Fun to get a chance to ask Todd Millenacker of Monkey Warhol (and other projects mentioned below) a few questions about all of his work but particularly about his latest, self-titled release, Monkey Warhol. Todd’s musical talents run the genre gamut but there’s always an element of fun. Find your dance shoes, put ’em on and give Monkey Warhol a listen!
You lead an interesting and varied musical life. Can you tell us about Monkey Warhol, Todd’n’Tina, and are you still doing jingles?
Todd Millenacker: Monkey Warhol is my “weirdo techno pop” project. After my previous band (Avenpitch) had run its course, I decided to really dive into electronic music and Monkey Warhol is what came out. I had been sitting on the name and idea for a while, but my buddy and I created the whole cartoony Monkey-headed persona as a way to give this “faceless” electronic music a personality. Plus, now Monkey will always have “perfect” hair and will never age! Ha!
Todd’n’Tina is a family-friendly musical endeavor that I do in collaboration with my good friend Krissy. So far, we’ve released 3 albums and have had a blast playing family-friendly shows all over the Twin Cities. We make fun, goofy, and ridiculous little pop songs for the young (and young at heart)! Much more about TNT can be found at toddntina.com
As for the jingles, I haven’t been doing much of that over the last few years (mostly because Todd’n’Tina has been keeping me plenty busy), but I’m hoping to get back into it at some point. I actually stumbled into the world of jingles and advertising when I sent a Monkey Warhol tune called “Pizza Babies” to Little Caesars Pizza and it became the “theme song” for a whole advertising campaign. Pretty WILD!?! I won’t bore you with the detail, but that full story can be found here: https://www.startribune.com/article/502477071
Where do you get inspiration for songs? Or maybe I should ask how do you get inspiration because you seem to get it anywhere and everywhere, especially as I look at the pairing of “Boots & Pants”, which seems like such a tangible, straight-up dance club song with “Stolen Moments”, which is also a dance song but because the lyrics are more about a feeling or moment, feels more ephemeral.
You’re spot on about the intentions of those songs! Thanks for paying attention! As for inspiration… I’ve always been completely obsessed with “everything music” and ideas are always rolling around in my head. For instance, if you repeat the words “Boots & Pants” over and over again it sounds like a little techno drumbeat. I thought it would be fun to sample/loop me saying those words and make a whole dance tune out of it! The voices on “Stolen Moments” are actually found dialog samples that (I thought) captured the melancholic and motivational mood of the tune.
Which comes first for you, the lyrics, the beats or something else entirely?
For any sort of pop tune, I definitely need to have some sort of lyrical idea first. Obviously, lyrics change over time and I’m fine rewriting them, but without something to work towards my tunes remain unfinished. Occasionally, I’ll try to tack on lyrics afterwards, but then it stills never sounds “right” to me. That said, Monkey Warhol is much more experimental and it’s a much looser process. I just have fun fooling with the music and then – at some point – I tell myself it’s “as good as it’s ever going to be” and say it’s done.
We love the video for “Times of Your Life”. Will you be doing more?
Thanks! Yes, I will be doing more. In fact, there is a long distance collaborative album I did with my friend HIji RR (who lives out in California) coming out this summer. We’re currently filming some footage for a tune called “Lucky Stars”. Also, I’ve licensed out a lot of Monkey Warhol music to all sorts of podcasts and television shows so – if you’re familiar with it – you’ll hear Monkey Warhol in passing. Kinda fun!
How will you be celebrating the new album? Are there ways listeners can connect with you that day?
I’m gonna go to my parent’s basement – bust out the disco ball, strobe lights, and have a “dance party of one”! Please check out Monkey Warhol at monkeywarhol.com or wherever you get your streaming music! Thanks for taking the time to chat with me and all the support Mostly Minnesota has shown my music over the years! Very much appreciated!
Mostly Minnesota 