Platinum Boys – Referred By Unmanned Ship
America’s Most Underrated features local bands from across the country that deserve widespread recognition. Each band is handpicked by the previous column’s highlighted artist to create a collective of underrated bands chosen by underrated bands.
They may not have sold a million records yet, but Platinum Boys are already on their way to the top with one album to their name. The Milwaukee-bred band was raised on the culture you might expect from the area, with beer pong and late raves ingrained in their roots. Guitarist KC Hewz simply describes themselves as “real deal party dudes trying to play rock and roll.” This carefree mentality that drives their music is what led us to the band for our fifth installment of America’s Most Underrated.
Platinum Boys have been making a name for themselves in the Midwest, actively playing shows everywhere from Detroit to St. Louis and even Iowa City. That’s just one reason behind the group’s reputation as energy-driven live shredders.
The classic rock influenced power pop band is something like Cheap Trick with exaggerated catchy hooks and occasionally surprising guitar riffs that should belong in a sludge metal song. Like their classic rock predecessors, Platinum Boys aren’t afraid to push their limits (or at least their grandparents’ idea of decency) – openly singing about sex and drugs in most of their music. You’ll even find the group’s social media accounts littered with posts about cocaine, marijuana, and everything in between.
The band formed in 2013 already impressively wracked up work with three labels, including DC-based Windian Records, Minneapolis’ Forged Artifacts, and Dusty Medical out of their home base in Milwaukee. Leading into the recording of their second LP, we got to sit down with guitarist Casey Hughes to learn about the band’s history, what we can expect next, and everything there is to know about music in Milwaukee.
Allston Pudding: Can you tell me how Platinum Boys formed?
Casey Hughes: Yeah, it was about a year and a half ago. Me and the bass player, Joe Peterson, were really good friends. He was in some bands that were breaking up and stuff. We pretty much were just in the mindset where we wanted to play rock and roll music. So we asked Matt, the other guitar player, then we got Aaron Skufca, who’s just another weirdo. It’s come together pretty nicely.
AP: Unmanned Ship out of Chicago referred us to you. Have you ever heard of them before?
CH: Yeah! I know Kevin really good. We were pretty tight with the dudes in Unmanned Ship and Oozing Wound, which is the other band he’s in.
AP: So what do you think about their music?
CH: I’m a fan! I’ve been a fan for a long time. We don’t really play that kind of music, but I’m into heavier stuff and weird stuff like that. I know Joe, the bass player, has been into those guys for a while. I was stoked that they told you guys about us. We were really excited.
AP: I’m excited that we found you this way, too! I saw that you just released your first full-length album back in March. How has the reception been?
CH: It’s been great! We already sold out of the first pressing in three weeks, which we didn’t really see coming. We knew it was good, but we didn’t see that shit selling out that fast. We’ve been selling them all over the country. We’ve had a lot of radio play here and in other parts of the country. We have good distribution with our label. Really nothing to complain about. The second pressing should be out after tour, which is a little bit too bad, but we saved 15 for our tour. Yeah, it’s a great feeling.
AP: I saw that you released the first single from Future Hits back in 2013. That’s a long gap between the first single and the full album. Was that intentional?
CH: No! We started the band with the intention to release a short 7” right away and “Cruisin’ USA” was one of them. We just recorded that maybe a month or two into starting the band just for fun and to get the hype machine rolling. Then once we started writing more songs, they started coming quicker. The second batch of songs we wrote was clearly a lot better. We recorded one session and then were going to put it out, but then we had all of these other songs. So we said fuck it and recorded the rest of it then put the full length out. We didn’t plan it that way. It just sort of ended up that way out of luck.
We had all of these recordings, and we were playing a lot of shows. Windian out of DC hit us up and said they wanted to do a single with us. They hit us up first and that was great for us. It’s gotten us a lot of exposure. Then right away after that Forged Artifacts, a Minneapolis record label, wanted to put out a full-length tape with us. So we had to get those all recorded, sent them the masters. Then before that was done, this local label, Dusty Medical, hit us up and wanted to put the 33 out. So we didn’t want to release the album until the vinyl was out. We sat on these songs and recordings for a long time because of all the attention we got. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise, but we’re getting a little sick and tired of playing the same songs over and over.
AP: I know you have a short tour coming up at the end of May. Is there anything else big planned for the rest of 2015?
CH: Yeah, we started writing a new album. We’re going to start recording that in June or July, get that out as fast as possible. Besides the tour we’re playing a festival in Chicago called Blackout Fest with this band The Real Kids, that old power pop band from Boston. We’re opening for them and some other regional bands, which we’re really stoked on. We’re going to cut down on shows a little bit in June, especially local ones, and focus on recording.
AP: Do you see yourself coming to Boston anytime soon?
CH: We hope to. The plan is to take a more extensive tour east whenever our next album is released. I know we’ve sold some records out there and we’ve been playing on the radio.
AP: How would you describe the music scene in Milwaukee?
CH: It’s pretty diverse. There aren’t a lot of bands or people who play music. Some people bitch about it and say it’s cliquey, but I don’t think it’s as cliquey as other larger cities. There’s folky stuff, a lot of good hip hop all of a sudden, and then a lot of weird acts. A lot, a lot of punk. A lot of these other bands are into power pop and shit like that and classic rock, which I think is why we’re able to be so popular here around town because that’s what people listen to.
AP: How would you say that music scene has impacted Platinum Boys’ music?
CH: The party vibes. It’s a pretty loose town as far as drinking and other types of partying goes. People like to have a good time. That’s pretty much all you can do. There’s a bar on every corner. It’s cheap. People love to party. We’re all from Wisconsin except the drummer. He’s lived here for 10 or 12 years. The other three, we’re all from Wisconsin. I’m from Milwaukee. We’ve all grown up with that drinking and partying culture that’s pervasive in the states and really is a big part of the lifestyle in Milwaukee.
AP: What would you say are some of your other favorite bands from Milwaukee?
CH: My favorite bands in Milwaukee are Holy Shit! They’re a hardcore band. They’re touring Japan right now for the third time. They’re buddies and solid dudes. Dogs in Ecstasy. They’re a really sick, sick band from here. You should check them out. Soup Moat. They’re this punk band from here that I really like. Who else do I like from Milwaukee? Slow Walker. Midnight Reruns. They’re a great band.
Oh, and then my favorite band in Milwaukee is this hardcore band called Midwives.
AP: If someone were to visit Milwaukee for the first time, what’s the one thing you’d recommend they do there?
CH: If I had the option to bring someone around, I would probably just take them out at night. I think that if you’re just visiting Milwaukee, you should just check out the neighborhoods. Go out. Meet people. Get drunk. Maybe go on a brewery tour. Come in the summer, though. Don’t come in the winter.
AP: What are a few of your favorite underrated bands from outside of the area?
CH: Frankie Teardrop from Minneapolis, for sure. MAMA from Chicago. LAZY from Kansas City. Proud Parents from Madison. My favorite band right now is Frankie Teardrop. We’ve played with them a couple of times and it’s insane.
AP: Cool! How would you describe their music?
CH: It’s clearly those dudes who probably listen to a lot of Joy Division. It’s poppy and sad, but they’re not sappy at all. They definitely grew up punks and now they’re just kind of into classic rock, but still kind of want to play pretty music for girls. Really into them.
AP: Alright, well that’s all I have for you unless there’s anything else you’d like to add.
CH: Real deal party dudes trying to play rock and roll. You know?