Bill Miller chuckles when he hears the terms “traditional” and “alternative” thrown about so casually. He’s been fashioning a unique sound for several years now, blending traditional Native American instruments and themes into contemporary music that’s rich in atmosphere, power, and soul. The singer is currently working on his third album for Warner Western, where he’s the lone Native American on a roster of staunch cowboy music revivalists.
As a Mohican from Wisconsin, Miller naturally feels like an outsider in a music-business town where country is king and the cultural bias is overwhelmingly white and Protestant. At this point, he’s gotten more support for his work outside Nashville, from rock acts such as Tori Amos and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. Even so, he still relishes his hometown as a place where he’s able to follow his own muse. At the same time, he also yearns to climb beyond the marketing definitions that may be limiting his potential audience.
Rather than stick to folksy recreations of traditional American Indian music, Miller has invented his own sound, one that draws on the past while looking toward the future. His 1991 debut, the stunningly effective Red Road, dealt with his roots and his relationship with his father, who struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. The harder rocking follow-up, Raven in the Snow, found the singer exploring racism, abuse, and, ultimately, forgiveness. Now Miller feels his new record will present him with the opportunity to demonstrate his true musical direction.
“I’m ready to show what’s truly in my heart,” he says. “The past albums dealt with my place in America and the world outside. The next one will deal more with what’s inside me, who I am, and who I’ve become. I feel really challenged and really charged up about it.” Miller performs Sunday at 3rd and Lindsley as part of a live radio broadcast on WRLT-FM. (MM)
Getting a song or a track placed on the soundtrack of a movie, TV show, or direct-to-video release can earn some tasty royalties for performers and songwriters. Just ask Nick Lowe, who supposedly scored a cool million just from having a cover of his “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” appear on the multiplatinum soundtrack of The Bodyguard. Such dramatic success stories are rare, but even a song played in a direct-to-cable action movie can generate bucks for artist, songwriter, and publisher.
Of course, that partially accounts for why so much of the music you hear in current movies is half-assed MTV fodder, tuneless noodling, or bombastic blather that pounds your eardrums like a billyclub made of fossilized dinosaur dung. But since many of you out there hope to make a living from writing, performing, and selling songs, we feel that we should alert you to the Fourth Annual Film & TV Music Workshop, to be hosted this coming Tuesday at Belmont University’s Neely Ballroom, where local musicians will be able to pick the brains of film and TV professionals.
The panelists will be James Flamberg, an associate producer, film music producer, and music editor whose credits include Toy Story and Disclosure; Untitled Entertainment founder Andrew Leary, whose credits include I Shot Andy Warhol and Two Days in the Valley; Jonathan McHugh, the new vice president of soundtracks for New Line Cinema; Monica Wyatt, coproducer of Relativity and My So-Called Life; and Marianne Goode, director of television for Rondor Music. The all-day workshop will consist of a meeting with all participants, lunch, and an afternoon session of smaller groups, each one chaired by a panelist.
Last fall, a number of local singers, songwriters, and producers gathered at Sunset Studios for a meeting with New Line music VP Paul Broucek. Broucek told the group point-blank that major labels will hog as many cuts in a movie or TV show as they can—big news there—but he also said that indie artists still have a shot, especially at low-budget films. If nothing else, musicians came away knowing something about the way songs are picked and the mentality of the people who pick them.
Registration for the workshop—which is extremely limited—is $35 and begins at 9 a.m. The notice we received didn’t list a number for information, but one of the project coordinators is Betty Rosen at Crossfire Entertainment; the primary sponsors are BMI and Almo/Irving Music. Any of them should be able to give you the lowdown.
Elliptical dispatches: Code of Ethics, a Nashville-based alternative-Christian quartet, was among the guests of honor last week at Planet Hollywood, where Forefront Records hosted a party for the Christian Booksellers’ Association Expo. In attendance were three 1997 Grammy nominees—Audio Adrenaline, Big Tent Revival, and dc Talk—along with other Forefront artists. As for Code of Ethics, the group just released a new CD, Soulbait; the title track details how Christ will use the band members as bait to lure us blind fish to the “hook” to “set [us] free.” What a load of carp....
Rounder recording artists Beth and April Stevens will preview their Saturday-night Opry debut with a show Friday night at the Station Inn. Fans of sweet sibling harmonies are encouraged to attend.... (JR)
