Julie Miller

In April of 1997, an album by an artist most people had never heard of landed smack dab in the middle of the music public's consciousness with the kind of impact reserved for only a special few. That album was Blue Pony, and the artist was Julie Miller, whose HighTone Records debut launched a torrent of accolades for the willowy singer/songwriter who not so much sang her lyrics as surrounded them with a passion and honesty which reached inside the body and grabbed the soul. It was the kind of performance that set a personal standard for Julie to reach for in future recordings.

Over two years later, that standard has been exceeded by the incredible performance on Miller's follow-up album, Broken Things. With a voice and an attitude that shift between little-girl innocence and womanly worldliness--often within the same song--Julie Miller has created a showcase of the human spirit, bathed in a lyrical wash of images that both comfort and arouse. Blessed with the talent of one of the most inspirational songwriters in contemporary music, Julie enhances her poetry with a musical delivery that carries these songs to even greater heights of emotion.

Her roots are planted deep in the soil of Texas--for the first seven years in the small town of Waxahachie, then in the more liberal atmosphere of Austin, which at the time was beginning its emergence as a musical birthing ground for the co-mingling of rock, blues, country, folk and border styles. Amid her mom's records and the free-style sound waves of FM radio, Miller began to develop an interest in singing and songwriting through the influences of Jerry Jeff Walker, Muddy Waters, Emmylou Harris, and especially Gram Parsons. She made her professional singing debut at the age of sixteen, and soon thereafter, as the "chick singer in the band," joined up with future husband Buddy Miller. The two spent time in New York and Los Angeles--among other locations--before settling in Nashville in 1993.

Julie Miller received her first real attention with the release of Buddy Miller's 1995 HighTone debut, Your Love And Other Lies, for which she co-wrote several songs and sang on three. Her songwriting soon attracted the attention of Emmylou Harris, who recorded Julie's "All My Tears," as did jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott. Harris asked Buddy Miller to join her touring band as lead guitarist, and Julie joined in on a few Nashville shows. Around that same time, Buddy and Julie teamed up with Victoria Williams, Mark Olson, and Jim Lauderdale for a series of European dates as "The Rolling Creek Dippers."

Emmylou Harris, as well as Steve Earle and Karen Perris of Innocence Mission, guested on Miller's album Blue Pony, which generated reams of critical praise and brought Julie's talents to center stage. Entertainment Weekly called it "one of the year's most haunting surprises," giving it an A rating. During 1997 and 1998, Miller joined her husband Buddy on tour with Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle, opening most of their dates in North America and overseas.

During the early months of 1999, Julie Miller began recording the tracks for Broken Things at the couple's Nashville home studio. As on Blue Pony, Buddy brought in his Spyboy teammate Brady Blade to play drums. He was joined on some tracks by such other musical friends as NRBQ bassist Joey Spampinato, bassists Byron House and Alison Prestwood, keyboardist/accordion player Phil Madeira, and percussionist Steve Hindalong. Buddy Miller co-produced the album and played his usual assortment of guitars, bass, melodica, and harmonium. As harmony singers, the Millers reach stellar heights, each accompanying the other perfectly.

Except for the traditional ballad, "Two Soldiers," Julie Miller wrote all of the songs on the new album. As on her first record, she combines elements of rock, folk, and blues, as well as English and Celtic music, to shape a sound all her own. But Broken Things packs an even bigger punch than its predecessor. The album's opener, "Ride The Wind To Me," sets the tone with a ringing guitar sound married to Julie's straight-on vocals. "I Know Why The River Runs" is a haunting tale of love and redemption carried along by the Millers' harmonies, and "I Need You" simply rocks, with Julie exhorting "I need something like morphine, only better/ I need something like a kiss, that lasts forever." It highlights the battle between the worldly and the spiritual always raging in her songs.

The scene shifts with "I Still Cry," a beautiful ballad about loneliness and love lost, aided by a Patty Griffin harmony vocal, with the guitar, piano and accordion mimicking the falling leaves of autumn. "Out In The Rain" brings things back to the rockin' side of town, fueled by Buddy's guitar work, which recalls that of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. On "Orphan Train," Julie and Victoria Williams match their voices with the sounds of an old English folk song, accented by such instruments as the bouzouki and hurdy-gurdy.

The title track is a very special song to Julie. It's one she's sung at shows over the last several years and has become an audience favorite. "I wrote this song in 1993," she remembers. "This year, the violence in Northern Ireland ignited in Omagh, resulting in a tragedy beyond a heart's ability to comprehend, killing 29 innocent people, injuring hundreds. Juliet Turner sang this song at the memorial service, and I continue this dedication to these families and all whose hearts are broken things." Emmylou Harris adds a beautiful harmony vocal to the track.

"Emmylou Harris and Little Jimmy Scott both did amazing renditions of' 'All My Tears'," says Julie. "Buddy and I spent parts of 1997-98 on tour with Steve Earle, whose rockin' mandolin was the inspiration to re-record the song. I told him he was my favorite mandolin player. He said, 'I'm sorry'."

Traveling around Nashville inspired Julie to use the traditional ballad "Two Soldiers," which features another great vocal from Emmylou Harris. "In my neighborhood are many historical markers where Civil War battles were fought. I drive down a street called Warfield to go to the grocery. I think of their blood under my feet when I walk in my yard."

On "Maggie," Julie sings: "She smiles like the stars and her hair is raven/ She's a beautiful angel sent from heaven," to describe the title character, who hides her secret memories inside her heart while she visits the barrooms, dancing in the dark.

"Strange Lover" shifts gears once again, as Julie teams up with Steve Earle for one funky bit of wildness, accentuated by Buddy's booming bass line and caroming guitar, Phil Madeira's spooky organ, and Brady Blade's pounding drums.

"The Speed Of Light" brings it all back home, with just Julie's guitar and Buddy's harmonium giving flight to a song of love and hope.

On Broken Things, Julie Miller's heartfelt lyrics and passionate voice bare her soul and her emotions, painting a masterpiece of good and evil, hope and despair, love and loneliness.