What’s Making Milwaukee Famous?

Everyone has their own interpretation of what it means to “make it.” A doctor may consider his thriving practice making it. A recovering alcoholic may consider another sober day making it. A desperate frat boy may consider his first consensual sex – well, making it.  

In the music industry, success for some may be a disappointment for others. It is all relative. From the garage to the main-stage there are risks, setbacks and sacrifices, all of which keep the majority of bands from ever basking in the limelight. On second thought, is a spot in the limelight proof of having truly made it? I guess it’s up for interpretation.

What Made Milwaukee Famous is a band you likely haven’t heard – yet.  Austin, Texas loves them, as an adoring hometown should. The rest of us are oblivious to the fact that we too will be tapping along to one of WMMF’s songs sometime in the near future. The Indie Pop band’s debut album, Trying To Never Catch Up, is a concoction of the most unlikely musical tastes. The sound is impressively agreeable, taking the listener only a comfortable distance from their regular nightcap of choice.

While the formula for success has yet to be written, Michael Kingcaid and his bandmates intend to write their own chapter explaining it’s meaning amongst the Indies – just after they pay the rent.

What Made Milwaukee Famous’ lead singer, Michael Kingcaid, spoke with SurfShot about life, the band, and anything else he has time to squeeze in between the two.

Let’s hear the rundown on how you guys came together?
About four and a half years ago I placed an ad, a series of ads, in the Austin Chronicle. I’d been looking for a drummer or bass player, being that they’re always the hardest to find. As it turned out I met our keyboard player, Drew. We then met our bassist, John, a little later, and much later Jeremy, our new drummer – we’ve changed since. Luckily, John and Jeremy worked at a sandwich shop together a while back. Jeremy is an amazing drummer who we had our eyes on at the time. That’s how we ended up with our current lineup.
So, the four of you have been together for how long?
Since November of 2005.
Besides sandwich shops, what was everyone doing for work prior to the fulltime commitment to the band?
John was a jeweler in San Diego for a while. Drew did some work with production for various conferences. Jeremy worked as a chef at the time. I worked with industrial keyboards for about five years. As of a year ago we all put our asses on the line and made the band our main focus. We’re still gonna need some part time work to make ends meet, but our focus is definitely the band.
I read that you pressed around 3,000 copies of your LP on your own before signing with Barsuk Records. What went into making that signing happen?
At least 1,000 of those were sent out to magazines, radio stations and labels to try and get reviews and conjure up some type of buzz. So, we really only sold 2,500 on our own. Austin is a really great city for music, there’s some great karma here for bands that are trying to make something happen. Then we have our management – once you have other people helping, you no longer have to deal with working three different jobs at once.
Your Web site reads that your lyrics are “un-understandable.”  I’ve still got to go there…What exactly are you trying to never catch up from?
It actually came from running with my wife, who is a good deal shorter than me. Basically, she lags and I feel like she’s always “trying to never catch up” (laughter). As far as music goes - there’s so many great things that have happened in music over the last 50 years. A lot of the stuff these days is only rehashing music from the past. I really believe in Radiohead, who’s pushing the forefront as far as making real music that hasn’t been created before. Our music is basically an amalgamation of all the different styles that each of us come from. This includes backgrounds in punk, indie, brit-pop, jazz and latin. My new favorite CDs these days are anywhere from four to 20 years old. My favorite right now is Talk Talk’s album, Spirit of Eden, and I just stumbled on it. I really wish I’d grown up knowing that I should be at a Cure concert. I listened to it and I liked it, but if you don’t go and see it right then, you miss it. If you don’t see it in the moment, ya’ know? If you blink you’re missing all these great moments in music, but you can always go revisit them in albums. Basically, I think that there’s plenty out there to absorb. You take what you like and put it out there in the form or fashion you’d like to present it in.
I’ve read you have a variety of eclectic influences, everything from the Faint to The Shins?  Tell me about that.
I love The Faint. They’re one of my top five concerts, definitely one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Wow, I didn’t cry like I did when I went to the Radiohead concert, but it was just amazing. They have a sound of their own, I love The Faint… I think they’re amazing.
What causes you to sit down and write lyrics?  Life experiences? Your mood?
Lyrics are actually the hardest part for me because I’m really meticulous about it. I want to say exactly what I want and how I want. Lyrically, I want to try everything once, ‘cause I know I don’t have the formula down. I don’t want to rush things. I want to get them out exactly how I hear them in my mind. I take a little bit from things I’ve experienced, things other people have experienced, and try to put them into something I feel people can relate to on a regular basis. There’s got to be some kind of connection, something for the listener.
Having recently been signed, there’s going to be endless touring. Any pre-show band rituals or is it every man for himself?
Mine is whiskey, I think Jeremy’s pretty much is too. We don’t do the whole Madonna type huddle or say any prayers or anything like that. For the most part, just a couple drinks to loosen up. After sitting in the van for eight hours, you just want to get out, do a sound check and get away from the road.  
What does road trip music consist of?
I can’t stop listening to the Marc Lanegan band lately. We’re pretty good about switching up music we all like so that it doesn’t get on anybody’s nerves.
What’s the biggest difference between last year’s show at the Austin City Limits and now?
First off, the crowd started out at the same size it ended with last year, which was great.  Last year was a whirlwind with interviews and studio recordings. This year it was definitely the heat! I swear man, you just can’t win in Texas. We all must’ve sweat out ten pounds.
What’s the biggest challenge, or thing that frustrates you most in this industry as far as trying to gain recognition?
Well, the biggest challenge now is the cutthroat competition and deciding which of all the new technology is best used to get heard. The virtual world that we’re in these days is only going to help bands out. There are a million bands out there that are dying to be heard. I’m pretty happy now, but if you’d caught me a year ago you’d be hearing a different story. We had to slave away just to get heard before our signing with Barsuk.
How about days off, what do you do with yourself?
We don’t get too many days off.  I like to run occasionally, but my biggest thing is trying to record and write more songs. With everything that’s going on it’s really hard to make time for that. Since the album just came out in August, we’ve got a lot of people to reach out there who haven’t heard it yet even though we’ve been playing some of these songs for two years. We really haven’t had a lot of time to sit down and record.
What are you most looking forward to in the coming year?
Well,… hopefully some money would be nice. I don’t want to sound like I’m money hungry.  To get the album out there, I mean – for so long it’s been in only a few record stores.  Now we seem to be everywhere. With any luck we can hopefully get a licensing deal so that people can maybe hear it on a TV show or a commercial ‘cause that seems to be where things really explode.  From there we’ll have to get out there and play some more shows.
So you wouldn’t object to being a part of the next Garden State-esque soundtrack?
Haha, yeah exactly. Just last night I read something about how some of these bands are turning down Hummer commercials. But then last night it occurred to me that you could always take the commercial and give it all to charity…maybe get some good press?  I just think it’s a great time right now, I mean The Walkmen were just on a Volkswagon commercial. All these Indie bands are being offered these nice licensing deals, but then again I wouldn’t want to be on a Hummer commercial either. But hey, I guess it all depends on what they pay.
As a musician, what’s your personal definition of success?
Well, it’s varied over the years.  Back in the day you always wanted to be Michael Jackson, or at least I did… for a few years when I was 10 to 12.  Now it’d be to make a decent living playing music. Something to pay the bills and put a little money away all while doing what you love as opposed to sitting behind a desk. If you can make a life out of doing something you love, then you’re doing pretty well. There are so many people out there who are doing things they don’t love. I think that affects our life expectancy ‘cause work is always going to be work, but if you love what you’re doing it’s no longer work.