Clayton Miller strolls through EC

The Clayton Miller Blues Band, "the hottest new act of the college circuit nationwide," according to Campus Activities Magazine, took the stage Friday, Sept. 26, at EC's Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel.

"It's cool. We're looking forward to it," said Larry Miller, bassist for the band. Clayton Miller Blues derived from the depths of Lafayette, Ind., an above average cowpoke town holding a little more than 25,000 people. One family in the town stands out amongst the masses however, and its members are all in this band.

Larry, the father, came onstage at the chapel after the first two acoustic openers. Long white hair slapped his shoulders as his bass' shoulder strap slapped his back. His eldest son, Clayton, the guitarist, strummed the intro for the first electrically charged song of the night. And Larry just stood back, beating his bass like an old fogy, like an ox perhaps, some offspring hybrid of Willie Nelson and John Entwistle.

The middle-child, Cole Miller, took to the drums. It seemed odd however, after the show began, that the band was named after Clayton. Cole sang every single song, even when he leaped from his stool and took his place behind the drum kit.

And then there was LD, the precocious 10-year-old brother that'd wail away on the harmonica and then complain about his numbed cheeks in between songs.

The Clayton Miller Blues Band has been touring the college circuit for a little over three years, playing more than 140 campuses in that time. Their agent, Auburn Moon, set up the gig here at Elmhurst and the band seemed pleased to be playing for the college. "We normally don't play chapel settings, what with the hard surfaces. But the acoustics could work and should sound pretty good," said Larry Miller, happy to be in town but wary underneath his smile.

After short acoustic beginnings, the band had made their impression on the sporadic audience with LD's harmonica, Clayton's stormy and repetitive guitar riffs, and Cole's raspy country blues vocals. A number of their songs sounded more like distorted funk than blues, leaving it to a child's harp to even things out. But then there were certain songs that helped tighten the band's grasp on authenticity. Just the second of the night began as a saunter; a back alley blues stroll down the lamp-lit streets of Memphis, lonely and drunk, surprisingly white.

At the end of the night, the Clayton Miller Blues Band was sweet enough to toe tap and strong enough to leave your ears ringing, if only for a mere minute. There's a reason this band was named the hottest college act, for it's no surprise their type of music would appeal to college students. The Clayton Miller Blues Band appeared to be little more than a jam band wearing a cowboy hat. It's not bad, it's not brilliant; it just is. And for the majority of sleep late, drink late college kids, that's all that it needs to be.