Milk

Personal Information

Alex De Simone: Alex is currently in his third year at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He was born in Hollywood, Florida, and moved to Madrid, Spain fourteen years later. He attended the American School of Madrid for his four years of high school, and then began university studies in the US after receiving a full-tuition scholarship. At his university, Alex sings tenor in an a capella group “The AllNighters.” His interest in harmony arose after joining this group, and since then he has composed songs for “Milk” paying close attention to vocal quality. As well as singing, Alex plays the guitar and the trumpet. He enjoys listening to the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The lyrics of one of his recent songs (titled “Pathways”) are influenced by the poetry of Robert Frost.

Pancho Cedron: Pancho also graduated from the American School of Madrid, and is now studying Architecture. He was born in Madrid, and attended the American School between the ages of 4 and 18. He will spend his fourth year of university in Chicago thanks to a scholarship he was awarded. He has played the guitar since age 12, and is heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. This past summer, Pancho attended a 5 week guitar program at Berklee College of Music. Pancho also plays the bass and admires Flea for his energy on stage. According to James Mikkelson (high school teacher), Pancho and Alex are the “Renaissance Men” of the graduating class. Pancho drives a white Renault Clio (small car) that is known to be completely packed when Milk performs in Madrid.

Milk Bio

The name “Milk” originated in the kitchen of the home of guitarist Pancho Cedron. For most meals of the week, including breakfast and dinner, Pancho enjoys a cold glass of milk. He doesn’t sip it slowly with his food, however. Instead, he waits until the food is finished, takes a deep breath, and downs the glass in one long sip. Vocalist Alex De Simone observes, wondering how it is possible to accompany dinner with a glass of milk, without taking a single sip until the end. According to Pancho, Milk is that good.

It is in the basement of this house where Pancho and Alex compose, rehearse, and record most of their music. Situated in the suburb of Aravaca just on the edge of the city of Madrid, this house has served as a primary meeting place for various musicians. In 2002, a band was consolidated under the name of “Plutonic” with the introduction of Pancho as guitarist. Plutonic founders Alex De Simone and Jaime Vaquero (drummer) had been friends since Alex moved to Madrid from Hollywood, Florida in 2001, and they were in search of a guitarist and a bassist. Alex ran into Pancho at the American School of Madrid when they were in 10th grade of high school. Both shared similar tastes in music, and had a deep interest in composing riffs and melodies. Shortly after Pancho joined Plutonic in September of 2002, Juan Johansson (bass) was included as the fourth member in January 2003.

Between 2003 and 2005, Plutonic performed in various important venues throughout Madrid, including: Sala Arena, Caracol, Aqualung, La Botellita, and Clamores Jazz. They were awarded the Third place prize in a local competition in Pozuelo, the suburb where Alex lives in, and First place in the semifinals of the international Emergenza festival in Madrid. The group recorded an album in 2005 at Attack Studios, but it was self-produced and only 500 copies were released to family and friends. Things started looking good for Plutonic, but in the summer of 2005 the group realized the difficulty of performing at that pace. The four members found themselves graduating from high school, and each was to go in separate ways.

Pancho stayed in Madrid and decided to study architecture, Alex moved back to the states to study mechanical engineering, and Juan and Jaime had plans of their own in Spain. Whenever Alex returned to Madrid for vacation, Plutonic would perform a few concerts for friends, but it wasn’t the same as it was when all four members were together. Less time was dedicated to rehearsing as the lives of each of the four were slowly, but naturally changing.

In an attempt to keep their musical connection alive, Alex and Pancho decided to continue making music by recording with a USB interface and sending the music files through e-mail. Between 2005 and 2007, Alex and Pancho composed and recorded about 20 songs, some of which were performed by Plutonic during the winter and summer vacations of 2006. In the summer of 2007, a myspace account was created under the name of “Milk” in order to show friends some of these newly composed songs. Pancho would record the guitar parts in his house in Madrid, and then he would send the files to Alex, who would record vocals and backvocals over the files in his dorm room in Baltimore. In this manner the members of Milk exchanged their musical ideas when they were not together in Madrid. "Pat