We chat with Molly about Sister Rosettaās āimmediately impressiveā playing, which blends jazz, gospel, chromaticism, and blues into an early rock ānā roll style that was not only way ahead of its time but was also truly rockinā.
In the early ā60s, some of the British guitarists who would shape the direction of our instrument for decades to come all found themselves at a concert by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. What they heard from Tharpe and what made her performances so specialāher sound, her energyāmust have resonated. Back at home in the U.S., she was a captivating presence, wowing audiences going back to her early days in church through performing the first stadium rock ānā roll concertāwhich was also one of her weddingsāand beyond. Her guitar playing was incendiary, energetic, and a force to be reckoned with.
On this episode of 100 Guitarists, weāre joined by guitarist Molly Miller, who in addition to being a fantastic guitarist, educator, bandleader, and performing with Jason Mraz, is a bit of a Sister Rosetta scholar. We chat with Molly about Sister Rosettaās āimmediately impressiveā playing, which blends jazz, gospel, chromaticism, and blues into an early rock ānā roll style that was not only way ahead of its time but was also truly rockinā.
On her new record with her trio, Molly Miller executes a live-feeling work of structural harmony that mirrors her busy life.
The accomplished guitarist and teacherās new record, like her lifestyle, is taut and excitingāno more, and certainly no less, than is needed.
Molly Miller, a self-described āhigh-energy person,ā is fully charged by the crack of dawn. When Ischeduled our interview, she opted for the very first slot availableā8:30 a.m.ājust before her 10 a.m. tennis match!
Miller has a lot on her plate. In addition to gigs leading the Molly Miller Trio, she also plays guitar in Jason Mrazās band, and teaches at her alma mater, the University of Southern California (USC), where, after a nine-year stint, she earned her bachelorās, masterās, and doctorate in music. In 2022, she became a professor of studio guitar at USC. Prior to that, she was the chair of the guitar department at the Los Angeles College of Music.
Molly Miller's Gear
Miller plays a fair bit of jazz, but considers herself simply a guitarist first: āWhy do I love the guitar? Because I discovered Jimi Hendrix.ā
Photo by Anna Azarov
Guitars
- 1978 Gibson ES-335
- Fender 1952 Telecaster reissue with a different neck and a bad relic job (purchased from Craigslist)
- Gibson Les Paul goldtop with P-90s
Amps
- Benson Nathan Junior
- Benson Monarch
- Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue (modified to āwiden soundā)
Effects
- Chase Bliss Audio Dark World
- Chase Bliss Audio Warped Vinyl
- EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master
- EarthQuaker Devices Dunes
- EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker
- JAM Pedals Wahcko
- JAM Pedals Ripply Fall
- Strymon Flint
- Fulltone Clyde Wah
- Line 6 Helix (for touring)
Strings & Picks
- Ernie Ball .011s for ES-335 and Les Paul
- Ernie Ball .0105s for Telecaster
- Fender Celluloid Confetti 351 Heavy Picks
To get things done, Miller has had to rely on a laser-focused approach to time management. āIāve always kind of been juggling different aspects of my career. I was in grad school, getting a doctorate, TA-ing full timeāso, teaching probably 20 hours a week, and then also doing probably four or five gigs a week, and getting a degree,ā explains Miller. āI had to figure out how to create habits of, āI really want to play a lot of guitar, and gig a lot, but I also need to finish my degree and make extra money teaching, and I also want to practice.ā Thereās a certain level of organization and thinking ahead that I always feel like I have to be doing.ā
āThe concept of the Molly Miller Trioāand also a part of my playingāis we are playing songs, we are bringing back the instrumental, we are thinking about the arrangement.ā
The Molly Miller Trioās latest release, The Battle of Hotspur, had its origins during the pandemic. Miller and bassist Jennifer Condos started writing the songs in March 2020, sending files back and forth to each other. They finally finished writing the albumās last song, āHead Out,ā in December 2021, and four months later, recorded the album in just two days. The 12-song collection is subtle and cool, meandering like a warm, sparkling country river through a backwoods county. The arrangements feel spacious and distinctly WesternāMillerās guitar lines are clean and clear and dripped with just the right level of reverb, trem, and chorus, while Jay Belleroseās brush-led percussion trots alongside like a trusty steed.
The Battle of Hotspur has a live feel, and that aspect was 100-percent deliberate. Miller says, āThatās the exact intention of our recordsāwe want to create a record that we can play live. Jason Wormer, the recording and mixing engineer that did our record, came to a show of ours and was like, āThis is incredible.ā Heās recorded so many records and was like, āThis is the first time Iāve ever recorded a record that sounds the same live.ā And that was our exact intention. Because I feel like [the goal of] the trio itself was to be full. Itās not supposed to be like, āOh, letās put saxophone and letās put keys and other guitars on it.ā The concept of the record is a full trio like the way Booker T. & the M.G.ās were. Itās not, āWouldnāt it be cool if you added another instrument?ā No, weāre an instrumental trio.ā
Musicality is what separates Miller from the rest of the pack. She has prodigious chops but uses them appropriately, when it makes musical sense, and her ability to honor a songās written melody and bring it to life is one of her strong suits. āThatās a huge part of what we do,ā she says. āThe concept of the Molly Miller Trioāand also a part of my playingāis we are playing songs, we are bringing back the instrumental, we are thinking about the arrangement. The solo is a vehicle to further the story, to further the song, not just for me to shred. So often, you play a song, and you could be playing the solo over any song. Thereās not enough time spent talking about how to play a melody convincingly, and then play a solo thatās connected to the melody.... Whether itās a pop song, an original, or a standard, how youāre playing it is everything, and not just how youāre shredding over it.ā
Miller still gets pigeonholed by expectations in the music industry, including the assumption that sheās a singer-songwriter: āI donāt sing. Iām a fucking guitar player.ā
Photo by Anna Azarov
Millerās strong sense of melody can be traced to her diverse palette of influences. Even though sheās a ājazzerā by definition, sheāll cover pop songs like the Everly Brothersā āAll I Have to Do is Dreamā and the Rolling Stonesā ā(I Canāt Get No) Satisfaction.ā Miller says, āI spent nine years in jazz school. I practice āGiant Stepsā still for fun because I think itās good for my guitar playing. But it was a release to be like, āI am not just a jazz guitar player at all!ā Why do I love the guitar? Because I discovered Jimi Hendrix, right? What made me feel things in high school? Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and No Doubt. Itās like, Grant Greenās not why I play the guitar.
āI play jazz guitar, but Iām a guitar player that loves jazz. What do I put on my playlist? Itās not like I just listen to Wes Montgomery. I go from Wes Montgomery to the Beach Boys to freakinā Big Thief to Bob Dylan to Dave Brubeck. The musicians I love are people who tell stories and have something to sayāBrian Wilson, Cat Stevens.... Theyāre amazing songwriters.ā
āWhether itās a pop song, an original, or a standard, how youāre playing it is everything, and not just how youāre shredding over it.ā
Despite a successful career, Miller continually faces sexism in the industry. āI went to a guitar hang two days ago. It was a big company, and they invited me to come and check out guitars. And Iām playingāI clearly know how to play the instrumentāand this photographer there is like, āOh, so are you a singer?ā And Iām just like, āNo, I donāt sing. Fuck you,āā recalls Miller. āItās such an internal struggle because of the interactions I have with the world. This kind of gets this thing in me where I feel like I need to prove to people, like, I am a guitar player. And at this point, I know Iām established enough. I play the guitar, and I know how to play it. Iām good, whatever. There still is this ego portion that Iām constantly fighting, and it comes from random people walking up to me and asking about me playing acoustic guitar and my singer-songwriter career or whatever. And Iām like, āI donāt sing. Iām a fucking guitar player.āā
YouTube It
Molly Miller gets to both tour with and open up for Jason Mrazās band. Hereās a taste of Miller leading into Mrazās set with some adeptly and intuitively performed riffs from a show in July 2022.
The trio bandleader and Jason Mraz backer breaks down her journey through guitar academia, how to play with other musicians, and whether theory still matters.
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This time on Dipped In Tone, Rhett and Zach chat with Los Angeles-based trio troubadour Molly Miller, known for her work with her own trio and pop star Jason Mraz. Millerās virtuosic playing, chameleon-like genre flexibility, and uncommonly deep knowledge of the guitar and music theoryācourtesy of her nine years spent at USC attaining her doctorateāhave made her a sought-after of jack of all trades in the guitar community.
As you might guess from the name of her band, Millerās home turf is trio playing, and her latest record, The Ballad of Hotspur, is a tumbleweed Western rendition of the power and imagination of the sparse band configuration. Miller explains how she configures her guitar tones with her arrangements, why recording live off the floor works best for her threesome, and how to write instrumentals that donāt drag.
Unlike many musicians who like to live on a dangerously flexible schedule, Miller loves structure, usually rising early to fit a regimented schedule. But do things like routine and an academicās knowledge of theory take some of the magic out of music? Miller has good insight for how to strike a balance between intuition and musical book-smarts. Later in the episode, stay tuned to learn how the algorithm might be changing how we learn guitar, and the eternal importance of jamming with strangers.