Good Day to Be Alive: Sisters Doll’s Journey Through Triumph, Turmoil, and Tour Life

Good Day to Be Alive: Sisters Doll’s Journey Through Triumph, Turmoil, and Tour Life

Few modern rock bands embody the spirit of grit, glam, and pure heart the way Sisters Doll does. Formed by brothers Brennan, Bryce, and Austin Mileto—and now joined by their youngest brother Sage—the Australian quartet has spent the last sixteen years carving out a place in the global rock scene through relentless touring, explosive live shows, and a deep‑rooted love for the music that shaped them.

From their early days playing clubs in Perth to headlining festivals in the UK, from sharing stages with KISS legends to performing aboard the Monsters of Rock Cruise, Sisters Doll has built a career fueled by passion, perseverance, and family. Their latest album, Scars, digs deeper than ever before, blending anthemic hooks with raw emotion and hard‑earned wisdom. And with new tours underway and a growing international fanbase, the band’s momentum is only accelerating.

I sat down with drummer and vocalist Bryce Mileto to talk about the band’s evolution, the stories behind their new music, their unforgettable experiences with KISS, and what fans can expect from the next chapter of Sisters Doll.

We’re here with a member of Sisters Doll. First of all, introduce yourself and tell me what you do in the band.
What’s up, everyone? I’m Bryce, and I play drums and backing vocals in Sisters Doll.

Where are you guys based out of, and what is your local rock scene like there?
We’re based out of Melbourne, Australia. The scene here has really started to pop off lately. It feels like things are picking up and going pretty well.

You guys have been out to Hollywood at least once—maybe twice, I think. Tell me about the shows you did in Hollywood and what some of the highlights were for you.
We’ve played the Whisky a Go Go a handful of times, and one of those nights we actually got to headline, which was really cool. That was a few years back now. We’ve also done the Viper Room and played all over Hollywood. Most recently, we jumped on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, which is probably the biggest thing we’ve done in America as a band. That was a huge highlight for us.

What did you think of Los Angeles and the Sunset Strip overall?
I thought it was really cool. It’s got that magic touch to it. Coming from Australia, America always feels like this larger‑than‑life place—you see it in movies and everything. So going there was really exciting for us. The Strip has such a vibe. Obviously, it’s not what it used to be from what we’ve heard and seen, but from our experience, it’s been great.

Same question about the Monsters of Rock Cruise—what were some of the highlights?
The highlights for us were definitely the lineup. We were on the ship during a really cool year with bands we grew up listening to and loving. Extreme was on there—we’re big fans of those guys—so that was a real pinch‑yourself moment. Doing the Monsters of Rock Cruise had always been a bucket‑list item for us. We’d heard so much about it, and I think we were one of the first local, original Australian bands to be part of it the year we played. It was life‑changing for us because it opened the door to the American market. Hopefully we’ll get to jump on it again in the years to come.

You have a few tours coming up. First, let’s talk about the Australian tour. What are you looking forward to the most?
We’ve already kicked it off—we did Melbourne, which I think was our biggest show of the tour, and it was a huge night. We’ve got Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth on this run, and that wraps up the Australian leg. I’m really looking forward to going back to Perth, which is where we’re originally from. We live in Melbourne now, and Perth is a part of Australia we don’t get to visit often because it’s quite expensive to get there. So we’re excited for that one. And then later in the year, we’ve got a big UK tour coming up.

Tell me about the UK tour—what are you looking forward to there?
That’s going to be huge. It’s our second time going over, and we already made our mark last year with 14 dates. We’re coming back so soon because it was such a success. Now we’re headlining some of the festivals we played for the first time last year, which is insane. Last time we were on early in the afternoon—now we get to go back and headline. It’s like, what is going on? It really feels like the roller coaster is just starting.

You just released one of your songs, “Good Day to Be Alive 2.” Tell me about that song and what it means to you.
This is a song we’ve always ended our set with. We originally recorded it in 2017, but it never really got the recognition we felt it deserved. So we went back in and re‑recorded it—especially now that our other brother, Sage, is in the band. He added his magic to it as well. It’s one of those songs that’s just catchy as hell and has a really positive meaning behind it. It’s basically us singing about what we believe in, and it’s the perfect way to close out every show.

You also recently released an album called Scars. What does that album title—and the song “Scars”—mean to you?
It’s definitely a deep title. Scars kind of speaks for itself, but people can interpret it however they want. We’ve been doing this band for almost 16 years now—two of those with Sage—and over that time we’ve been through a lot of highs and a lot of lows. This album feels like pulling back the curtain on everything we’ve experienced. If you really dig into the songs, each one tells a story. Some are feel‑good tracks, and others are real tearjerkers because we’ve been through some tough times too. Every song has a message behind it.

Let’s talk about a few of the songs and what they mean to you. “Climbing Out of Hell”—what a title. Tell me about that one and the inspiration behind it.
Long story short, we’ve had managers in the past and signed contracts that didn’t work out. There are a lot of sharks in this industry, as you’d know—people who promise you the world. I remember one manager telling us we’d be as big as Bon Jovi in two years, playing massive shows and doing all this stuff. Over time, we realized that everything we’ve achieved has been because of us—because we’re brothers and we’ve done the work ourselves. That song came from a dark place for the band and for our family. It’s about climbing out of hell, getting those sharks out of your life. If you really listen to the lyrics, it goes deeper than it might seem on the surface.

Let’s pick another song—“United.” Tell me about that one.
Yeah, that one hits home. It’s hard to turn on the news these days without feeling overwhelmed. Not to get too political, but the world can be a scary place. And beyond that, life is tough—cost of living, trying to make ends meet, all of it. If you dig into the lyrics, they probably hit close to home for a lot of people. It’d be nice if the whole world could just get along—peace and love, you know? But obviously that’s not always the case. Still, “United” has become a huge crowd favorite. It’s one of the heavier songs on the album, and we love belting it out live. It makes us and our fanbase—the Doll Army—feel united in that moment, which is really cool.

Select another song off Scars that’s a personal favorite of yours and tell me what inspired it.
I’ll go with “Baby Doll.” That’s another heavier track on the album. It’s actually an old song we rehashed—we demoed it years ago. It had a cool melody, so we brought it back to see how it would turn out. We took it to our producer, worked on it a bit, and it came out way better than we expected. I think we originally wrote it around 2011. Bringing it back after all these years, there was still some real magic in it. And it goes off live too, which makes it even better.

Here’s the KISS part of the interview—several KISS questions coming your way. You covered “God Gave Rock and Roll to You.” What made you decide to cover that song, and has anyone from KISS ever heard or commented on it?
It’s a funny one because we grew up loving KISS—if you look at the history of our band, we’ve done a lot of cool things with different KISS members over the years. So it just felt right to record a KISS song. But technically, it’s not even originally a KISS song—they covered another band’s version. So we basically did a cover of KISS’s version.

But that song means a lot to us. Every lyric in it rings true for what we believe in. We feel really strongly about it. And when we released our version, we actually heard back from Peter Criss and Bruce Kulick—they both loved it and thought it was cool. Looking back, it would’ve been awesome to record an actual KISS original, and I think one day we will. Something like “Makin’ Love” or “Watchin’ You”—something a little left‑field would be really cool to tackle.

You mentioned Bruce Kulick. He appeared on your song “Young Wild & Free.” How did that come about?
We first worked with Bruce in 2015 when he came out to Australia for a tour. The people we were working with at the time said Bruce didn’t really have a band lined up and that he’d be open to getting up and playing with someone. We were like, “Man, that would be incredible.” Bruce checked us out, he’d heard of us, and he was into the idea.

We learned the setlist he wanted—some of the KISS songs were pretty obscure—and we were still quite young at the time, but we said yes. The shows were a huge success, and we built a great relationship with Bruce that year. That snowballed into more work together. He came back in 2017 for another tour, and by then we were friends. So we asked him, “Hey Bruce, would you play guitar on this song?” He said yes, and what he came up with was amazing.

And then there’s Peter Criss—you’ve shared the stage with him. What was that experience like?
That was massive for all of us as brothers, but especially for me. Growing up, Peter was my superhero. Most kids idolize Batman or Superman—I idolized Peter Criss. I loved the color green because of him. I used to draw his signature everywhere. Our parents had KISS memorabilia all over the house. Our dad was a huge KISS fan.

So to work with Peter years later, and for him to trust us—because we were still young guys—to get up and perform with him for his final shows in Australia and in New York City… it was surreal. Truly life‑pinching stuff. Huge shout‑out to Gigi and Peter Criss—they’ve been such a big part of our lives and our career. Some of the opportunities we’ve had wouldn’t have happened without them. We’re forever in their debt. We love them.

One of the legends of KISS, Ace Frehley, recently passed away. How did that affect you?
That broke us. It felt like losing a family member. Like I said, we grew up surrounded by KISS memorabilia—those four original members were our icons. It was heartbreaking.

We were lucky enough to work with Ace. Brennan got to share the stage with him, and then we went back over and played with him again in Florida at a KISS event. We got to know him a little bit, and he was such a lovely guy. On a friendship level, he was always larger than life to us—him, Peter, Paul, Gene… all of them.

Losing Ace hit us hard, just like it did the rest of the world. It’s difficult to put into words how much he—and KISS as a whole—mean to us.

To all the brothers in the band—what is the best, and maybe not‑so‑best, part about having all your brothers in the same band?
It definitely has its great moments, but it has its tough ones too. You’re essentially stuck together for life. We try not to piss each other off too much—we know each other’s limits. On the road, especially on tours like the UK run we did last year, you’re in a van together, sharing hotel rooms… it gets wild.

But honestly, I don’t think the band would’ve lasted this long if it were just mates. We call each other mates now, but we’re basically best friends. Sixteen years is a long time. I don’t know anyone the way I know my brothers. To still be slugging it out together, touring, making music—I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. If it were friends, maybe it would’ve been harder. Who knows. But for us, it works, and it’s a lot of fun.

How did Sage wind up joining the band?
For years people would say, “Don’t you have another brother?” And we’d be like, “Yeah, but he’s eight.” When we started the band, we were young ourselves, so Sage was way too little for it to even be a thought.

But over the last five years, he started showing more interest in music. He’d come to gigs and say, “I want to help out.” Then he’d pick up the acoustic guitar at home, then the bass, asking Austin to show him things. He grew a real passion for it. It felt like it was meant to happen—we were just waiting for the right moment.

When Scars came around, Sage came into the studio for a few days, and having him play on the music was really special. It feels like the band has come full circle. When we look back at old footage of just the three of us, it almost looks like something’s missing now. It’s crazy.

Any other brothers or sisters who might be joining?
Nah, which sucks because it was such a cool rejuvenation for the band. It was like having a wild card in your back pocket—“We’ll whip this out when things get stale.” But we played that card at the right time, and it’s lifted us for sure. It feels like a new band.

You’re currently on tour. For people coming to these shows, what can they expect from a live Sisters Doll performance?
They can expect a lot. These days, unless you’re paying big money to see a stadium act, it’s rare to find a band that really goes all out. We love being theatrical—not in a cheesy way, but in a “give people everything” way.

At our recent Melbourne show, I had a revolving drum kit that spins left and right during my solo. We use pyros—flames, sparks, smoke bombs—whatever the venue will allow. We try to pack in as much as we can to give people a real show. We’re planning to bring as much of that as possible to the UK, especially for the festivals we’re headlining.

But all the flashy stuff only works if the music is solid. Music comes first. We want to be the band we would want to see on stage—the drummer ripping, the singer commanding the crowd, the guitarist shredding, the bass player locking in. Big chanting choruses, crowd involvement, feel‑good energy. That’s what a Sisters Doll show is all about. If you want to be entertained and sing along to melodic rock with a positive vibe, that’s us.

Last question—do you have any messages for Sisters Doll fans here in the States who are reading this?
Every time we post something, people say, “Come to America!” And we love America. Huge shout‑out to all our fans who’ve grown with us over the years. We first came over when we played the Whisky a Go Go—I was only 17. That was in 2012. An opportunity came up, and we supported Crashdïet on the Generation Wild tour, which is one of my favorite albums. That was massive for us.

Ever since then, we’ve had this awesome relationship with America, and it keeps growing. I hear in the pipeline—don’t know how much I can say—but it looks like 2027 we’ll be coming back. Hopefully on the Monsters of Rock Cruise again, and we’ll try to book a few shows in LA and Hollywood. Huge shout‑out to everyone—we can’t wait to come back.

In Conclusion

As Sisters Doll continues carving their path across Australia, the UK, and soon enough the United States once again, one thing is unmistakably clear: this band is powered by heart, hunger, and the unbreakable bond of family. Their story is one of resilience—of climbing out of hell, embracing their scars, and turning every setback into fuel for the next stage. Whether they’re spinning drum kits, lighting up festival stages, or honoring the legacy of the rock icons who inspired them, Sisters Doll brings a level of passion and authenticity that’s increasingly rare in modern rock.

For fans in the States eagerly waiting for their return, Bryce’s message says it all: the love is mutual, and the connection runs deep. And with new music, new tours, and new chapters on the horizon, the Doll Army has plenty to look forward to.

Sisters Doll isn’t just keeping rock alive—they’re proving it’s still a damn good day to be alive.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Sisters Doll on Instagram