The Milestones are bringing Frederick to Baltimore. And it’s happening this Friday. Silent Old Mtns. Cheshi. The Milestones. And some band called DoubleMotorcycle. They’re all taking the Ottobar stage for your entertainment. You can get your tickets here. The idea for a sort of traveling Frederick revue was hatched by The Milestones, so we thought we’d catch up with singer/guitarist Chris Metz about if they plan to do it again at some point, the greatness of the Ottobar and the new music on which they’ve been working.
So, how did the idea come about to take a group of Frederick bands and try to do a show in Baltimore?
I’ve always thought it’d be great to get a bill that was solely composed of Frederick artists up here in Charm City. The timing was right for a date at one of our favorite venues, the Ottobar, and some of my favorite Frederick artists were enthusiastic about the idea. In the past, I’ve tried incorporating at least one Frederick-based band on bills I set up in D.C. or Baltimore and decided to fill this one with nothing but Frederick!
Along those lines, how did the Ottobar get involved? Was this something you guys had in mind a while ago, or did it just come down to you had a night at the Ottobar and decided to spread it up to Frederick and give Frederick bands some love?
The Ottobar and Craig Boarman have always been so supportive of the city’s bands and actually hosted our first big show upon moving from Frederick to Baltimore some three years ago. A few factors led us to deciding to go with the Ottobar for this show with this cast and for those who have never been, we hope that you’re able to appreciate a venue that we’ve grown to love over the years. I’ve certainly been talking about this type of show for a while — highlighting some of the best work from Frederick on a proper stage, with a good sound system, in a larger room, etc. Honestly, I have a great time booking shows with bands that I enjoy watching/listening to and this will be no different!
You guys just finished recording an album, right? How did that go and how was it working with Kenny Eaton?
I wish! We started recording a few songs earlier this summer and are set to finish them in January with Kenny at Mystery Ton Studios. It’s always good times when we get in the studio with Mr. E-Ton. Our buddy JT Thompson has been documenting the process, so we’ll release visual media of our time there, too, when it’s all said and done.
When can we expect to hear new music from The Milestones and how does 2018 look for you guys?
Given the nature of finishing a few songs with Kenny in January, we hope to finish tracking, mixing, mastering and get another EP out on all of the platforms and pressed for you in early 2018. As of late, The Milestones have shifted in the nature of how the group is constructed and operates. The group was formed by myself and Alex Wandres in 2014, as we both brought songs that we wrote individually on guitar with vocals. We started co-writing songs together, and then we added original members Tad Achey and Ian Larkin on bass. Since then, we’ve rotated a considerable amount of other members for various reasons and have decided to go back to basics as a duo of Alex and myself at the core. For this show, we’ll have John Love on drums and Tyler Hayes on bass — a familiar lineup that we used for most 2015-2016. But don’t be surprised if you see other musicians filling in for shows down the road in 2018. Otherwise, we’ll be debuting three new songs at Ottobar on Friday and hope to record a few more before the end of the year with intentions to release them all!
Finally, is this something you hope to do occasionally every now and then — grab a group of Frederick bands and get them to other cities as a sort of traveling revue? If so, where else would you like to go and when?
Absolutely! Utilizing Baltimore and Washington, D.C. first and foremost, as they’re only an hour away and have good venues at which we’ve established ourselves. A crucial part of this formula is getting Frederick-folk to make the trip to come out and support their own artists in these other cities at bigger venues! If Ottobar is a success, I’d love to set up another show later this year. Our support in Frederick is so great and I hope to do the same for Baltimore artists, by setting up a “Baltimore’s night out in Frederick” concept show in town. Otherwise, NYC, Philadelphia, and Richmond aren’t very far at all from Baltimore/Frederick, so I could see this type of bill traveling to venues in those cities very easily!
