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Russ Miller
(May 2007 Issue)
Doing It All: Studio Vet, Touring Pro, Master Clinician, And Product Inventor
Russ Miller could be called a jack of all trades, and a master of…a wonderful career. He’s a musician who believes that there’s a value in all music, and he approaches his instrument in a manner that provides integrity and importance to each project he attempts.
When you look at Miller’s tremendous résumé, which includes over two hundred fifty albums with artists such as Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguillera, Toni Braxton, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Hilary Duff, Slash, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Tom Scott, Dave Koz, George Shelby, and Eric Marienthal, and such film scores as War Of The Worlds, Mission Impossible 3, Chicken Little, and Moulin Rouge, you know that the drummer is someone who has taken his instrument seriously and is able to give any artist what he or she wants.
Miller grew up in Canton, Ohio, where he was raised by his grandparents. Their big band and jazz collection made a huge impact on the fledgling drummer. At eleven and twelve, he was playing along with Buddy Rich records. (“Not that well, obviously,” he laughs.) By age fifteen, he was playing five nights a week in a Top-40 band and participating in all the school bands by day.
After high school, Miller attended the University of Miami, where he cut his recording teeth with some of the local artists, including the Gloria Estefan “contingency.” But it was when Russ moved to LA in the summer of ’96 that he started becoming very busy, working with such people as Bobby Caldwell and Nelly Furtado, and, as always, studying. Currently, he studies brushes with Jeff Hamilton and Indian music with Kurana Murthy, while constantly transcribing and analyzing CDs.
Speaking of education, Miller has become an in-demand clinician, somehow managing to squeeze in occasional clinic tours for Yamaha and Zildjian. Russ has also created several well-received educational products, including the critically acclaimed drum book/DVD The Drumset Crash Course. And speaking of products, Miller was instrumental in creating Yamaha’s Wedge series, as well as their Subkick bass drum miking system.
 While Russ Miller spends most of his time recording killer tracks for other people, he recently realized that he needed a creative outlet for himself. That need was met with the release of his new solo album, Arrival, which features the drummer and his band on several tracks. It also features him dueting with several legendary drummers, including Steve Gadd, Steve Smith, and Rick Marotta, in a unique concept. Here was the opportunity for him to show the world the depth of his drumming talent. Arrival, indeed.
MD: The huge variety of gigs you’ve done is striking.
Russ: This year has been a dramatic example of that–doing several recordings while also touring with Andrea Bocelli and with The Psychedelic Furs. That couldn’t be more different. I have to stop at the gig and think, “Is tonight the beautiful symphony or the mosh pit?”
MD: The mindset must be different, too, as you approach your instrument.
Russ: Yes. I set out to be a session drummer. I always loved the process of recording and knew that the history of music was made in the recording of it. I’ve been really blessed to be a part of that now. But really, my general mindset was always just to be the best musician I could be on the instrument. If that meant that this week I was playing with a salsa band, next week with a symphony, and the week after that with a rock band, so be it. It was just about trying to make the best music possible.
MD: If you had any advice for younger players, what would it be?
Russ: I came to the conclusion a few years ago that I would never understand how to play a groove or pulse until I had a better control of the space between the notes than the notes themselves. Too many players are waiting to play the notes. In fact, to me, a lot of players sound like they’re asking, “When can I play the next note?” This is what leads to the massive amount of note-playing going on today.
 My grandmother can play a note on the drums, but she can’t control the space, so she can’t play a pulse. This made me think about what’s really important. When you can control the space between the notes, you can add energy, relaxation, and release to the music. I think this is
why young players havea problem playing brushes. With brushes, as with timpani, you’re responsible for sustain. Most drummers are waiting to play their next note and forget about what should have been the sustain of the notes they’ve already played. To me, this is essential to being a good drummer.
Read the rest of the interview with Jason in the May 2007 issue of Modern Drummer available at your local music store, online, or where ever fine magazines are sold. To subscribe click here.
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