The Ben Miller Band

Last updated
The Ben Miller Band
Ben Miller Band live in Germany 2016.jpg
The Ben Miller Band live in Germany 2016
Background information
Origin Joplin, Missouri, United States
Genres
Years active2005 (2005)-present
Labels New West
Members
  • Ben Miller
  • Scott Leeper
  • Smilin Bob Lewis
  • Rachel Ammons
Past membersDoug Dicharry (2005 - 2016)
Website benmillerband.com

The Ben Miller Band is an American band that was formed in 2005 in Joplin, Missouri. [1] The band's lineup currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Ben Miller; bassist (playing a homemade one-string washtub bass), drummer, and back-up vocalist Scott Leeper; lead/back-up vocalist, violinist/cellist, guitarist, and electric-cactus player Rachel Ammons; and guitarist/bassist/percussionist Bob Lewis. [1] [2] The Ben Miller Band combines elements of folk, blues, bluegrass and country into their music. Originally, The Ben Miller Band's sound had been self-described by the band as "Ozark Stomp" but in reference to their label, is now referred to as "Mudstomp". [1]

Contents

History

In 2010, The Ben Miller Band released a pair of albums. 1 Ton was released on June 10, 2010, with 2 Ton released shortly after on August 5, 2010. [1] On May 22, 2011, their home town of Joplin, Missouri was devastated by a tornado. In response to the tragedy, the band established a charity to help restore the community. They also released a benefit album titled Record for Joplin. [2] The release of this charity album was followed shortly after by another release titled Heavy Load in 2012. [1]

The Ben Miller band won a slot as the opener for ZZ Top in 2013. [2] Their performances with ZZ Top garnered praise and attention from reviewers. They were signed to New West Records later in that year. In 2014 the band found themselves in the studio recording with Vance Powell and subsequently released the album Any Way, Shape or Form. [2]

Original member Doug Dicharry (percussionist/trombone) left the band at the end of 2015. Soon after, Rachel Ammons and Bob Lewis were asked to join the band. Since then, the band has continued touring North America and Europe. Their latest album, titled Choke Cherry Tree, was released on January 26, 2018, on New West Records.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZZ Top</span> American rock band

ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For 51 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top had developed a signature sound based on Gibbons' blues guitar playing style and Hill and Beard's rhythm section. They are known for their live performances, sly and humorous lyrics, and the matching appearances of Gibbons and Hill, who wore sunglasses, hats and long beards.

24-7 Spyz are an American rock band from the South Bronx, New York, formed in 1986, originally consisting of Jimi Hazel (guitars), Rick Skatore (bass), Kindu Phibes (drums), and P. Fluid (vocals). The band plays hard rock, heavy metal, funk metal and rap metal songs which incorporate elements of jazz, R&B, soul, reggae and hardcore punk. The fact that they are African Americans playing variations of heavy metal led critics to compare them to bands such as Living Colour and Bad Brains. After several lineup changes, the band broke up in 1998, but reformed in 2003 before releasing their first new album of original material in over a decade in 2006. As of 2021, the lineup of the band includes Hazel, Skatore, and drummer Tobias Ralph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road crew</span> Support personnel who travel with a band on tour

The road crew are the support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catch-all term covers many people: tour managers, production managers, stage managers, front of house and monitor engineers, lighting directors, lighting designers, lighting techs, guitar techs, bass techs, drum techs, keyboard techs, pyrotechnicians, security/bodyguards, truck drivers, merchandise crew, and caterers, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Metheny</span> American jazz guitarist and composer (born 1954)

Patrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snot (band)</span> American metal band

Snot is an American nu metal band from Santa Barbara, California. Formed in 1995, the band released their only studio album Get Some with founding vocalist Lynn Strait in 1997 and disbanded after his death in 1998. In 2008, the lineup of lead guitarist Mikey Doling, bassist John Fahnestock, drummer Jamie Miller and rhythm guitarist Sonny Mayo reunited. In 2009, a new band, Tons, was formed, with Brandon Espinosa as vocalist. As of February 2014, Snot has reformed again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zebrahead</span> American rock band

Zebrahead is an American rock band from La Habra, California, formed in 1996. As of 2023, the band has released thirteen studio albums. They are perhaps best known for their 1998 single, "Get Back".

Axe was an American hard rock band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1979 and disbanded in 2012. The band is best known for their 1982 song "Rock 'N' Roll Party in the Streets", and had other hits such as "Now or Never", "I Think You'll Remember Tonight" and "Heat in the Street".

Robert John Daisley is an Australian musician and songwriter. A bass guitarist, he is perhaps best known for his intermittent relationship with vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, co-production and songwriting throughout the 1980s. Daisley has also worked with prominent rock acts including Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Gary Moore, Chicken Shack and Uriah Heep, among others. In 2013, he published his autobiography entitled For Facts Sake which has received outstanding reviews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tragic Mulatto</span>

Tragic Mulatto was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, United States. Performing under pseudonyms, the band's nucleus consisted of vocalist Flatula Lee Roth and bass guitarist Reverend Elvister Shanksley aka Lance Boyle. The band released their albums on Jello Biafra's label Alternative Tentacles, with Dead Kennedys' bassist Klaus Flouride acting as producing several of their early albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donnette Thayer</span> American musician

Donnette Ruth Thayer is a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter most active in the 1980s and early 1990s indie rock scenes of Northern California. Thayer was a member of the band Game Theory, and later formed Hex with Steve Kilbey of The Church.

Barry Sparks is an American rock bassist and guitarist for artists such as Yngwie Malmsteen, the Michael Schenker Group, UFO, Dokken, and Ted Nugent, among others. Currently Sparks is part of the touring band for the Japanese rock group B'z, and has also contributed to many of their albums and singles.

Skybox is an American indie pop quintet that formed in Tempe, Arizona in 2005.

Pasta ZZ was a former Yugoslav new wave band from Belgrade, notable as participants in the Artistička Radna Akcija project in 1981.

Fool's Gold is an American musical collective that combines Western pop with African and Middle Eastern music. The group started as a side project of musicians Luke Top and Lewis Pesacov, who set out to explore their shared love of various forms of African music, Krautrock, and 1980s dance influenced pop music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Montgomery (singer)</span> American musician

James Montgomery is an American blues musician, best known as the lead singer, blues harp player, frontman, and bandleader of The James Montgomery Blues Band. Montgomery collaborates with many star performers and recording artists. He is also the past President of The New England Blues Society.

Daniel Vee Lewis is an American musician and bass player, perhaps best known as the bassist for the Santa Cruz, California-based group World Entertainment War. His current projects include Dreambeach, with cofounder & vocalist, Pipa Piñon, and performance work with Solcircle, The Joint Chiefs, and The Al James Band.

Kevtone is an American musician, percussionist, and songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Performing live and in studio, his rhythm style may best be described as improvisational, melodic, progressive, and bluesy, over a wide variety of styles, reflecting influences from many genres of music.

The Minglewood Band was a Canadian rock group from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia that was active in the 1970s and 1980s. The group received a 1980 Juno Award nomination for the Most Promising Group of the Year.

Among the Oak & Ash is an American folk rock band founded in 2008 by songwriter, composer, and producer Josh Joplin. The group was rounded out by vocalist and guitarist Garrison Starr, producer and bassist Brian Harrison, and drummer Bryan Owings. They have released two albums two date, Among the Oak & Ash (2009) and Devil Ship (2013), featuring a variety of guest musicians. Harrison died in 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Berggren, Chris. "The Ben Miller Band". AllMusic . Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Reilly, Dan (2014-09-19). "The Ben Miller Band: Just Enough Solder to Stick" . Retrieved 2015-08-10.