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Deron Miller

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Deron Miller
Miller performing with CKY in 2009
Miller performing with CKY in 2009
Background information
Birth nameDeron John Miller
Born (1976-05-21) May 21, 1976 (age 48)[1][unreliable source?]
OriginWest Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • vocals
  • bass
  • keyboards
Years active1995–present
Member of
Formerly of

Deron John Miller is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Other bands Miller fronts include the progressive metal band Foreign Objects, the melodic death metal band World Under Blood, and the alternative metal band 96 Bitter Beings.

Early life

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Miller has stated that his first musical influence, at the age of three years, was Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley.[2] He started taking guitar lessons at the age of eight, after "losing interest" in playing the piano,[3] and was later influenced by death metal band Death, including vocalist Chuck Schuldiner and guitarist James Murphy, followed by "more extreme music ... and more underground musicians" such as Cynic, Pestilence and Malevolent Creation.[2] He has described his first guitar as a "$50 piece of crap", noting that it was possibly J.C. Penney-branded, followed by an "imitation B.C. Rich" and, later, an Ibanez RG570 in 1992.[2]

Career

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1992–2002: Early career, Foreign Objects and CKY

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Miller played in his first band This End Up in 1992,[2][3] and later formed Foreign Objects with future CKY drummer Jess Margera, whom he originally met at high school.[4] The band released its debut EP The Undiscovered Numbers & Colors in 1995.[4] Along with bassist Ryan Bruni, the duo later performed under the name Oil, before meeting guitarist Chad I Ginsburg (who was then working as an audio engineer) and changing the name of the band to CKY.[4] Miller is credited with having conceived the name, which stands for "Camp Kill Yourself" and was believed by the frontman to be "a perfect title for a horror movie".[4]

CKY released its debut album Volume 1 in 1999, which originally featured songwriting credits exclusively for Miller.[5] 2002's follow-up Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild credited "Deron Miller w/ Chad I Ginsburg and Jess Margera",[6] with Margera being omitted from the formulation for An Answer Can Be Found and Carver City.[7][8]

2002–2006: Death tribute album and controversies

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Miller and James Murphy (pictured) worked together on a Death tribute album and the second Foreign Objects release.

In December 2002, it was announced that Miller would be working alongside guitarist James Murphy, drummer Dave Culross and vocalist Bret Hoffmann on a tribute album for the band Death, to benefit the family of founding member Chuck Schuldiner.[9] After Schuldiner's family approved the project,[10][11] bassist Terry Butler, Slipknot members Mick Thomson (guitar) and Paul Gray (bass), and more joined the project,[12] which was titled Within the Mind: In Homage to the Musical Legacy of Chuck Schuldiner and scheduled for release through Mascot Records.[13]

In addition to their collaboration on the Death tribute album, Miller and Murphy also worked together again on Universal Culture Shock, the second album by Foreign Objects, released in 2004.[14] Murphy contributed lead guitar and mastering to the album, with Miller praising the guitarist for making the album "one thousand times better".[14]

During the build-up to the release of CKY's third studio album An Answer Can Be Found, Miller was involved in a number of controversies with the music media. First, he called out Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine for threatening to cancel shows at which "Satanic" bands were also scheduled to appear, asking him to "stop creating drama".[15] A few weeks later, he criticised a number of commentators on the website Blabbermouth.net for posting negative comments about CKY, describing them as "lonely, jealous music fans".[16] Following the release of An Answer Can Be Found, Miller also responded to Jenny Eliscu's one-star review of the album for Rolling Stone magazine, describing her as "juvenile" and an "ugly skank", and proposing that she was "not intelligent enough to understand" the band's lyrics.[17] Eliscu responded by complaining to CKY's label, The Island Def Jam Music Group, that the frontman had launched a "harassment campaign" against the journalist, alleging that he had posted her home phone number online, leading to fans calling her with death threats.[18]

2006–2011: World Under Blood and collaborations

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Miller performing in 2009

In October 2006, it was announced that Miller was working with drummer Tim Yeung and producer Logan Mader on a demo for new death metal side project called World Under Blood.[19] The band later released a number of songs on its MySpace page.[20][21] In 2008, Miller also performed with Malevolent Creation and recorded with thrash metal group Believer,[22] and later also recorded with progressive metal band The Alien Blakk.[23] His Believer contribution later surfaced in the form of a guitar solo on Gabriel opening track "Medwton".[24] World Under Blood's debut full-length album Tactical was eventually released in July 2011 by Nuclear Blast Records.[25]

After a CKY show in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2007, Miller reportedly had an altercation with Ginsburg in the tour bus, after which the guitarist claimed that the frontman had left the band.[26] Miller responded with claims to the contrary, while Ginsburg proposed that he would continue CKY with Margera.[26]

2011–present: CKY departure and recent events

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The fate of CKY was cast into doubt in 2011, when the band released a video in which each member spoke about their desires for the future of the band; all members but Ginsburg wanted to record solo albums, while the guitarist favoured releasing another CKY album.[27] Miller elaborated on the situation on his Facebook page, claiming that Ginsburg had left the band, and that no one in the "CKY camp" kept him informed of plans and updates, which had led to tensions.[27] Miller was replaced in CKY for the first time since the band's formation in 2012, when former Year Long Disaster frontman Daniel Davies joined for a series of shows at Australian music festival Soundwave.[28] In 2014, Miller reunited with Ginsburg for a planned reunion of the band and a new album,[29] although no further activity was reported and by 2015 he had once again been replaced by Davies.[30]

Since the inactivity of CKY, Miller has released his debut solo album Acoustified!, featuring acoustic recordings of CKY and Foreign Objects songs,[31] as well as resurfaced the Foreign Objects moniker for a new album, Galactic Prey.[32] Both releases were funded via crowdfunding website Indiegogo.[33][34] In 2016, Miller announced that he was concurrently working on a number of different projects: a deluxe vinyl reissue of CKY's Volume 1, the debut album by MechaCKY (later renamed 96 Bitter Beings), two albums by World Under Blood (Life Is Too Long to Like You and Tetanus Invasive), a new Foreign Objects album entitled Lean, Mean and Bleeding Green, and a sequel to Acoustified![35] It was later announced that 96 Bitter Beings would be releasing two albums, Synergy Restored and Camp Pain, as part of an Indiegogo campaign.[36]

In 2022, Miller became the new frontman of death metal band Malevolent Creation.[37]

Other projects

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In an interview in August 2015, Miller revealed that he was working on a pilot for a new show called The Chuck Draper Show with Funny or Die producer Matt Sweeney. He added that he would be playing the eponymous character Chuck Draper and that former CKY crew member Chris Raab was in line to play Draper's roommate. Speaking about the tone of the show, which he claimed was inspired by the work of Howard Stern and Christopher Guest, Miller described it as "very offensive" and "hilarious", joking that he wanted people "to be very angry with [him] after seeing it".[38]

Equipment

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Speaking in an interview with Guitar.com in 2002, Miller noted that he played Parker Guitars, including the NiteFly M, P38 and P40 models, with d'Addario strings and the Marshall JCM2000 amplifier.[2] He signed a deal with Jackson Guitars in 2011,[39] then later with Esoterik Guitars in 2014.[40]

Discography

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References

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  1. ^ https://nuwber.com/person/563a27f67686b0176bf29925 [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b c d e Sharken, Lisa. "Interview:10 Questions with Deron Miller of CKY". Musicians Friend. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Artists". Esoterik Guitars. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d Prato, Greg. "CKY Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  5. ^ Volume 1 (Media notes). Camp Kill Yourself. Distant Recordings/Teil Martin International. 1999.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild (Media notes). CKY. The Island Def Jam Music Group. 2002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ An Answer Can Be Found (Media notes). CKY. The Island Def Jam Music Group. 2005.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Carver City (Media notes). CKY. Roadrunner Records. 2009.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ "Ex-Death, Malevolent Creation Members Team Up To Record Death Tribute CD". Blabbermouth.net. December 24, 2002. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  10. ^ "Ex-Death, Malevolent Creation Members Get Green Light To Record Death Tribute CD". Blabbermouth.net. February 23, 2003. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  11. ^ "Chuck Schuldiner's Mother Endorses Upcoming Death Tribute". Blabbermouth.net. February 25, 2003. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  12. ^ "Slipknot Members To Contribute To Death Tribute Album". Blabbermouth.net. July 17, 2003. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  13. ^ "CKY's Deron MillerSpeaks Out on Upcoming DEATH Tribute: 'This Is The Real Deal'". Blabbermouth.net. February 6, 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  14. ^ a b "CKY's Deron Miller Offers Updates on Death Tribute Album, Foreign Objects Side Project". Blabbermouth.net. October 17, 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  15. ^ "CKY Frontman Has A Message For Dave Mustaine: 'Stop Creating Drama'". Blabbermouth.net. May 8, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  16. ^ "CKY Frontman Slams 'Lonely, Jealous' Blabbermouth.net 'Losers'". Blabbermouth.net. June 2, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  17. ^ "CKY Frontman Slams Rolling Stone Journalist Over CD Review". Blabbermouth.net. July 9, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  18. ^ "CKY Fans Wage 'Harassment Campaign' Against Rolling Stone Critic". Blabbermouth.net. August 12, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  19. ^ "CKY Frontman Working On 'Brutal' World Under Blood Project". Blabbermouth.net. October 22, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  20. ^ "CKY Frontman's Death Metal Project Uploads First Track". Blabbermouth.net. November 29, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  21. ^ "World Under Blood: Another Song Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  22. ^ "CKY's Deron Miller To Tour With Malevolent Creation, Record With Believer". Blabbermouth.net. April 17, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  23. ^ "CKY Frontman Lays Down Vocals For New The Alien Blakk Album". Blabbermouth.net. January 27, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  24. ^ Gabriel (Media notes). Believer. Metal Blade Records/Cesspool Recordings. 2009.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ "World Under Blood To Release Debut Album in July". Blabbermouth.net. April 11, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  26. ^ a b "Drama insues [sic] inside of CKY, band fight breaks out". Metal Injection. October 22, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  27. ^ a b Shaw, Zach (August 2, 2011). "Shall We Wish CKY R.I.P. Now Or Later?". Metal Insider. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  28. ^ Shaw, Zach (March 19, 2012). "CKY Replaces Deron Miller With Year Long Disaster's Daniel Davies". Metal Insider. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  29. ^ wookubus (January 9, 2014). "CKY To Return in 2014 With Deron Miller". Theprp.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  30. ^ wookubus (April 17, 2015). "CKY Confirm The Return of Daniel Davies For 'Amnesia Rockfest'". Theprp.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  31. ^ wookubus (December 11, 2013). "Deron Miller Releases CKY, Etc. Acoustic Covers Album "Acoustified!"". Theprp.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  32. ^ wookubus (March 31, 2014). "Foreign Objects (CKY, Etc.) Streaming New Track "Galactic Prey", CKY Working on New Album". Theprp.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  33. ^ "Deron Miller – The Acoustic Album". Indiegogo. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  34. ^ "Foreign Objects Album 2014". Indiegogo. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  35. ^ "Ex-CKY Frontman Deron Miller Moves On With His Own Version Of The Band 'MechaCKY'". Theprp.com. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  36. ^ "96 Bitter Beings New Album 2016". Indiegogo. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  37. ^ "MALEVOLENT CREATION Recruits Former CKY Frontman DERON MILLER". Blabbermouth.net. October 19, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  38. ^ "The Sinner's Ball Radio Show : Episode # 9 Return of Deron Miller of CKY". BlogTalkRadio. August 10, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  39. ^ MDuffy (November 17, 2011). "Deron Miller Joins Jackson's Stable". Jackson Guitars. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  40. ^ Deron Miller CKY. YouTube. April 24, 2014. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
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