Music
Press
"I've been invigorated! Popping in Mile 8's "Whatever Works" is like taking a cool shower on a muggy, summer afternoon...If you stumble upon this band at a club or outdoor festival, you would be shaking that booty of yours. Get to know this band."
Tyler Champley - nowontour.com
"The aptly titled "Whatever Works," finds the amiable six-piece expermenting with soul, reggae, pop, prog, and root rock with infectious energy that would light up even the most stubborn summer night. It's hard not to get caught up right along with them."
James Christopher Monger - allmusic.com
Mile 8 is proud to announce they will be playing for the brave men and women in uniform stationed in the Middle East. Tour dates run from November 26 to December 23. The tour is part of Armed Forces Entertainment and the band will perform up to seven shows per week at various bases in the region. They will visit undisclosed bases in: Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Qatar, UAE, Djibouti, and Kyrgyzstan.
On this tour they will visit several military bases where they will set up shop right there and perform a show for our men and women in uniform. They will not know their travel schedules till 24 hours before they depart each area, for heavy security reasons.
The band is privileged to have the opportunity to bring a small slice of home to these men and women. There job will be to serve as a vital link between those at home and those who guarantee our security – the Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen. It is with great pride and humility that Mile 8 is able to serve these individuals who are protecting us everyday.
Mile 8 formed in 1999 with a goal to produce thick grooves and complex arrangements with a laid back style. Their fusion of reggae, jazz, and rock, pulled from such influences as John Coltrane and Stevie Ray Vaughan, produces a sound that is both lively and without a hint of monotony. They have developed an interactive relationship with the audience, breaking the barrier between the stage and the crowd. These six musicians have the desire and drive to perform and deliver an amazing show. Mile 8 has a goal to constantly produce a groove that moves the mind, body and booty.
- Jambase.com
Mile 8 are an energetic group. Driven by the saxophones of Adam Livingston and the vocal styling of Randy Boen, Mile 8 evokes memories of early 1990s organic pop. While the
Tennessee based collective use typical jamband ingredients in their musical stew, ranging from funk to rock to light reggae, songwriting remains a key factor in Mile 8's success. So, it seems fitting to place this ripe Nashville collective alongside the jukebox-driven bar-jammers of the Blues Traveler era.
Since forming in the summer of 1999, Mile 8 has cultivated a niche for themselves in the Nashville music community, as well as recently traveling to Greenland as part of the Armed Forces Entertainment tour. Reminiscent of From Good Homes' suburban New Jersey jam party, Mile 8 layer their guitar attack with short horn bursts, touching gently on groove jams before retuning to their funky-rock songs. Opening with "For You," guitarist Randy Boen reflects, "Please don't ever let this dream get away/'cause I'll keep on tryin' for it ‘til my dyin' day." Throughout their sophomore release, Mile 8 live out this zealous dream, crafting
enjoyable cuts like the stream of conscious "Pogo Stick" and the catchy "Why Shouldn't We." Adding a bit of southern-rock spice, Johnny Neel touches up nine tracks with his trademark Hammond organ and Southern fried vocal styling, most notably the excellent "Around the World."
Citing Dave Matthews, Phish, and Jimi Hendrix among their influences, Mile 8 follow in their predecessors' footsteps by curbing their jams into fully realized songs. Lyrically, Mile 8's three primary songwriters, stack their cuts with youthful reflection, musing life changes on "Waste Away," while flipping through some tongue-in-cheek imagery on "Grandma's Groovin'." While Whatever Works doesn't immediately recall Mile 8's influences, the group's quirkier edges at times border on jamband clichés. Adding a bit of weight to the group's funky spin is the two-pronged percussion of Curt Redding and Robert Knowles, which gives Whatever Works a bouncy backbone. While Mile 8 certainly have a mature effort in their collective DNA, Whatever Works is a well crafted studio document of the sextet's current live sound.
- Jambands.com
MILE 8: Nashville, TN
GOING THE DISTANCE
I’m beginning to think there’s something of a revolution going on in Nashville. Case in point: the sextet Mile 8, a polished and lively jamband that doesn’t do country. Guitarist Randy Boen admits that Nashville is a difficult place for a jamband: “Nashville is a tough place to be. On any given night you can go out and see these amazing players anywhere in town. But… we have the opportunity to have a lot of great guests sit in with us.” Listening to the band’s album, Whatever Works, it’s hard to believe that Mile 8 has only been together for just over four years, as pretty much whatever they tackle works. The band has a full-blown sound that encompasses rock, jazz, funk and even a little hip-hop. Musically tight, its songs are vibrant and infectious, with complex arrangements. But perhaps the best thing the band has going for it is its attitude. “We’re definitely into the improv thing, but it depends on the energy at the show,” says drummer Curt Redding. “I guess our philosophy is just to have fun and communicate with the audience and each other.” To that extent, the band just got back from touring the Middle East, playing for stationed U.S. military and locals. “It’s great to see this thing happen and grow as it has,” Boen says. “We just want to make a living doing what we love.”
- Mick Skidmore - Relix Magazine - April Issue
Discography
2000 - Mile 8
2004 - Whatever Works
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
"Mile 8 has a full blown sound...The songs are vibrant and infectious..." -- Relix Magazine
"Mile 8 stands out as a band whose identity is being formed more by the passion they have for the music they play, rather than the musical trends that surround them." -- Mike Doyle, ASCAP
The band started playing shows together in and around Nashville in the spring of 1999. From the beginning this band was developing a style that could not be classified. Was it funk? Was it rock? It was a unique sound. The sounds of the lead guitar and keyboards mixed with a smooth saxophone and hypnotic percussion beats made people turn their heads immediatley. The band received validation in August of 2002 when they won the Nashville Battle of the Bands sponsored by popular Nashville radio station Lighting 100, igniting an industry buzz with producers, management, and labels. Musicians in and around Nashville also caught on to the sound and talent of Mile 8. The bands friendly attitude has lead to them playing with some of the biggest in the business including: Leftover Salmon, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Tea Leaf Green, Jeff Coffin, Vince Gill, Johnny Neel and Victor Wooten, as well as sharing the stage with many more on the circuit of festivals such as Sweetwater Brewery's 4/20 Fesitval, Harvest Fest, Bonnaroo, and the High Sierra Music Festival.
After years of touring the band wanted to capture the sound that continued to amaze the masses. The band went to friend and mentor Johnny Neel, who has worked with vast amounts of artist including the Allman Brothers and Government Mule, to produce an album that could capture the groove that Mile 8 produced in their shows. The album has won many new fans and has received praises from many critics. Mike Greenhaus of Relix Magazine and Jambands.com had this to say about the album:
Their latest CD is “Whatever Works”, an appropriate title, not only because the record refuses to be pigeonholed by being tagged with funk-rock or the more grisly "jam-band" rag, but also because this mesh of styles does in fact work.
Why the name “Mile 8”?
Curt, the drummer for Mile 8, has always taken a liking to the number “8”. Once he had several tickets to a string of concerts along the East Coast get lost. All of his friends still went on the trip, but they made a stop along I-40 in North Carolina to steal him a Mile 8 sign to show how much they missed him. The sign happened to be in the room when the band was trying to find a name.
In the spring of 2004, the band packed their bags and headed out to Los Angles to play a showcase at the famous Roxy club. And more recently the band was included on an Armed Forces Entertainment Tour, which took the band to Greenland to play for troops stationed there. Because of their friendly and “up for anything” attitude, the band can now stake claim to playing the first and only outdoor concert in Greenland history.
They have performed for audiences in eight different countries in North America, Asia, and Africa, as well as across the United States in venues and at major festivals. These six musicians have the desire and drive to perform and deliver an amazing show you won't want to miss.
The band has just finished recording their third album, entitled "Crazy Things." It is scheduled to be released in August of 2006. Also being released in the summer is a live DVD filmed at the Exit/In in Nashville, TN. Mile 8, close friends, and local band Old Union put on a seamless night of music as they each--without stopping the show-- had two sets and topped the night off with a super-jam with all eleven members and friends for a healthy forty-five minute encore. It was quite a marvelous night of music, and it was captured for everyone to see. For more information on current Mile 8 news, please visit mile8.com.
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