Recently, our Music Chair had an opportunity to pose some questions to Chris Newbury, drummer for the salsa band, Milonga, Friday’s headliner at this year’s Festival. Read further to get to know a little about this band and what makes them tick.
1. Tell us about the history of Milonga. When did the band form?
Milonga was formed by Nic Vigil in August of 2001, after the breakup of a jam band called Mas y Mas. Nic had started playing at open mics at a small club in downtown Spokane and the audience was very receptive to the music, which at the time, was alot of Tex-Mex (corridos, waltz, polka), cumbia, and Chicano Rock in the vibe of groups like Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Santana & Los Lobos. After enough times of getting the bar packed & dancing at an open mic, we began playing regularly and a Latin scene was born in Spokane. More public gigs came, festivals, weddings, etc. and the band has grown ever since. We’ve had players come & go but been blessed enough to keep it rolling over the years. We’ve had this current lineup for about 5 years, with the addition of a couple new faces this year. We have branched out to play regionally, throughout the western states and have made a name for ourselves as the Inland NW’s Premier Latin Band. We have gotten to share the stage with some amazing artists like Los Lobos, Poncho Sanchez, Quetzal, Ozomatli, Agua Dulce, Cuchata, the Iguanas and Alejandro Escovedo
2. Milonga – the name itself conjures up Latin American tango dance and a good time. Define what “Milonga” means to your band and your style.
I think for me personally, it’s all about the music and family environment. We are like a family and when we play that translates. It’s unique for me because I don’t speak Spanish but I don’t feel like that gets in the way of being able to feel the intent of the music. The sound and the vibe of the experience are what first drew me to our sound even before I joined the band! As a band we all bring our specific influences to the table and we are all so unique. We all have interesting musical stories that help define who we are as people and also as musicians. Here is what Nic Vigil had to say about it…
“The word Milonga means “party & dance”. Though there is a hugely popular style of Tango music which bears this name, the word Milonga doesn’t mean Tango. A milonga is a type of gathering which began in the mid-late 1800’s in more urbanized Latin countries like Argentina, Cuba, & Spain where musicians would gather and play, whether at someone’s home or in the street, and dancers would join in. Though these gatherings were informal, they became a tradition similar to other musical gatherings throughout Latin America, such as the fandango and the guateque. A milonga is the type of party that would go late into the night. It relies heavily on musical improvisation and the participation of dancers. For us, that relationship of music and dancer is what defines Milonga. The music inspires the dance and the dance inspires the music. So both the band Milonga and the style of Tango music draw inspiration from the same origin. Oddly enough, we don’t play Tango music. Our sound is a collage of original tunes inspired by the traditional dance styles of Spain, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and even parts of the U.S. where a heavy Latino population exists. In addition to the staple Latin music like Mexican Ranchera, Jarocho, Puerto Rican Salsa, Cuban Rumba, Colombian Cumbia, we all grew up influenced by American music as well. So it’s not uncommon to hear influences of Jazz, Classic Rock, Pop & Hip Hop in our music. As a result, our sound is slightly edgier than the typical Latin band. The music isn’t so purely traditional that it’s foreign, even to us as its authors. It’s also allowed us to branch out to a wider audience than strictly the Latino community. You can find just about any type of person, old or young, rich or poor, hip or square, light or dark, gay or straight, getting down to the sounds of Milonga. We are supremely happy that it can bring so many individuals together.”
3. Does the band write their own songs? Describe the songwriting process.
We do write our own songs. We definitely take pride in the fact that we can produce music that is unique to us. That’s not to say that you won’t hear us cover Bob Marley or Ozomatli but the bulk of our set is original. For us the process of writing is always changing. We’re still trying to figure out the best way! I’m not sure that there is one frankly, but that’s kind of the fun of it. Usually what happens is that one of us will have an idea that we record and email to the rest of the band. Then, we get together and try to work it out. The horns will write their own part most of the time but sometimes whoever came up with the idea will have a specific part they want. We’ve all contributed to the creative process and lately we’ve really been enjoying the process. It’s been a couple of years since we released “The Brown Album” so we’ve been getting antsy to write and play new tunes.
4. Chris, you grew up in Bozeman and mentioned that performing at Sweet Pea has been a dream of yours. What makes Sweet Pea special? What is a favorite Sweet Pea memory?
Yes, I moved to Bozeman when I was 3 and ended up graduating from Bozeman High School. I absolutely love Bozeman and I think that most of us that grew up here really appreciate it more now than when we were growing up! Maybe that’s just me? I can remember going to Sweet Pea throughout my childhood and just enjoying the Arts. My family is very artistic so my mom would take us to see the vendors and dancers and my dad and I would do the Sweet Pea run. In High School, it really became the end of the summer hang, where you would see all your friends that you maybe hadn’t seen since school got out. The social side was always amazing. I think that Sweet Pea is still that meeting place that a lot of people who have moved away try to get back to Bozeman for. All the festivities throughout the week are great as well. I think my favorite Sweet Pea memory was when the band “Liquid Soul” headlined! I remember just being up by the stage dancing the whole night! That was fun! I hope that we as Milonga can provide a similar experience!
5. Describe the live Milonga experience and what festival goers can expect from your show on August 3 at 8:00?
The show will be very high energy. We try to have a ton of energy on stage and really feed off the energy from the crowd. The festival goers should expect to dance! People don’t even have to know the traditional dances to get up and boogie! One of my favorite things about our show is watching our front man Nic getting down. He’s a big guy but can dance like no other! Part of what makes us unique is that there will be so many styles: salsa, reggaton, cumbia, hip hop, funk, merengue, etc. We also have a special guest sitting in with us on Saxophone, my good friend and Bozeman’s own, Ryan Matzinger.
6. You’ve become the premier salsa band in the Northwest, what’s next for Milonga? Do you have a new record on the horizon?
What’s next? We’re just going to keep doing what can to keep playing music. I’d love to come out to Montana more in the future. We’ve played a few times but it would be great to expand our fan base in my home state! I think generally we want to keep growing as musicians and as a band and are open to whatever doors open to us. It’d be great to continue performing for people that enjoy what we do. As far as a new record, we’ve begun the writing process for a new album and probably have enough new tunes for a couple albums. Like I said before, we’ve been eager to write new material and we have a lot of it! We’ve been contacted by some producers that are interested in working with us so hopefully we can release a new album soon! That is our number one goal.
Join us to party and dance in The Bowl at 8:00 p.m. Friday, August 3rd!