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Roger Miller (rock musician)

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Roger (Clark) Miller
Background information
OriginBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
GenresPost-punk
Indie rock
Avant-garde
chamber music
Conceptual Art
Years active1968–present
LabelsFire Records
Ace of Hearts
Matador
New Alliance
SST
Cuneiform Records
World in Sound
Feeding Tube
Atavistic
Websiteofficial homepage

Roger (Clark) Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding Mission of Burma and performing in Alloy Orchestra/The Anvil Orchestra.

His main instruments are guitar and piano. Guitar Player magazine describes Miller's guitar playing as balancing rock energy with cerebral experimentation.[1] He also plays cornet, bass guitar and percussion.

Biography

Miller was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Detroit-area bands like the Stooges and the MC5, Miller formed several garage bands in his teens. With brothers Benjamin (Ben) Miller and Laurence B. (Larry) Miller, he formed Sproton Layer; Miller played bass guitar and was the primary singer and songwriter. Their recordings were collected and released in 1992 and again in 2011 as With Magnetic Fields Disrupted. The Miller brothers have an occasional ongoing collaboration called M3.

Attending CalArts in 1976, majoring in composition, Miller also studied piano and French Horn, and studied music by 20th century experimental composers like John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. He dropped out of college in favor of punk rock.

Mission of Burma years

Relocating to Boston, Massachusetts, Miller was a member of the short-lived Moving Parts before co-founding Mission of Burma in 1979.

Mission of Burma disbanded in 1983 due in large part to Miller's worsening tinnitus, attributed in large part to their notoriously loud live performances. In subsequent years, Mission of Burma's small body of recordings grew to be regarded as important and influential.[2]

During the Burma years, Miller worked as a freelance piano tuner.[3] He has composed film soundtracks, including the documentary TV series Big Ideas for a Small Planet.

Miller's current rock trio, Trinary System, released a 5-song EP in 2016 and an LP in 2019.

Non-musical activities

Miller has blogged for Slate[4] and HuffPost,[5] and written a review about Mike Goldsmith's book Discord for The Wall Street Journal.[6] His short story "Insect Futures" was published in Penny Ante III.[7] His drawings have appeared in numerous shows since 2003.

Miller also has conducted "A Night of Surrealist Games" at Arts at the Armory (Somerville, MA),[8] Mass MoCA (North Adams, MA),[9] the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, MA),[10] Real Art Ways (Hartford, CT.), 3S Artspace (Portsmouth, N.H.),[11] Portsmouth Book & Bar (Portsmouth, N.H),[12] Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (Brattleboro, VT),[13] and 118 Elliot Gallery (Brattleboro, VT).[9] He has shown his Surrealist drawings in solo and group exhibitions.[14]

Soundtrack work

Miller has also created soundtrack scores for animation, documentary, and commercials. Four of the films he has scored have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, which has included "500 Years" (2016) and "Granito: How to Nail a Dictator" (2011).

Other musical projects

After Burma broke up, Miller turned his attention to playing piano with the more experimental, instrumental group Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, which he left in 1987.

Afterward, Miller had several collaborations, solo efforts, and film scores; many of these post-Burma albums were released by SST Records:

  • Alloy Orchestra, a trio with Miller on keyboards that composes new scores for silent films. The group's name refers to the many metal objects (hubcaps, springs and pots) used by percussionists Ken Winokur and Terry Donahue. This group morphed into The Anvil Orchestra in remains active.
  • Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble, a multiple-guitar/live loops ensemble. Performances began fall 2020 (virtual at first).
  • M2, an ongoing musical collaboration with Benjamin Miller with Miller on prepared piano.
  • Exquisite Corpse, an instrumental group with Miller on guitar, piano, and sampler; violinist; percussionist; and a shawm/sackbutt player.
  • Binary System, an instrumental, piano/drums duo with percussionist Larry Dersch.
  • Hooker/Miller/Ranaldo, a free improvisation group composed of William Hooker (percussion), Lee Ranaldo (guitar), and Miller (bass).
  • M3, a musical collaboration with Benjamin Miller and Laurence Miller.
  • Maximum Electric Piano (solo prepared piano with loops).
  • No Man (rock-oriented project with Russell Smith on bass and Ken Winokur or Malcolm Travis on drums).
  • Elemental Guitar (solo prepared guitar with loops).
  • Trinary System (rock trio more psychedelic and less punk than Mission of Burma).

Discography

Solo albums

  • Eight Dream Interpretations for Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble (Cuneiform, 2022)
  • No Man Is Hurting Me (Ace of Hearts, 1986)
  • Groping Hands EP (Ace of Hearts, 1986)
  • The Big Industry (Ace of Hearts, 1987)
  • Win Instantly (Ace of Hearts, 1988)
  • Oh (Forced Exposure, 1988)
  • XYLYL and A Woman in Half (New Alliance, 1991)
  • Elemental Guitar (SST, 1995)
  • The Benevolent Disruptive Ray (SST, 1996)

The Fourth World Quartet

  • 1975 (Cuneiform, 2021)

Anvil Orchestra

  • The History of the Civil War (CD, Cosmic Cowboy, 2022)

Alloy Orchestra

  • L'inhumaine Blu-ray
  • Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray and DVD
  • Man with the Movie Camera DVD and Blu-ray (Image)
  • STRIKE! DVD (Image)
  • Fatty Arbuckle Vol. I and II DVD (KINO)
  • The General/Steamboat Bill, Jr. DVD (Image)
  • Slapstick Masters DVD (Image)
  • The Lost World DVD (Image)
  • Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray (Image)
  • Dragonflies the Baby Cries DVD
  • Manslaughter DVD (KINO)
  • Wild and Weird DVD
  • Masters Of Slapstick CD (Accurate, 2001)
  • Lonesome CD (Accurate, 1996)
  • Silents CD (Accurate, 1998)
  • Metropolis CD (Alloy Orchestra)
  • Underworld CD (Alloy Orchestra)

Binary System (Roger Miller and Larry Dersch)

  • Live at the Idea Room (SST, 1997)
  • Boston Underbelly V/A Compilation "Impov. #4 October 5, 1996" (Sublingual, 1998)
  • from the Epicenter (Atavistic, 1999)
  • Invention Box (Atavistic, 2001)

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

  • A Wicked Good Time V/A Compilation "Pulse Piece" (Modern Method, 1981)
  • Birdsongs of the Mesozoic EP (Ace of Hearts, 1983)
  • Magnetic Flip (Ace of Hearts, 1984)
  • Beat of the Mesozoic (Ace of Hearts, 1985)
  • Soundtracks V/A Compilation "To A Random" (Arf Arf, 1987)
  • Dawn of the Cycads (Cuneiform, 2010)

Dredd Foole and the Din (Dredd Foole, Roger Miller, Clint Conley, Pete Prescott, Martin Swope)

  • Songs in Heat, "So Tough" b/w "Sanctuary" (Loose Music/Religious Records, 1982)

M2 (Roger Miller, Benjamin Miller)

  • At Land's Edge (Feeding Tuber Records, 2012)

M-3 (Roger Miller, Ben Miller, Larry Miller)

  • M-3 (New Alliance Records, 1993)
  • Unearthing (Sublingual, 2001)

Roger Miller 45s

  • FWP 45 (Fun World Products, 2011)
  • Big Steam (Good Road Records, 2012)

No Man

  • Damage the Enemy (New Alliance, 1989)
  • Whamon Express (SST, 1990)
  • How the West Was Won (SST, 1991)

Out Trios Volume One (William Hooker, Roger Miller, Lee Ranaldo)

  • Monsoon (Atavistic, 2002)

Roger Miller's Exquisite Corpse

  • Unfold (SST, 1994)

Sproton Layer (Roger Miller, Ben Miller, Larry Miller)

  • With Magnetic Fields Disrupted (New Alliance Records, 1991)
  • With Magnetic Fields Disrupted (World in Sound Records, 2011)

Trinary System (Roger Miller, Larry Dersch, P. Andrew Willis)

  • Amplify the Amplifiers (5-song EP and 7") (Fun World, 2016)
  • Lights in the Center of Your Head (LP, 2019)

Mission of Burma reform and legacy

Mission of Burma reunited in 2002, with Bob Weston replacing Swope. On stage, Miller has his Marshall amplifier at the edge of the stage on his right, with the speakers facing away from him (as seen in the reunion footage in the M0B documentary Not A Photograph). The band has released four albums since reforming, the latest is UNSOUND, July 2012, on FIRE Records.

Many bands have cited Burma as an inspiration, including Nirvana,[15] Pearl Jam,[16] Foo Fighters,[17] Superchunk, Jawbox, The Grifters, R.E.M., Miracle Legion (the last two have even covered "Academy Fight Song": the former on their Green tour and the latter on their debut[18]), Sonic Youth,[19] Drive Like Jehu, Throwing Muses, Yo La Tengo,[20] Fugazi,[21] Pixies, Sugar, Guided by Voices, Shellac, Catherine Wheel, Graham Coxon, Pegboy, Moby and Down by Law - the last five of which have covered Conley's "That's When I Reach for My Revolver".[22] In 2009 the city of Boston declared October 4 to be "Mission of Burma Day" in honor of the band's work in a ceremony held at the MIT East Campus Courtyard.[23]

References

  1. ^ Guitar Player, January 1997
  2. ^ Sullivan, Jim (June 19, 2020). "Bidding A Quiet Adieu To Cacophonous Post-Punk Band Mission Of Burma". WBUR-FM. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1
  4. ^ Miller, Roger (May 10, 2004). "Entry 1". Slate. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Miller, Roger (October 25, 2005). "Mission of Burma". HuffPost. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  6. ^ Miller, Roger (February 16, 2013). "When the Noise Becomes Too Much". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  7. ^ Lorenz, Jon (July 21, 2009). "Thurston Moore, Robert Pollard, Jad Fair, Roger Miller Contribute to Third Penny-Ante Book, Three; Phil Elverum, Growing, Lucky Dragons on Complimentary CD". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  8. ^ Anderman, Joan (January 22, 2010). "Songs for Surrealists". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Levy, Wendy M. (October 31, 2018). "We're all mad here". The Commons. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "ICA First Fridays: Play". The Boston Calendar. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  11. ^ "1.26.16: Dangerous Fashion, Surrealist Games, & Song Exploder". New Hampshire Public Radio. January 26, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  12. ^ Hislop, Christopher (May 15, 2014). "Roger Miller brings Surrealistic game night to Book & Bar". The Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  13. ^ Levy, Wendy M. (July 13, 2016). "Stop making sense". The Commons. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  14. ^ "Surrealist Frottage/Drawing". Roger Miller. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Nugent, Benjamin (July 31, 2001). "The Bands That Made Nirvana". Time. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  16. ^ Fantano, Anthony (October 2, 2009). "Mission Of Burma: The Story Begins Again". NPR. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  17. ^ Gottlieb, Jed (July 17, 2015). "Foo on Boston". Boston Herald. Boston, Massachusetts: GateHouse Media. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  18. ^ "Cover versions of Academy Fight Song by Mission of Burma - SecondHandSongs". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  19. ^ Drozdowski, Ted (January 10–17, 2002). "Burmese days". Boston Phoenix. Boston, Massachusetts: The Portland News Club. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  20. ^ Joyce, Colin (August 26, 2015). "A Revisionist History: Yo La Tengo Pick Their All-Time Favorite Covers". Spin. San Francisco, California: SpinMedia. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  21. ^ "Mission of Burma : Vs". Treble. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  22. ^ "Cover versions of That's When I Reach for My Revolver by Clint Conley". Second Hand Songs. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  23. ^ Peters, Bill (October 5, 2009). "Sunday was officially declared Mission of Burma Day in Boston". The Republican. Springfield, Massachusetts: Advance Publications. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
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