HERRIMAN, Utah, Feb. 4, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — The night she met the first of her future bandmates, “Miss Kris” was a nurse taking a fun night off to pursue a favorite relaxing hobby, karaoke.
Little did she know that Brandon Frampton, then of Lizzy and the Goons, was in the house, and he was looking for a replacement for Lizzy, who had to move away and left an opening for a show-stopping, female lead rock singer.
Kris sang Guns ‘n Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” into the karaoke mic.
“And he was like, ‘Wow. I think I found the new singer,” Kris recalled. “So he approached me, and he’s like, ‘I’m not being creepy or anything, I’m dead serious: we need a lead singer. Have you ever thought of being in a band?'”
Kris had not, but “I jumped at the chance, so yeah, that was very surprising, and I’m having the time of my life.”
MILF & Cookies, a cheeky name suggested by Kris’ husband, would become the new name of the band, which is based in Utah County.
The band’s mantra: “Have a blast and deliver a kick-ass show that makes heads bang and hips sway.”
Now four years in, MILF & Cookies returns to Herriman hotspot Redemption Bar & Grill on Saturday, and will share its own custom blend of high-energy ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and beyond music with its current and future fans.
In keeping with the band’s new name, the guys all adopted “cookie” names. Bad Kenny G, the red-haired lead guitarist, is “Ginger Snap.” Bass guitarist Brandon/Spanky Frampton, the leanest of the lot, chose “Thin Mint.” Rhythm guitarist Kevin Porter, proud of his Samoan blood, named himself “Samoa Cookie.” And Toby Middlebrook, a “monster” on the drums, calls himself “Cookie Monster.”
And although MILF Kris is in the first and only band of her life, the male band members bring decades of musical experience and personal tastes including ’80 hair band music, Southern rock, metal, country and grunge, with rock being the common denominator.
The band plays well together, off and on stage.
“We are so grateful for every member of this band, our spouses, the friends that we bring in,” Kris said. “There’s not any drama. We don’t have any egos, we don’t fight. We are committed to getting together to practice and to making sure we can make the gigs.”
MILF & Cookies has played venues around the state and nearby, and enjoys playing private parties, festivals and other gatherings, and charity fundraisers.
Fans can’t stop themselves from dancing, jumping, bobbing or otherwise moving to the music. Frampton understands how they feel.
“I love music, and performing provides me the opportunity to make the audience feel the way that I feel when I listen to music,” he said.
“It’s right in your face. You get to feel the intensity of it. It’s like, like, you can’t be any more involved than being the person making the music. That’s how much I love music, and that’s how we get to express it the most. The whole room experiences it together.”
Kris said she feels alive and fully engaged, artistically, when her audience approaches the stage with their hands in a “rock on” gesture (only pointer and pinky raised).
“You feel their energy and our energy, and you get the sense that the music that we are creating has engulfed them as well. It’s providing them a great time, and that’s so worth it to me, it’s such a great feeling.”
MILF & Cookies plays at 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at Redemption, at 3517 W. Maradona Drive. To preorder tickets while they are still available, click here.
Redemption also has two more floors, one with a sports bar and one with a tiki bar. There’s a full menu of meals, appetizers and drinks available.
This Friday night, the basement entertainment venue will feature AC/DC tribute band Dirt Cheap. To read about that concert, click here.
