The music of Milk and Honey

Regional band keeps music, family in focus

Milk and Honey at Party in the Park

5-9 p.m., Central Park

By Kate Hayden | khayden@charlescitypress.com

Nearly fifty years later, the Iowa band Milk and Honey is still making sweet music.

“The group’s been at it a long, long time,” bass guitarist and vocalist Rick Koch said. “We’ll cover a little bit of everything.”

As one of the founding members, Koch has seen the group from it’s early days in the 1960s and reorganized in the 1970s. Since then, members have joined and left, and the group has gone from performing nearly 250 nights a year –– with a record that sold nearly 100,000 copies and offers to tour nationally –– down to about 35 to 40 performances yearly. It was a deliberate choice to stay regional, Koch said, and give band members a chance to stay with young families rather than face the challenges of the road.

“What the husbands and wives were saying was, ‘hey, once we go we’ll be gone four to six months at a time,'” Koch recalled. “The group members at that time had 11 children between ages 1 to 7 or 8.”

Milk and Honey returns to Charles City this Friday at Party in the Park, performing from 5 p.m. a mix of classic pop, country and rock. The band is made up of members Koch; Maureen Hastings, keyboards and vocals; Roger Miller, lead and bass guitar; John Arntson, drums; Wayne Risvold, guitar, bass guitar and keyboard; Lis March, rhythm guitar, keyboard, sax and flute; Brent Hastings, harmonica and sound technician; and Eric Ver Steegt, technical support.

Staying regional means the band can be intimately involved with the parties they do and the shows they return to, Koch said.

“We got an email from [a couple] who had met at our earlier performances and now lives in California with four or five kids,” Koch said. “It was important to them that they shared with us…we’ve performed for more than 250 weddings and stuff, you work with a lot of people. You get to know the family and the people.”

The group was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 in recognition for their work as what Koch calls a “serious hobby”.

“It’s a totally different industry than back when we started in the 70s and 60s,” Koch said. “Now you’ve got a lot of other media things that just all didn’t exist. It was pretty much all live entertainment.”

“It’s still enjoyable, we’re trying to make it as fun as we can,” he added. “We’re still exercising the art of performing.”

The group has also invited 13-year old Ally Beganstos as a guest performer for the night.

“In the summer we’ll have different kids and upstarts. We simply invite them along and have them get out in front of people,” Koch said. “It keeps younger people involved…she’s a real good singer but never has the chance to get in front of a group.”

The band’s easy-going approach to touring these days keeps them close as they’ll start to plan a 50th anniversary for next summer, he added.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have a number of people who got along well enough to keep going,” Koch said. “We’ve always been fairly lucky, to have a family of people who can work and travel together, and enjoy it.”

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