The Early Years 1990 - 1999
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM
In late 1990 my mother (who worked for a recording studio in Greenville) introduced me to Lee King. Lee was a student producer. The original reason we were introduced was because I had 4 original songs that I needed demos made for the purpose of pitching the songs to the music industry. During the recording of the demos in late November of 1990, Lee mentioned that he was working on his music tape that he recorded annually and then handed out copies as Christmas presents.
Thus an idea was placed in my head and a few days after recording the 4 demos I returned and recorded 6 more originals with just a piano background. These 10 songs then became my first privately released cassette...CONVENTIONAL WISDOM.
MITCH MILLER: piano, synthesizer, sequencer, drums on "Richmond", percussion, lead and background vocals
TONY HOWARD: opening and closing piano on "Searching For Lost Direction"
LEE KING: percussion on "True Emotion", sequencer programming on "Crayola Cradles" bass and strings on "Richmond"
JOURNEY INTO DREAMLAND
In late 1991 I found myself wanting to record another cassette but didn't really have the funds to go into the studio. However I did have a neat Alesis vocal processor and the ability to mix my microphone with what ever was playing on my hi-fi.
So instead of a release featuring original material, I decided to mix my voice singing in harmony or counterpoint with some of my favorite songs. Which is why on the insert I included the following disclaimer: First off and for the record (no pun intended)...I have never personally met Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, etc. I am however, very clever with electronics and their myriad applications. (end of quote)
For obvious legal reasons I cannot share these tracks in their entirety but now 30 second sound bites? Yeah...I think I can handle that!
EMPTY SPACES
After a period of 3 years my financial situation was stable enough to afford another cassette production and in 1995 I entered Chasin' A Dream Studios in Pelham, SC to record 7 original tunes plus an Indigo Girl cover.
At this time I was doing a lot of writing with John (Jam Jam) Wolfrom. He co-wrote 3 songs on the album and even took a turn at a little blues harp on one number. I was also taking a greater interest in and paying more attention to detail on my cassette cover and insert. Proud to say I personally lettered every single word that you see in the graphics below.
Still kinda proud of this one. It contained my first attempts at recording "Land Of Shame" and a song written about my late grandmother Rosa Lee Miller.
MILLER
A year later in 1996 John and I returned to Chasin' The Dream Studios
for a 6 song set of originals. Fast forward 21 years and when selecting music for my commercial debut in 2017 my producer selected three of the six songs found here for a second shot in the studio.
I began to fall into a pattern here that would comfortably be repeated on my next two releases...but I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry.
* M
By the end of 1997 I was feeling pretty good. In December I released my 5th seasonal cassette with a misunderstood title. The way to pronounce *M is 'dot 'em' or D.O.T.M. which is an acronym for "Derelicts On The Move" which is the lead off track on the album.
I had no idea that in 1998 I would meet Danny Cutts (my first drummer) and that my seasonal releases would never be the same again.
This would be my last time to record with Billy and Cindy at Chapin The Dream Studios in Pelham, SC.
export crating
In 1998 I feel like I took a giant step forward when I discovered a U.S. Customs agent who played the drums. At the time I was working for an international freight forwarder so I had a lot of contact with Customs. Danny Cutts not only became the first drummer for MILLER but also a good friend. In 2000 I played the music at Danny's wedding and hosted the reception afterwards.
I also left Pelham behind as Danny and I traveled to Sandy Flats in northern Greenville County to record my 6th album with Doug Mullinax at his Crystal Rain Studios. I also took the opportunity to debut as a drummer myself on this release. I provide the backbeat for "Rain Helps".
Next year things would change even more as a third person was added to the lineup and a change of name was flirted around with. Instead it became the name of the next album.
HALL OF MIRRORS
As the dawn of the new millennium approached I found myself in a unique situation...I was in a band. Joining Danny Cutts and I at my studio apartment in downtown Greenville was guitar slinger Jeff Leonard. I don't even remember how Jeff and I met but he was kind enough to take a still wet-behind-the-ears public performer (I may have released several tapes at this point but I hadn't performed professionally since 1984) like myself and teach me how to put together 4 playlists with 10 songs each. Then he got us a few gigs around town. Nothing too heavy...always enjoyable. We played as a band under the moniker HALL OF MIRRORS
Our association was brief but it had a profound effect on me. Unfortunately Jeff died of a heart attack in June of 2018. But his memory lives on through this recording.
Now about this recording...after 5 years of going to an outside studio to produce my vanity releases I decided to take a D.I.Y. approach to this album...and it shows in the quality of the audio. I was recording and dubbing between to Hi-Fi Stereo VCR's...pretty amateur. Still there were some cool points.
Doing a song ("The Sweetest Gift") with my mother and sister was really awesome and a song I had just written at the time ("Bella") makes it's first appearance on a MILLER release.
I also took an acoustic song by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton ("After The Gold Rush") and added bass, drums and electric guitar. I would redo this in 2006 with Mark Tyson.
