The Evening Rig - Photo by Alexa Jones

Listen to "At the Bar" from Never Been'er

Never Been'er

The end result of that messing around is Never Been’er, a hook-heavy collection of straightforward bar rock that wears its Midwestern heart proudly on its sleeve. The fast-riffing three chord charms of Miller’s pop-punk past are apparent on occasion, but there’s also room for more reflective acoustic material and shit kickin’ deep fried Americana, all held together by an efficient rhythm section and smokin’ lead guitarist. If that blend reminds you of a certain totemic Twin Cities group from the ’80s it’s not a coincidence.

The band in repose - Photo by Alexa Jones

“The Replacements have been a major influence on my music and life,” offers Miller with refreshing candor. “By this point people have mentioned a hundred times over that we’re reminiscent of some kind of ‘Minneapolis sound’—and why the fuck not? I was born and raised here and grew up on that stuff. I’m not trying to go up there and be the next David Bowie, I like his music, but that’s not really where I’m from or what shaped me in my life. Everyone is so overly enthralled to image. I’m not concerned with trying to make the Evening Rig sound ‘out there’ and brand new. I just want to bring it back to the basics and have fun and play some rock ‘n’ roll.”

Listen to "Never Been'er" from Never Been'er

And that they do. Watching the band—which also includes local scene vets Becky Hanten (drums), Jake Jarpey (bass) and Josh Lynch (lead guitar)—play recently at Treehouse Records for an in-store gig celebrating Never Been’er’s release the joy they took in the process was readily apparent. The group passed out beers to the assembled mid-afternoon faithful and Miller banged away at his guitar with a shit-eating grin for nearly the entire 45 minute set. A free mid-afternoon gig for a dozen or so onlookers may be far removed from the days when the Crush were opening up for Green Day in front of more than 10,000 at London’s Wembley Arena, but Miller’s passion behind the effort is clearly as strong (and the music significantly broader in scope and more compelling).

Miller has been through the rock ‘n’ roll ringer and lived to tell the tale, which is part of what makes songs like “Takin’ Mine”  resonate so strongly. If the Evening Rig is indeed Miller’s last chance at living his musical dreams, he’s intent on going down swinging ("I'm alive/I'm not about to die/Without a fight for what's mine/We've only got so much time/Before our chances pass us by/Well I'm takin' mine").

“Some of those experiences with the Crush were obviously pretty amazing and if I could do that again with a band like this on an even larger scale than of course I would,” says Miller as our conversation winds down. “I’d rather be a musician getting paid to play rock ‘n’ roll. I’m ambitious enough to get to a point like that with this band but I go about it completely differently than when I was 22, 23. I’m still willing to work just as hard though—bring it on.”

Every Minnesota band deserves a beer logo.