Clayton Miller Band "gets blues rolling"

    Music Style - Blues

    Musicians - Clayton Miller, vocals, guitar; Cole Miller, vocals drums; Larry Miller, bass, vocals; L.D. Miller; harmonica, vocals

    Born - This is a family group.  Larry is the father, brother Clayton is a Jefferson High School graduate, brother Cole is a home schooled eighth grader and brother L.D. is six years old.

    Front man Clayton has been playing guitar for six years, Cole has been drumming for two, Larry picked up the guitar when he was nine and L.D. has been singing for two years and playing the harmonica for only a few months.  Cole also plays guitar and bass.

    When Clayton was 14, he was in an alternative band that the rest of the family supported.  After getting bored with this style of music, he got interested in what the family always plays, blues.  So together, the Millers made a music room and started jamming together and found that it worked.

    Gigs - Currently, the band plays on the first Friday of every month at Murky Waters coffee shop.  While these are generally acoustic gigs, the group will be performing at the Bean Celler in the Purdue Union on Feb. 25.  The Clayton Miller Band has also had its touch of fame playing Buddy Guy's Legends, a "big time bar" in Chicago, on the same stage as have such greats as Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

    Demos - Yes, the group currently has a demo and is looking to record its first CD.  Now that it has enough material to record, the band just wants to "see what happens."  Look for the CD sometime in the spring of early summer.

    Cover story - Larry said, "We cover a lot of classic blues.  You will find that many Blues artists will cover the classics that most blues lovers want to hear like "Sweet Home Chicago,' 'Got My Mojo Workin,' 'Gypsy Woman,' 'It Hurts Me Too,' etc.  We love to do Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and many others."

    Quote from the stage - Clayton said, "We're going to gig it hard and get blues rolling.....it's on the comeback."  He went on to say that people are now starting to realize that blues is the basis of everything.

    Outlook - "This band is amazing," is what I was thinking when I was crammed into a very small space on the floor of Murky Waters during the business's grand reopening.  Blues really is the root of all American music that I can think of, be it rock, jazz, or country.  And the Clayton Miller Band brings something special to the front of this reemerging style.

    One unique aspect these musicians shares is the fact they are family members.  There should be a law against that much talent in one family.

    Clayton's guitar work blew me away, from his innovations on traditional blues shuffles to his solos.  The solos ranged from fast to painful.  Drummer Cole not only added a strong and talented rhythm section to the fold, but took his turn on the mic.  Both Clayton's and Cole's vocals went beyond their age, reminding me of an old time blues singer wailing away in a smoky bar.

    Larry provided the experience of age with his moving bass lines.  Also joining in with some vocals, I'm sure I would have noticed his poise and finger style if I were able to see around the bar.  The biggest surprise to most of the audience as far as I could tell was L.D.  At six years old L.D. is the coolest little harmonica player I have ever seen.  He was breaking it down with some smoking solos, also using his ear to echo Clayton's riffs.  Able to sing also, L.D. will only get better.

    All in all, I cannot wait to see these guys again.  Larry said, "the band really smokes when we play electrically," and is playing an electric show on Feb. 25 at the Union  I will have to get there early so I can see everything this time.  I am definitely not going to miss that show, and neither should anyone else.

    Larry said, "As far as trying to set ourselves apart from other musicians...playing music as a family is very unique in a sense, especially having real talent at the ages of the boys.  They are not just 'cutsie,' but have the ability to perform with very much confidence... This, if anything, sets us apart."