Written by Angel Park

Milkboy Philadelphia is a live music venue, bar, and restaurant located amongst the hustle and bustle on Chestnut Street in Center City. The venue was opened in 2011 by co-owners Tommy Joyner and Jamie Lokoff and has since been the host to some locally and nationally recognized musicians.

Tommy has been involved in the music industry for over 20 years wearing many hats, including roles as a music producer, sound engineer, and even as a singer/guitarist in Pep Rally, his band. We had the chance to chat with him about the origins of Milkboy, its role in the Philadelphia music community, and precisely what Pep Rally’s latest single, “Turn the Radio Up” really means.

For Joyner, the concept of Milkboy began when he was barely a teenager, inspired by his early love of recording music. 

“The idea for Milkboy started as a recording studio,” He explains. “I’ve been interested in recording since I was 14 and started experimenting with track recorders around the same age. A few years later, I started recording my band and made tapes for us. And then other bands asked me to make tapes for them. I and some of the guys in my band ran it as a recording studio for years before we got into the venue side of things.”

Milkboy had a recording studio in Ardmore where various acts would come through the doors to record. The concept of utilizing its space as more than just a recording studio reared its head in 2006 after some talks with his business partner and co-founder, Jamie Lokoff.  

“In 2006, Jamie and I decided to open up a little coffee shop associated with Milkboy Recording (down the street), so we could start getting into the venue side of the business,” Joyner recalls. “We also learned we wanted to provide a stage for bands, widen our footprint in Philadelphia’s music scene, learn more about it, and meet more people. With what we do with recording, it was all about the studio and giving us better access to more musicians.”

Milkboy Studios added Milkboy Coffee until 2011 when Joyner and Lokoff decided to move it to Philly and convert it to a two-floor bar area with stage space, and it’s been that way ever since.

When it comes to getting talent through Milkboy’s doors, Joyner is no stranger to the process.

“We have relationships with different agents and bands locally and across the country,” Joyner explains. “We’ll have an agent reach out to us and say, ‘hey, we think you should book this band because they’re gonna be big in six months, etc.’ And from there, we decide if we can book the band within two months before the album comes out or after it comes out. We work out a deal that’s best for both parties.” 

But the real key to booking great shows -according to Joyner, it’s about your network. 

“When it comes to finding new talent, It’s all about relationships, loving music, liking people and the different music pathways out there,” Joyner says.

 “Philadelphia music is a broad category,” Joyner quips, “There’s not just one genre dominating the city. For example, Philadelphia has a large gospel scene, hip-hop, R&B, and urban scene. But it also has this niche folk and indie rock scene, which you hear a lot of on, on stations like WXPN, which has been very influential in cultivating all of that.”

 In addition to the variety of music available in Philadelphia, Joyner also credits the community for being incredibly welcoming. 

“I think that we’re in many ways, we’re blessed because there’s a lot of quality artists in Philly,” Joyner explains, “And we don’t judge each other in Philadelphia by the color of our skin or the church that we worship or any of that stuff, we really judge each other by the contents of our record collection. Generally, there’s something for every genre fan here, and people find their groups in Philadelphia.” 

When he’s not busy booking shows to running Milkboy’s recording studio, Joyner writes music along with his bandmates in the group Pep Rally. 

“Pep Rally was a musical project that was a long time coming and has been with me for ages,” He states, “I’ve worked with so many other people on their records and never got around to finishing my own stuff.” 

As far as the inspiration behind the name itself? It’s all about feeling.

Tommy explains, “The name Pep Rally is really more a way to describe a feeling. What we’re trying to do with the band is have it feel like a fun time, which is good to listen to. Pep Rally’s music is really about fun and happiness and love.” 

On the subject of the band’s single “Turn the Radio Up,” Tommy said, “The song’s inspiration is from an idea about what would happen if everything was possible. Like what would life be like if you could do anything? It’s about the feeling of freedom. What if you could just grab the wheel and live life till you’re gone without all these kinds of day-to-day worries and concerns that we all have and without worrying about other people and what they think of you? I think you’d turn the radio up and drive around the world.”

 In addition to the studio and Chestnut Street’s venue, there is Milkboy South Street, where they host Open Mic every Monday night. During the summer, you can also go to The Oval XP on the parkway and check out the Milkboy Beer Garden.  

As for what’s next for Milkboy and Pep Rally? “We’re building out our show calendar for the upcoming fall and winter for Milkboy, so there’s a ton going on with that. And There’s more Pep Rally music coming out for sure! We released a second single, “South Street,” and are releasing a Remix for “Turn the Radio Up” by Klubjumpers in a couple of weeks, following our full-length album. We’re hoping to have it all completed by October.”

Milkboy Philadephia

Pep Rally on Spotify

Milkboy the Studio

Milkboy South Street

The Oval XP

Steve Ryan is as jovial as his music during our telephone conversation. I can almost hear him smiling on the other end of the line when he responds to my questions. I ask him how he remains positive in his music when often times it is so easy to dwell on the negative. “I think that’s a reflection of my personality,” says Ryan. “It’s really about just speaking from the heart.”

Not all of Ryan’s songs, however, are happy.  As there is good and bad in life, there are good and bad themes the artist touches on in his music. No matter what his message is though, fans are tuning in and anxiously waiting to hear what Ryan comes up with next.

Ryan does it all. From composing material for a variety of other artists to producing his own musical works, he has been more than busy the past few years. With plans to release his new album this spring, the Georgia native didn’t always foresee a career in the industry. Ryan was drawn to music at an early age, but determining that it would play a much bigger role in his life wouldn’t happen until later. “My father was a drummer and my grandmother sang, so music was always there in a sense,” says Ryan. “My family didn’t pass it down to me in that way though. Music was just a natural form of expression. I played it because I enjoyed it. If you would have asked me when I was young if I was going to be an artist or songwriter, I would have said no.”

The first big break Ryan received in the business was through his efforts as a ghostwriter. He spent some time during his early adulthood doing this and was recruited for the line of work through his poetry. “I actually became involved with ghostwriting through a bad experience,” Ryan tells me. “I used to go to spoken word and open mic nights at Apache Café in Atlanta. After a publisher heard my poetry, he invited me to his studio. I wrote a song and then found out later that this song was on an album. I said to the publisher, hey that’s my song. And he said, no it’s mine because I copyrighted it. I didn’t know anything about this kind of stuff. I was only 18.”

Misleading circumstances turned into learning lessons with Ryan maintaining an optimistic outlook. He continued to work with the publishing company, this time as an official contracted ghostwriter. “Instead of being hotheaded, I made the best out of the situation with the hope that it would lead to better opportunities,” says Ryan. “If it wasn’t for that bad experience, I wouldn’t be on the path I am now.”

Ryan is placing more focus on his own work currently, preparing to release his third album. He is still in the process of recording some of the new record’s tracks, giving himself a deadline that falls somewhere between April and May. “The album is over halfway done,” says Ryan, “it’s just a matter of me not being so picky. I’m rewriting some of the tracks and have a few more songs to add vocals to. The target release date is April 11th. I’m really excited about the record because it’s going to be a good one.”

“Your Stare” and “Real Time” were two singles put out earlier this year. Ryan is also in the midst of another project that has him working with the famous remixing duo, KlubJumpers. Through this collaboration he is planning to release an EP of original dance songs.

On top of his many talents and musical ventures, Steve Ryan is also a member of the Grammy Voting Academy. I talked to Ryan right before this year’s award show and tried to find out what nominees he was excited about. “I haven’t really been following anybody because I’m so busy,” says Ryan. “I’m guilty of not participating in that way but I did vote. Typically, I go for the underdog, the unknown artists, because I’m in that category too.”

As his career progresses further with each new project, it doesn’t seem like Steve Ryan will be unknown for long. With versatile music and infectious lyrics, this musician could be the next underdog on the Grammy ballot.