the statement.

the statement. Bio

“The name " the statement" came from the idea that all music, whether instrumental or vocal, should make some kind of statement, and it’s a communication between composer and audience,” Miller says. “The statement could be relationships, love, politics — the topics are seemingly endless.”

And so are the instruments. Miller is the statement. And the statements are Miller’s. But the supporting cast of instruments and musicians are legion, as are the approaches to production.

A Jew’s harp jaunts through Mad/Sad Question Song, reflecting the vibes one moody person bounces off another in relationships. Same Limerick, Same Rhyme lets the listener eavesdrop on the awakening of a day, harmonica melding like sunrise with a woodsy acoustic guitar. But the experience soon rises to psychedelic folk symphony, and by the final movement there’s a hint of Aaron Copland peeking through the sunset.

Yet nailing down the statement to individual influences can be as elusive as bottling sunlight. In Your Crimes, Miller takes a song about a femme fatale and provides an escape for the protagonist through twin scat-and-trumpet getaway solos. The jazz statement is no accident.

Public radio lured Miller to jazz in his junior high days. While still a teen, he launched what’s now a 15-year journey through commercial and public radio. Miller’s work in radio enchants daily audiences with Afternoon Jazz and he caps each week by hosting an eclectic Saturday music hour on Needledrop.

Miller’s on-air and production work at the station steeps him in music heritage that finds new voice in his compositions for the statement. As a performer, he draws from a jazz tableau populated by contemporary improv, African jazz, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and many others.

Seminal 1990s bands like The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and The Smiths color his sonic palette, joined by The Beatles, 1960s garage rock and 1960s garage rock. Not the least of Miller’s influences is a lifelong love of liturgical music, and he continues to play contemporary praise music at churchs.

Miller’s instrumental range began with tuba in the sixth grade and included bass trombone in high school concert and marching band days. He continued playing tuba and bass guitar in college jazz and symphonic bands, while studying music at Lamar University, but a side exploration of acoustic guitar during high school contributed heavily to his songwriting technique. There, he tapped the slipstream of favorite “eccentric male songwriters,” with formative influences coming from Tom Waits, Randy Newman, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Todd Rundgren, Townes Van Zandt, Bob Marley, Marc Bolan and Damien Jurado.

In the Dark 45 Studio of his friend Len Gay, Miller strums through narratives and marries Moog sounds with electric and acoustic bass guitars, baritone and soprano ukuleles, banjo, glockenspiel, flugelhorn, Melodica, toy piano, drum kit, djembe, sleigh bells, bongo cajon, claves, maracas, bass drums and tambourines.

The slate of instruments expands as Miller charts a path into experimental folk music. Where all his statements ultimately lead is cause for contemplation — a catalogue of life itself?

Like life itself, the statements and the possibilities are endless.