Miles is an indie rock quartet whose name has equal amounts to do with the iconic trumpeter as it does with the distance they’ve all traveled in the name of playing music. Based out of Brooklyn, NY, the band is a relatively new outfit made up of longtime and extremely accomplished musicians. With a lot of DIY work ethic and a bit of industry insight (gained while interning at a prominent record label), Miles is on the fast track to success. We had the chance to get some insight into the band and how it’s evolved from singer/guitarist/sax player extraordinaire Marc Plotkin.
When/How did you first start playing music?
The four of us were all playing individually for a long time, both in bands and as personal study/art. We came together in sections. Ben Jacobs (Bass) and I grew up in the same town and played together in the high school jazz band. We started hanging out playing some songs and I was starting to write. To start, we just splayed with other musicians we knew in our suburban Jersey town. We kept it up all through college and when we moved to NYC Ben met Jon Smith (Drums) when they were both working as engineers at Avatar Studios. I was looking for sax gigs and came across a Craigslist ad posted by Adam Ahuja (Keys) and we played jazz/hip hop together in another band before I invited him to play with Miles. Then, we all came together and rock occurred.
What's the best gig you ever played?
Back in 2008, in a slightly different incarnation of Miles, we opened for Afroman (yes..."cause I got high") at Williams College. It was also a toga party. It was also in a giant tent. It was ridiculous. We thought we wouldn't fit in but it turned out to be our best show with 500+ people loving our music and creating a huge dance party. We played for about an hour and a half and then when Afroman came on, the cops shut him down after twenty minutes...for various reasons.
How has social media effected the way you market/promote your music?
It hasn't just affected it; it's completely taken it over. When Ben and I started out in bands in the 'burbs, we were still printing flyers out to put up at the deli. That was the best way since there weren't "Facebook Events" yet. Now EVERYTHING is thankfully digital. All our press has come from music blogs and internet radio stations. We get the word out about every show via Twitter/Facebook, and most people have heard our album from the streaming version on Bandcamp. The CDs being printed are almost more for us to be able to hold all our work at the end of the day. In some ways, the technology has made it harder since there are more people in the room that you have to stand out from, but other than that it's given us a million more chances than we would've otherwise had for people to hear us.
What's your prediction for the next big advancement in how we find/listen to/share music?
I think the obvious next big shift is the end of people feeling the need to own their music collection. It scares me a bit to say it but it's true. With mobile streaming services working even without wifi/cell service (Spotify, Rdio, etc.) I really don't feel the need to take up hard drive space with mp3's anymore. I still like being a collector, but I think the average listener will just think of something, do a search and stream it without ever getting to the point of wanting to buy the actual file.
What's your next big gig coming up? When/Where?
The next show we're excited for is on Saturday, Sept. 25th at McCarthy's (which turns into "Live 104" at night) in Hoboken, NJ. It's going to be really cool because we're playing a set (chock full of new songs!) while a good friend of ours, Eric Neuman is putting on an art exhibition of his new work in the same room. Blending indie rock with vector graphic art should be a great time! I'll also mention we booked it via this thing called Sonicbids, you guys should check it out.
Check out more on Miles here.
