With his powerful, raspy voice and riveting stage presence, Austin-based singer Malford Milligan has drawn comparisons to such soul icons as Otis Redding and Al Green. Milligan was born on March 29, 1959, in Taylor, TX, to Frank and Mary Milligan, and as an albino black, he experienced a double dose of America's pervasive racial confusions. After failing to make a go of it as a sociology student at Texas Tech University, Milligan moved to Austin in 1981 with the intent to start anew at the University of Texas. His life took a hard left turn toward a music career, however, when he began showing up and singing at the regular Monday night blues jams at Antoine's. Milligan was clearly a special talent, and he soon found himself fronting a local alternative band called the Stick People.