Miko & The Musket

The New York City-based Miko and the Musket will showcase some Fairfield County high school graduates Tuesday night, July 31, at Westport's Levitt Pavilion.
The seven performers, who connected at New York University, will present their folk rock- and jazz-inspired music free at the concert series.
"There are three people up front all doing some intricate harmonies, backed by wonderful instrumentalists," said 26-year-old Lannon Killea, a 2004 graduate of Ridgefield High School. "We all come from different musical backgrounds, but we think we're making something unique."
Guitarist and songwriter Miko de Leon started the group with Killea and Philadelphia native Molly McAdoo.
A year and a half ago, percussionist Chris "Moses" Kinlow, a 2002 graduate of Danbury High School, lead guitarist Mike Steinmetz, a 2006 graduate of Danbury High, bassist Peter Longofono, who attended Danbury High for two years, and cellist Brandon Ellis joined.
"We think we can reach people with diverse musical interests (on July 31). It's a coming home of sorts," Killea said. "We're just really, really excited."
The website Deceptive Cadence reported that Miko and the Musket's "catchy hooks, evoking lyrics, and well-constructed three-part harmonies send a shiver up your spine and create goose bumps on your skin.
"Credit can be given to lead vocalist and guitarist Miko de Leon, who also serves as the group's main songwriter. But it's the entire ensemble fusing together in such a professional and thoughtful way that truly makes these songs exceptional."
Steinmetz credits the culture of the music and arts program at Danbury High School for nurturing the band members' dreams.
"The city has a heart behind it,'' Steinmetz said. "Everyone urges you to follow your dream. They say you can do whatever you want, if you work hard. For me, this band means I'm with people I used to spend a lot of time with in high school, so I'm uniting two parts of my life. It's awesome.''
The band got a boost after winning the World Cafe Live Philly Rising's Standout Performer for 2011. In January, the band released a debut EP, "The Georgia Sessions," through Eldest Only Productions in Atlanta.
Danbury High School graduate Brad Fisher owns Eldest Only Productions, which has an independent record label, too, and he played in the high school band with Kinlow and they attended Berklee College of Music together.
Fisher praised the musicians and the vocalists -- who trained at the Tisch School of Musical Theater at NYU -- for their professionalism.
"They are some of the best-trained singers I've ever worked with in the studio," he said. "In musical theater, you have to be perfect every night,'' and that's how they were trained.
"It's eclectic music with influences of folk music and jazz and even pop, rock and adult contemporary. It's very fun music. They come up with stuff that is incredibly unique."


Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Miko-and-Musket-at-Levitt-showcases-Fairfield-3732028.php#ixzz2O67AdTit - Connecticut Post

The New York City-based Miko and the Musket will showcase some Fairfield County high school graduates Tuesday night, July 31, at Westport's Levitt Pavilion.
The seven performers, who connected at New York University, will present their folk rock- and jazz-inspired music free at the concert series.
"There are three people up front all doing some intricate harmonies, backed by wonderful instrumentalists," said 26-year-old Lannon Killea, a 2004 graduate of Ridgefield High School. "We all come from different musical backgrounds, but we think we're making something unique."
Guitarist and songwriter Miko de Leon started the group with Killea and Philadelphia native Molly McAdoo.
A year and a half ago, percussionist Chris "Moses" Kinlow, a 2002 graduate of Danbury High School, lead guitarist Mike Steinmetz, a 2006 graduate of Danbury High, bassist Peter Longofono, who attended Danbury High for two years, and cellist Brandon Ellis joined.
"We think we can reach people with diverse musical interests (on July 31). It's a coming home of sorts," Killea said. "We're just really, really excited."
The website Deceptive Cadence reported that Miko and the Musket's "catchy hooks, evoking lyrics, and well-constructed three-part harmonies send a shiver up your spine and create goose bumps on your skin.
"Credit can be given to lead vocalist and guitarist Miko de Leon, who also serves as the group's main songwriter. But it's the entire ensemble fusing together in such a professional and thoughtful way that truly makes these songs exceptional."
Steinmetz credits the culture of the music and arts program at Danbury High School for nurturing the band members' dreams.
"The city has a heart behind it,'' Steinmetz said. "Everyone urges you to follow your dream. They say you can do whatever you want, if you work hard. For me, this band means I'm with people I used to spend a lot of time with in high school, so I'm uniting two parts of my life. It's awesome.''
The band got a boost after winning the World Cafe Live Philly Rising's Standout Performer for 2011. In January, the band released a debut EP, "The Georgia Sessions," through Eldest Only Productions in Atlanta.
Danbury High School graduate Brad Fisher owns Eldest Only Productions, which has an independent record label, too, and he played in the high school band with Kinlow and they attended Berklee College of Music together.
Fisher praised the musicians and the vocalists -- who trained at the Tisch School of Musical Theater at NYU -- for their professionalism.
"They are some of the best-trained singers I've ever worked with in the studio," he said. "In musical theater, you have to be perfect every night,'' and that's how they were trained.
"It's eclectic music with influences of folk music and jazz and even pop, rock and adult contemporary. It's very fun music. They come up with stuff that is incredibly unique."


Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Miko-and-Musket-at-Levitt-showcases-Fairfield-3732028.php#ixzz2O67AdTit - Connecticut Post

New York City pop/folk ensemble Miko & the Musket may have only been at the music game for a handful of months, but the groups exciting sound, enthusiasm, talent, and unfaltering drive has propelled them to career breaking-points and impressive achievements – including being awarded the World Cafe Live Philly Rising’s Standout Performer for 2011. Miko & the Musket serves up a beautiful blend of bluegrass, folk, indie, pop, and Americana, yielding 6 solid tracks on their debut EP, The Georgia Sessions.

M&TM’s catchy hooks, evoking lyrics, and well constructed three-part harmonies send a shiver up your spine and create goose bumps on your skin. Credit can be given to lead vocalist and guitarist Miko de Leon, who also serves as the groups main songwriter. But it’s the entire ensemble fusing together in such a professional and thoughtful way that truly makes these songs exceptional. Adding the intricate layers to the bands sound are Molly McAdoo (vocals), Lannon Killea (vocals), Mike Steinmetz (guitar), Chris Kinlow (percussion), Peter Longofono (bass guitar), and Brandon Ellis (cello).

Today we’re premiering Miko & the Musket’s “Uh Huh” – a radio ready hit that will undoubtedly have you bopping, singing, and swooning along! - The Deceptive Cadence

We sat down with Miko de Leon, creative force and frontman of the folk-rock band Miko and the Musket (who are currently tearing up the Lower East Side's underground music scene) in the restaurant where he spends his days slaving in the cramped basement office. The band started as a collaboration between de Leon and best friends Molly McAdoo and Lannon Killea and has grown to a regular band of balladeers, including an electric guitarist, a bassist, a cellist, a violist, and a drummer named Moses. Their first song, "The Hymnal," which you can see de Leon, McAdoo and Killea perform above, is bluesy and slightly haunting, while "Bright" (watch here) channels Amos Lee's soul with de Leon's own brand of hipster-friendly youthful optimism. Amid several interruptions (liquor deliveries and phone calls for reservations), here is what de Leon had to say.


AGE: 25

HOMETOWN: Portland

CURRENTLY RESIDES IN: New York

GENRE ASSIGNATION: I wouldn't quite call it bluegrass, just because I never grew up playing bluegrass. Probably a more accurate description would be folk. It's Americana-inspired music. There might be bluegrass flavors in there, but I don't know enough about bluegrass to say that that would be an applicable description. Folk rock would be the flavor that the band would be best affiliated with.

INFLUENCES: I grew up listening to a lot more acoustic pop kind of stuff. When I first started writing solo stuff I was listening to John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, but I grew older and my tastes matured. I really am into Amos Lee currently, Ray LaMontagne, old-school guys like Loudon Wainwright. And that's where I think I started gravitating towards the whole Americana feel. I think for me, [the appeal] is the storytelling. I love lyrics in songs—more than any aspect of music—and those guys especially have such a strong grasp of storytelling and communicating and using words in really great ways.

ON DECIDING NOT TO PURSUE A CAREER IN MUSICAL THEATER, WHICH HE STUDIED AT NYU: I think right after I graduated, I just knew that the acting business was not for me. I just didn't really have the guts for that particular art form. It's a really demanding field, and I don't think my passion for the arts was really in that department. And I had always loved singing and always loved music.

WERE YOU ALWAYS A SONGWRITER?: I started writing songs when I was in high school, more as a hobby. At that point in my life, I wasn't looking too far into the future, but when I graduated school, I started hanging out with more professional songwriters and musicians, and that community was so attractive to me, and I wanted so badly to be a part of that. And to find out that that career was a real possibility was exciting.

ON HIS SIGNATURE CABBIE-HAT-AND-GLASSES COMBO: The hat... I got... from a store. [laughs] The glasses—I've always wanted to wear glasses, but I have perfect vision. The band and I have always called them the thinking glasses. When I write, I wear them. And they kind of help ease my nerves, to be honest. When I wear them I get to be an exaggerated form of myself.

LIKE THE INVERSE OF SUPERMAN?: I guess so, yeah. [laughs]
- Interview Magazine

We sat down with Miko de Leon, creative force and frontman of the folk-rock band Miko and the Musket (who are currently tearing up the Lower East Side's underground music scene) in the restaurant where he spends his days slaving in the cramped basement office. The band started as a collaboration between de Leon and best friends Molly McAdoo and Lannon Killea and has grown to a regular band of balladeers, including an electric guitarist, a bassist, a cellist, a violist, and a drummer named Moses. Their first song, "The Hymnal," which you can see de Leon, McAdoo and Killea perform above, is bluesy and slightly haunting, while "Bright" (watch here) channels Amos Lee's soul with de Leon's own brand of hipster-friendly youthful optimism. Amid several interruptions (liquor deliveries and phone calls for reservations), here is what de Leon had to say.


AGE: 25

HOMETOWN: Portland

CURRENTLY RESIDES IN: New York

GENRE ASSIGNATION: I wouldn't quite call it bluegrass, just because I never grew up playing bluegrass. Probably a more accurate description would be folk. It's Americana-inspired music. There might be bluegrass flavors in there, but I don't know enough about bluegrass to say that that would be an applicable description. Folk rock would be the flavor that the band would be best affiliated with.

INFLUENCES: I grew up listening to a lot more acoustic pop kind of stuff. When I first started writing solo stuff I was listening to John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, but I grew older and my tastes matured. I really am into Amos Lee currently, Ray LaMontagne, old-school guys like Loudon Wainwright. And that's where I think I started gravitating towards the whole Americana feel. I think for me, [the appeal] is the storytelling. I love lyrics in songs—more than any aspect of music—and those guys especially have such a strong grasp of storytelling and communicating and using words in really great ways.

ON DECIDING NOT TO PURSUE A CAREER IN MUSICAL THEATER, WHICH HE STUDIED AT NYU: I think right after I graduated, I just knew that the acting business was not for me. I just didn't really have the guts for that particular art form. It's a really demanding field, and I don't think my passion for the arts was really in that department. And I had always loved singing and always loved music.

WERE YOU ALWAYS A SONGWRITER?: I started writing songs when I was in high school, more as a hobby. At that point in my life, I wasn't looking too far into the future, but when I graduated school, I started hanging out with more professional songwriters and musicians, and that community was so attractive to me, and I wanted so badly to be a part of that. And to find out that that career was a real possibility was exciting.

ON HIS SIGNATURE CABBIE-HAT-AND-GLASSES COMBO: The hat... I got... from a store. [laughs] The glasses—I've always wanted to wear glasses, but I have perfect vision. The band and I have always called them the thinking glasses. When I write, I wear them. And they kind of help ease my nerves, to be honest. When I wear them I get to be an exaggerated form of myself.

LIKE THE INVERSE OF SUPERMAN?: I guess so, yeah. [laughs]
- Interview Magazine