Wednesday, May. 21, 2008

A Flare For The Arts

By Bethany Lee

The young Stephen Miller has a flare for drama. But don't think he has any prima donna qualities.

A fan of children's musical theater, Miller, 17, began dabbling in the arts at the tender age of six.

"Musical theater and drama is where my love for music sprouted from," Miller said. Acoustic music in particular.

"My inspirations are anything from really mellow, folksy Iron and Wine, to staying on the acoustic side - The Spill Canvas," he said. "Acoustic with an edge. Anything with an acoustic guitar, I'm going to listen to and then I'll start brainstorming and I'll think of how I can incorporate some of their ideas or mix them with my own."

Inspired by his older brother, Miller started playing the acoustic guitar four years ago and recently started the band Call Me Karma. During this time he also managed to pick up a manger -- his father.

"Family's always been supporting me," he said. "Even when I don't want to be pushed, they push me to play some music. They keep me going with what I want to do; making sure I don't do any stupid stuff."

Miller's solo music is a bit juvenile, but it's easy to see his potential that is sure to emerge in a couple years as he graduates more into the music scene. But for now he enjoys the simple pleasures in life, such as recording in a real studio.

"I was asked to come in and record a couple tracks for an independent community film at Rainmaker Studios," he shared. "One of the most coolest musical experiences I've ever had. There was so much room. It sounded so cool and crystal clear from the home recordings I've done. That was an incredibly breathtaking experience."

His first solo EP, First Things First, is available through his MySpace for $5. Already diving into the consumer industry, he has shirts available for $10. Two dollars are knocked off if the CD and shirt are bought together.

The five-track EP is an impressive debut. Miller's voice is reminiscent of Nick Thomas (The Spill Canvas), Kenny Choi, (Daphne Loves Derby) or Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World); all of whom are influences of his.

His vocals are a bit pitchy at some points, but he's taking voice lessons to improve that area.

Most of the songs are self-declared typical love songs or about relationships, Miller said.

"There's a track called Perfection," he explained. "It's about being fine with mistakes you've made and realizing that crap's going to happen, but that's what life is."

And it's the track Perfection where he hits his stride. The most catchy off the album, Perfection also has the best chord progression.

Miller is pretty much a strummer, who makes no attempts at finger-picking. This leaves some of the songs vulnerable to being a little repetitive.

In Love Song in the Making, Miller shows a different, raspier side of his vocals, giving the latter half of the song some oomph.

Thinking of You is a upbeat tune that sweetly captures the innocence of love and that feeling of wanting to be with someone for the rest of your life.

Asleep on the Highway is not the strongest track on the album. Miller's girlfriend Marisha Perry harmonizes with him in soprano, giving the song a superbly-done haunting effect. Despite this, the guitar trudges along at the same pace with little variance, leaving the listener waiting for Miller to push the song to the next level.

This is where his band steps in.

Aside from Miller, Call Me Karma consists of Mike Bolton (18), keyboard; Baptiste Sallibartant (16), guitar and bass; Lucas Anderson (18), drums; and David Petty (20), bass and Guitar.

The group meshes well together and have a solid sound. However, by this time next year, almost half of the band will be gone, either graduated or gone back to their home country (Sallibartant is from France).

While they are still together in the meantime, the band features a few songs off Miller's solo album.

The song Mend and Stay takes on a different hat when backed up by the band. Although the track is strong on its own, the help of other instruments elevates the song, allowing it to appeal to different audiences outside of the acoustic genre.

Similar with Perfection, the band brings more energy to the song, as well as more edginess.

For now, the talent is clearly in his voice. Being a young artist, he has plenty of growing room to hone his style and craft.

There aren't any scheduled performances with the band coming up. Miller is taking this time to focus on solo stuff now that the demo is out.

As for his future plans, Miller already knows he wants to be a teacher.

"A music or English teacher," he said, matter-of-factly. "Teaching always seemed cool. I've always had inspirational teachers, so it'd be cool to be in that position to hopefully inspire students as I've been inspired."

In the short term, Miller plans to continue playing the guitar and writing music.

"It's always been a passion of mine," he said. "I don't see why I wouldn't."

And if all else fails, he always has his musical theater roots to fall back on.

"If I wasn't doing music, I'd probably be doing drama."