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It's a jolt to have this music hit Rubin's eardrum, and his heart some, too, to the point where he wanted our band on his record label. Anyone who wants Comets On Fire or Howlin Rain on their label isn't doing it for financial reasons initially. They have to love that shit.
-Ethan Miller |
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Nomads
This old motel song
You dig when you're stoned
But sounds like a cheap shot when you're sober and cold
But if you're as stoned as a ghost in the snow
Your eyes will be blue flames
 Ethan Miller
In concert, Howlin Rain is an eloquent pummeling with the audience tied to the tracks as their Grand Funk Railroad chugs on down to the riverside. There's more sweat and heart and sweet passion to their performances than most rock units will ever dream of, let alone achieve onstage. The mood shifts dramatically through the course of a set, frequently leaving the crowd blissfully befuddled by what they've just witnessed. Now, there's almost always a storytelling vein, where the core ideas of a song aren't lost in sonic haze, which has sometimes been the case in Miller's past efforts.
"For eight or nine years with Comets, the stage has been somewhat of a battleground, in a positive way [laughs]. I'm not even talking physically, though that too sometimes, but sonically there's no fucking way you hear everything that's going on," observes Miller. "For me to try and sing in key is almost impossible in Comets with all the loud amps. I can't have any of Noel's [Harmonson, vintage electronics sorcerer] stuff in my monitor because you can't have all those sick tones running around in any key you're trying to sing, blasting your face off. You can't hear everything in its entirety, and react to it. In Howlin Rain it's not the same exact assaulting circumstances. There are moments in a really good room onstage where you can hear everything that's going on, and that's a lot to play off of. It's a whole different vibe where you pick up on all the nuances."
"I do try to tear some bones out with guitar solos like in Comets but I also get to utilize my voice as that same type of thing, like here's the level playing ground and here's the sword we can wield to draw some blood," says Miller. "I worked hard on the vocals [on Fiend]. It taught me a lot about singing in different ways, different ways to deal with my voice. I've had peers on the road tell me, 'Get on that mic more and let that voice shine.' Those kind of things really back you up. After living with the vocals in a fog for a long time in Comets, where you really need to turn in a rabid performance and call it good, this is very different."
One of the other major differences between Howlin Rain and Comets is keyboardist Joel Robinow, who seems to enhance everything he touches.
"He is the secret weapon for Howlin Rain," says Miller. "He has a profound handle on the artillery of music. When we work on the horn arrangements he can envision good places to start, good ending places, good complexities. I don't know if an alto or baritone sax would sound better in a section but he's got a great sense about these things. Piano, guitar, the guy can play anything with keys, strings or anything else that can run through a scale."
Show Business
Legendary (or notorious depending on who's talking) producer Rick Rubin took notice of Howlin Rain last year after hearing an early draft of Magnificent Fiend. He liked the band so much that he worked out a joint release deal with Rain's existing label, Birdman Records. While the band hasn't yet worked with Rubin behind the boards, it's hoping to eventually.
"It was a process to get the business part of things together but the band hasn't seen much change. I felt like we 'made it' when I got the first Comets album back from Europe and slipped the vinyl into the hand-silk screened covers and sent the first five copies out into the world and someone wrote back that it was awesome. It's a jolt to have this music hit Rubin's eardrum, and his heart some, too, to the point where he wanted our band on his record label," Miller says. "Anyone who wants Comets On Fire or Howlin Rain on their label isn't doing it for financial reasons initially. They have to love that shit [laughs]. There's some matters of artistry that are going to test the financial gain potential. That's the extra special thing we've had with Sub Pop [Comets' label], Birdman and now with Rick. These people are the inner circle of faith in your music. They're willing to put their time, their energy, love and money into it to try and get it to the world."
One place Rubin did offer some advice this time out was on Fiend's track order.
"I had the record sequenced differently, and Rick sat me down and said, 'Look, this is not good sequencing. You're just doing something bad for the album, where it sounds boring when you do it that way.' It was kind of the first moment of true honesty between us," recalls Miller. "He didn't say how to sequence it but he made me aware of the vibe and how to turn things around. Upon his direction, I got to the final sequencing. He just doesn't bullshit. There's no 'Yes Man' stuff with him. An honest group of people dealing honestly with art is always better."
Calling Lightning
We are only slaves
To our distant youths
And coming graves
Let them say
I was a hard working stiff
And sand of the golden age
A genuinely open-hearted and philosophical cat, Miller muses about the future a lot, even as he puts his nimble fingers on the pulse of our shared today.
"I just always want to keep running through new water, keep climbing through the mountains, down one side and up the next," says Miller. "I don't dig, I don't get off on or have any fun just sticking around, musically. Inevitably, even someone who's trying to move forward will cover some common ground but I never wanted to be an artist that stuck around in one place trying to perfect this particular thing. Let's make each thing the best we can make it, and put the mistakes we made towards the next one."
Keep reading for Miller's song-by-song commentary on their new album...
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