Locked and Loaded with Gunpowder Milkshake

Interview

Oct 20

*(From left to right; Branden Sheets, Thomas Russell, Kirby Moore, Matt Volk. Photo Credit Ryan Gorman)*

When members of two of the most distinct and righteous rock bands in the area, Treewalker and The Psychedelic Puppets, get together to form a rock and roll supergroup, the results are bound to be explosive. Enter stage right, new band on the block, Gunpowder Milkshake.

Before the release of Gunpowder Milkshake’s first single “Flamingo's Ode” on September 30th, the band had been collecting fans with their bombastic stage performance across the state including this year's Weedstock, Hot Jam Musical Fest, Maker’s Alley and more. They recently self-released their debut EP Mixtape on October 14, which has been featured on Delaware Public Media’s local music program Hometown Hero’s with Mark Rogers. We caught up with GPM guitarist Kirby Moore, who also produced, mixed and mastered the band's latest musical release, to get the scoop on the project.

What brought you all together to form Gunpowder Milkshake?

When COVID-19 hit, every rhythm that society had was altered, including the music industry. Branden Sheets, Matt Volk, and I, all of whom are in TreeWalker, had all talked about forming another small heavy group. I moved to bass and Branden would move to guitar. Branden was in The Psychedelic Puppets with Thomas, and we all felt that his energy and charisma would be an amazing addition to us three instrumentalists with existing chemistry. We were able to share audio files digitally and practice at a rehearsal space. Once we started, we knew we had something special.

Where did the name Gunpowder Milkshake come from?

We were throwing around band names for a while when I brought up the idea. It was one of the few we all felt represented our sound well; sweet and explosive.

Where did the name of the EP "Mixtape" come from and what can we expect from it?

We choose Mixtape because the songs and their parts pull from many different influences from around the world. We stay true to our hard rock sound, but the impressions are evident.

What inspires you guys to make the music you make?

Love, Happiness, Mystery, Excitement, Energy, Romance, Storytelling... all of life's little gems.

What was one of the biggest challenges to overcome while creating this body of work?

Scheduling has been our biggest challenge, but when we're together it's amazing.

What have been some of the best moments in GPMS's history so far?

Our first practice as a band. Our first few shows at Jackson Inn and Maker's Alley that went amazingly thanks to all our local music lovers. Getting the opportunity to record our mixtape under our own terms was very rewarding. You can certainly hear the difference when time is not an object.

Follow Gunpowder Milkshake online for show announcements and listen to their debut EP Mixtape below.