Jonathan Klages (Drums) is from the Waterloo area and has been playing drums for 7 years. The majority of his experience comes from playing in bands from the Kitchener area, mostly with bass player Aaron, his high school friend. Jon has played shows at several venues in the GTA over the course of his career. His drumming style is formed from alternative, modern rock, funk, and blues. All of which are apparent in his foundational drumming for Run of the Mill. Aaron Oberholzer (Bass Guitar) is from the Waterloo area and has been playing Bass for 13 years. Aaron joined his first band at 13 years of age and has played with many talented musicians, including Jon, since then. Aaron has been loving every aspect of music his whole career with his signature style derived from blues and classic rock, and his passion results in an extremely charismatic performance night after night.
After their current project, a 3 piece instrumental band including guitar, it was time to expand their horizons and take things to the next level. The band needed more depth, and eventually, a front man. Next to join the band was Chris Collins (Rhythm Guitar), a fellow co-worker and friend to Jonathan. Chris hails from Fergus Ontario and has played guitar for 6 years developing his style from modern rock and heavy metal. Chris started playing classical piano at only 4 years of age and taught classical lessons for 5 years before even picking up a guitar. He began performing solo piano concerts at 13, becoming well known in his area. His capability on the piano would unknowingly lead to his unique riff development, song structure, and the signature sound of Run of the Mill.
Once Aaron, Jon, and Chris united, they began to foreshadow what musical direction they were headed in. It was obvious the next move was to find a singer that would meld with the group and complete them. The strongest candidate was Max Mileski (Vocals) who had auditioned to sing for Aaron and Jon's previous instrumental group Satin Edge. At that time however, Max's aggressive singing style, conflicted with that of the Satin Edge members, and it was thought best that they keep searching. After a short time, Aaron and Jon contacted Max, realizing a new possible direction with his range, and his place at stage front was secured. Max, former singer of Dyed in the Wool, has been singing for 14 years and comes from Hamilton originally. Max's styles are a blend of metal and modern rock. Max has developed his ability to captivate the crowd from his experience playing shows all over the GTA and continues to do so with Run of the Mill.
The group worked for several months creating and covering songs from bands like Tool and Stone Temple Pilots expanding their set list. The majority of the focus was on original music, creating hook filled melodic hard rock songs under the band name Blindsight. On September 6th 2008 the band had their debut show in Brantford Ontario at Mad Mikes Biker Bash as the opening act. This was where they met Scott Charbonneau (Lead Guitar). Scott had approached the band to compliment them on their show and mentioned he was a lead guitarist from the area looking for people to play music with. The following week, Aaron phoned and asked Scott to join them at practice and with his great attitude and ability to shred, he was asked to join the band. Scott comes from Deep River originally and moved to Waterloo in November of 2003 to search for other musicians to create a band. He has been playing guitar for 8 years gaining most of his style from metal and classic rock bands. Starting with open mic stages, he continued on to form several bands that played locally with little momentum. When Scott joined Jon, Aaron, Chris and Max, Run of the Mill was formed and set in stone.
After several months of practice it became more and more evident that this band was now complete and ready to take the next steps forward in its musical endeavours. The first show of the newly formed band was booked on March 7th 2009 at the Lancaster Tavern in Waterloo Ontario, The venue was filled to absolute max capacity, and they completely leveled the place and everyone in the room that night. Since then, Run of the Mill have played a slew of shows across the GTA, and are showing no signs of slowing down amidst writing new songs, designing and marketing merchandise, and even recording an upcoming E.P. With a solid recording on the way, Run of the Mill without a doubt, are going make a serious mark on the nation, and the world!!
