Chicago's local indie rockers, Modern Dairy have been busy making rounds at Chicago's venues and releasing new music, including their EP, "Scream Down the Stairs". I got the chance to meet up with the band to talk about music, inspirations, and more!
UC: Hey guys! So glad to be finally able to interview you! If you want, start by introducing yourselves? For the people who may not know Modern Dairy of course.
Pat: I’m Pat Sullivan, and I’m the drummer for the band. This is my brother Robert, or Bobby and he plays guitar.
Geoff: Hey so I’m Geoff and I sing and also play guitar for the band.
Levi: And I’m Levi O’Brien and I play bass.
UC: I also wanted to ask where you guys got the name Modern Dairy? Is there an origin story behind it?
Pat: It actually came from a milk carton. Y’know we were going insane, struggling with a name for the band, and we saw this milk carton one day that said “Modern Dairy” and we went “that’s it” and we went with it. We actually still have it with us too.
UC: Yeah it was actually one of the first things that stuck out to me, I was like, woah Modern Dairy’s a cool name, I wonder what they’re about.
UC: Now, were there any influences by other musicians that you looked up to that made you want to start a band? Like, “Oh I want to be in a band just like them.”
Bobby: I think I might have to say Wilco.
Geoff: Yes, Wilco's definitely a big one. I think my biggest inspirations are like The Beatles and Modest Mouse. And, I think some people can see like The Beatles, and then it just breaks down into its own separate genres.
UC: Ooh yes, I definitely hear Modest Mouse when I listen to your music, and it’s something I personally love about it.
Geoff: Thank you!
UC: I really adore your latest EP Scream Down the Stairs with my favorite song being “In The Keys”. How do you think it differs from your debut EP C’mere Demon, and can you tell how it does?
Geoff: I think you can. Well for Scream Down the Stairs was when we actually got Levi in the band. We didn’t really have that on our first EP we were kind of just going along with it as far as bass goes saying like “Oh yeah that sounds good.” So with C’mere Demon that was like 25% of our band that hadn’t been there yet. The two also differ in the way they sound, y’know with C’mere Demon it’s a lot more fast-paced compared to Scream Down the Stairs, an EP that’s a lot more slowed down.
Bobby: And I personally think that Levi sort of consolidated us as a band. At least that’s what it feels like. We felt like more together as a band, more complete.
UC: So what I’m piecing together is that Levi is practically the glue that keeps y’all together?
Geoff/Bobby: Exactly.
UC: For those who may not know you guys, maybe they’ve just heard of you, is there something you hope they take away from your music as they get introduced to it? A feeling you hope to invoke in them maybe?
Bobby: Wow, that's actually a great question.
Pat: I mean to me, I see our music as fun and upbeat and personally, I think that’s what I want people to take away from us. I can’t really say much lyrically because I’m the only non-songwriter at the moment. That’s more Geoff’s thing, but I think that’s what I’d say.
Geoff: I think lyrically, we want to make music for everyone. I mean, the songs are still personal to us, but we still like to keep it general. We want everyone to enjoy the music but also, be able to relate to it. Not to make it more marketable or anything, but to have something for everyone.
UC: So to keep it personal, but also have it be common so that everyone can listen and relate to it a little themselves?
Geoff: Absolutely.
UC: Is there a song you’d recommend to people? Like, “hey this is the song you need to listen to get into Modern Dairy?”
Geoff: I think I would say “Robert’s Beetle”
Bobby: I was going to say that too, but I was also thinking like maybe “Coffee for Breakfast.”
Pat: Oh yeah both of those are awesome songs. I mean personally, I’d go with “Robert’s Beetle” a little more maybe because of the way it sounds. It sounds a little cleaner? I don’t know.
UC: I love the visuals for the covers of your songs, and they’re one of the most creative I’ve seen yet! What tends to spark the ideas for them? Can you describe your creative process?
Geoff: I think for our first EP C’mere Demon it was a photo we had taken on a camera, but it was an outtake that actually came out pretty cool so with some editing in Photoshop and stuff we got that. With Scream Down the Stairs, we worked with a designer, and she had sent us like 20 different options and from there, we kind of just picked out the vibe.
UC: Was there a song on Scream Down the Stairs that took a little more time than others when in the studio? What was the easiest/difficult to have first?
Pat: I think the one we’ve had the least thought about was “Talkin’ To the TV”, because that one we had actually recorded live. I don’t know if that really answers your question, but I think that would be categorized as the easiest. It was more or less the one where we didn’t have to overthink too much because it wasn’t something we recorded over a multi-track or anything like that.
Levi: And for me, I had everything laid out. I kind of went in there and almost everything was done, it fell in my hands with recording bass, but the easiest part was that they knew exactly how they wanted it to sound like. So I just went in there, and they told me, “Hey, can you play this part like this and then do that.” It was still so much fun though.
UC: I remember Geoff saying earlier that while your songs can be very personal you’re trying to keep it common to everyone/relatable to everyone. Would you say your music is still a reflection of your real-life experiences or is there somewhere else you gather inspiration from?
Geoff: I mean yes, but I feel like it’s something we’re slowly veering away from. I mean I feel like at this point I’ve told all the life stories I can through songs. I also try to gather stories from like movies because I’m also a film editor on top of it all. So finding stories through music is something that I try to find inspiration from.
UC: As a fairly new up-and-coming band, what is an accomplishment you’re most proud of?
Bobby: I think, for me, at least, it’s all the shows we’ve played.
Geoff: Yeah me too you know, and it’s been really nice and insane how many friends we’ve made so far even though we’re still fairly new. The acceptance we’ve gotten as a band with these venues just opening up and taking us in is wild. I mean, it could be because the world’s been without concerts for two years, so every venue just goes “Hey, we’ll take you for a show.” But it has been wild.
UC: And finally do you have any goals for this year? What can we expect from you this year?
Bobby: Well I mean Levi had said earlier that we actually have like the next few months set for us recording wise, which is something we’re really excited about. But also, I really want to get on tour at some point.
Pat: Yeah a tour would definitely be cool and is something we definitely want to plan on doing someday.
Published on theundercurrentzine.com
