If you’re at all familiar with the local SDSU music scene, you have definitely come across The White Collars. Over the last few years, they have carved out their place as a standout band in San Diego’s music scene. As they have been tapped to perform at the GreenFest concert (opening for Flo Milli) at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre on March 7, now is the perfect time to catch up with the band and see how they’re feeling about their biggest show to date.
It’s been over two years since “The Daily Aztec” last profiled The White Collars, so band members Cameron Power, Neil Kuhn, Ben Freeman and Aidan Dominé shared what they’ve been up to since.
“We didn’t have Aidan when we last got interviewed,” Power told me. “Right after that interview was taken, we got a new drummer, and it was Aidan! And we’ve been together ever since. Now we live together. The whole band lives together, we built a stage in our backyard. That’s some of the big stuff. And we’ve released a few more songs, nothing crazy.”
Power was also eager to talk about the bands’ recent merchandise, which features a smiley-face character he affectionately called Goober.
“One more thing we did in this time was we made cool new merch, but you know what that is: The Goober merch. We introduced the famous character, Goober. You gotta mention Goober in this,” Power added.
“He’s basically the fifth White Collar,” Freeman chimed in.
“He’s kind of like Mickey Mouse, but more popular,” Power joked.
After winning the Battle of the Bands to secure the GreenFest concert opener slot, the band recently learned at the Artist Reveal Silent Disco in Montezuma Hall that they would be opening for rapper Flo Milli.
“Our initial reaction was we didn’t really realize who it was, to be honest,” Dominé explained. “But then we found out songs that we did know of her, because we actually do know her songs, and that’s cool!”
“And once someone said, “Flo Milli shit!” that was when we knew,” Kuhn added.
“Yeah, I didn’t know who it was and then you said, “Flo Milli shit” and I was like oh, I recognize that,” Power agreed.
In discussing Flo Milli with the band, the four of them told me they unanimously consider her 2019 hit “In The Party” to be their favorite song of hers, and they hope to see her perform it live.
The White Collars have played at many different venues, but performing at the GreenFest concert is a major milestone for them. With the show approaching so soon, they shared how they’ve been preparing.
“We practice a couple times a week, we have been practicing with our guests that we’re going to have, and pretty much we’re running the thirty-minute set we’re going to have and coming up with transitions,” Power explained.
The band also hinted at some surprises they have planned for their set. They revealed that their former drummer Adam Brown will be making an appearance, which is exciting.
“And we also got Evan Volk, who also goes to SDSU,” Kuhn stated. “He is a local rapper; I’ve known him since we were young playing baseball together, and I’m a day one fan.”
“He’s great,” Freeman said regarding Volk. “I saw him live for the first time at the Battle of the Bands.”
“Evan is really good, and he’s going to come out for a song that we’re releasing together,” Kuhn explained. “It’s called “Sail Away.” When will it be released? I don’t know, but it’ll be on Evan’s album.”
You can catch The White Collars opening for Flo Milli at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre on March 7.
