Episode #333 – Milk Money

SLUG Mag Soundwaves

After 15 years as friends in various local bands, the members of Milk Money (Trevor Hale, Dan Fletcher, Drew Davenport and Byron Colindres) have finally put together the rock outfit they’d always wanted.

Milk Money represent a new iteration of music-making and expression for its members. “We had no expectations with this band,” says Hale. Fletcher explains how his songwriting aspirations have evolved over the years, influenced by his long-term friendships with his bandmates. The group has shifted from a focus on “very convicted lyrics” (with bands such as Cherem) to more inward-looking songs with a “political backing and through a personal lens” with the band City to City. The next phase of this lyrical progression is Milk Money. “The undercurrent that music is a form of activism is still there, but it’s pushing even further into the abstract.”

The band does not have an end goal, and they hope their indirect approach to storytelling can resonate with any listener, regardless of background. Growing up in Utah, Fletcher raged against anything that felt western, perhaps in an attempt to distance himself from the tropes of the world around him. Now, he “reads a lot of cowboy paperback novels,” he says. This transformation parallels the maturation reflected in the group’s debut album, Reckon. The new songs use a fantastical Western backdrop to tell stories that purposefully abstract the felt emotions of the band. “Rattler” tells a story of a snakebite, while universally exploring the journey of a person that has been thrown off of life’s course. This setting of Reckon, and the metaphors within, have presented a new method for the members of Milk Money to craft vulnerable songs. More information about the band can be found on their website and their Facebook page. Reckon is available now on major streaming platforms.

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Thanks for listening to SLUG Mag Soundwaves.

• This podcast was created by SLUG Magazine and produced by Angela H. Brown, Parker Scott Mortensen
• Associate Producers: Alexander Ortega, Joshua Joye, John Ford, Bianca Velasquez, Connor Lockie
• Executive Producer: Angela H. Brown
• Music by Milk Money
• Soundwaves logo and art design by Nicholas Dowd
• Photo courtesy of Kesler Ottley (instagram.com/keslerbear).