We had the pleasure of interviewing John R. Miller over Zoom video! 

Emerging singer-songwriter and guitarist John R. Miller released his debut solo album Depreciated, July 16 on historic record label, Rounder Records!

Depreciated blends a vast array of classic sounds from countrypolitan and swamp rock to the Tulsa sound, which attracted multiple Grammy nominee Justin Francis (Leon Bridges, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price) and renowned guitarist Adam Meisterhans to produce the album. Miller was signed after a moment of industry serendipity: another producer walked past the studio where Francis was mixing the album, and was so impressed with what he heard that he passed the music on to an A&R person for Concord.

Miller began playing music as a young teenager in a tight-knit DIY scene in West Virginia. Miller’s first band was a punk quartet he and his friends formed at 14 years old. They would rent out church halls and Ruritan clubs to put on shows since they were not old enough to perform in bars. Before long, he gravitated toward folk and country music, which ignited a burning desire to travel as a touring musician and eventually drove him to quit school. He busked with a string band to earn a living and traveled to D.C., New York, and Knoxville, and would pen his own songs in his downtime. He spent the next 15 years as a touring musician, both leading bands and playing as a side man and bass player for a litany of other songwriters including the Hackensaw Boys, Sierra Ferrell, and J.P. Harris.  

Depreciated takes us back to Miller’s time growing up in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia and reflects on his relationship with his childhood home and the way things diminish over time, whether they be the car he drove off the lot, or the relationships he left behind. 

Depreciated was recorded at the legendary Studio A of Sound Emporium in Nashville. Miller was ably backed on the sessions by Meisterhans, who contributed guitar and production; co-producer Francis on congas and Wurlitzer, Chloe Edmonstone offering a plaintive fiddle, John Looney on mandolin, Jonathan Beam providing bass, Russ Pahl’s shimmery pedal steel, John Clay on drums, and Robbie Crowell playing the Wurlie and Hammond B3.

We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com.

www.BringinitBackwards.com

#podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #JohnRMiller #zoom

Listen & Subscribe to BiB

Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter!