Interview with Kid Millions (Oneida) + Oneida favorites picked by our readers

Read an email interview we conducted with Oneida drummer Kid Millions (aka Man Forever – nee John Colpitts). Subjects of conversation included his (currently inactive) Brah Records imprint, Yo La Tengo and the reasons why writers have a hard time finding words to describe Oneida’s sound.
 
Check out Oneida’s latest LP Romance (out on Joyful Noise Recordings), as well as self-titled LP by Charnel Ground (out on 12XU / featuring members of Codeine and Yo La Tengo) and Man Forever’s 22.5.17 (out on Otoroku).
 
What was your reaction to this tweet?

Yo La Tengo – listening to Oneida (@oneida_official) on @vicenews ??? pic.twitter.com/m2ZdNDI1wo

— flannelraccoon (@flannelraccoon) March 15, 2018

Touched and honored! They are my friends and heroes. We didn’t realize it when we started using Acetone organs in 1997 that Yo La Tengo used them pretty much exclusively as well. They aren’t so common out there.
 
ATP all-day concert. How did that came about and how successful did the idea come off live? (submitted by Petridisch)
The idea of an all-day concert came together because Flaming Lips asked us to take part at their ATP curated festival but wanted us to do something special and unique. They proposed that we cover a Rush album or something like that. I can’t quite remember. We refused that and proposed setting up in a room and playing all day. It’s something we did as a band regularly without an audience so it seemed like it might be a cool thing to drift in and out of for the audience. Luckily they signed off on the idea and the Ocropolis was performed 4 times. It’s a brutal experience and for us to do it again would require at least 10K. Any takers?
 
Repetition. How much of a role does it play in Oneida’s music?
Well. . .that’s probably a question for someone not in the band to answer. What do you think?
I noticed that people use terms like “motorik” or “repetitive” in relation to Oneida all the time.
OK – repetition. . .motorik. . .repetitive. . .I mean if you actually listen to Oneida albums you’ll find that most of it is not this kind of music. . .certainly some and probably some of our most notorious songs fall into this designation – like “Sheets of Easter” say. . .and of course we’re inspired by Kraut Rock. But it’s just a simplification. It’s hard to capture what Oneida is all about in a few words. It’s a pain to be a writer describing Oneida b/c it’s not easy. But writers aren’t paid very well so they need to make shortcuts. That’s fine.
 
People of the North. Is that project still active and given its two members of Oneida could it be thought of as an extension of the main band or is it a totally separate thing?
People of the North – well sure. . .we’re active > NYCTaper
Our last album came out in 2016. I would say it’s separate AND an extension. I always tell people if they loved Rated O – they should also pick up Deep Tissue – as it’s an extension of that era of the band.
 
Brah Records. Is it still active? Can you tell us how the label came together and share a bit of its history?
Brah Records. . .that’s a big question. It came together because Jagjaguwar decided not to release an album by the band Oakley Hall – which was led by ex-Oneida member Papa Crazee. We thought it was insane that they turned them down and were drunk in a bar lamenting it and I think we called one of the Jagjag dudes and left them a message insisting that they should give us a record label.
I went into work the next morning very hung over to an email from them calling our bluff. They gave us a label. We released about 20 things on it. . .all of them I still stand behind. All great stuff you can find streaming. It’s kind of still active in spirit. . .but maybe not practically.
 
Any favorite release on Brah or anything you would like to highlight? 
Well there are a lot of great records. . .they are all unheard basically. I produced Company’s Old Baby so it’s got more of a special place for me.
 
Last, but not least – we put together a little video playlist that combines cuts from records released on Brah as well as Oneida favorites picked by our readers!