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Audiogon, meet Buddy Miller.

 

Some of you may be familiar with the name, others not. Buddy is very active in what is referred to as the Americana genre. That just means all things American: Blues, Gospel, Rhythm & Blues, Jump Blues, Folk, Hillbilly, Country & Western, Bluegrass, Rockabilly, Rock ’n’ Roll (the "real" stuff, from the 1950’s), Tin Pan Alley, Power Pop, Singer/Songwriter, even Jazz (though to a lesser degree). Perhaps most importantly, it’s practitioners make their music with art given priority over it’s commercial potential. Very little of it ever makes it onto radio or TV, and spreads mostly by word-of-mouth, including here on Audiogon.

Buddy is a solo artist with a bunch of albums to his credit, as well as partner with his singer/songwriter wife Julie Miller (who, like Buddy, Sam Phillips, and Sam’s ex-husband T Bone Burnett, came to Secular Music from the world of Contemporary Christian Music. Don’t let that scare you off! 😉 ). Buddy and Julie also have a number of albums made together, most of the songs written by Julie.

Buddy has also serves as Emmylou Harris’ guitarist, harmony singer, bandleader, and sometimes producer. He has also produced a number of other superior artists, including Robert Plant, Richard Thompson, Solomon Burke, The War & Treaty (Michael & Tanya Trotter), Ralph Stanley, Loretta Lynn, Allison Moorer, Shawn Colvin, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Greg Trooper, and The Wood Brothers. He does a lot of his recording in his home studio, which takes up the entire bottom floor of his Victorian house in Nashville.

 

Here’s a video interview of Buddy done in his studio:

 

https://youtu.be/9_IBN4hLSS4?si=pNAP9VdB27t2b6ri

 

And here’s another interview regarding his guitar and amp gear:

 

https://youtu.be/5EooxUCzV20?si=bcqtqQFy6kwcpV7L

 

 

 

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bdp24 OP
9,816 posts
 

 

Buddy is not only a very unique guitarist with a style all his own, but he is also a really, really good singer.

And then there is his producing. He manages to get a recorded sound unlike any other I have ever heard. It is a very "alive" sound, with all the "brashness" of live music. Lots of presence, and lots of room sound. His recording of drums is particularly good, with the most realistic cymbal sound I have heard outside of direct-to-disc LP’s. Very "big" sounding recordings, but free of "bloat" (Born To Run, anyone? 😉)

When ya’ll get some of his records---or listen to the albums of others that he played on---you will recognize the sound of the instruments he plays in these two videos.

 

In the 1970’s and 80’s Dave Edmunds was my single favorite music maker---as a solo artist singing and playing a 1958 Gibson dot-neck ES335, a band member (Rockpile), or producer (K.D. Lang, The Stray Cats, The Flamin’ Groovies, The Everly Brothers, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Status Quo, Brinsley Schwarz, Nick Lowe, Motorhead, Foghat, Man, a few others), he was the man. That position is now filled by Buddy Miller. Dave has retired and returned to Wales, after having triple-bypass heart surgery a while back.

crustycoot
644 posts
 

I attended a show in Boston in 2000 featuring Emmylou and Linda Ronstadt supporting their Tucson Sessions: Western Wall collaboration.  The band featured Buddy on bass, Bernie Leadon on guitar, Greg Leisz on dobro, and a young drummer who was the son of a well known musician…I can’t remember.  The performance was among the best I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear.  The band was impeccably led by Mr. Miller, and the songbirds were divine.

awboat
35 posts
 

Cool he has LXmini Linkwitz® Lab Speakers. I have been thinking of getting the kit along with the subs myself.

mashif
256 posts
 

I'm a Buddy Miller (even more Buddy and Julie) fanatic. Their music is the most emotionally evocative I've ever heard. There's a new album coming out in a few weeks. 

Buddy records everything in his home studio which is primarily his living room. When you listen to his productions you are literally hearing that room. If you listen closely you can hear singers moving closer and further from the mic. It's magical. 

Here's a good article with some pictures. 

SPOTLIGHT: Come Along as Buddy Miller Shows Aaron Lee Tasjan around His Home Studio - No Depression

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jfd11
115 posts
 

Attended an Emmylou concert some years ago where she and Buddy were the only performers. They went through so many of Emmylou's classics. An amazing show. Great venue with excellent acoustics. I am a big Emmylou fan and her work with Buddy opened up his music to me.

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