Native San Diegan Gregg Luskin did something that only few are capable of: the hip-hop, dance, and rock music producer took his talents and left our seaside city in search of something brighter. Now known by his stagename Milkman, he’s mastered his own mashup technique and created a signature sound that’s gained him fame around the world.
After his debut album Lactose and THC was voted #2 Mashup Album of All Time by DJ forum, Milkman’s career took full flight. He went on to perform locally in the Santa Barbara community of Isla Vista, becoming a must-have across all college campuses. The biggest sign of his success? Performances with names like Kid Cudi, Lil’ Jon and Three 6 Mafia.
Now the talent returns to his roots with a live show at Stingaree on Friday, Feb. 24th promoting his newest record Fragments. Before you get down to the beats of Milkman, hear how he got his start from just another San Diego kid to an in-demand DJ.
DiscoverSD: How and when did you begin producing music?
Milkman: I have been writing music pretty much as long as I can remember. As far as producing music electronically, it all started when I was about 16 in high school when my band members and I wanted to start a “joke rap group”... somebody needed to produce the beats. Around 2006-2007 though I started making a transition into producing more mainstream electronic music when I wasn’t working on my mashups. Now-a-days however, producing consumes most of my time.
DSD: What is it like for you to return to your hometown?
M: Nothing is more fun that going back to your hometown. Just driving around SD I can look out the window and remember a time when I was at that place. Getting time to get back to SD is always great to see my family and old friends as well. I love Los Angeles, don’t get me wrong, but there is just something about San Diego that you can’t find anywhere else. I plan to move back to SD at some point.
DSD: How has the scene changed over the years?
M: I remember spending all my weekends hanging out at either the Epicentre or at Soma. For me, that was the scene. Like I said, I was in a band in High School and we would play those venues on a monthly basis, so I became real immersed in that world. It’s hard to really say how “the scene” has changed, since we are talking about two completely different scenes. But, I have noticed a strong shift in the past few years from hip-hop/rap into the mainstream electronic. You look at all the big songs out there right now, they still have a hip-hop/rap foundation with some serious electronic influence. It’s interesting to watch the progression of what is “popular”, because it tends to follow a few years behind what emerges in “the scene”.
DSD: We can’t wait to party with you at Stingaree on February 24th. What can we expect to experience during your show?
M: My roots are in the Mashup world, and a lot of my fans know me for that. So, taking that into account and given the nature of this event, you will most likely see a cross-blend of Mashup and electronic/dance music. All I describe my concerts as is “High Energy”, whatever music that entails, that’s what I will play/remix. A friday night club concert will obviously lean towards the dancier stuff... but by no means does that rule out some of the more fun/creative stuff I have been known to do live. It will definitely be a really fun night and I plan to have the whole place moving all night, what exactly that entails... you will just have to come and see for yourself. Oh yea, and Lasers. LOTS of lasers.
DSD: What is your favorite part of performing back in San Diego? How do we compare to other cities?
M: Love. There is nothing like the love you get performing for your hometown. Now, not to say that playing in New York or Las Vegas isn’t awesome, because it is, but it’s just different than playing for a bunch of people who grew up with you and/or experienced a city in the same way you have. Of course it’s great to have my family out to see a show (which is rare) and probably the best is having 20 or so of my dad’s buddies from college (UCSD) who I’ve known my whole life and who all still live in SD. I’m telling you, these guys rage harder than anybody I’ve ever known.
DSD: How do you classify your style of music?
M: Fun. I’m not into the whole genre-classification thing, and I’ve said that from day one. I’m into making fun music, and mostly, just music that I would want to listen to. So it goes without saying that sometimes I come up with completely different sounding songs, and that’s what I love about making electronic music. One day I can write a groovy down-tempo jam, the next a 110-BPM Moombahton banger and the next just basic four-on-the-floor hard hitting pump you up music. I’m in the prime of my life and I make music that represents that. I’m all over the place, and I think my music really shows that.
DSD: Tell us all about your new album, Fragments. How is this album different from your previous projects?
M: My first three albums were all Mashup, and that is what “Milkman” was originally recognized as. When I was making Mashups, that was the music that I wanted to listen to so that’s what I made and I loved every second of it. Fragments however represents where I am now as a musician and a person. I’m ready to party and I’m ready to have fun- my shows are higher energy and dancier than they’ve ever been, so Fragments follows in that direction. I always felt an empty void with the Mashup genre where I wasn’t able to really produce my own songs. Making mashups is a lot of fun, especially when it was first evolving into what it is now, but the genre has become so over-populated and saturated with the same thing over and over again I wanted to try something different, and that’s what I did with Fragments.
DSD: What artists are featured on Fragments?
M: Fragments was almost entirely my own work. There are a few samples hidden in there but I challenge anyone to try and spot them. As far as collaborations go I didn’t bring anyone outside in on this project. I locked myself in my studio for a couple months and just wrote music. I really needed to just write some songs from start to finish by myself, something I’ve been wanting to do professionally for a while. I brought in a friend to help out with the vocals you can hear in Occupy Spotlight. The vocal in So Much For Clockwork was just me around 2am. Didn’t really think much of it, just recorded it and threw it into the project and exported.
DSD: What new projects are you working on in the coming year?
M: I have a new album I am working on right now that will feature some great artists. It will definitely be more progressive that Fragments but kinda on the same path. Like I said previously, I’m really not into confining myself to one style, genre or sound because that is how you get a stale sound that doesn’t evolve as you do. My team and I are also in the works of designing a new light show for my concerts. People absolutely love the lasers and it was a very cool unique idea when we first started it last year... but it’s definitely time to up the anti and go for something a little bigger.
DSD: What are your hobbies and passions, outside the music industry?
M: I would say when I’m not sleeping, a good 90%+ of my time is in the studio or working on something Milkman-related, so I don’t have too much time for other activities. I’ve recently been playing golf with some friends of mine, so we try to get out and do that once every few weeks. But anybody who plays golf will tell you it takes a lot of time and is extremely frustrating! Other than that I just look for side-projects to have some fun with, like my collaboration with Flula on “This Is How I Party”, stuff like that is really fun to do and a great escape from when you are working too hard.
DSD: What tracks and remixes are you most proud of to date?
M: I have a Deadmau5 remix up on YouTube that I made in about an hour that I didn’t even think was that good but is like the second or third most viewed remix of that song, so that's pretty cool. Other than that I’m really happy with Fragments as a whole debuting at #2 on the iTunes Electronic Charts, and more specifically the song “Revelry” which we just licensed out for a commercial. All of my mashup albums did very well, and the singles from those albums I’m really proud of (Tribute To Ms. Lonely, Circle of Fifths and Sky High).
DSD: What have been your greatest professional achievements so far?
M: I would have to say my EP debuting at #2 on the iTunes Electronic Charts would be one of my greatest professional achievements so far. Seeing something you worked so hard on and put so much into up there among those other amazing artists was a really great moment. Other than that, seeing my other albums reach a million downloads was a surreal moment.
DSD: What producers and musicians are you inspired by?
M: I think Diplo as a producer is the man, he just has it figured out. I talked with him briefly before a show we did together and for how much success he has had he is still such a cool guy, down to earth, and really in it for the music. I totally respect that. Other than that I really like Wolfgang Gartner, he does almost everything from start to finish by himself and has a really cool, unique sound. I think Deadmau5 deserves credit for really bringing Electronic/Dance music to the mainstream and think Pretty Lights as well deserves a lot of credit for really inventing a new genre. Last but not least The Glitch Mob are pretty sweet and all their beats kind of put me in a trance--really love those guys.
DSD: What are five things Milkman loves about San Diego?
M: Family, REAL Mexican Food (not that fake Los Angeles mex), Ron Burgandy, the Chargers, Torrey Pines.
See Milkman perform live at Stingaree on Friday, Feb. 24th.
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