Meet John Milner | Singer Songwriter of Golden Week

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Milner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
As a kid, I found myself drawn to the arts solely as a way of expressing myself outwardly. It began as an outlet and kind of grew into a hobby that eventually grew into a core part of my personality. The ability to translate a piece of yourself into an idea and bring that idea into the world through music, or any art form, was not only very appealing to me but it became therapeutic. By the time I had finished high school, I knew it was something that would be a core aspect of my life and what better way to grow something like that then to strive to make a career out of it – something you can live off of.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
To start with, we all come from somewhat different musical backgrounds but what ties us all together is our love and appreciation of videogames, anime, and all the nostalgic nerdy interests that we each grew up with. Luckily all of that stuff is starting to become more commonplace in pop culture today and we’re all about it. This carries over into our music and helps us draw from a wide range of influences while still maintaining a core vision for what we are working on. We’re proud to wear our influences and interests on our sleeves and we’ve found that in doing so we get to bring people together from all of these different interests under the Golden Week umbrella. One of our goals as a band, besides taking over the world of course, is to create an experience that has as much nuance and complexity as any person who processes the world through the art they consume.

Just like any venture, whether its artistic or entrepreneurial, we have had our highs and lows and the entire process is a learning experience. Some things come easy and some things we have had to work extra hard for. I think that one of the most important things you can do to overcome the hard bits is to develop a core group of people that you know you can rely on. Whether its a band member or external talent, its extremely important to find the people who can consistently lock on to your vision or goals and who want to help you realize them.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh this is such a good question! Ok so here is the itinerary: For breakfast we’re hitting up Lee’s Coffee. Best Vietnamese coffee and Ban Mi around. Then we’d stop by Anime Pop in Addison to stock up on all the exclusive anime and otaku goods. For entertainment, we’re definitely seeing a movie at Alamo Drafthouse or if they want to settle the score and see who’s the best gamer, we’re hitting up Free Play Richardson. Their import game selection is top tier. If they’re visiting during the summer, we also have some of the best and longest running anime conventions in the country, A-Kon and Anime Fest! Nightlife is huge in the Dallas but if you’re looking for one of the best old fashions you’ve ever had, stop by the Westin Park Central. Tony makes the best old fashions! If we are staying in Dallas for the evening, then you can’t go wrong catching a show at Amplified, Three Links, or Trees. Or we can make our way to Denton, in which case we’re hitting the square and stopping by Graffiti Pasta’s basement (formerly known as J&J’s Pizza) to catch a hype local show. Afterwards, we’re getting a nightcap at Paschall’s (order a Strawberry Fields and thank me later). In the morning, I’m making waffles. Just kidding haha. After a night out, nothing hits the spot better than a big bowl of Pho from Pho Pasteur or Bistro B or even brunch at the Old Monk. Dallas and the surrounding areas have so much variety and so many great places that a week isn’t enough.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Honestly, I need to start with the other founding members of Golden Week – Maston and Rickey. Ever since we first decided to form the band at a local anime convention, it has made a huge difference to have people who share your same vision and goals for the band by your side, let alone your friends. From the excitement of our debut as a band to the lows of reminding each other why we want to do this, these two have been a source of support through each step of this journey with me. That being said, we just added two of our long-time friends, Jonathan and Olivia, to round out our A team and I’m beyond excited to see what the future holds for us all. Aside from that, we have been lucky enough to cross paths with some amazing creatives along the way who just seem to click immediately with our vision such as Bryan David of Anthem Recording who has been our producer and recording engineer from the beginning, An Mien who has done all of the incredible art for our releases, and Kyle Yan of Outbraek who has been our core videographer since our first EP release.

Website: https://www.goldenweekmusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldenweekmusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoldenWeekMusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoldenWeekmusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa3JJfcnixm8Nl1ueRXkiQ

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3yJKPjGtCu9CMYWCcaRKGc?si=1zAMD4pBTeeA_22qflE1Ng

Image Credits
Faye Fetters Kyle Yan