There is more than one god!

[nessus (Doug Alan)]

[This article is cross-posted to net.music.]

Did you ever wonder if someone would ever do for the piano what Jimi
Hendrix did for the guitar?  I bet not.  Neither did Roger Miller wonder
-- instead he went and did it himself!

This past Wednesday I saw Roger Miller (a guitarist, vocalist, and
composer for Mission of Burma and the piano player and a composer for
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic) perform solo piano at Jack's in Cambridge.  I
knew how wonderful he was in Mission of Burma and in Birdsongs of the
Mesozoic, but didn't really believe that solo piano could thrill me for
an extended period of time.  Boy, was I wrong.  Miller created some of
the most amazing music I have ever heard.  And if I hadn't see it with
my own eyes -- if I had only heard it on a record -- there is no way
that I'd believe anyone if they told me that this was solo live piano --
or even piano at all.  I wouldn't believe anything less than music
carefully and painstakingly crafted in an expensive studio over a long
period of time.

How is Miller able to do this with just a piano, you ask?  Well, he has
more than just a piano.  The most important addition to his electric
piano is a digital delay.  With this he can do incredible things.  He
can use it for a long echo, and start off by laying down with the piano
something like a rythm track which will get repeated.  Then on top of
this each time around he can add on another layer until an incredibly
rich and complex sound has been built up.  He can also use it for
flanging and chorusing and feedback and many other strange and
interesting effects.  He also had a distortion box and a cheap analog
delay which were put to good use.  For many of the pieces, he "prepared"
his piano by putting a comb or bolts or alligator clips into the strings
"to bring out their true harmonics".  Sometimes he pulled on the strings
of the piano by hand or hit the strings with a metal cylinder.

Did you ever think you'd hear a piano version of Pink Floyd's (Syd
Barrett's) "Interstellar Overdrive"?  One that is as good as the
original, but quite different and just as psychedelic?  Well, this is
only one of the many wonders Miller performed that night.  He also
covered a Brian Eno song and did a biazzre cover of "King Of The Road".
Though, most of the compositions were his own.

He tends towards intrumumentals, but also performed many songs.  One
used the lyrics to "The Jabborwocky" (my favorite poem!).  And though he
doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, it scarcely matters.

Miller claimed after two of the pieces that he performed that they are
going to be covered on Kate Bush's next album and that he and Kate are
working on a collaboration.  I tend to doubt it, though.  But it would
be great.  I think his comments had something to do with the fact that
there was an EMI-America representative there giving out free Kate Bush
records and posters.  (Really!  I kid you not.  And no, I had nothing to
do with it.  Really.  Life is just strange.  The EMI guy also said that
he is going to give me tickets to the press party when Kate Bush comes
to Boston....)

But I doubt if Kate Bush has ever heard of Roger Miller.  I doubt if
very many people have.  He was playing for only about 50 people.  It's a
shame he is so unknown, because he's clearly one of the greatest musical
geniuses the world has ever produced.  See him if you get the chance.
And buy his album when it comes out at the beginning of next year.  It
promises to be one of my favorites and should be one of yours.

			"All mimsy were the borogoves
			 And the mome-raths outgrabe"

			 Doug Alan
			  nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA)