Buddy & Julie Miller Written In Chalk First Couple of Americana Sings of Setbacks and Sorrows By BARRY MAZOR Nashville By virtue of their broad musical accomplishments, Buddy and Julie Miller have essentially reigned since the mid-1990s as the unpretentious but royal couple of Americana music, that lovably motley modern-roots music genre derived from the American music traditions of country, folk, gospel, roots rock and more. Their CDs, whether recorded together or individually, have consistently garnered high praise for both the songs they write for them and for the often touching, sometimes feisty country-soul delivery. Their long-incubating new release, "Written In Chalk" (New West Records), is no different in that regard. Songs of theirs have been recorded by everyone from country hit makers Lee Ann Womack, Patty Loveless, the Dixie Chicks and Dierks Bentley, to jazz great Jimmy Scott. Mr. Miller was seen bringing his always coveted, tasteful guitar work behind Alison Krauss and Robert Plant on this year's Grammy Awards show, as he did throughout their recent tour of major arenas. (Led Zeppelin veteran Mr. Plant performs a comic duet with Mr. Miller on the new release.) And Mr. Miller has produced records for Solomon Burke, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Allison Moorer.    Still, Mr. Miller, 56, and the more flamboyant Mrs. Miller, 52, are by temperament genuinely modest, and each, during separate recent interviews, remarked on being taken aback by the international outpouring of good wishes and concern that followed Mr. Miller's triple-bypass surgery. He'd felt a heart attack coming on after a Feb. 19 performance with Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Shawn Colvin in Baltimore. "The first month was rough; then it got better," Mr. Miller noted. "I feel like I'd been beaten with baseball bats by a couple of the Sopranos, but I'm doing good. I've got a free pass to rest -- no dates until June. "You know, after the heart attack and surgery, a side effect was that all my senses were really heightened. For a week or so, I could smell somebody down the hall and my hearing was really heightened. And that kind of beautiful note that John Deaderick plays on keyboards on the record, the kind that really hurts you, would make me start weeping uncontrollably. It was kind of cool; I was hoping I could hold on to part of that -- although it wouldn't be so good on stage!" Nine of the dozen songs on "Written In Chalk" were written by Mrs. Miller, and -- some comic change-ups and love songs with attitude aside -- most of them concern loss or learning to be reconciled with personal setbacks, as titles such as "Everytime We Say Goodbye" and "Hush, Sorrow" suggest. As many fans of the Millers are generally aware, Mrs. Miller has not been seen on stage harmonizing with Mr. Miller or engaging in their George Burns-Gracie Allen style badinage for the past five years. She's been sidelined by the severely exhausting, painful condition fibromyalgia and by the sudden loss of her brother, killed when he was struck by lightning. Some of the new songs that seem most to reflect that experience in particular were, in truth, composed before the event. "One of the things that sort of broke me," Mrs. Miller recalls, "was that I went to Texas to be with my mother after my brother died, and when she asked about the record I'd been working on for half a year before that, I couldn't remember one single thing about it, not a note. When I came back to Nashville and found the notebook with those songs in it, they were all so strangely prophetic that it freaked me out." As a practical matter, Mr. Miller's packed schedule and Mrs. Miller's physical restrictions made it difficult to get this record made, delayed it, and inevitably affected the nature of their collaboration on it. There are, for instance, fewer outright duets on the record than on previous joint efforts. "I worked on this so long, starting and stopping in between tours," Mr. Miller recalls, "that it was hard to gain perspective on it. It started out as her record, but she couldn't finish it, and it went back and forth. It's difficult for Julie to start and stop; she kind of gives everything together, everything she's got. So she would just get started sometimes and I'd have to go back on the road, which was really, really difficult for her -- and that went on for years." "It's funny," Mrs. Miller says. "We live just a few blocks from Music Row, where people make appointments to meet and write songs for three hours. But I have to get totally lost in my soul and go oblivious to time and space and surroundings -- and Buddy's the only person I can do that with. But he's been so busy and structured, and me so completely not. Unless I'm pressured, it's like I have my own radio station going that I can just tune into for songs; it's like whoever is doing the songwriting in me is playing, and three or four years old. Once you let them know they have to do it, they can't handle it." It's more than a little surprising, but Mrs. Miller has not actually heard the released "Written In Chalk" CD. "Is that ridiculous?" she asked. "I never listen to anything I'm on after it's recorded, because I'm always tormented; I'll wish there was something I hadn't done." With the record overdue, Mr. Miller finished mixing the recordings in their state-of-the-art home-based studio, as he would most of the time -- but to speed getting the job done at last, he did it with headphones on, so Mrs. Miller couldn't hear the sonic calls he was making, a source, they both admit, of some tension. Mrs. Miller, however, characterizes her husband as "one of the all-time great singers in the universe, with a unique sound -- strong yet feeling very deeply, and emotionally vulnerable." And Mr. Miller says that the songs his wife writes "are unique, not contrived; they come from such a pure place. She never writes anything that hasn't come from somebody's experience that's affected her. There's a place of innocence and depth at the same time that really gets me." Mr. Miller hopes, he says, that the many songs his wife has backed up and stored will still yield an outright Julie Miller album sometime soon, but that's far from a foregone conclusion. He, meanwhile, is already booked to finish producing a gospel CD for Patty Griffin, to return as musical director of the Fall Americana Music Awards, and then to get to work on a record project with the jazz- and country-influenced Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot. Whatever (and whenever) the musical outcomes, the Millers can be sure that there's an audience waiting expectantly -- with considerable love. Mr. Mazor writes about country and pop music for the Journal. Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page D7

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April 7, 2009

For Immediate Release

MotesBooks

First Volume of Motif Anthology Series Published 

 

Louisville, Kentucky—MotesBooks has released the first volume in the Motif series of anthologies, each of which is focused on a particular motif or theme. Edited by Marianne Worthington, communication and journalism professor at University of the Cumberlands, Williamsburg, Ky., the first volume is entitled Motif: Writing by Ear. An Anthology of Writings about Music.

              “Volume one of the Motif series includes poetry, song lyrics, fiction, and nonfiction, and each piece uses music as a motif, either prominently or in artfully subtle ways.  The 116 writers represented in this inaugural volume is a testament to the importance of music in the writers’ lives, how writers use, connect to and rely on music,” Worthington said.  

              Songwriter and banjoist Sue Massek (Reel World String Band) said of this inaugural volume:  “The writers’ voices reflect the rich form and styles of their deliciously diverse home places.  From lullabies to rants, lonesome fiddle tunes to sassy saxophone improvisation, past the blues through jazz and hip-hop, Writing by Ear takes us on a journey on the wings of words sure to connect us with the songs of our souls.”

              “Motif editor Marianne Worthington has woven these stories, songs and poems with music’s silken threads, creating a symphony that rocks, sways and syncopates in rhythm to the heartbeats of humankind and follows the melodies and harmonies flowing through our veins,” said Massek.

              The anthology features writings by both established and emerging artists, including Evie Shockley, Sue Walker, Silas House, Maurice Manning, Barbara Crooker, Jeff Daniel Marion, Marilyn Kallet, and Frank X Walker.  Song lyricists contributing to Motif: Writing by Ear include, among others, Buddy and Julie Miller, Patty Griffin, RB Morris, and Scott Miller.

              Music journalist and critic Peter Cooper of The Tennessean said, “Within this beautiful book are thousands of words that offer poetry, and laughter, peace and respite, Piano Red and Patty Loveless.  There are burgundy shoes here, and feet that tattoo the earth.  There is Roy, the wino, who worked for Bud Whedbee doing maintenance jobs.  There is bourbon and ginger, and melody and harmony in between the lines.  All adorn the mystery, with no notion to unravel.”

“We are really pleased with this beautiful book,” said Kate Larken, owner of MotesBooks. “It holds high quality writing on a variety of music-related topics from very diverse writers and musicians.”

For more information on Motif: Writing by Ear, contact MotesBooks at 502-594-8010.  The publisher’s website is www.motesbooks.com.  Contact the editor at 606-521-7115 or mworthington@motesbooks.com.

 

Motif: Writing by Ear:
An Anthology of Writings about Music

Marianne Worthington, editor

MotesBooks

Louisville, Kentucky, publisher

Publication date March 2009

 ISBN 978-1-934894-08-8 * $15.00 paper

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Buddy & Julie Miller’s
New Album Is Anything But
Written In Chalk
“It's a musical marriage that couldn't be more perfect.”
Paste says of Buddy & Julie Miller
Album Features Robert Plant, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and more
Available March 3, 2009 from New West Records

December 2, 2008 --Los Angeles, CA -- Buddy and Julie Miller have been writing and making music together since they first met and married over 20 years ago. Whether the end result was a Buddy record or a Julie record they couldn’t help but collaborate and influence each other’s work. New West is excited to release their latest, Written In Chalk (March 3, 2009), a true collaboration. The musical synergy this couple has with each other is clear on the record and is rounded out with a thoughtful country-soul vibe, emotional lyrics, outstanding musicianship and of course, Buddy’s extraordinary guitar playing. Guests on the record include Robert Plant, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Regina and Ann McCrary and Larry Campbell. The record was recorded at the couple’s home studio in Nashville, TN. Written In Chalk will also be available on limited edition 180 gram vinyl.

Julie has released six solo albums and Buddy five. Written In Chalk is only the second Buddy and Julie record, and comes eight years after the first. While Buddy was out on tour recently with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss as well as The Three Girls and Their Buddy tour he does with Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin and Patty Griffin, Julie wrote nine of the twelve tracks on this extraordinary record.

Julie’s songs are emotional, even gut wrenching at times, but all with underlying hints of love and of her faith. The most touching song on the album is “Don’t Say Goodbye” a beautiful, poignant ballad that features Patty Griffin on backing vocals. Her lyrics often evoke a deep sadness evident in “A Long, Long Time” with the muted trumpet crying as Julie sings. The record is balanced out with Buddy contributing to the country rock duet “Gasoline and Matches” and Dee Ervin’s more bluesy, “One Part, Two Part” which Buddy sings with Regina and Ann McCrary. Buddy calls on Robert Plant for vocals on “What You Gonna Do, Leroy” a swampy stomp written by Mel Tillis and originally performed by Lefty Frizzell.

Named Artist of the Decade by No Depression magazine, and instrumentalist of the year by the Americana Music Association for the past several years, Buddy Miller is one of the more highly sought after guitarists and has played with such greats as Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jim Lauderdale, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Buddy’s songs have been cut by such artists as The Dixie Chicks, LeeAnn Womack, Jim Lauderdale and Emmylou Harris, among others. As a producer, his resume is just as impressive; he produced Emmylou Harris's live album Spyboy, Solomon Burke's Grammy® nominated Nashville and Allison Moorer’s covers record Mockingbird.

Julie received her first real attention with the release of Buddy Miller's 1995 HighTone debut, Your Love And Other Lies, for which she co-wrote several songs and sang on three. Her songwriting soon attracted the attention of Emmylou Harris, who recorded Julie's "All My Tears," as did jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott. Emmylou Harris, as well as Steve Earle and Karen Perris of Innocence Mission, guested on Miller's album Blue Pony, which generated reams of critical praise and brought Julie's talents to center stage.

Track List:

1 Ellis County
(Julie Miller)
brady blade - drums
chris donohue - bass
larry campbell - fiddle
john deaderick - keyboards
buddy and julie miller - vocals

2 Gasoline and Matches
(Julie and Buddy Miller)
bryan owings - drums
chris donohue - bass
buddy and julie miller - vocals

3 Don't Say Goodbye
(Julie Miller)
patty griffin – vocal
john deaderick - piano

4 What You Gonna Do, Leroy
(Mel Tillis)
jay belerose - drums
dennis crouch - bass
stuart duncan - fiddle
gurf morlix - lap steel
robert plant - vocal

5 A Long, Long Time
(Julie Miller)
matt rollings - piano
brady blade - drums
byron house - bass
kami lyle - trumpet

6 One Part, Two Part
(Dee Ervin)
brady blade - drums
chris donohue - bass
john deaderick - keyboards
russ pahl - steel guitar
regina and ann mccrary – vocals

7 Chalk
(Julie Miller)
brady blade - drums
chris donohue - bass
john deaderick - keyboards
patty griffin - vocal

8 Everytime We Say Goodbye
(Julie Miller)
john deaderick - piano

9 Hush, Sorrow
(Julie Miller)
john deaderick - keyboards
larry campbell - mandolin
russ pahl - steel guitar
regina mccrary - vocal

10 Smooth
(Julie Miller)
bryan owings - drums
chris donohue - bass
buddy and julie miller - vocals

11 June
(Julie Miller)
buddy and julie miller - vocals

12 The Selfishness In Man
(Leon Payne)
brady blade - drums
chris donohue - bass
john deaderick - keyboards
russ pahl - steel guitar
emmylou harris - vocal

For more information please contact:
Amanda Ornelas / New West Records / 310-246-5766 / Amanda@newwestrecords.com

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Buddy Miller Fender Signature Guitar NAMM Roll Out

Buddy with Fender's Jim Bryant at Winter NAMM

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Americana Music Awards Show

Buddy's latest release Universal United House of Prayer received the Record of the Year award at the 2005 Americana Music Awards held in Nashville, TN on September 9th at the historic Ryman Auditorium. Buddy's version of Mark Heard's "Worry Too Much" (from the same album) won Song of the Year.