Stranger by Albert Camus, and Disintegration by The Cure, and Videodrome by David Cronenberg.
MS: I’m gonna go very girly. The Notebook, Continuum, John Mayer. Gettin’ freaky naughty all by myself. And um. [Another band member asks if she wants to take both the movie and book versions of The Notebook.] No, I don’t want the book, I just want the movie.
SMN: It’s all about the visuals.
MS: Yeah, the imagery is incredible. That’s why every girl really likes it! And to stick with the pop culture stuff maybe I’ll take a Mindy Kaling book.
[From here the conversation devolves into the proper way to pronounce Kaling’s last name and whether or not they know of any celebrity Milo Greene fans. They do – see JJ Redick of the NBA’s LA Clippers and their documented mutual love.]
SMN: So what keeps you guys grounded on the road?
AH: I’ve got a folding bike that I keep in the back so I can go adventuring around cities. I love it.
MS: Hotel gyms help keep my sanity. And a sweater, to put over my head in the van.
SMN: Like a privacy sweater.
MS: Yes! My privacy sweater! That’s exactly what it is!
SMN: For someone not familiar with you guys, what’s a three word description of why they should listen to you? What are they going to get?
AH: I would say “modern Fleetwood Mac” that’s three words right?
GF: How about just “don’t be dumb”
SMN: “Don’t be dumb, listen to the modern Fleetwood Mac,” There’s your new tagline.
RA: If you say we’re a modern Fleetwood Mac, do you think you can say we’re a modern Fleetwood Mac featuring Roger Federer? Is that cool?
GF: I think we’d be safe if you say that the past twenty seconds just never happened.
And that’s where the band falls apart into giggles and familial teasing. You can tell that the foursome have spent some serious quality time together and have plenty of fun doing what they love to do. Catch them at a live show, and you’ll find that same energy. Their latest album Control is all about letting each band member shine while displaying trademark four-part harmonies and interchangeable instrumentation. Their beats and melodies are perfect for a big stage, their synth sensibilities striking perfect balance with their folk-pop roots. Their touring continues into the fall, so be sure to catch up with them if you can.
Find tour dates here.
Interview by Stephanie Dore
Photo by Sunny Martini
