A storyteller
with a song
There isn t really a message
in my songs, but there is
something to give people to
think about. I write about
things that are interesting to
people and most of my songs
are about priorities.
Milo Binder
By Yvonne Salce
Milo Binder once played the role
of a college student from Texas
A&M, during his acting days in Los
Angeles. Now a singer/songwriter,
Binder visited College Station for the
first time Sunday night.
“I used to be an actor, before I de
cided to starve even more and
started doing this,” says the 26-year-
old folk singer, during an hour-long
performance at the Front Porch
Cafe.
Capturing the small audience's at
tention not only with his timely sense
of humor, but also with his clear,
straight-forward voice, Binder
weaves together rich and narrative
tales about broken relationships,
umemployment, greed and aging.
Jokingly, he refers to the
relationship songs as "a journey into
the dark recesses of my mind.” And
although the topics of his songs may
sound depressing, he lightens them
up with humor.
In the song “That's What You Get
For Loving Me,” Binder ignites
laughter from the audience with ly
rics like, “I learned all the songs, you
used to hate ... and sang them."
But even though many of his
songs are funny, they do not lack
meaning. His song “Coffee Shop
Women” explains how we often ig
nore the people around us and for
get they are real people, too. And
"Donald Thorn,” the story of a man
who missed his day at being born
and suggests: “If we don’t watch it,
our lives can be as flat, meaningless
and absurd as that of poor, unborn
Donald.”
Needless to say, the L.A. native
received an encore. Immediately
Binder took the stage, but not before
sharing with the audience his philos
ophy behind encores. “The trick to
encores is getting on before they
stop clapping."
In an interview following the show,
Binder expressed how being comi
cal can often jeopardize being taken
seriously.
“For a long time, my shows were
considered comedy-type of acts,”
says Binder. “So I am constantly
worried about people taking me se
riously.”
But it's Binder's strong song-writ
ing and humorous remarks between
songs that won him the audience
Sunday night, as well as a pretty
good place in the acoustic-music
scene in L.A.
He released his first album on
Alias Records in November, and is
taking time off from his bus-driving
job at UCLA to let people know the
album is out there. His self-titled de
but is a collection of many years of
hitting the L.A. pavement in order to
make a name for himself. Oddly
enough, Milo Binder really isn’t Milo
Binder. At the encouragement of his
manager, he changed his name at
age 16.
"I wanted a name that sounded
kind and friendly,” says Binder,
which incidentally rhymes with "kin
der.”
Looking back, Binder regrets
changing his name. He has a strong
dislike for gimmicks and musicians
who feel a need to change them
selves for the sake of a sale.
Once a follower of the cool-guy
kind of haircut, leather jacket and
earring, Binder now prefers a com
fortable pair of tennis shoes, blue
jeans and a San Franciso baseball
hat.
“I think it takes a lot of guts to get
out there and be your own person,”
he says.
It also takes a lot of guts to get out
there and perform, but that never
seems to bother Binder. He says he
never gets nervous, except in shows
where the audience is hanging on
his every word — which was the
case Sunday night.
Suspended by his every word, the
audience absorbed his story-telling
songs with all their unexpected
twists and turns, which he sung with
an easy-going attitude. He wasn’t
there to pound his profound knowl
edge or die-hard opinion into the au
dience. Rather, he preferred to raise
questions in their minds, letting
them draw their own conclusions.
“There isn't really a message in
my songs, but there is something to
give people to think about.
“I write about things that are inter
esting to people and most of my
songs are about priorities."
Priorities are important to Binder,
more so than success. He's not ob
sessive about ambition. After this
two-month tour, he would like to go
back to having a normal life, as op
posed to living on the road and out
of a van.
“Someday ... I’d like to get to the
point where my name is on the ticket
and people have come to see me.”
In the meantime, Binder won't
have any problem developing his
own following. His honest and re
freshing approach will carry him to
success — whether he likes it or not.
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