BIO

Denver-based Milquetoast & Co. mingles high-intensity indie rock, angular elements of Americana with a melodramatic touch. The band’s music has drawn inspiration from artists such as Morphine, Lord Huron, Kate Bush, Father John Misty, Aldous Harding, Andrew Bird, DeVotchKa, Radiohead, Jacques Dutronc and many others. The lyrics are abundantly self-aware and ironic without watering down the complexity of the human experience.

Originally based in Boston, Milquetoast was founded in 2005 by singer, guitarist and producer James McAndrew. Weathering a heartbreaking divorce proved to be the catalyst for the songwriter to put his thoughts on paper, resulting in a collection of songs that would eventually wind up on the band’s debut record, Drinking and Smoking Too Much with Women I Hate. Around that time, McAndrew added “& Co.” to the band’s name due to another act operating under the same name. For the next year, Milquetoast & Co. had a revolving door of band member changes, but in 2008, it settled on its first official lineup. Featuring McAndrew, Joe Mageary on bass, Francis Quinn on drums, Bill Whitney on guitar and horns, and Robin Ryczek on cello, Milquetoast & Co. released Drinking and Smoking Too Much with Women I Hate in 2009 and went on tour in support of the release, playing Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

Inspired to make more music, Milquetoast & Co. recorded a new six-song EP, Land of MilqueBelieve, which it released in 2010. In August of that same year, the band had its final show at the Middle East Club in Boston. The original lineup parted ways for a myriad of reasons – cellist Ryczek left to go to Afghanistan, while the rest of the members were now approaching their 30’s and/or starting to have families. McAndrew, who had his hand in a few side projects, ultimately decided to put the band on hiatus.

In 2015, McAndrew relocated to Colorado for many reasons though none more important than being with the love of his life (Brenda). After five years of James continuing with other more financially viable pursuits, she finally persuaded him to get back into doing what he loves – creating music and torturing himself in the process. Though the final push for McAndrew to write again was the sudden loss of a friend – Rocky Chase Anderson. James and Rocky had hoped to play music together and try out a few other creative pursuits they both had in mind. He had spoken with Rocky a few days prior, having to reschedule a coffee meeting with him when he received the news which was subsequently the day they were originally supposed to meet. He wrote “Lost Coffee” which ended up on the EP Kashmir the Great, which was the name of Rocky Chase’s dog at the time. There was no turning back from there. McAndrew had to put something out while searching for a new lineup in Denver, yet he called on some of the original members to help him out; Joe Mageary and Francis Quinn. Kashmir the Great was recorded in the same studio the other work was recorded at – The Rotary Records with Warren Amerman (mixing/mastering). James was honored to have one of his musical idols, Dana Colley of Morphine featured on the EP. 

The circumstances were right, there was new material to start some momentum so McAndrew re-established the band in 2019 with a fully re-formed lineup in Denver (almost)...

Comprised mostly of musicians from the East Coast — Boston, New York, New Jersey — the sextet’s eclectic sound — a blend of indie rock and pop, blues, and Americana — was brought to life by McAndrew’s passionate singing and wry, witty, sometimes melancholic storytelling; Co-songwriter Dan Zangari’s bass lines; Kyle Bocchieri’s drum work; Trevor Minton’s cello, guitarist Orlando Thillet’s playing; and the horn dexterity of Sam Oatts, who also handles the string arrangements for Milquetoast & Co. and co-produces alongside McAndrew.

In 2020, the group went on the road for the first time since the hiatus, however the last date of the nine-city tour was pulled to a stop as Covid officially canceled music and normalcy. From there Minton and Thillet left the group to follow other pursuits and were replaced by cellist, Joseph Engel and lead guitarist, Ben Parrish. These two additions were exactly what the project needed sonically. The lineup was finally solid.

Milquetoast & Co. performed a few shows and livestream performances but ultimately the band hunkered down to record its first album with the newly aligned group. The result was Shiny (little) Mind, tracked and mixed by Andy Flebbe, the head sound engineer at Side 3 Studios in Denver. With the help of FATA booking/management and newly acquired marketing help from Think Big Picture, LLC, the 2021 ten-track album was released. The record drew on elements of rock, jazz, folk and Americana. In support of Shiny (little) Mind, Milquetoast & Co. toured throughout Texas, all the way to New York and Boston, and was featured on the legendary Milwaukee, Wisconsin SummerFest bill.  By June 2021 Milquetoast & Co were thrilled to have the opportunity to sign on to tour with DeVotchKa. Unfortunately the tour was canceled three weeks prior to the start date due to uncertainties with the ongoing pandemic. Disappointed but determined, the sextet stayed busy and recorded another four-song EP, releasing just one single at a time to keep momentum up and stay busy and engaged.

As the music industry started to pick up again in 2022, Milquetoast & Co. flew to California last May to record its full-length record “Run Rant Rave” at Invisible Island Studio with Owner/Engineer Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Afghan Whigs, Ray LaMontagne, Flaming Lips). Milquetoast was also very fortunate to have Mastering Engineer Nathan James (Sting, Pitbull, The Fray, Staind) put the touches on the record. Dan and James had eight of the ten songs written in a three/four month span with enough time to demo them prior to going into the studio.

For ten days at Ratterman’s studio in Alhambra, just northeast of Los Angeles, Milquetoast & Co. recorded ten songs for its forthcoming album, Run Rant Rave. McAndrew brought in some additional musicians to broaden the musical palette on the record: The singer also invited Eric Gorfain and the Section Quartet, a renowned string quartet that has worked with Foo Fighters, Nick Cave and Queens of the Stone Age along with many top artists and producers, who played on half of the tracks on Run Rant Rave. Alongside James was Co-Producer Sam Oatts, who was also responsible for both the string and horn arrangements on the record.

So far, two singles have been released, with three more dropping every six-to-eight weeks. The lead single off Run Rant Rave, “Spinning" was made available on 3/23/23, while the follow-up song, a sultry, atmospheric rendition of the Moody Blues’ 1967 radio staple, “Nights in White Satin,” was released on Friday, May 19, 2023.

Milquetoast & Co. will continue to unveil songs off Run Rant Rave through October, making the full- length record available for public consumption then.