Russ Miller

  • Tue, 12/01/2009 - 17:41

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself (background, age, family, education, only what you want people to know about you)?

I was born in Canton, Ohio, USA in 1969. I am 39 years old. I started taking drum lessons at age 8. I studied on only a drum pad for two years. I learned the proper grips, basic rudiments and how to read music notation. I continued on with my private lessons with many teachers over the years including Jim Chapin, Steve Rucker, Changito, Scot Grewell, Freddy Gruber and Jeff Hamilton. I have taken private lessons my entire life and still do today. I played in all of the music programs in school, marching band, orchestral ensemble and Jazz bands. I went to the university of Miami in Miami, Florida, USA and majored in “Studio Music and Jazz performance”. I lived around the Miami area and worked there after college. I played with Gloria Estefan, Raul Diblasio, Jon Secada and many other Latin artists. I got a gig playing with Slash from “Guns and Roses” solo band. We went to LA. And I moved there in 1996 to become a studio drummer. I still live in L.A. with my wife Christine and my young daughter Josephine. I have mostly played sessions for many different artists and movies for the past 13 years. Although and have and do tour with : Andrea Bocelli, Bobby Caldwell, Meredith Brooks, Melissa Etheridge, The Psychedelic Furs, Tom Scott, Al Jarreu, KD Lang, Natalie Cole and many others.

2. What is your history in drumming? (Bands / artists, albums, tours, concerts, churches)

Here is a biograpahy:

Russ Miller is internationally known as one of the top touring and session drummers of today. As a Multi-Platinum recording artist, he has played on multiple Grammy® award winning recordings with combined sales of over 26 million copies. His musical versatility has led him to work with an incredible list of over 50 international artists including legends like Ray Charles, The Fifth Dimension, Cher, Natalie Cole, Tina Turner & Bobby Caldwell through superstars such as Andrea Bocelli, Nelly Furtado, The Psychedelic Furs, Al Jarreau, Hilary Duff, Steve Perry, Daniel Bedingfield and Meredith Brooks. As a star of the Los Angeles studio scene, the Modern Drummer Magazine Readers Poll voted Russ in the top 5 Studio Drummers in the world, 3 years in a row. He has performed on more than 300 albums and dozens of international movies such as "Chicken Little", "Fracture", "Rugrats Go Wild!” "Lakeview Terrace", "Resident Evil Apocalypse", "Silent Hill" and "Garfield". As a leading session artist, Russ has played on #1 songs/albums for three years in a row (2000-2003). Along with his many album credits, he has two solo albums, A 5 time Modern Drummer readers poll winner, Russ performs educational clinics throughout the world for Yamaha, Zildjian, Remo, Shure and Meinl music instruments. For info visit www.RussMiller.com or www.myspace.com/russmillersmusic

3. What did you or do you practice for drums / percussion?

It’s not possible to answer this question in short. It has been ever changing and still changes to this day. I have always had two practice types:

#1- Practicing something related to what I had to learn for work. (Learning material for a tour or putting together clinic material, etc.)

#2- A general practice of development on my instrument. This is never ending and constantly changing.

Here are some thoughts on practicing:

Practicing ideas and suggestions:

The act of practicing can make or break you in many different ways. First, practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent! Spending a lot of time doing something, especially movements, creates what is called "muscle memory". This premise makes us a better drummer and develops are independence. This is best demonstrated by our ability to tie our shoes. When you first learned to tie your shoes, your mother showed you the movements involved. The twist, the bow, etc. These are all micro movements in the "macro" movement of tying your shoe. Now you don't think about the twists and bows, you just tie it in one thought. Your body has memorized the movements involved in this action. This is what we do on the drum kit. We "practice" the small movements in a pattern, or fill and our body memorizes all of the motions. When we go to play music, our mind thinks "Pattern A" and our body makes all of the movements contained therein. That being said, if we practice the wrong movements, our body will memorize the wrong movements! It is important for us to work very organized and diligently on our practice time so as to playing correctly. This is were a professional teacher come in. They not only make us aware of what to work on but also guide us down the correct path while we are doing it. It is very important to work with a great teacher that can do what you cannot. Look for someone with professional experiences doing the things you would like to do. I have studied privately my whole life and still do! When we do sit down to practice, I have a small formula that I like to work by.

The formula:

I believe that the attitude we use going into the practice room, will dramatically effect how efficient our time is. It is no fun to practice something very difficult for an hour, only to leave the practice room feeling like, I can't play! We never started playing the instrument to feel inferior. I recommend this simple formula:

Break up your practice time into 4 parts. If you are going to practice for an hour then 15 minutes each. Use 2 parts for "music" and 2 parts for "drums". Break up the time like this, 15 minutes of playing music with a CD or other players, 30 minutes of practicing on a specific technique, pattern, independence issue, song, etc. and the last 15 minutes play music with a CD or instrumentalist. The music part is by far the most important but it is really crucial that our development on are instruments progresses as well. If you have no facility on the drums and or bad technique, it is much more difficult to execute ideas in the music. Although, playing great music does not require great technique, that has been proven to us many times with various players and acts, it certainly makes our job a lot easier. Playing with music before we practice gets the excitement of playing out of the way. We like to play and have fun doing it, so, do it! After that, methodically work on something to further your development. Be serious about it. Keep a log of short term goals and long term goals. Check off the goals as they are attained. Make sure that you are working towards long term goals as well. If you have specific things to work on for a gig or session, then by all means work on those. If you don't have anything specific, then work through a book or a physical attribute of playing. After that, it is just as important to play with music again after this period of technical shedding. We don't want to leave the practice room feeling horrible! Have fun and play music again. Leave the practice room feeling like you want to come back tomorrow, not like you want to quit playing!

The specific amount of time that you work in the practice room actually has much less relevance than the quality of time spent. If you can focus and have the time, then go for 4 hours, if not 1 is fine. The amount of time that I spent practicing, various at different points in my life. When I was in high school, 6 hours a day, college 4 hours a day, in my professional career sometimes never! I'm very busy making a living now, so when your young, put the time in! Now, I try to take off periods of time that are slow (like around Christmas) and do an intensive practice routing for a week or so. I try to practice mentally all of the time. You don't have to be at the kit to learn something. You can learn a lot by listening to music. Besides, I play everyday of my life in my career and I'm learning by circumstance as well. Listening to music is the most important factor. You could not speak you primary vocal language if you never heard it spoken to you! So many guys ask me how to learn swing playing or latin playing. My first question is always, "What do you listen to?". When they say Green Day, I always say the aforementioned statement!

4. Is there any particular drum, percussion and cymbal brand you play with?

I endorse : Yamaha Drums and Electronics including the Russ Miller signature Subkick, Russ Miller Wedge-Series and Russ Miller signature snare drum, Zildjian cymbals and sticks including the Russ Miller signature B3 brushes, Remo drum heads, Meinl hand percussion including the Russ Miller signature “multi-bell” cowbell, SKB cases, Prologix practice pads including the Russ Miller signature All-In-One pad, Shure Brothers microphones, M-Audio software and electronics, May internal mic housings, Impact bags and Auralex acoustic treatments.

Current set-up:

Yamaha “PHX” Phoenix Drums:
(Shells: 11-ply hybrid jatoba, kapur, maple, and burled ash)
7 X 10 Tom
8 X 12 Tom
13 X 14 Floor Tom
15 X 16 Floor Tom
18 X 22 kick Drum
14 X 16 Satellite Kick Drum
4 5/8 X 14 Russ Miller Signature Snare Drum
Russ Miller SKRM100 Subkick X2
Russ Miller Signature Groove-Wedge, Jingle-Wedge and Cascara-Wedge

Zildjian Cymbals:

18” K Custom Session Crash
17” A Custom Crash
20” Constantinople Hi-Bell Med. Thin Low Ride
22” Constantinople Med. Thin Low w/8 Rivots
14” Special Prototype Hi-Hats

REMO Heads Toms Coated Ambassadors BD Renaissance Power Stroke 3 SD's Fiberskyn 3 Diplomat 20" Weckl Muffler 18" Weckl Muffler

SHURE MICROPHONES Bass Drum: Beta 52 Snare Drum: SM57, May XL57 mounted internally facing snares Toms: 4x KSM27’s Hi-hat: SM81 Overheads: KSM 44's

Meinl Percussion: Meinl Russ Miller “Multi-Bell” Cowbell.

5. How are you at this point involved in church or in any other events, ministry, bands / artists – related to your drumming?

My wife is the worship leader at our church “Shepherd Of The Hills” in Porter Ranch, Ca. My schedule doesn’t allow me to play every week but I substitute for the weekly drummer, whenever possible. Also I do the Christmas/Easter shows, etc. I have played on many Christian artists album’s such as, Michelle Tumes, Mandie Pinto, Avalon, Tommy Coomes, Joel Robinett and many others.

6. What advice would you give to young drummers who are serving or intend to serve in the worship department?

God deserves excellence. Always show up and play the absolute best that you can. Even though it’s early in the morning, the others players are that great, etc. You are a pathway for the congregation to the Lord, make sure that is your focus. Playing in church is not a “Gig”.

7. We all know that it takes talent and practice for a drummer to succeed(make progess). Is there anything else you want to add to that?

Here are my thoughts on developing a career in the music business:

Developing a professional career in drumming/music is a combination of several different aspects:

1.) First and foremost develop your playing level (The product) to the highest level possible. Ever studying and improving along the way. You will discover that the more you learn, the less you know! I have studied privately since the age of 9. I studied with local pros and attended every music class possible through high school and majored in Studio music and Jazz performance in college. Check out as many other players live and on recorded media as possible. Not only does this give you new ideas but it also gives you a little insight into where you are in your playing level. Remember, who you know might get you the first gig but what you do gets you the second!

2.) Be located in an area where the industry exists. (Be accessible) If you were a snow mobile manufacturer, I wouldn't want to move to Florida! Reality is, you need to be where the industry flourishes. Probably New York, L.A., Nashville, London, Paris, Tokyo, etc. This is for several reasons. You need to be around professionals who are working to get asked to be in those circles. You need to be close to work. Most offices and artists do not like to fly players in from out of state or out of the country. Usually, acts rehearse and/or record in one of those areas. It costs a lot for production companies to fly someone from somewhere and put them hotels, feed them, rent gear, etc. Also, you will see the best of the best in these areas and it will give you a good idea of what to work on.

3.) Be proficient in many musical styles. (Be versatile) It is hard enough to get the phone to ring, you don't want to turn down work because you don't know anything about a particular style of music. You can't know everything but you should be convincing at most popular music styles (Rock, Jazz, Afro-Cuban, Country, etc.).

4.) Know how to read music very well. (Be convenient) This will help you execute and retain information very quickly, which leads to you being able to work with several people at once. The mortgage company never asks if I made the money paying only Jazz or with just one artist that I really liked!

5.) Have a great demo reel and /or compilation CD to hand out. (Market your product) You need to record in a professional setting, a demo CD of you playing several styles effectively. Have a nice picture of you on the artwork and a bio / contact information inside. We work in an audio/visual industry, it is important to have something that shows you and demonstrates your abilities. If you have played on a bunch of different recordings, put together a compilation CD of them for use as a business card.

6.) Build your name in your area as much as possible. (Develop a client base) I'm always getting asked about developing a career in Los Angeles in the studio scene. One of my first questions is: "What are you doing where you are living now?". Given the fact that some remote areas don't have sessions and very little live work, there are still some gigs there to do. If you aren't working in Tuna Fish, Idaho, how do you expect to build up a name in Los Angeles? I'm being a bit facetious but it is true, you must build your name in your current area and learn the ins and outs of the business at a small pond before you jump into the ocean!

7.) Get out and meet people, play and develop relationships. (Network your product) This business is mostly word of mouth. You can be the next Buddy Rich, if you stay in your practice room all the time, nobody will know it! There are incredible players who never work because they just don't get the concept of networking their services. Likewise, there are not so good players who work all of the time because they have their business chops together. I recommend having a good balance of being the best artist possible, while spending a portion of time developing the business side of your profession.

8.) Have a great attitude and be easy to work with. (Do your job!) I have replaced guys (extremely famous, great players) because they did stupid things. Not showing up on time or showing up not knowing their job. Having a bad attitude about taking suggestions or vibing like their a big deal to a producer. Be humble and take instruction. The bottom line is, this is called the Music business. It is not the Music friendship hang! Balance playing, friendships and business. If any one of those gets to far out above the others, problems occur. Be a perpetual student of the instrument and keep your head on straight!

8. Considering your experience, what advice would you give to the Romanian Christian drummers (those who play in a church or in a band)?

The reason we play in church is very similar to what we should be doing in a every gig. Unfortunately there has been an entire “New” movement of “Gospel” drumming that has nothing to do with worshiping the Lord through music. It is based on ego and the need to get attention. When we play music we should be a “servant to the composition”. Do not force “Drumming” into playing music. The expression of great music on your instrument, will make you a great “Drummer”. Playing great “Drums” will not make you a great musician! When we play in Church we are not only serving the music (as best as possible) but we are humbly serving and “worshiping” the Lord with are talents and instrument. The two most important things to be aware of:

#1- “Am I playing in a humble and servants way, not distracting from the moment, so the Holy Spirit can work in the hearts of the followers”.
#2 – From a musical standpoint, most churches, are not big venues. Are you playing with and inside of the ensemble? Are you too loud or too soft to support the music and what is trying to be said?”

Playing in a church is not the time to show us how “incredible” you are, show us how “incredible” the Lord is.

9. Do you have any other hobby, besides drums, music? How do you like to spend your spear(free) time?

With a 9-month old daughter, recently my hobbies have been on hold. I do like to build things out of wood. I studied “Finish Carpentry” in school and I enjoy it a lot. I have a small Wood shop on my property and will build cabinets, and work on upgrading the house, etc. I also play Golf whenever I get a chance.

10. Lastly, any message to the Christian Romanian drummers?

I look forward to coming to Romania and meeting many of you! I came from a very small town in Ohio and many of my life’s dreams have come true through music and the drums. Work hard and play “music” first. Everything else will fall into place with God’s will and direction for your life.
Philippians 4:13 “All things are possible through Christ who strengthens me!”

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