Exposed Vocals Interviews Tainted Milk
Tainted Milk started out with two long-time friends, William and Ivan getting together with a drum kit and a guitar in hand, and figuring out how to play music. They practiced on their own for years, and came together to write songs in 2013. During practice sessions, Will brought in a guitar riff, and Ivan came up with a drum beat. The songs organically came together, developing more and more with each jam session. Eventually, they got to the point where they were happy with the songs they had, and felt confident enough to play live shows. It was just drums and guitar – no bass player. Somewhat bare-bones, but they played plenty of open mic performances and a few small shows. Eventually, they met Paul, a bass player, by chance. Ivan had to leave for college, so Will was invited by Paul to play in his metal band. He did so, and eventually invited Paul to join up with Tainted Milk. The metal band ended up breaking up, and Ivan decided to take a break from college to focus on music & the band – something he felt passionate about.
So here we are today. Songs we’ve written have been refined, and new songs keep us feeling excited to rock out and show the world what we’ve got. We just finished recording our first official E.P., the “Leafblower E.P.”, and we’re aiming to release the whole thing by mid-April of 2016. Two singles are out and available for streaming on Soundcloud. Tainted Milk only aims to grow and get better, and better with time, writing and performing the songs that inspire them.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Tainted Milk: The two founding members of the band grew up in the east part of the SF Bay Area. Ivan, our drummer, moved to the States from Germany when he was about 5 years old. He met Will (guitar) in middle school, where they became fast friends. About 15 years later, they met up again to form a rock band. They both felt really passionate and obsessive about music and certain bands, so it was a no-brainer to try to make their own music. Also, it’s just FUN! Our bass player, Paul, joined up in 2015. He feels that same passion. We’ve bonded through a similar musical taste.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Tainted Milk: Oh boy, the name. It started off as “Tainted Milk Powder”. We only changed it to “Tainted Milk” last year. Honestly, we were on “Wikipedia” clicking random articles, looking for inspiration. We stumbled upon “Tainted Milk Powder”, and just that combination of words made us giggle somewhere deep inside. In real life – it’s actually tragic. It refers to the Chinese Milk Scandal, which was a horrible thing. We’re not laughing at the tragedy, we’re just laughing at the combination of words.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Tainted Milk: Online music sharing is cool. It allows for smaller bands to get themselves out there. We like to support the artists that we love by purchasing their CDs and merchandise, and we can only hope that other passionate fans out there do the same. We actually are giving away our first single, Nature vs. the Leafblower for free–streaming and as an mp3 download. This is simply so people can hear us and get into the song on their own time. The problem with “free” music is that it loses it’s value, which damages it’s reputation in the eyes of the people. It’s a balancing act to get it right.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Tainted Milk: Play lots of shows! Meet your fellow local bands. Make friends. Have FUN! Feel passionate about your songs, and that will come across to the audience. Get out there and kick some ass.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Tainted Milk: It comes from a place that flows. Our bass player and our guitar player both come up with riffs, ideas, and rough structures on their own time. We come together during our practice sessions and piece together the songs. Our drummer adds his take on the song, and sometimes guides it to an unexpected direction. We kind of let the song come to us, and guide it to a place that sounds cool, or a place that just makes sense.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Tainted Milk: We don’t have an official website just yet. We have a whole bunch of online platforms though, including Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, Bandpage, Instagram, ReverbNation, YouTube.
Reverbnation – https://www.reverbnation.com/taintedmilkpowder
Bandpage – https://www.bandpage.com/taintedmilk
Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/taintedmilk
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/taintedmilkpowder
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMvVo8-UpVD5ncRfRk726Dw
Instagram – @TaintedMilk11
Twitter – @TaintedMilk
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Tainted Milk: We’d be travelling! We all want to see the world and experience the different cultures out there. We’d also want to spend a good portion of it on renting out a recording studio in a really cool place so we can record an awesome album. The rest of it would go to good food, booze, party supplies, etc.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Tainted Milk: Playing live is probably the best thing. People really become a fan of your band when they see you live, and when they see you performing well.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Tainted Milk: Our first official recording, the “Leafblower E.P.” will be coming out by mid-April 2016. We’re really excited to have some good material out there. We also want to start working on our first album pretty soon. We have enough material for a full-length by this point. That’ll probably be ready some time in 2017.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Tainted Milk: We would be bummed out. Music is awesome. All of us love music, and a major part of our life is dedicated to it. We’d be going to concerts and festivals, and probably holding onto a mediocre, boring job and trying to finish school. Music is a way out.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Tainted Milk: It’s the passion we have that drives us to practice every day. We find inspiration in the music that we listen to. We all have jobs, 2/3rds of the band are going to school at the same time, but we find time every week to come together and practice and write music.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Tainted Milk: A lot of fun! Live shows, videos, recordings. We’re only just getting started. We hope fans will come out to the shows and listen to our songs. Just have fun!