The Miles: San Diego Garage Rock
The Miles is a three-piece garage rock/blues band from San Diego, California. Consisting of Sammy, Michael, and Kieran as the group's musicians, The Miles treats those they work with like family. So, although they are a three-piece band, the other members (photographer and comic book writer) Sarah Dinse and Roddie Snock are also a part of the team and given just as much love. I found this aspect of how The Miles treats people they work with endearing and shows their genuine character. The Miles are heavily community-based and essential to our local San Diego scene due to their drive to connect with others. I had the pleasure of talking with The Miles about their experiences within the band. So, let's take a peek inside of their brain!
Photo taken by @sarah_dinse (Sarah Dinse)
TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR BAND NAME. HOW DID Y'ALL NAME YOURSELVES?
"So The Miles name came about one night during a brainstorming session. After a few suggestions that didn't stick, Michael just kinda threw it out there: 'What if we just named the band after Kieran?' (Miles is Kieran's last name.) Most people at first assume it's a reference to the distance measurement, but no, it's a surname. I guess it was amusing enough for the three of us to run with it and go the Ramones route where everyone in the band adopts the Miles name (Michael Miles, Sammy V. Miles, Kieran Miles, and our two new members: 'Sarah' Dinse Miles/Roddie Snock Miles)."
HOW DID YOU ALL MEET?
"We all go pretty far back despite the band not starting until a little later. The 3 of us went to the same high school, but Michael & Kieran were like each other's first childhood friends in life, which is crazy. I actually knew Michael's sister before I met Michael because our families went to the same church, and I was seeing one of his sister's friends. He and I met when Michael joined the church band I had been in for a couple of years. Mostly what I remember from that time is the band leaders having to pull Michael aside a couple of times and asking him to tone it down because it would be this calm, serene church song we were playing while people were trying to receive Jesus and Michael couldn't help but keep ripping off these mean, tasty blues licks in the middle of it which is objectively hilarious and super on-brand in hindsight. I didn't actually meet Kieran until the band started, but there was still a sense of history since we had so many mutuals from the area we grew up in. Despite not always being the most active band, we have an indescribable brotherly bond."
Photo taken by @sarah_dinse (Sarah Dinse)
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO FORM A BAND TOGETHER?
"Michael and Kieran had returned from college and were working in San Diego. I had actually ended up turning my focus to studying stage acting at the time at Grossmont College, but I wanted to get back to trying to make music because that was my love before acting. Michael ended up at a job with my cousin. He got my number and hit me up because he remembered I played bass. He was also looking to start up a project since his band up in Santa Barbara ended. Kieran was still drumming with Kan Kan at the time, but Michael got both Kieran and me into Michael's garage, and we started working on our first song, 'At It Again.' We realized we had good chemistry as a band, and we all 3 wanted to seriously pursue making it in the music industry, so on we went, and we survived the pandemic, and here we are."
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHOW MEMORY AND WHY?
"I have a few but one of the top ones would probably be playing Urbani's Cellar up in Santa Cruz on our most recent tour. (R.I.P. Urbanis, we hardly knew ye.) You don't always get a crowd who's super into the show. It can be tough playing in places where you don't have a ton of established connections, but seeing the grip of people who were at that show being super into what you're doing and clapping along even though they don't know you that well is the kind of stuff you live for. It makes you want to continue what you're doing. Santa Cruz has been good to us the few times we've been."
Photo taken by @sarah_dinse (Sarah Dinse)
WHAT IS YOUR CRAZIEST LIVE SHOW STORY?
"I don't know necessarily how 'crazy' this story is, but it is in my mind, at least—a couple of times we've played this bar in North County called The Kraken. It was our most recent tour's first show, so it was like a Wednesday or something. We didn't expect much of a crowd. A handful of people at the bar, including our friend who was in town from Scotland, were hanging around, but no one was on the floor except for one woman. She was like 70-something, and her name was Vicky. She was out there cutting a rug the entire time we played. Mind you, this was a 3-hour set we were playing. She was out there literally the whole time. Dancing. Moving. Shaking. Grooving. Hard. From the first song to the last song. In between sets, she approached me, and we chatted a bit. She told me she loves dancing so much she'll come out to these 3-hour sets, dance the whole time, and then go home to her German shepherd and dance until 4 in the morning. I can't imagine that level of dedication to the vibes. Never seen anything like it before or since. We still think about Vicky occasionally, out there...dancing..."
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR INFLUENCES?
"We have a few and are continuing to add more as we expand our sound palette, but we had a Mount Rushmore of sorts when we started as our initial foundation. We had Black Sabbath, The Beatles, Kanye West, and Junior Kimbrough as four, but it definitely goes beyond those acts. Big acts that have influenced our sound a bit like IDLES, Cream, Wet Leg, Misfits, Kendrick Lamar, Prince, Gustaf, Mac Demarco, The Bobby Lees, and Pusha T. Maybe there's some Beastie Boys energy we have spiritually. But deada** more than that are the acts we have had the pleasure of being around more locally: The Band Cope, Rain On Fridays, The Gravities, and Sham Blak. That's just a very short list of great local artists that are more influential to me personally in a lot of ways than all the other names I mentioned because we've had the pleasure of either getting to share a bill with them or getting to know them a little as people and getting to see their artistic journey from the front row. I hope we keep getting to add to that list because there are a lot of great music/people coming out of San Diego right now."
Photo taken by @sarah_dinse (Sarah Dinse)
WHAT ARE SOME FUTURE ENDEAVORS WE CAN EXPECT FROM YOU?
"We've got a lot planned for the rest of the year. We just released a digital Aside and B-side single this past month: 'Sunday Night' and 'Are You That Somebody?' (Available on all streaming platforms). They're included in our upcoming 2nd EP titled 'Blood-Related,' which will be out in June. We're celebrating the EP release at Pal Joey's on June 17th. Then a couple of shows after that before we head back out on another tour at the end of August, followed by a few more shows after we get back. That's in addition to the subsequent episodes of The Miles Comic Book we are releasing. The first episode was released earlier this year and is in collaboration with our fifth member: Roddie Snock Miles. Episode 2 should be coming out soon."
Photo taken by @sarah_dinse (Sarah Dinse)
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MILES, CLICK BELOW.
Photo taken by @sarah_dinse (Sarah Dinse)
