ALBANY—A “fourth wave” of ska music has been brewing in the underground both nationwide and abroad for years; the big news is, one of the 518’s own bands—Niskayuna, NY, six-piece Millington—are one of the groups now at the forefront, leading the charge. Armed with a winning sonic fusion that the band calls “brass emo” and an insanely catchy new EP, Welcome Home, Millington is poised to be the next Capital Region mega-breakout artist, and right now they’re doing it almost entirely on their own.
Originating in 2018 as a solo recording project by singer/bassist Cody Okonski, Millington quickly grew to include guitarist Alex Maloy, drummer Nick Cavin (formerly with local faves Young Culture), and a world-class horn section featuring Chris Paul (trombone), Pat Foxton (saxophone) and Nathaniel McKeever (trumpet).
After a handful of early shows, the pandemic forced the embryonic band to focus on just recording, leading to several independent EPs and singles (notably the 2020 Beatdown Generation and Brass Emo, Vol. 1 EPs), before hitting the road again in earnest as of 2022. The band’s forthcoming hometown holiday show at Empire Underground on December 8 promises to be an epic evening, and possibly their last in the 518 for some time; America needs more brass emo, and Millington are about to deliver it.
With all six members of Millington huddled together, I recently chatted with the band from their practice and recording space in Niskayuna, to learn more about these new ska-punk saviors, and their 518 roots.
BRENDAN MANLEY: How did Millington get its start, and grow into a full band?
CODY OKONSKI: The short story is, I was out in California working for [producer] John Feldmann (guitarist/singer in Goldfinger and producer for Blink-182, The Used, Avril Lavigne and many more). I was an intern and I got really kind of homesick. I was in a ska band all through high school and I kind of wanted to get back to that…get back to my roots. So, when I came back (to the 518) I was all super juiced up on my recording knowledge from the big studio, and I did the first EP pretty much on my own, just in my basement. [We’ve made] all of our records here down in my basement, but now it’s a real studio.
CO: We were put on some playlists in the beginning, so we got this real boost with real numbers on Spotify and stuff like that, so I’m like, “It’d be kind of cool to make this more than just like a little recording project,” so I put together a band. That’s how it’s been going since then. There are some changes that have happened in that sense, but in a lot of ways it’s still the initial core, that’s branching out from the recordings that happen in the basement.
BM: Where does the band name Millington come from?
CO: If you’re familiar with Niskayuna, you know there’s a road called Millington Road, and that’s where we are currently. [band laughs] I mentioned how I went back to my roots and that’s exactly kind of what it was when I was coming back from California. It’s like that’s where I was going home to, and it’s kind of a cool word, too. I don’t know, it kind of sounds a little regal, and I just felt it doesn’t necessarily say what genre it is. It’s kind of like an, “Oh what’s that? I don’t know, let’s check it out.” It’s not like, Triple Funky Laser Blast Party or something, you know what I mean? [laughs]
PAT FOXTON (SAX): That’s the next record title. [all laugh]
BM: Cody, what was your time in California like, and working with John Feldmann? Life can be a lot more intense there than it is here in the 518.
CO: I was definitely walking on eggshells. It was definitely like working for a higher being. Whether I liked it or not, in my mind there was no way I could let this guy down, and I think he might have known that, too. Not that he really took advantage of it, but there was a couple of phone calls at 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. to help him out with something. Obviously, you’re not gonna say no. He’s not gonna fire you really, but you want him to like you, because that’s how all the opportunities come in.
BM: Has that experience crept into your songwriting?
CO: For sure. We’ve got that song “Hollywood,” and I wouldn’t say that it’s 100% about the guy I was working for, but more the whole essence of the thing. On some days I remember it and I’m super fond of it; on other days, I remember the grind and the LA lifestyle, and that definitely rubs me the wrong way sometimes.
BM: That being said, what’s your take on your hometown 518 scene, past, present, future?
NICK CAVIN (DRUMS): I’ve lived in Albany my whole life and have been in bands since college, pretty much. I play drums in too many bands probably, at times. But I’ve gotten to see the DIY scene and everything else, from playing at Northern Lights up in Clifton Park and everything in between there and then. I think now the scene is really strong, where we’re getting a lot of awesome, very talented bands coming up. Because a couple of years ago, there was a significant dip, where I’m like, “Who even do we have? Who do we play with in our hometown?” But now, there’s so many great bands. We have Everybody That Loves You and Canella on the show with us, and we are very excited to have them, because they’re phenomenal bands, and we love to support the scene in any way we can. That’s how we’re here in the first place.
BM: What else inspired the new Welcome Home EP and the process of creating it?
CO: It kind of started coming together during COVID. It’s definitely an emo album. The subject matter is not necessarily uplifting…basically what it was like during the time of COVID and being locked in the house and sort of like, building up walls and harping on the negative things that have happened in life, perhaps. It’s not a rock opera, by any means, but a lot of it comes back to this feeling of like, burning. That’s the reason there’s a burning house on the cover and there’s a song that has that in the title (“If You’re A Burning House, Then I’m The Doors That Lock From The Outside”): It’s sort of like getting rid of that feeling of being locked inside with your thoughts and over reflecting on negative aspects of life and stuff like that. That’s sort of the message of the actual title track, “Welcome Home,” as well.
CO: That being said, obviously the music’s sound—it’s not to the extent of Reel Big Fish—but the music sounds fun, and that’s a big part of it, too. We’ve got horns, we’ve got the ska thing going on. When we do a ska section, I don’t want it to sound necessarily like Reel Big Fish; I try my hardest to make it still sound serious, even though it’s in an upbeat ska section, and I think we accomplished that.
But it’s always a fine line with ska, because everyone’s like, “Oh you guys must be like those ska memes. You guys must be so happy or whatever, like the mozzarella stick meme.” But it was important for me and I think the band to have the ska sound and still branch out, and see how far we can maybe push it. I liken it to how Blink-182’s Enema of the State was a skate punk record, and then like two records later they had their Self-Titled album, which is definitely a departure, but still them. They had a sound, and they really pushed the boundaries of that.
BM: “Brass emo” is a fresh take on the ska-punk genre, and a timely one, at that. Who are your main influences?
CO: It probably won’t come as a surprise to you. If I list my influences, I would say Less Than Jake, Blink-182 and Green Day. The biggest sort of curveball in my personal influences is the Beach Boys, who are one of my very most favorite bands. That’s where my vocal harmony tastes are coming from. The guys all have a plethora of their own tastes, too.
BM: Millington is currently unsigned, and recording and releasing all your music independently. Are you shopping for labels at the moment?
CO: We’re not shopping, and certainly to this point in time we’ve gotten some offers here and there. There’s no hard stance against it; I think just the stars have to align. It’s kind of tough to be in the sort of midlevel band we’re at, because we’re not a world-famous band, but we’re also not just a local band; we’re a touring band. It’s tough, because originally labels kind of functioned as bank accounts, so that you could go and like record your record, and you’d get an advance. The way we make records, we don’t really need the advance and we have ways to promote it ourselves. It would have to just be a deal that I’m like, “Oh, you can take what we’re doing and bring it to the next level.” Then yeah, I’ll talk shop all day, you know what I mean? There’s no hard stance against it. I definitely don’t mind putting out our next record independently, but I also wouldn’t be opposed to having a partner for it.
BM: Would Millington also be open to working with a producer?
CO: We’ve actually kind of talked about it, like what if we did one song, you know what I mean? There’s been a couple of times where I think maybe due to hubris or whatever, there was one or two producers in the past that reached out via like DM whatever and I was like, “I do the songs. I record the songs. I write the songs.” But in hindsight, what if I give them a chance? It doesn’t have to be for a whole record. I think in the future I would certainly be open to that, if Nick was too.
BM: What else is coming up for Millington in the near future?
NC: We’ve got another Christmas seasonal song coming out very soon (“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” drops on 12/8), but then in terms of original stuff we’ll probably be working on something next year. We have a couple of offshoots of stuff…other things we’ve been working on, not in terms of a full-length album or anything, at the moment, but look for something in Q1 or Q2.
BM: What’s your touring schedule, looking into 2024?
PF: In terms of touring and stuff we have a ton of super exciting things that we’re already working on. That’s kind of where our focus is at: trying to get into different markets. We’ll be up in Canada next year. Hopefully we will be on the West Coast. We’ll be hitting a ton of different markets. We just got back from a run down to Fest in Gainesville, FL. We played down there with groups that have done the touring thing for quite a long time, so it was awesome to get down there with groups like Mustard Plug and Free Kick. We’ve got a lot of travel planned. I think this will be our fourth show in Albany this year at Empire Live and after that there will most likely be a little bit of a pause for a while before we’re back in Albany.
CO: We love playing Empire Live—don’t get us wrong—but just the way that things are lining up for next year, it will not necessarily allow us to play here every quarter. We might play there twice, or we might play there just once. It’s probably not going to be four times, just the way things are lining up.
BM: That one’s of several reasons why this upcoming show at Empire Underground on 12/8 looks like it’s going to be a special one. What can fans expect from this particular Millington set?
CO: It’s going to be our biggest set yet, actually, with a lot of songs that we’ve like [barely played]. We usually have similar sets, and that’s kind of maybe a deterrent for people to see us for the fourth time this year, however we’re playing so many different songs this time, that I am horrified. There are five songs we’ve never played before live, including holiday and Christmas songs.
BM: Speaking of: What’s the deal with all the Millington Christmas covers? On Friday, 12/8, you’ll drop another great pick, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”
CO: If you look at a song like “Snow Miser/Heat Miser,” I loved that song growing up and it has horns in it already. That was a really fun cover to do. I think a lot of people like sneaky kind of love that song, even if it’s not the cover that we did. That’s just a really fun tune, during a really fun time for a lot of people; not everyone, but for a lot of people.
NC: I think it hits that nostalgia.
CO: Yeah, that’s a good word.
PF: There’s also a fundraiser attached to it.
CO: Oh yeah, for the past couple of years, On the Upbeat is a ska podcast that’s been doing this Arose Such a Clatter compilation, that’s like a toys for tots drive, and they usually ask us to contribute. So, it kind of just works out that we’re probably working on a Christmas song anyway, and it gives me the fire to finish it and put it out, because it’s usually part of one of their compilations, as well.
BM: I’ve played in ska bands myself, and found it to be a unique dynamic, with this mixture of classically trained players and untrained punk rockers. Is there a similar vibe in Millington?
CHRIS PAUL (TROMBONE): For sure. I’m a freelance musician in the area; I do everything. I’m playing with the Albany Symphony one of these upcoming weekends and I do a lot of classical stuff, but this is also a fun lane to play in, too. I love this kind of stuff.
NATHANIEL MCKEEVER (TRUMPET): I went to Peabody [Institute] down in Baltimore and then came into the area to do a bunch of jazz stuff, as well as commercial music and weddings and such. It’s great to stretch your legs in a different direction.
PF: Then me, Nick and Cody all went to St. Rose. They went for music industry stuff, because they’re really good at it. I went for Music Ed. and I’m a school teacher in the area: I teach Band. We literally all have been classically trained. So I guess there is that background you talk about, because that’s just how it is. We were all taught to play in band in school, so it’s just gonna be that common denominator.
BM: That opens so many avenues as a player, but it also makes for tricky scheduling. What keeps you interested—as a pro musician—in playing ska, which at least on the surface appears to be a lesser-paying gig?
PF: I do jazz stuff, I do pop stuff, I do weddings and things like that, but as soon as I heard Millington for the first time, I was 100% in, because it’s completely unique and different than in my opinion a lot of the other ska bands, a lot of the other punk bands. It’s the perfect blend of everything, in my opinion, and being a horn player in the middle of it is the most fun thing.
Every single weekend I get to come play these shows, and it’s the most fun thing I’ve got going on in my life. It’s something I truly appreciate a ton. The guys, the six of us all work really hard at it, too. We’re unsigned to a label. Nick does all of our merch and our graphic design. Cody obviously mixes and produces everything. The other four Jamokes, we work hard too [laughs]. It’s all in-house stuff, so it’s pretty special.
CO: Pat books all our shows, too.
NM: Bringing original music, I think that’s huge, too. So many groups are doing covers more often than not, whether it be in the classical or jazz world, where you’re playing other people’s music that was written a long time ago. Having original stuff in the community I think is really important.
CP: Yeah, just as a player and as a musician. Just from again that band background, it’s very much like when Nathaniel said it’s based on pre-existing music, so it is so cool and refreshing to actually be a part of some process of making something original. Like, this is our song we made. We’re making this and playing it. It’s a cool thing.
BM: Another downside of playing ska: the dreaded packed van. What’s yours like?
NC: It’s tight, as long as it’s running. [laughs]
PF: Van life is both the best hours of my life and some of the worst hours of my life. I think post shows, there’s about a 45-minute zone where we are the best friends on the Earth, and then somebody has some stomach issues and then all of a sudden…it’s not good.
We’ve talked about it a lot. Nick obviously has been on tour a bunch (with his former band, Young Culture). But we love it. It’s so much fun to be on the road. We’re heading out after the Albany show on the 8th and we’re going out to Providence, driving there and driving back. We do a lot of shows where we’ll finish at 1:00 a.m. and drive back and land in Niskayuna at 4:30 in the morning and have work the next day, but I don’t think there’s a single one of us that hates it. It’s so much fun and when you’re not in the van, you miss the van.
NM: Ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome? [laughter]
###
Millington headlines Empire Underground in Albany on December 8, with special guests Another One Down!, Everybody That Loves You, and Canella. Tickets can be purchased online here.
For more Millington, see our live photo galleries from their recent shows at Empire Underground on June 16 and September 20!!
Millington – Empire Underground, Albany, NY – 9/20/23 (Photos by Abigayle Dybas)
Millington – Empire Underground, Albany, NY – 6/16/23 (Photos by Abigayle Dybas)
