Hi, everyone! A while back, I had the privilege to talk with lead singer Miranda Winters and drummer James Wetzel of the Chicago-based noise rock band Melkbelly. The band began in the Chicago suburbs in 2013. Along with Miranda, her brother, Liam, and husband, Bart, are both members of the group. The quartet enjoyed success with some 7-inch singles, but the créme de la créme is their debut record, Nothing Valley. It was released two years, but I really enjoyed it. As a result, Melkbelly secured a spot on last year's Pitchfork Music Festival lineup, and an opening gig for Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field. I think they have a great sound, and a very bright future ahead them. Winters and the gang just finished up touring in November, and I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to discuss their blossoming music career.
bazzreviews: Which artists or albums had an influence for you to start a music career?
James Wetzel: I’ll list them in a stream of consciousness. Red Hot Chili Peppers were big for me in middle school, and I was a big Aphex Twin nerd in high school. I got into Sun Ra when I was in college, and he’s got a pretty prolific discography.
Miranda Winters: I guess when I was really young, I liked music that was less mainstream and more noisy. I’m from Providence, RI, it’s a small city but it has a huge arts scene. I really wanted to make music because of all of the live performances I saw when I was a teen.
br: Did you guys both have aspirations of having a music career in the first place or did you guys have other plans?
M.W.: I’ve always known that I wanted to be a musician. Music is always going to be in my life in some capacity, and if it weren’t, I’d probably explode.
J.W.: I didn’t have any distinct plans to become a musician, but I had always been playing music growing up. Without music, I’d be a very unhealthy person. I can’t remember a time in my life where I wasn’t dedicated to an instrument. In high school, I did jazz band and drum line simultaneously, and became I realized that this was what I wanted to do.
br: I heard that both your brother and your husband are involved with Melkbelly. How did they become involved with the band?
M.W.: Bart and I met in the first place to play music. We were a duo beforehand, and then we decided to shake it up and do something a little fuller. We always say we had a practice space, and we needed someone to share it with. That’s how James first came into the picture. Liam wasn’t really doing anything, so we got him to play the bass. We both grew up playing guitar, so I figured he would be the best addition to our band.
br: Can you guys explain the significance behind the band’s name?
J.W.: It’s ballet slang. I remember this one dude asking us our band name, and I said “Melkbelly”. The way he responded and repeated our name felt so satisfying. From that point on, it’s been just a much more pleasing name to say. It is kind of charming, but also slightly unsettling.
M.W.: Yeah, but it was one of those situations where we were just throwing names around. No one thought it would stick, but it did!
br: James, being the only non-family member, would you say that you’ve become part of a “family”?
J.W.: Well, I moved away from Kansas City, where my whole family is. I’ve always been a family-oriented person, and once the four of us started playing, they filled a huge gap. Melkbelly has been a big chunk of my adult life, and they’ve been some of my closest friends. We all live in the same neighborhood and we watch Game of Thrones together. At this point, they’re a concrete part of my family network.
br: Can you guys describe the process of how you typically make a song?
M.W.: There’s a couple different ways. Sometimes, it’ll just be riffing a guitar line someone brings in. Other times, I’ll have a song almost written. We learn that song, dismantle it, and put it back together in a way that brings the entire group’s aesthetic together. I think coming to terms that we don’t have to use every song we write is what we need to work on.
J.W.: We’re in the process of writing another record right now. Lately, Miranda will come in with something fully formed or something that she’s played before. Like she said, we’ll work on it and then bring it to a stage where it sounds very much like all of us. It doesn’t always work because some songs don’t click right away. We’ve become more open-minded to doing whatever we feel is best.
br: What would you say is more important- lyricism or production style?
M.W.: Ooh, interesting. I would say they’re both equally ranked for our projects. If Bart were here, he would say lyricism. Production is much more of a group effort than anything.
J.W: I don’t know, I think Bart gets more obsessive about production technique. I really like that because I’m interested in it, too. I would still say they’re pretty equal. The lyrics are all Miranda, so it is kind of a hard question to answer.
br: Miranda, I saw that you have a degree in art education- was it you who drew the animated cover of Nothing Valley?
M.W.: No, I wish. It’s actually a collaboration with a couple friends of ours.
br: Can you guys dive a little deeper into its significance?
J.W.: There’s an art studio in Chicago called Arts of Life, where artists who have developmental disabilities can go and make art. There’s one guy who works there, Dave Krueger, that makes repetitive line drawings and crazy faces. He collaborates with a comic book artists named Ben Marcus. We were talking about the artwork after the album had been written, and a friend of mine told me to check their work out. I ended up being really impressed with what they were doing. We asked them to do something, and they came up with pretty quick.
br: I read a really great article from Reader Chicago that called Melkbelly “Chicago’s most exciting rock band”. What kind of emotions were you feeling after reading the article?
M.W.: Generally, I don’t read stuff about our band. [Kevin Warwick] is a great interviewer, but a title like that makes you say, “oh, s--t, what?” It makes me feel like I have to live up to this name now. At the same time, it does make you feel pretty good and makes you want to keep making new stuff.
J.W.: I thought it was a really good interview, so I was feeling pretty good about it. The title is pretty much clickbait, though.
br: What are some song recommendations you would give to people who want to check out Melkbelly?
M.W.: Oh, s--t. “Kid Kreative” and “R.O.R.O.B”. “Middle Of”, but probably only at a live show. I can’t forget “Off the Lot”, either.
br: What music goals does Melkbelly have for the future?
M.W.: We’re finishing a record in a couple weeks, so that’s on our mind. I’d really like to get back to Europe in 2020, too.
J.W.: Yeah, I’d love to play at Primavera (in Barcelona, Spain). Europe is a great place, the people there are so nice. However, our recording process has been a little slow, but I’d really like to get back into the swing of things. I haven’t been practicing as much as I should be. I think Bart would probably say that we should put out some tapes, but that’s probably it.
Thanks so much to Miranda and James of Melkbelly for giving up some time for an interview! I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. Make sure you're on the lookout for their next record, and I hope you guys give them a listen! Thanks again for tuning in, and more great content is coming your way soon!
To hear some of Melbelly's tunes, go to https://melkbelly.bandcamp.com/
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