In the mid 2000s, Michael Kingcaid’s Austin, Texas, band had everything going for it. What Made Milwaukee Famous splashed onto the indie rock scene at a time when bands like Tapes ‘N Tapes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were getting overnight success thanks to MySpace profiles, endless promotion and Pitchfork mentions.
In 2005, What Made Milwaukee Famous was one of the only unsigned bands to play for Austin City Limits in the television concert series’ 38-year history. By 2006, the band signed to Barsuk Records, then home to indie darlings Death Cab For Cutie. Later that year, the band’s memorable debut, Trying to Never Catch Up was released.
“Part of the magic of that first album was that none of [the band members] really knew each other,” Kingcaid says. “I found everybody in the band through a series of ads in The Austin Chronicle. We came from all different backgrounds, and we were throwing stuff at the wall.”
However, by 2008, the band members went their separate ways. After touring relentless behind a sophomore release, What Doesn’t Kill Us, Kingcaid and Barsuk Records fell out of communication, too.
“It was a strange period,” Kingcaid says. “[Guitarist] Jason [Davis] and I moved to Conroe, Texas, and lived in a double-wide trailer on three acres of land. We’d wake up and write music.”
Out of the isolation, Kingcaid and Davis wrote the skeletons of around 200 songs. By 2013, Kingcaid released You Can’t Fall Off the Floor, an album he recorded largely on his own.
“What was liberating is that I didn’t have to answer to anybody,” Kingcaid says. “I could do whatever I wanted to.”
Now with a new band, he’s finally getting back in the groove and getting on the road behind the recent album. The band will perform at Chelsea’s Café Saturday. Doors open at 9 p.m. Cover is $10 RSVP and get more information.
Kingcaid hopes there’s a comeback story in there somewhere, but he knows he has to do some thinking outside the box if he wants the kind of attention his music previously received.
“It was a different climate when that first record came out,” he says. “These days, there’s so much competition. There are so many different sites. People are putting their album up for free. You have to be forward thinking. It’s tougher to get people’s ears. I sound like a bitter old man, but it’s the industry. It takes a lot to be entertained these days. It’s like you need a shtick to stand out. You need to be Lady Gaga and have some fluorescent [expletive] on while you’re playing. But there’s great music out there. It’ll find its way.”
Hear What Made Milwaukee Famous’ You Can’t Fall off the Floor below
Live picks
The young rock ‘n’ roll band The Chambers will perform in the side bar at Chelsea’s Café Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m. The show starts at 8 p.m. Cover is $5. Check out 225‘s profile of the band.
Singer-songwriter John Moreland performs at Red Star. Doors open at 8 p.m. The show starts at 9 p.m. For more information on the show, check out Justin McGowan’s post from earlier this week.
Song of the week
Spoon’s “Inside Out”
The Austin, Texas, band’s new album They Want My Soul is out next Tuesday. This latest single, paired with the earlier, excellent “Do You,” shows off the band’s knack for crafting cool nuggets of sound. Is it next Tuesday yet?
Album of the week
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Hypnotic Eye
Leave it to Petty and the gang to write the best rock ‘n’ roll album of the year, showing cats like Jack White and The Black Keys how it’s done. This is a no frills affair, featuring a band locked into its comfort zone and delivering an unexpected, beautiful set of songs.
