•
Rating: Ethan Miller is the mind behind Comets On Fire. The Flaming Comets are the most important band in the new wave of American psychedelia, a phenomenon to which even the prestigious monthly magazine Uncut dedicated an entire celebratory CD titled "Comets, Ghosts and Sunburned Hands" (January 2007, 01). Ethan Miller is the undisputed beacon of the movement and counts among his personal fans even Julian Cope. Comets On Fire are part of a galaxy of exceptional side projects like Six Organs Of Admittance, Sunburned Hand Of the Man, and Howlin Rain, the band that now constitutes the true center of this cluster of stars. In fact, Rick Rubin, the great man responsible for the artistic rebirth of Johnny Cash and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as the debuts of Slayer, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, has identified them as the next big thing in the renaissance of classic American rock in the best sense, the one of harmony of forms and purity of sources, and I've heard it said that the gentleman in question knows American music.
Ethan Miller kindly granted me this interview in anticipation of Howlin Rain's concert at Wake Up! in Pescara, scheduled for November 7, 2008.
Umberto - The first question is a personal curiosity. Is there a story behind the name Howlin Rain?
Ethan - I think the name is inspired by having written part of the music for the first album in a remote cabin in the woods by the Eel River. Around there the winter is quite harsh, especially if you're in the wilderness. But I like staying there at that time of year and watching the rain come down in buckets, sometimes for days on end. It is greatly inspiring to stand under the rain or watch it or listen to it as it beats on the leaves, the trees, the metal roof of the cabin. I think another part of the inspiration comes from the fact that I was unconsciously creating a trinity of elemental band names that included Comets On Fire, Howlin Rain, and an earth band still to be developed, but I realized this only recently in New Zealand, years after coming up with the name Howlin Rain (which started as a joke about the idea of a name that Ian and John had extrapolated from one of my texts).
Umberto - There are many records that sound as if they were recorded in 1973, but your albums are the only ones (along with those of the Fleet Foxes) that sound as valid and sincere as the best records truly made in the seventies. What's your secret?
Ethan - In my opinion, when making a record, you can either pursue the control of a path where you allow creative chaos to become form and aesthetics, or you can chaotically pursue an unattainable perfection. These are the methods I use in making records. I appreciate you saying they sound good and sincere.
Umberto - You are also the leader of the great and experimental Comets On Fire, so you are part of two of the greatest current American bands. How do you divide yourself and your work between these two projects?
Ethan - Thanks for the compliments. In all honesty, I have to say that I don't divide myself as much as I once did. This year I mainly worked on Howlin Rain, both in the studio and on the road, but the moments I spent with Comets On Fire have been fluid, and it has been extremely gratifying from a social and artistic perspective to be with them and be one of them.
Umberto - The first album and "Magnificent Fiend" are very different. The first is more country-oriented, the latter more rhythm and blues and centered on the Hammond organ. There is an obvious difference in inspiration. Would you like to name your points of reference?
Ethan - My guiding lights in the vision and inspiration of "Magnificent Fiend" were having keyboards as the main instrument, Mountain, Fleetwood Mac during the "Future Games" period, Miles Davis, Michael Moorcock's "Dancers at the End of Time" trilogy, Steely Dan, female groups of the sixties, Herbie Hancock, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Link Wray, Vangelis, Richard Brautigan, Cheap Trick, and so on. These are the first names that come to mind.
Umberto - I've read you like Miles Davis. Which part of his career do you prefer? Do you think jazz is essential listening for a rock band based on jams?
Ethan - At the time of "Magnificent Fiend," I was very taken by the extreme fusion stuff, like Jack Johnson, Bitches Brew, and Live Evil. Now I'm going back to the earlier things, the quartets, and the ballads. Everything has its time and its space. It's strange because while I was in a long phase of soft rock, light jazz, and soft jams, I was very taken by the more extreme, experimental, and impenetrable stuff of Miles Davis, and now that I've returned to a phase of hard and noisy rock, I listen to the softer things of Miles to create a substrate for the other music of my life. I don't think Miles is for everyone: his trumpet has a very particular sound and sense of melody that I don't think suits everybody. However, I do think his artistic vision is among the deepest artistic visions one can encounter in the history of music. Anyone interested in creating or simply appreciating art that is beautiful and bold should know what he left us.
Umberto - The Fender Jaguar is your "weapon" of choice. What is your love for it due to?
Ethan - I love the sensation it gives, it is extremely reliable, stays in tune, and it has the tremolo setup I prefer, and it's the best I have ever found on a guitar. Above all, it is a perfect means for creating a distorted sound with microtonal elements, rich, dynamic and implosive. It also has a great color: Sea Foam Green.
Umberto - So Rick Rubin reads "Arthur" (the bible of the American psychedelic underground that dedicated a cover to Ethan last year. Rick Rubin, the legendary producer of Johnny Cash, Slayer, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is one of the subscribers and has signed Howlin Rain to his American Recordings). What happens now?
Ethan - Howlin Rain leaves the road for a bit, but only at the end of the European tour. Then, we'll dive into a big pile of songs I've written over the last year and a half and make a new record!
Loading comments slowly
