Daily Inspiration: Meet Timmy Milner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Timmy Milner

Hi Timmy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After music school, I had a difficult time taking music seriously without dredging up anxiety or depression that I had begun associating with music composition. Then, a couple years later, my wife and I were rear ended by a reckless driver while we were at a dead stop and they were driving 75 miles per hour.

After a near death experience, months of therapy, and in someway years of recovery from a traumatic brain injury, I saw this band Diners at a small DIY show in Santa Ana that I loved. Watching everyone get together to create this awesome experience that doesn’t even exist in mainstream shows, really excited me. It seemed like in this world, I could just make the music I’ve always wanted to make, which wasn’t allowed in college because they considered it to be pop; not Art music. Most music avenues are closed off by two bullet proof, plexiglass doors, but DIY spaces and house shows are typically an open door to just make music.

I can’t say I’ve played a show I enjoyed more than a small house show with friends and friends of friends. And while I have the dream to make it in the big time, and dreams of the projects I could create with those resources, I really just love to connect with people and see their excitement grow and also share this kind of great energy with the audience.

My professor in college would lecture about how creativity is only in its purist form while the composer is completely alone, with no access to anyone else or the outside world and I think that’s just completely wrong.

My band lineup is me on guitar/vocals, Caeden Lawton on bass/backing vocals, and Ryan Schreier on drums. Since playing with the band, my songs have taken on a whole new life, they’ve fueled and developed my creativity, and we’re even writing songs together! So Dr. Professor was wrong.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think it’s really hard for musicians like myself to both spend the time honing a craft and making their best work while also spending the time of promoting both past and upcoming releases.

The pandemic was hard of course, but it didn’t have a negative effect on my music at all, I wrote a lot. I was hoping that when things opened up again, more people would be interested in hearing local or unsigned bands, but it just went back to people paying $700 to be in a sweaty crowd of thousands waiting for the lights to come up for some curly headed TikTok-dancer turned pop star.

I grew up with sensible teachers and mentors telling me not to pursue music as a living-that it’s very difficult and when you do have it, it’s not very good.
I would always reply that I want to do music because I love to make music and it’s not about the money.

I do hope for the day when all the musician’s invoices will all be fulfilled. Until then, I’ll try to impress my younger self with continuing to create incredible music, because it’s not about the money.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a sound designer for Mammoth Vision in Burbank, California. Mammoth is an Animation studio, and I create sound effects and mix sound for the company. I’m very happy working at Mammoth, which replaced my previous day job as a full-time barista. Now I get to work professionally with sound, using
skills I’ve had for a long time to work on creative projects.

Over the past years, I’ve learned how to maintain the balance between a good day job and a good amount of time for music. My most recent album, Winning Time, which released in June, is a testament to this. We got very good at being creative with schedule, I might clock out and jump on the 405 barely making it to Sherman Oaks, where I’d find Ryan (drums) idling in his construction truck , and Caeden would roll up after his nine and we get to work.

So I’m very proud of Winning Time, very much a DIY project. We had the privilege of having the recordings mixed by Jason Soda at Palomino Sound in Los Angeles, and it was mastered by Doug Van Sloun.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I’m a big fan of Miley Cyrus

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timmymilner
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@timmyisalivestill
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/vXbH3mUzTgY
• Other: https://linktr.ee/timmymilner

Image Credits
Chris Ram, Noah Todd and Oliver Kompst (still from Poison Music Video)