The Backline Podcast

Elitists, gatekeepers, a$$ kissers, etc…in music?In any aspect of life, you will find there are people who adopt the “holier than thou,” or “end all, be all” mindset. Is it ego driven? Some sort of complex? What may it be? To each their own I guess.We are never really sure where this comes from or why they feel this entitlement, but for some reason, it happens - including in the music scene.*DISCLAIMER*These are our opinions and views based off of our experiences and journey.Tune in to hear all about OUR (saying it louder for those in the back) thoughts and experiences on dealing with these kinds of people. (skip to 12:02 where the episode ACTUALLY starts so you don’t have to listen to our “Spotify Wrapped” thoughts in the first part of the episode.)This was a difficult episode to keep “short,” but we managed, even though this topic could’ve been discussed for much longer.In this episode, we often reference our most popular episode, Episode 13, so we have linked it below to be easily accessed:*Paid Subs: You are in for a treat. We will be reading an Elitist’s review of one of our albums/releases, and getting our live reaction to his comments! Oh, and the person whom will be reading it to you has NEVER read the full review before.*As always, you can find our podcast on Substack, as well as YouTube, being our main platforms! Our episodes are also distributed to many other sites.Thanks for listening, and Happy Holidays to all of you! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mile134official.substack.com/subscribe

Gear - every musician loves talking about gear.Can you have too much gear?Can you use cheap gear?Do you need top of the line gear?We’ve had it all - everything from gear that was passed along to us, gear that was stolen, sacred gear that was destroyed in a house fire, and even some brand new gear that we were able to purchase. Tune in to hear us talk about our gear preferences throughout the years, and even the gear we use to record the podcast!We’ve even got an ENTIRE section(& multiple readings) in our Substack dedicated to GEAR - see below:Mile 134 Official is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mile134official.substack.com/subscribe

As many of you know, we are done for 2024 as far as live shows go.Tune in to hear our favorite shows we played in 2024, why we are calling it a year, what’s happening during our hiatus, and what the future holds!Mile 134 Official is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mile134official.substack.com/subscribe

When people ask what we sound like, this is the release we tell them to check out.Full fledged aggression and angst, this release is, in our opinion, our BEST. The emotion captured in our “Double-Single” release is what makes us so proud of it.The release features a song that first got radio play, the show that got us into Summerfest, and an odd riff that was inspired by J-Lo and is also our toughest critics’ favorite song. We experimented with even lower tunings, guitar vocals, and a baritone guitar. The artwork that was 100% DIY earned a tattoo, and portrayed the album vibe and atmosphere so well.Tune in to listen to why we were so proud of this release and continue to brand it as our favorite to this day.Other content about this release:Mile 134 Official is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mile134official.substack.com/subscribe

Raw, simple, slightly aggressive, with a hint of angst…Micromanager was the first release as an OFFICIAL 2-piece, as many of the songs off the previous album were written with a third member in mind for ideas.The release contained some darkness, as it was our first endeavor after the traumatic experiences that took place during the Sinner-era.Tune in to hear all about it!AND Read on below for our previous writings on the song meanings, EXCLUSIVE LIVE video, and more! One of our only series of writings that spanned over 3 Substack Releases! EXCLUSIVE BEHIND THE SCENES CLIP This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mile134official.substack.com/subscribe

Tune in to hear us talk about the inspiration behind our first songs EVER written! These songs are no longer distributed anywhere - we had them all removed! We talk about how the songs came to be, the meaning behind the songs, the members of Mile 134 at the time, and more about the early stages of the band.We hit on this topic earlier in “Our Story” segment:And our Paid Subscribers got to hear one of our “forbidden” songs one last time: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mile134official.substack.com/subscribe

Playing covers was how we got our start and got our name out there. We started finding covers we like and implementing those into our sets to see what we could get away with. We started getting recognized for our variety and cover choices - this “curse” has since haunted us.We get asked to play many shows, and we have to clarify, “Do you want originals, covers, both, or unplugged?” Yeah, we offer a lot of “customization” which has been a great and terrible thing.At times, learning covers and practicing them for shows has taken the “fun” and creativity out of our music, and in turn, has delayed our writing processes and releasing new tunes. We’ve also experience burnout from playing immense amount of 4-hour cover shows every weekend - sometimes twice a weekend. However, there are definitely some benefits ($$$, exposure, and so on) from playing covers. Tune in to hear our thoughts on cover shows!Find our Podcast on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, and many more podcast hosting/distributing sites!Consider becoming a PAID subscriber! This includes special gear close ups, behind the scenes footage, lost songs that were never release, embarrassing photos/videos, and more! Your contribution goes 100% towards the band and our continuing journey!*Revised Episode content in order to be included on other streaming platforms* This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mile134official.substack.com/subscribe

We talk about our favorite parts about music, Ryley gives us an insight on acting versus playing live shows, our favorite bass players (yes, we do like bass players!), and more.Ryley occasionally joins us for a song or two during our sets, but tune in to hear his FULL show experience - from load in to load out - of what it’s like to play with Mile 134!This will NOT be the last time Ryley is on the podcast! We are hoping to get him lined up for future episodes. Trust us, we’ve got plenty we can talk about.You can catch Ryley playing live on Saturday, June 17th, in Darlington, WI at Booby’s Bar.*Pre-Podcast recording shenanigans. Intense game of Wii Decca Sports 2 - a game we did not know existed. It was an $8 garage sale find. Game review in podcast…we do not recommend.* This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mile134official.substack.com/subscribe