Biscuit Miller

David Leon "Biscuit" Miller (born December 30, 1961)[2] is an American electric blues bassist, singer and songwriter. He writes most of his own material, and has released three albums to date. In 2012 and 2017, Miller won a Blues Music Award in the 'Instrumentalist - Bass' category.[3][4]

Biscuit Miller
Birth nameDavid Leon Miller
Born (1961-12-30) December 30, 1961
Chicago, Illinois, United States
GenresElectric blues, funk[1]
Occupation(s)Bassist, singer, songwriter
InstrumentsBass guitar
Years active1980s–present
WebsiteOfficial website

His best known songs include "Lay It On Down", " Bottle of Whiskey Bottle of Wine", "Going Home", "One More Mile", "Monday Morning Blues", and "Wishbone".[5] Miller is scheduled to play at the Bradenton Blues Festival in December 2017.[6] Down Beat described him as "a real crowd-pleaser."[1]

Life and career

Miller was born in South Side, Chicago, Illinois, United States, and was raised by his grandmother. His childhood nickname of 'Biscuit' was acquired when just before supper, Miller ate a pan of his grandmother's biscuits.[7] He found a four string electric bass guitar belonging to his friend's elder brother and immediately was inspired to try to play the instrument.[8] Miller discovered the blues via his connection to Willie Dixon. "I went to school with Willie's kids," Miller said, "and Willie did one of the first blues programs in Chicago. Once, he brought in this little kid named Lucky Peterson" and Miller noted "hearing the band play excited... and made me want to play music."[7] Miller formed his first band named Clever with his cousin, Ivan Wallace, and they jointly relocated to Minneapolis in 1982.[8]

Miller went on to work with Sonny Rodgers, from whom he learned a great deal about playing the blues and they recorded an album, They Call Me the Cat Daddy.[9] It won Rodgers a Handy Award for Best New Artist, although he died before he could accept his award. Miller moved on to backing George "Mojo" Buford and Lady Blue (a backing vocalist for Ike & Tina Turner).[8] During this time, he was asked if he could step in for one night to play the bass behind another Chicago born blues musician, Lonnie Brooks.[10] His tenure lasted for over ten years in Brooks backing band, including playing at the second inauguration of Bill Clinton.[8] In 2000, he formed Biscuit and The Mix to fill in time between commitments to Brooks and they recorded Miller's debut album, Come Together (2002).[3] Miller also played informally with Anthony Gomes, before joining his band as a full time member in time to record Sweet Stringin' Soul. During his five year stint with Gomes, Miller contributed to the studio albums Sweet Stringin' Soul (2000), Unity (2002), and Music is the Medicine (2006).[8]

By 2009, Miller had formed his own band.[3] Miller noted that "I was getting on up in my 50s... I'd done all this playing with everybody else, and it just seemed like time. I can play this bass fairly well and I can sing a little bit and I know how to smile."[7] Blues with a Smile was released in 2010.[10] Guest performers included Billy Branch on harmonica, Ronnie Baker Brooks and Shawn Kellerman on guitar and Andrew "Blaze" Thomas on drums. They played alongside Miller's regular backing outfit, the Mix.[11] In 2012 Miller gained his first Blues Music Award, whilst Blues with a Smile, received airplay on Sirius XM Radio.[3] In 2013, Miller performed at the Daytona Blues Festival.[12]

His most recent recording was Wishbone (2016), where the title track was inspired by Miller's two grandsons being excited about making a wish on the turkey wishbone during their Thanksgiving dinner. In May 2017, Miller won his second Blues Music Award in the 'Instrumentalist - Bass' category.[3][4]

He currently resides in Highland, Lake County, Indiana, but is based in Indianapolis.[2]

Discography

Albums
YearTitleRecord label
2002Come TogetherBlue Bass Entertainment
2010Blues with a SmileBlue Bass Entertainment
2016WishboneBlue Bass Entertainment

[13][14][15]

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gollark: <@126590786945941504> Maybe they should.
gollark: What makes them better than the advertising companies then?
gollark: I am leaving off the second half so as not to fill more than a screen or so.
gollark: No, Richard, it's 'Linux', not 'GNU/Linux'. The most important contributions that the FSF made to Linux were the creation of the GPL and the GCC compiler. Those are fine and inspired products. GCC is a monumental achievement and has earned you, RMS, and the Free Software Foundation countless kudos and much appreciation.Following are some reasons for you to mull over, including some already answered in your FAQ.One guy, Linus Torvalds, used GCC to make his operating system (yes, Linux is an OS -- more on this later). He named it 'Linux' with a little help from his friends. Why doesn't he call it GNU/Linux? Because he wrote it, with more help from his friends, not you. You named your stuff, I named my stuff -- including the software I wrote using GCC -- and Linus named his stuff. The proper name is Linux because Linus Torvalds says so. Linus has spoken. Accept his authority. To do otherwise is to become a nag. You don't want to be known as a nag, do you?(An operating system) != (a distribution). Linux is an operating system. By my definition, an operating system is that software which provides and limits access to hardware resources on a computer. That definition applies whereever you see Linux in use. However, Linux is usually distributed with a collection of utilities and applications to make it easily configurable as a desktop system, a server, a development box, or a graphics workstation, or whatever the user needs. In such a configuration, we have a Linux (based) distribution. Therein lies your strongest argument for the unwieldy title 'GNU/Linux' (when said bundled software is largely from the FSF). Go bug the distribution makers on that one. Take your beef to Red Hat, Mandrake, and Slackware. At least there you have an argument. Linux alone is an operating system that can be used in various applications without any GNU software whatsoever. Embedded applications come to mind as an obvious example.

See also

References
  1. "Community Bluesman Dave Biscuit Miller Kicks Off Blues Bar Buzz Events at Ace's Friday". Thebradentontimes.com. 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  2. Bob L. Eagle; Eric S. LeBlanc (1 May 2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. ABC-CLIO. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-313-34424-4.
  3. "Biscuit - Biscuit Miller". Biscuitmiller.com. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  4. "2017 Blues Music Awards Winner List". Americanbluesscene.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
  5. "Biscuit Miller Discography at CD Universe". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  6. "Dave "Biscuit" Miller – The Bradenton Blues Festival". Bradentonbluesfestival.org. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  7. "Mixing it up with 'Biscuit' Miller". Wvgazettemail.com. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  8. "Dave "Biscuit" Miller". Smokestacklightnin.com. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  9. "They Call Me the Cat Daddy - Sonny Rodgers | Credits". AllMusic. 1999-12-25. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  10. "Biscuit Miller and the Mix". Illinoistimes.com. 2012-06-21. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  11. "Blues Blast Magazine : Blues CD Review". TheBluesBlast.com. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  12. "Day Two — 2013 Daytona Blues Festival". Snaptwig.com. 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  13. "Dave "Biscuit" Miller Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  14. "Biscuit Miller | Album Discography". AllMusic. 2002-03-11. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  15. Diard Erick. "Biscuit Miller | Blues with a Smile | CD Baby Music Store". Store.cdbaby.com. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
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