7" Survey: Milk Lines

Every edition of this season’s Long Winter, the first 350 guests through the doors at The Great Hall will receive a free split seven-inch from Scion Sessions, each side featuring a song from one of the night’s featured artists. To compliment the releases, we’ll issue a seven-part questionnaire to each of the artists involved, giving the subjects an inch (about 85 words) of space to answer each of our questions.

The December instalment of the Scion Sessions Split 7” Series features a track each from Milk Lines and Omhouse. Most of this questionnaire with Milk Lines is filled with deadpan sarcasm from guitarist Jeff Clarke, who (falsely) spins Scion’s circular Long Winter contributions to involve deli meats. But singer/guitarist Emily Frances does pipe in towards the end to tip us off on the “stage pets” she’s made for the group’s Long Winter performance on Dec. 13. Read the full questionnaire – in all of its nonsensical glory – below.

Long Winter: Who are you and how did this project come together? Jeff Clarke: The band is a guise for what is actually a “psychic defense quad.” It protects us from any attack using the multiple of four. Don’t ever try rolling a four against us when we are all in the same room. It will be like rolling a four against yourself.

LW: How about “Crystal Crown” – what inspired that? JC: Transported by the wind, insects, or other animals. Believed to be at least 10 billion light years in diameter – and contains a vast convey pollen to deposit pollen on (a stigma, ovule, flower, or plant) and so allow fertilization. Conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft. A fine powdery substance, typically yellow, consisting of microscopic grains discharged from the male part of a flower or from a male cone.

LW: For lots of listeners, this will be their first point of access to Milk Lines’ music. Where does this song fit into the rest of your catalog? JC: Cat logs! They’re dog treats that look like cat poop. Luckily, they don’t smell like cat poop. They’re actually quite pleasant and wholesome. Handmade with all-natural ingredients, Cat Logs For Dogs are a true delicacy, just like the real thing. Each turd treat is modeled on actual turds, and no two are alike.

LW: Once they’re turned on to this, what releases (songs, EPs, albums, or otherwise) should people pursue as logical next steps to getting to know your music? JC: We strongly recommend procuring two AM radios and simultaneously listening to local conservative talk radio and Canadian Punjabmusic. This combined with four litres of milk left in metal saucers in every corner of your home will bring you the harmonies we hear and try to emulate.

LW: When you think of winter, what’s a memory that stands out for you? Emily Frances: One year my mom rented a McDonalds caboose for my birthday in January. We got there and the heaters were all busted and we had to cancel my party. I was so relieved though because Grimace scared the hell out of me. I spent an entire night in a frozen fear once ’cause I thought grimace was crouching at the end of my bed. When the sun finally rose I realized he was a laundry basket piled high with clothes.

LW: How do you survive winters in Toronto? JC: We sublet our apartment to save money and then we lower our metabolism and dig and live in a burrow in High Park. In the spring Emily normally gives birth to a litter of raccoons. Suspicious and angry, I normally kill all but one and eat the rest while she cries…

LW: What are you most looking forward to for Long Winter on Dec. 13? JC: We have heard about the amazing deli tray that Scion provides. To make a deli meat and cheese tray, you have to cut summer sausages and place the meat overlapping the middle of tray. Then, cut cheddar cheese and put it the same way as the meat. Lastly, cube roasted deli turkey and put club crackers on its side. EF: Playing with bands and friends we would normally not get to do shows with. That’s fun. Also looking forward to displaying the stage pets I made.

Milk Lines appears at The Great Hall for Long Winter on Dec. 13. The first 350 guests through the doors will receive a split seven-inch with their track “Crystal Crown” on one side. Doors open at 7 p.m. Stay tuned for another 7" Survey with Omhouse, featured on the split’s other side.