Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
As I posted recently to a local list serv - " OK, the biggest quantum leap I've seen from a live performance standpoint was the show I saw from Miles Of Wire nine months ago at Fred's in comparison to the show I saw at the KDHX / Playback STL awards a few weeks back. Not that I didn't like the Fred's show but they have really stepped it up and have become a really compelling live band. The addition of another guitar player helped, immeasurably, and Raphael Maurice is not to be ignored as a front person. Anyway, I meant to mention that several weeks back but now that I've heard their new album, Can You Feel It?, I'm just reminded of it. As for the album, these are really memorable songs and that voice just makes you FEEL every single word. A local band not to be missed, overlooked, or ignored, in my opinion. If I had a record label, I'd sign them in one nanosecond." - John Wendland kdhx 88.1
Attending a Miles of Wire show perhaps isn't the best remedy for a St. Patrick's Day hangover; after all, the quartet's sweet introspection is best washed down with a beer or two. But singer Raphael Maurice's scruffy vocals and the group's rollicking alt-country dust clouds just might be the perfect salve for the heart. Based on the strength of demos they entered into a Grammy showcase, the bandmates had the privilege of recording at the legendary Sun Studios last January, and the solid results — a late-period Replacements jingle-jangle titled "Marriage" and the boot-stomping rocker "Frustrating Mess" — reveal Miles of Wire to be one of the most underrated bands in town. - River Front Times - Annie Zaleski
"This CD is easily one of the best locally produced CDs I have heard over the last two years; it also gives many national releases a run for their money...His lyrics speak the tragedy of the Faulkner South and the hilarity (perhaps with
hindsight) of youth's mistakes."
- Jim Dunn, Playback Magazine, St. Louis, MO
"…An exceptional slice of rootsy rock. Vocalist Raphael Maurice's voice sounds a little...sweetly strained, especially on the gut-bucket rock numbers. The lyrics recall alt-country grit as well, such as when Maurice sings, "You and me, baby/Got a lot of drinkin' to do." But the sounds are more '80s rock -- no, the other '80s rock, that thread that bound the Replacements
to Springsteen, a thread of passion and pure rock guitar."
- Jordan Harper, Riverfront Times, St. Louis, MO
Discography
All There Is 2004
Can You Feel It? 2006
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
After the success of All There Is the band found more to offer. Sticking to their DIY (do it your self) or die production style Miles of Wire hired Jack Petracek and Smith Lee Studio to help capture fifteen songs. These new recordings were then mixed by guitarist Shawn T. Bell at his loft studio, Bucko Productions. “We wanted a higher fidelity in sound, but to retain our raw edge and have the flexibility to mix off the clock at our home studio,” explained Bell. “People loved the sound of All There Is but some critics were harsh, and we thought we could do better this time.” As with the first CD many of the tracks on Can You Feel It? are second or third takes with no overdubs.
The writing of this record was the work of Raphael Maurice, whose style has matured from the first CD but whose themes remain constant. Maurice’s writing has remained honest and even embarrassingly personal. The CD contains religious imagery dealing with his beliefs and experiences. Take for instance Frustrated Mess, a narrative of living in a psych ward and Catholic Boys, a lesson in religious practices and the consequences.
Much of this CD was written on acoustic guitar and presented to the band in a singer/songwriter style. From there the band filled in and embellished the music and melodies. This can be heard in tracks ten, Take Me As I Am, four, I Am A Cigarette, and five, Belleville Il. These simple songs are built like standards, based on rudimentary chords, but it’s the combination of bassist Randall Eickmeyer drummer Adam Anglin and guitarist Shawn T. Bell that bring color and shape to Maurices brilliantly simple writing.
On the other hand, some songs started as raucous bar bashers. Tracks eight, Big Dick Rocker, nine, We Are The Entertainment and fifteen, Mother F’r You’re Wrong were presented to the band as loud guitar rock tunes. Tried and tested in the bars of St. Louis long before they were burned into plastic these tunes let Eickmeyer, Bell and Anglin show off their talents.
This new CD is a step forward for the group in style and content and the sonic resolution is greater than the previous offering. From warm ballad to saucy declarations of self-importance Can You Feel It? will charm you one minute and have your hair standing on end the next.
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