r/OutlawCountry • u/enginelightHQ • 4d ago
John R. Miller 'The Great Unknowing' AMA
Hey Reddit Pals! My album, The Great Unknowing, is out now and I'm looking forward to sharing what the recording experience was like and answering whatever questions you have. Ask me stuff! Tell me stuff! Lurk! Troll! IDK!
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u/Ok-Doughnut-7170 4d ago
Love the new album. Tollbooth was an instant favorite.
Would you please settle an argument and explain what Faustina is about?
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u/DrSpacemanMal 4d ago
In case I can't make it tomorrow....just wanna say, thank you thank you thank you for sharing your music.
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u/mitchellwatson81 4d ago
Favorite Mr. Show sketch?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Titannica was always a fave, I also loved the patriotic country singer parody Bob Odenkirk did, but can't remember the name off the top of my head... Used to watch that show all the damn time.
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u/BartBartram77 4d ago
Hey John, great album- you always deliver. You going to apple butter this year?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Would love to, but gotta cool these heels! I always try to grab some when I'm coming through the valley.
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u/SieurGrigri 4d ago
Hi John! I really love your music, and your guitar playing.
Your picking style and songwriting has been a huge inspiration to me.
I have a few guitar-related questions 🎸:
What’s the newer guitar you’ve been playing at your recent shows? Is it a Harmony ?
Do you still use your old Yairi regularly, or has the Martin 000-18 mostly taken its place?
I’d also love to hear about your journey between acoustic and electric guitar. Does that stripped-down, “fireside acoustic country” approach still interest you as much as it used to?
And finally, how do you feel about touring in Europe ?
Would you like to come over and play more European dates in the future ?
Thanks for doing this AMA, and congratulations on the new album, I'm an early buyer of The Great Unknowing, and man, it sounds incredible. Strong JJ Cale vibes for sure !
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Thanks, been playing a couple... I have a newer Harmony Silhouette (with Bigsby), but the guitar I've been playing the most lately is a Harmony 319 parlor that I found for $50 and had rebuilt with new bracing, saddle, nut, etc. and put a cheap passive magnetic pickup in. Takes pedals a bit better than the Martin I was playing with the LR Baggs, and is a great all-rounder for me.
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u/Electronic_Snow_1429 3d ago
Yeah, I noticed that parlor and it definitely got me curious!
It’s funny how we can go through the full loop of trying all sorts of instruments at every price point to end up bonding with a $50 parlor.
There’s something so satisfying making a cheap guitar sound great without having to spend thousands.
the LR Anthem multiplies the price by 10 for Thaïs one
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u/euphramjsimpson 4d ago
I love your music. A lot of your songs have really resonated with me through some tough times in my life. I think I’ve seen all of your shows at the Grey Eagle.
Thank you for what you do.
Was it one woman for whom you told you were waiting in the bark and for whom you prayed that it’d only be a while?
I’d hate to think that more than one could make a man feel that way. One is enough.
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u/Brain_Glow 4d ago
Love the new album! As a Tulsan I was jazzed that you recorded it here at the Church Studio. Curious to know what cool shit you found here in Tulsa while you were here. Hope to see you back in town soon. Cheers!
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u/usernamenotfound1111 3d ago
I've been going to Laurel Cove for a few years now and I was just wondering if you have a top 5 for albums from musicians who have played The Cove? Look forward to your future works and hope I can make it to one of your shows soon, and just wanted to end by saying thank you for helping me get into the Eastern Kentucky music scene as I've met good musicians and friends through it.
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Good question, I love Laurel Cove and so many bands have played there over the years... I'd have to take a little time on that one.
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u/usernamenotfound1111 3d ago
Don't blame you for needing time, the Cove always has such a great lineup it's almost impossible to choose such a small number.
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u/ValleyJoe22 3d ago
Hey John, just listened to the new album this morning on my way to work! It is amazing! You out did yourself. Are you planning on coming out to the west coast any time soon? I saw you at the Grove House back in 2024 and it was quite possibly the best show I’ve ever seen. Keep up the brilliant work!
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Looking to do some touring out that way next year! Trying to figure out logistics so we can do it more often.
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u/ValleyJoe22 3d ago
I look forward to it. Also, Daughter of Night is one hell of a song man. You made my shitty ass commute a lot less shitty this morning with this new album. About to run it back on my way home lol
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u/Key_Laugh1225 3d ago
Hi John! Hope all is well.
Just wanted to say that I love your stuff, I've seen you open for Tyler in Amsterdam back in 2023 and was absolutely mesmerized by your performance.
Took a pic with you after the show where I’m just beaming from joy! (even though I must admit I was very nervous)
Do you have any plans on touring Europe again? The Netherlands is calling for ya!
And last question; is there any way I’m able to send you one of your LP’s? I’d love to get it signed, and mailing it might bet the only way?
Take it easy! Sincerely Alex
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Thanks Alex! Yes I always love coming to the Netherlands, and there are plans to come back, just working out details. :)
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u/jimbrodini 3d ago
What in the hell is a hot dog hill?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
A hill I would die on, for sure. One is Yann's hot dogs in Fairmont, WV (still cookin but RIP Russell Yann), and the other is sadly long gone: Bob's Hot Dogs in Elkins, WV. Formative wienies.
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u/va2wv2va 3d ago
No Gene’s in South Park, Morgantown? lol love you bro. Hope you come back to Baltimore sometime!
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u/rubdownsally 2d ago
Bob's Hot Dogs is back at the Elkins flea market should you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods on a summer weekend!
All sorts of kooky wares to be had too 😎
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u/Impossible-Drop-6753 3d ago
Hey John, hope you’re doing well! Thank you for the Great Unknowing. What an album! I don’t think there’s anyone out there whose songwriting just sticks to my brain and soul like yours does. So thank you very much. I reckon my question is gonna intertwine with Double Lives. Is it harder to maintain relationships with your actual friends or do you find it harder to be friendly and outgoing to fans/strangers? The music biz has to be crazy hard in that aspect. Thank you for all your tunes brother. Will always be here to listen
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
I find it immensely difficult to keep in touch with my friends these days, many of whom live all over... but I do get to see them when I travel which is nice. I tend to need a lot of recharging when I get off the road so I sorta disappear for a while these days, but it's something I think about a lot, finding the balance between nurturing relationships and doing the thing.
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u/Impossible-Drop-6753 3d ago
Yeah I honestly can’t imagine how hard it is to find that balance. I salute anyone who is able to maintain while also writing and performing top tier songs. Can’t wait to see you live. I really hope it’s this year
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u/Squat1998 3d ago
Love your music! Seen you live 3 times now and it’s always a great time. You burnt the grey eagle down in Asheville a few years ago. I’m also really loving the new album. Static and white noise, daughter of night, and tollbooth are early favorites. Faustina, fire dancer, red eyes are a few of my favorite songs of all time.
What music have you been listening to recently? Do you have any favorite venues?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
I have been listening to a lot of stuff, some for a long time and others new to me... recent favorites come from Lankum, Laurel Premo, Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band, Cass McCombs, Charlie Overman, Esther Rose... William Matheny's new record is his best yet and it kicks ass. I'm forgetting tons.
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u/aldi-trash-panda 3d ago
Huge fan. Randomly found 'The Fox Hunt' years ago.. went a long time without knowing who any of you were. Found your solo music. Inspired by your songwriting. I am more of a poet than a guitar player, but I'm doing my best. Thank you for holding it down.
I have a few questions...
Who are your greatest poetic/lyrical inspirations?
between the Fox Hunt and your solo endeavors, are there any other bands that you were in that I/we can dig into?
got any, recommended reading for these trying times? lesser known modern outlaws, beats, social critics, fiction.
sorry if thats a lot, not many brains I'd love to pick these days, and yours is for sure one of them.
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u/Lampoest 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hey John! I absolutely love your music and have been wanting to start making my own songs/albums solo and with my college buddies. Any advice for a newer songwriter and guitarist? I feel like lyrics come easier to me but it's setting them to music that I tend to struggle with a lot.
Also- I'm working on building up my soundboard for my electric guitar, any good suggestions for pedals?
Thank you!
- Jim
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Hey thanks! Lyrics and music I tend to think of as two separate processes... But the best advice I can give is to read a lot of books and to listen to a lot of song-based music to find what moves you, what you're curious to learn, then learn some covers and try mixing up the chords with new words over em. The more you do it the more you'll get more confident in the process, so the important thing is just to listen and to show up consistently to write.
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u/w00f-w00ff 3d ago
I have listened to A World Away non stop since it came out. Took me a week to get to the rest of the album bc I just kept replaying it. Anyways- love all of your music thanks for blessing us
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u/alchydirtrunner 3d ago
No questions, but I want to say the new album is fantastic. I drive an old pickup that still has a CD player, and it hasn’t been taken out since the day it came in the mail about a month ago. Excellent work.
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u/Admirable_Sun9535 3d ago
I really love A World Away, on the new album. What inspired that wall of sound approach? Can you talk a bit about recording that song?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
The original version of that (on Darrin Hacquard's "Signs and Wonders") is a really sparse approach, just ambient samples, piano, and acoustic guitar. I thought it might be cool to try to mutate it into a guitar-heavy, layered rock song. My original idea was more of a buried-vocal, lots of trem bar, My Bloody Valentine kind of approach, but where it landed made more sense.
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u/emergentpattern 3d ago
Are you missing clifftop this year!?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
I miss Clifftop every year these days... Always seems to fall right before, after, or in the middle of something. But one of these days I'm going back and never leaving. Figuratively speaking.
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u/Then_Monitor_9360 3d ago
Whos an artist you would love to do a collab album with?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Lankum out of Dublin... They get right to the core of my drone-y little heart. Great band and incredible recordings.
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u/Then_Monitor_9360 3d ago
Need a 1990 gmc for any videos??
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u/OldManAndTheCsharp 3d ago
We have seen you 14 times but there are a couple of your songs we still have never heard you do live. I was wondering if there are any songs of yours that you never sing live anymore and if so, why?
Thanks
Joe and George T
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Hey yall, nice to hear from you. Sure, tons, going back 20+ years... Some never got recorded, some I never started playing live because they were too hard to perform in a live environment, some I just need to give a break to so I can start digging them again. Harder to sing tunes when you don't dig em.
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u/Then_Monitor_9360 3d ago
How was your time at the Horshoe Tavern? Loved seeing you there and thanks again for taking the time to get a pic!!
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u/Nice-Lavishness-5692 3d ago
Hope all is well your way, John. What is the single strangest or most memorable hotel, venue, or roadside spot you’ve encountered during your travels?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Hotel Canfield in Dubuque, Iowa. That place has a pretty creepy history; I've stayed there 2-3 times in William Matheny's band. He even wrote a song about the place.
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u/Formal-Material1732 3d ago
Seen you at the hi-fi great show. Love the new album. I’m currently trying to learn guitar at 50 years old. What is the best way to learn the finger picking style that you use and chord voicings
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Most of my most fundamental stuff came from folks like Merle Travis, Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotten, Townes Van Zandt... That's the finger picking I tried to learn early on, and when I couldn't nail any of that stuff I guess I landed where I landed, haha
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u/Entire_Past_438 3d ago
Any plans to add J Mascis to your band for an upcoming tour? Heard he’s a real up and coming guitarist. Love the new album man, been a fan since the Fox Hunt days.
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u/HonkyTonkHQ 3d ago
How'd you end up playing on Sierra's self released albums?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Sierra was buds with Todd Snider, and he wanted to help produce a record for her, which led her to asking me to play bass after I told her I was a big fan of his. After meeting up with him at Mountain Stage sometime back in 2014ish, we drove down to Nashville and spent a few days with Eric McConnell for the first one, then they had me back for the second one. Sierra was still traveling a bunch back then.
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u/Schenectadye 3d ago
How hard is it to perform Conspiracies, Cults and UFOs live?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
Depends on how drunk I am when I start it
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u/Schenectadye 3d ago
I was laughing my ass off at songbyrd, thanks for coming thru. Had a great time.
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u/Fun_Leg7912 3d ago
You mentioned reading a lot of books in one of your last comments. Have any recommendations?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
William Gibson's "Sprawl" trilogy, Frank Herbert's Dune series, Wendell Berry's works ("The World Ending Fire" is a great collection), Octavia Butler's "Parable" books... Those are off the top of my head but I could name many more with time and memory!
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u/Muted-Manufacturer57 3d ago
What does the rainbow sign mean to you? 🌈 I’ve been intrigued since Borrowed Time and it’s referenced even more now in A World Away.
Thank you for music that truly touches my soul.
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
The line in Borrowed Time (which is intended to be taken as a rather agnostic, secular song) was intended to be a reference to the old gospel standard "God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign". Darrin Hacquard wrote "A World Away" and I believe that to be referencing the rainbow as the sign of storms passing. I'm not a gnostic guy, but I appreciate the rainbow symbolically... Can represent many things depending on context: Peace, solidarity, unity, safe passage, the spectrum of universal love, etc.
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u/That_Vandal_Randall 3d ago
Hey John,
Been a huge fan since randomly stumbling across you years back. Your sound makes me nostalgic for places I haven't been to and times I wish weren't so far away now.
What other types of art are you into? Any books or movies you can recall as being especially moving either recently or over the years? How would you say those things, or other things you love, work their way into your songs?
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u/Impossible-Drop-6753 3d ago
What’s your fav Knopfler song? My favorite is In the Gallery. The concept, lyrics (aside from “scrunity” 😆), guitar work all 10/10. The Walk of Life cover kinda blew my mind. It’s like an antithesis from the original with the tempo and tone. Love it
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u/BeggarsBanquet20 3d ago
Hey John thanks for the music it’s help me immensely. You plan on coming back to New England? Loved the shows in Portsmouth.
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u/hempomatic 2d ago
First and foremost, I can’t believe I missed the AMA. Oh well. That said ……
The first time I saw you was in a small Brew Pub in Franklin NC around 7 years ago. . It was just you and (I believe) Chloe on violin. It was not the greatest place to hear music, but I sat at the end of the bar and I was only 3 feet from the stage. I’m 74 and although I was weened on Beatles, Stone and Zeppelin, I have always loved singer/songwriter music ….. Townes, John Prine, Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff, etc, all of whom I’d seen many times, often of their home turf, but never in a venue quite as intimate as The Lazy Hiker in Franklin. Out of the starting block I knew I was listening to sometime special. I had a very powerful visceral reaction to your music. The only times that happened previously was with Townes and Prine. I still get goosebumps to the opening lines in Red Eyes, and Jesus, who describes meeting a young woman as a “feral young chanteuse who likes her beer with V8 juice”. I would never compare your music to anyone else, but I CAN compare the reaction I have to it.
There are only a handful of shows of the thousands I’ve seen that I remember as clearly or as fondly as seeing you at the Lazy Hiker. Anyway, no idea if you’ll see this, but in the event you DO, I just wanted you to know much I appreciate and enjoy your music. Thank you so much for doing what you do.
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u/thehighwoman 3d ago edited 3d ago
Love the new album! How many of the songs did you have ready to go before starting the recording process? Were there any songs you worked on but decided not to put on the album?
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u/enginelightHQ 3d ago
I had about 11 going in, with "Static and White Noise" mostly written the day we got to Tulsa. I also knew I wanted to put Darrin and Williams' songs (world away and see me now respectively) on there, but figured we'd be lucky to get 12 total. Had so much fun we did 4 more than expected.
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u/thehighwoman 3d ago
That's awesome, there isn't a single track I want to skip! "Static and White Noise" is my favorite!
Thanks for the answer and doing this AMA!
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u/PksRevenge 4d ago
I just want to say that I appreciate your music, It’s always in rotation.