The Median Man sat down to speak with Miles from Miles and the Chain Gang
The Median Man sat down to speak with Miles from Miles and the Chain Gang
GANG
What inspired the name of the band and what are your influences?
I’m Miles. I write the songs and front the band. But it’s not just a solo project and I wanted the name to reflect that. It’s like Eddie and The Hot Rods, Martha and The Vandellas, Florence and The Machine. Also The Chain Gang is a reference to Sam Cooke and The Pretenders – they both had songs about The Chain Gang. Being in a band is a bit like being in a gang.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
It’s not so much themes as atmospheres. You’re evoking a mood, and doing that in the quickest way you can. I usually start with a feeling or a line, an idea. Then it grows from there. For me, it’s often words, but sometimes the music and words come together very quickly. I write poetry so I try to write lyrics that are interesting, or at least not too cliched. When I was younger I wrote quite cliched words, now I try to avoid that. ‘Make It New’, Ezra Pound said.
ATMOSPHERES
ATMOSPHERES
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
It’s not so much themes as atmospheres. You’re evoking a mood, and doing that in the quickest way you can. I usually start with a feeling or a line, an idea. Then it grows from there. For me, it’s often words, but sometimes the music and words come together very quickly. I write poetry so I try to write lyrics that are interesting, or at least not too cliched. When I was younger I wrote quite cliched words, now I try to avoid that. ‘Make It New’, Ezra Pound said.
LAUGH
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
To have a laugh. To express something – joy, sadness, whatever. To inject a bit of poetry into the world. The influences are usually things that you hear early in your life. So I’m always banging on about early 80s pop music – a bit of swagger and big hooks. That’s what I grew up on.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
For gigs, we usually play the most emotive songs, or the ones that might get people moving. Upbeat songs count for a lot in gigs. But I also like to put in more soulful, introspective things at well. I want the set to be full of variety. We’re a long way from doing our best shows. We don’t do bad ones, but I think we have a lot more territory to explore. Billy (Hickling, drums) was in a theatrical percussion show called Stomp! and I would like to utilise some of that experience, and some of the poetry. Potentially, we could have a unique live show, but we haven’t got there yet.
EMOTIVE
EMOTIVE
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
For gigs, we usually play the most emotive songs, or the ones that might get people moving. Upbeat songs count for a lot in gigs. But I also like to put in more soulful, introspective things at well. I want the set to be full of variety. We’re a long way from doing our best shows. We don’t do bad ones, but I think we have a lot more territory to explore. Billy (Hickling, drums) was in a theatrical percussion show called Stomp! and I would like to utilise some of that experience, and some of the poetry. Potentially, we could have a unique live show, but we haven’t got there yet.
RECORDING
What plans do you have for the future?
We have been recording recently. An album would be good, but it won’t be out in 2020. Hopefully we will do another video soon. The first one clocked up 1000 views, so that was a good start. I’m keen to do more.