Jason Charles Miller releases 'Uncountry'

Solo Debut Explores Rural Roots & Classic Country Influence

GUESTS INCLUDE:
“Cowboy” Eddie Long [Jamey Johnson, Hank Williams Jr.]
Jim “Moose” Brown [Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton]
Adam Shoenfeld [Big & Rich, Jason Aldean] and more...

Sunset Strip Album Release Party Friday, Oct. 14, at On The Rox

October 11, 2011 – What do Los Angeles and Nashville have in common? Jason Charles Miller answers that question on Uncountry, his full-length solo debut released today.

Written and recorded between Miller’s Los Angeles studio and frequent songwriting trips to Nashville, the album marks a radical departure from the Godhead frontman’s rock and industrial pedigree, embracing the bare bones of his singer-songwriter roots and the primal influence of artists including Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Neil Young and Willie Nelson.

The first single from Uncountry is the album’s title track, and the video [watch here] stars Miller hamming up his country upbringing at the request of his manager, portrayed by actor Robert Picardo [Stargate: Atlantis, CSI: NY]. The video also features Mythbusters star Grant Imahara and actress Angie Savage. The 10-track album, released on Miller’s own Count Mecha Music, includes writing collaborations with Bart Almand [Brooks & Dunn], Kris Burgness [Tim McGraw], Jon Nite [Blake Shelton, Chris Young] and Chuck Goff [Toby Keith], and performances by “Cowboy” Eddie Long [Jamey Johnson, Hank Williams Jr.], Jim “Moose” Brown [Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton] and Adam Shoenfeld [Big & Rich, Jason Aldean].

Miller’s solo career was launched on the HBO hit series True Blood, where his single “You Get What You Pay For” debuted and instantly became a highlight in his live sets. The song’s video [watch here] co-stars Felicia Day [The Guild] and Greg Grunberg [Heroes, Lost], and the track is currently in production for play on the X-box platform of the Rock Band video games.

After landing coveted support slots opening for Toby Keith, Eric Church, Gary Allan and Justin Moore in recent months, Miller will celebrate his debut album with a CD release party Friday, October 14, at On The Rox on the historic Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, CA.

In addition to being available on all digital platforms, Uncountry is being sold in physical formats (including several promotional bundles) through Miller’s website: www.jasoncharlesmiller.com.

SALES LINKS:
Uncountry iTunes sales link
Uncountry Amazon sales link
Uncountry physical CD and promotional bundles

VIDEO LINKS:
“Uncountry”
“You Get What You Pay For”

UNCOUNTRY TRACK LISTING / WRITING CREDITS:
1.“Uncountry" [JCM & Randall Clay]
2.“The Dotted Line” [JCM]
3.“The River” [JCM & Bart Almand]
4.“You Must Have Loved Me A Lot” [JCM & Chuck Goff]
5.“You Get What You Pay For” [JCM, Jon Nite & Dave Rivers]
6.“Learn To Live With It” [JCM]
7.“Into Temptation” [JCM, Phil Barton & Kris Burgness
8.“Still Doing Time” [JCM & Eric Berdon]
9.“The Devil” [JCM]
10.“Drag Me Down” [JCM]

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.jasoncharlesmiller.com

ALBUM REVIEW: Foster The People 'Torches'

I didn't want to like Foster The People.

In fact, the first time I heard "Pumped Up Kicks" I was a little bit insulted. I thought I was listening to a poor man's MGMT - where was the depth? The soul? The texture? All that said, the song's loopy swagger was infectious and, before long, I wasn't changing the station when it came on in the car. But I still knew I'd hate the band. How could I not? It was paint-by-numbers Coachella with minimal substance and even less style. Chumbawamba for hipsters.

So when Torches arrived in my mailbox with its Where The Wild Things Are album cover and completely uninspired CD booklet (black lyrics on white paper - and people wonder why nobody buys CDs anymore), I was all geared up for a groaner...

Then the electro-fuzz opening of "Helena Beat" kicked the album off, swashing into falsetto vocals talking about life taking you by the hair, pulling you down, and leaving you dead again... Huh? I can relate to that - who can't? I keep listening...

You know those days, when you want to just choose
To not get out of bed, you're lost in your head again
You play the game but you kind of cut
'Cause you're coming down hard and your joints are all stuck

(Just like Chumbawamba, Foster The People get knocked down and they get up again...)

By now my psyche is not only calloused to "Pumped Up Kicks," I actually kind of like the song. It hearkens back to John Mayer's "No Such Thing" - musically light and fruity on the outside, but lyrically meaty in the middle. Mayer's pop ditty had him running through the halls of his high school, screaming at the top of his lungs because he just found out that the real world is a lie he's got to rise above. Foster's tale is one where all the kids with the pumped up kicks better run, faster than the bullet from our cowboy's gun.

That depth I was looking for? Found it - and there's texture, too. "Call It What You Want" and "Don't Stop (Color On The Walls)" bump and bounce like lo-fi Black Eyed Peas (that's a good thing), and "Waste" expands on the colors in the Cut Copy palette. "Houdini" oozes soul, seeping into the 'call me Al' spirit of "Life On The Nickel" and beyond the vibrant, post-modern quirkiness of "Miss You." Foster The People flirt with a disco dynamic on "I Would Do Anything For You," then marry Animal Collective's psychedelic romp with solid gold pop on "Warrant."

And less than 40 minutes after it starts, the voyage is over - the saving grace is, we only have to hit Play to take the journey all over again... and again, and again, and again. Torches is small-town charm amidst big city bustle. It's not reinventing the wheel, it's just greasing it up really well and making it spin a lot smoother. It spins like a kaleidoscope. Vibrant. Inspired. Refreshing.

Torches offers just what the name suggests - an album of bright lights and buoyant beats to guide us through the dark of day.

Like I said, I knew from the moment I heard "Pumped Up Kicks" that I'd love Foster The People!

If Torches isn't my album of the year, I can't wait to hear what is...

Grammy Award Muse-ings: East Coast bias, Mumford & Sons shine, Cee Lo Green glows, Arcade Fire ignite, Ma-GaGa-donna & more

First of all, the pink elephant in the room - the music industry is anchored in Los Angeles. The Grammy Awards are held in Los Angeles. The notable parties are all in Los Angeles.

Why aren't the Grammy Awards televised live in Los Angeles?

The obvious answer I come up with is that they're hoping most of the industry won't watch them, that way they can't question why the awards show was opened with a stale tribute to a living legend that would have been better-suited for later in the telecast.

No disrespect to Aretha Franklin, but Cee Lo Green should have opened the show.

Or Justin Bieber, but God-forbid they do that and risk all the kids going to bed, then mom and dad turning on anything more entertaining. (For the record, there was nothing else on. My father-in-law called at 11pm EST and said he was watching - not because he particularly cared, but because he was out of options.)

That Cee Lo Green performance was everything that an opening act should be - dynamic, fun, original and relevant. Muppets! How awesome was that? You know what was just as awesome? The song - just further proving the argument I waged on my Facebook page a few weeks ago, that a great song becomes little more than a novelty when it's hanging its marketing shingle on an f-bomb.

The song is already great, and didn't miss a beat being delivered as "Forget You" - calling it "Fuck You" is nothing more than a cheap and completely unnecessary gimmick that panders to the lowest common denominator.

Speaking of turn-offs, I've loved Lady Gaga from day one - so early on, that people laughed at me when I told them she should be huge. That said, she's only one album in and I already fear her career trajectory could be where Marilyn Manson was after Mechanical Animals. That's how accelerated culture is today, and I fear she's already losing sight of the smaller picture as she jumps the Jaws tank in an effort to express herself.

You're only as good as your current hit, and the groundwork is already being laid for her next one, with the Hollywood Reporter reporting today that Gaga's producer RedOne boasts that the next single "is going to shock" - you mean, as opposed to suck?

"Born This Way" doesn't suck, but it's far from great - and a great way to have buried the song's Madonna comparisons would have been to be joined by the material girl onstage last night. Which obviously didn't happen. In a world where there is no such thing as accidental press, the fact that they're already setting up song No. 2 speaks volumes...

The big winner last night was Mumford & Sons (pictured above). They were in a league all their own, playing with an honesty and spirit that was effervescent. They're going to steal the show at Coachella this year - a 60,000 person sing-along will provide the type of magic that sells the festival out in three days despite a lackluster lineup.

Muse were my other favorite from the night - they managed to translate a big rock show (with obvious nods to Pink Floyd and Queensryche) onto the small screen, making it not only believable, but (here's that word again) relevant.

I wish Bob Dylan was remotely relevant. He came across as old as he sounded. Barbra Streisand sounded great, but how many people cared? Part of the problem NARAS are now facing is that they are trying to spread themselves too thin. Aretha tribute. Bieber performance. Yes, it's an overview of where we are, but it really wasn't tied together well at all. A shred of cohesion could do wonders.

John Mayer, Norah Jones and Keith Urban performing Dolly Parton was great - but where was Dolly Parton? I feel like that fell as flat as John Mayer wasting an opportunity to ad lib and stating he'd stick to the teleprompter...

What makes Mayer such a star - aside from his musical talent - is the fact that he is smart enough to manipulate pop culture to fit his personality. Problem is, he's been snakebit since calling Jessica Simpson sexual napalm, and now he comes across as afraid to open his mouth.

Nobody else worries about opening their mouth, why the double standard?

I had to hide from Twitter and Facebook all day yesterday to avoid the barrage of people announcing winners and spoiling the surprise before we on the West Coast had a chance to see the action, at least make it worth my while to watch!

Arcade Fire would have been a nice surprise - if it was a surprise. As for their show, their punk bravado reminds me a lot of Sonic Youth. And the strobe lights ever-present through their performances reminded me of Motley Crue when they reunited on television what seems like eons ago. We listen with our eyes as much as our ears - don't underestimate how important those strobes were...

Did Arcade Fire really deliver the best album of the past year? Does it really matter? The Grammy Awards got what they wanted - indie cred... Despite the disarray that ensued with their botched Arcade Fire/Barbara Streisand/Kris Kristofferson ending.

Ouch.

One final note, to the publicity company that sent out press releases immediately after the live broadcast aired announcing all the winners - really? You get paid in the ballpark of $5,000/month to work your A-list clients, but you can't stay up until the West Coast feed ends to send out a one-line release announcing that said band won a Grammy, and it was their first?

You couldn't even give us a quote from the band? Nothing but a buzzkill, that's all that press release was... NARAS, meanwhile, doesn't even know how to create a buzz - they kept announcing that people won earlier in the night, but they never went so far as to even scroll the winners that weren't televised.

When NARAS doesn't even think their own awards are important enough to announce, how seriously are we supposed to take them?

About as seriously as Cee Lo Green, I guess.

Has 'Rock of Love' found it's new star? This "Talk Dirty To Me" is pure poison...

Nothin' but a good time!!!

Jason Miller releases solo debut, an Americana departure from goth-inspired Godhead

Jason Charles Miller, lead singer of the rock band Godhead, has released his first solo album, Last to Go Home.

The five-song EP is a departure from his work at the helm of industrial-rock innovators Godhead, and introduces a softer side to Miller’s personality, one where he unplugs his soul on songs that are carried by nothing more than evocative vocals and stripped-down acoustics.

The tracks feature guest performances by Motown legend Brenda Lee Eager [Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder], guitarist Shane Gibson [Korn], bassist Marty O’Brien [We Are The Fallen, Tommy Lee] and classical concert cellist Tina Guo. Drawing on influences including Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson, the five original songs are written and produced by Miller, and blur the lines between Americana, alt-country, singer-songwriters and folk music.

To finish reading this article, and also to watch Miller and actor/comedian Hal Sparks cover "Goin' Blind" by KISS in Covers on the Roof #8, please click here.

Paul Gargano is the National Music Examiner for eXaminer.com.
Click here to visit his Examiner homepage.

Emerging Artist: THE LAST VEGAS

The '80s are over. The days of needing little more than perfectly primped hair, a precocious pout and a pinup in a magazine to go platinum are long past. Likewise, the '90s are long gone. Quit whining about how miserable your life is, we've all got problems. I listen to music for a distraction, not because I need a two-by-four across the temple. The new millennium, meanwhile, has served us a forgettable array of dime-a-dozen basement brats that think all you need to get a record deal is a massive mound of MySpace friends. Too many people today think they're rock stars, and too many people today want to be treated like rock stars. But it takes more than that to truly be a rock star.

The Last Vegas have what it takes to be rock stars. Starting with the music, rooted in their pedigree, and sparked by their attitude.

Winners of the Guitar Center On Stage competition last November, their grand prize was a dream package for any rock and roll band. In addition to a $25,000 cash prize and $20,000 in gear, they got signed to a management deal with 10th Street Entertainment (Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Blondie), a recording contract with Crue bassist Nikki Sixx's Eleven Seven Music record label, and an opening slot on the current leg of Motley Crue's "Saints of Los Angeles" arena tour, which kicks off Monday in San Diego, CA.

Not a bad haul for the Windy City band that wasn't even supposed to be one of the finalists.

A bumper crop of 8,000 bands entered the open competition last fall and were narrowed down to 30 finalists, all of whom were flown to Hollywood and given a one-song chance to make their rock and roll dreams a reality. The six top bands then made it to the finals, where they would perform in front of Motley Crue at the legendary Whisky A Go Go on Hollywood's Sunset Strip. The Last Vegas didn't make the cut. Bassist Danny Smash - it's a safe bet he and frontman Chad Cherry aren't going by their birth names - didn't make excuses, instead saying that they had one chance to make a lasting impression with the judges, and they didn't. It was still a great experience.

What makes Smash and his band smarter than the next guys? They didn't make the same mistake twice.

When one of the six finalists was eliminated from the competition at the last minute, The Last Vegas got the call. Apparently they finished in seventh place, so the backdoor opportunity became theirs. "We had to go onstage first, and I was nervous as hell. I said to the guys, 'We're not getting another chance, this is it - we need to raise the bar so high, none of these other bands are going to be able to reach it...'" And that's exactly what they did. Smash says that after his band left the stage and returned to the balcony to watch the rest of the competition, Nikki Sixx gave him a wink and nod. He knew right then the bar was set.

The Last Vegas won, and it's been a whirlwind ever since.

Cherry, Smash, brothers Adam (guitar) and Nate (drums) Arling, and guitarist Johnny Wator had exactly one week from winning the contest to record their first single, but they got some help in the process, being joined in the studio by songwriting hit machine Marti Frederiksen and DJ Ashba, one of the main cog's in Motley Crue's Saints of Los Angeles writing wheel, and a guy who knows his way around sculpting a ball-breaking rock and roll track like Mario Batali knows his way around a kitchen.

"They took what they thought was one of our best songs, and did what they do best," says Smash. "It was so amazing to be a part of, I just sat there and took notes in my head the whole time, watching these two guys that are so great at what they do, work their magic on something that we did! I just tried to soak it all in - I knew that we were getting a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I wanted to make sure I took as much as I could from it to make myself a better writer and musician."

Wow. You don't hear that everyday. If at all. Most people will tell you how they hung out at all the Hollywood hot spots, got laid six times before the sun went down, drank till their liver bled and lived the dream, man. Not these guys. I'm sure they had their share of rock and roll excess, but they've been around long enough to know that their shot at immortality was only going to be what they made it once the door was opened for them. Nikki Sixx may be Willy Wonka in this equation, but The Last Vegas still need to make it through the chocolate factory intact.

They've got the chops, the presence, the smarts and the savvy, and that's more than enough to get my vote.

That song they had one week to turn into their first single? "I'm Bad" is a fist-pumping anthem so deliciously depraved, strip clubs are going to be owing them a percentage of their profits. "I'm bad, it's true, there's a little bit of me in every one of you..." squawks Cherry, giving the devil his vocal due. Guitars grind, the bass bumps, and the drums form a pocket so inviting, you want to curl up and spoon in it.

Remember what "Lit Up" did for Buckcherry? Brace yourself...

Motley Crue's Saints of Los Angeles 2009 Tour starts Sunday, with Hinder and Theory of a Deadman in direct support and The Last Vegas kicking the festivities off.

There's never been a better reason to get to an arena early.

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The Last Vegas MySpace