Middle Child Syndrome is what some might call a one man band. Milwaukee-based Matt Mueller is the vocalist, guitarist, drummer, producer and everything in between. His latest single “Slate” released on April 30, and he’s currently working on his upcoming album Listen to Me. We spoke with the musician about his inspirations, what it means to be an independent musician and more.
How did music come into your life and how did it grow into Middle Child Syndrome?
I’ve been playing music for as long as I can remember. I grew up taking piano lessons, like the kind where the teacher was really strict and would hit your hands if you didn’t practice. That did teach me a little bit of discipline back in the day. I realized that when there were songs I did like, I would practice them. I wouldn’t practice Chopin very much but I would practice the Star Wars theme song. When I would get into certain songs, it helped me progress, so then that transitioned to me playing some guitar and doing some singing in high school. Then it’s just like the branches kept going out and out, in terms of that influence because then you can explore different genres.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
What were you doing before Middle Child Syndrome?
My formal education is as an engineer, so I moved to Milwaukee for Harley Davidson doing design engineering for them, and it was a great opportunity. I worked a lot of hours, I had a team reporting to me, but in the end I was working all the time and I was like “what am I doing here?”
During this [time] I would practice and play on the side, I’ve been doing cover shows for a long time just at bars and stuff. So I did that for a while until I took a step back and just straight up quit to pursue music full time. I was like, I need to see if this is life, if this is everything. It was all consuming and that’s why I made MCS, as an outlet to release the stuff that I’ve been working on.
Where does your band name come from?
My last name is Mueller, pronounced “Miller” so originally, I was going to choose my own name but I was like people are going to pronounce it wrong all the time and it’s going to bug me. I wanted a little separation from my personal life, too. So I took all of these engineering requirements and made a spreadsheet and had all of these different names to choose from. My friends gave me some input and I couldn’t choose because I’m a little indecisive sometimes.
So in the end, Middle Child Syndrome kept coming up because yes, I’m a middle child. You know, I got a little chip on my shoulder, I think, with the music and what I do and trying to prove myself in engineering and music.
Tell me a little bit about your debut single “Bonnie and Me.”
It’s about the story of Bonnie and Clyde, and I don’t know why I got into it – the melody and the strong pattern sort of sounds like a locomotive. My head just went to the 1930s with that song. What I did is I looked up a bunch of history on Bonnie and Clyde and I tried to do it in a unique way by doing it from the perspective of Clyde, being in first person.
What makes you a DIY band?
A lot of the time I call myself a band because I’m doing everything. From a song writing standpoint, the first phase, the lyrics, the melody, instrumentation, that’s all me. Then it goes a step further with recording which is mostly done at my place. After I record everything in my apartment, I comp it and then produce it myself.
What are some of your musical inspirations?
In terms of jazz, my favorite pianist is Oscar Peterson. I have his record hanging up next to my piano, he is so good on the piano and incredible in jazz. He’s formally considered jazz but he got very blues-y, I grew up playing the blues; the first guitar parts I ever learned were old school blues. Oscar represents some of those origins in terms of my inspiration and genre.
What do you think about the independent music scene in Milwaukee?
There’s definitely a lot of talent here. It’s cool because I do feel like I’ve been in Milwaukee for a while and I plan on staying here. There’s a certain culture that’s here in terms of the friendliness and the vibe as you can just detect by going out to bars and restaurants. I think that is embodied by some of the music. Going to a show and experiencing a show live, that energy, that ethos of the city is there in the show and I think that’s reflected by the performers, the music and how they play it.
