Beer, wine, whiskey, vegan nachos, yoga, blood oranges, flowers, rainstorms, sunsets, snowstorms, light, homemade pie, coffee, tea. Avocados. Life, death, love, friends, loneliness...usually all at the same time. Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin, The Mountain Goats, Modest Mouse, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Simon & Garfunkel, Eliza Gilkyson, Lyle Lovett, Wilco, Bright Eyes, Cat Power, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, Glen Hansard, Jeffrey Foucault, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Gillian Welch, Greg Brown, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Michelle Malone, Suzanne Vega, Bob Dylan, Drive By Truckers, Joni Mitchell, Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, Nina Simone, Steve Dawson, Dolly Varden, Kristin Hersh, Vic Chesnutt, Maery Lanahan, Johnny Cash, Beth Amsel, Erin McKeown, Led Zeppelin, Rose Polenzani, IBOPA, Morphine, Rufus Wainwright, Rolling Stones, Shawn Colvin, Jeff Black, Ray Charles, Johnette Napolitano, Ellen Rosner, Anne Lamott, Linda Hull, Uncle Earl, Cyndi Lauper, Tiffany, Richard Marx, Jane's Addiction, Sublime, Tracy Chapman, Carrie Rodriguez, Tommi Zender, The Ramblers, Jeremiah Birnbaum, Dave Golden, Kara Kulpa...plus whoever I'm listening to right now. And whatever classic rock song my kid students just learned on guitar hero. 3 a.m. burritos, with friends or alone. Long car rides. Long bike rides. An intermittent fear of flying. Second hand joy. Second hand grief. Good and bad dreams. My wonky wrist. My kick-arse job. My vivid imagination. Lots of spooky dead old-time musicians. My brief stint in the cherub choir (age 6). My year of wanting to be Whitney Houston (age 14). The guitar I found at the thrift store (age 21). All of the musicians I've worked or shared a stage/couch/conversation with. And probably some more beer.
Sounds Like
Patty Griffin, Suzanne Vega, Lucinda Williams, Eliza Gilkyson, Tracy Chapman, Tracy Grammer, Kelly Hogan, Neko Case, Jeffrey Foucault. 3 a.m., warm summer days, puddles of rain, unexpected lightning, music from passing cars
"Singer-songwriter and veteran Old Town School teacher Shelley Miller...could teach a lot of folkies a thing or two about sophisticated imagery and hooks. And 2006's excellent, self-released Morning Somewhere should earn her fans from the Lucinda Williams camp."
--Time Out Chicago
"Incognito Seething Rocker"
--Expository Magazine
Shelley Miller writes the way she sings--with a good bit of grit, hope...and soul. Her music has garnered comparisons to Lucinda Williams, Neil Young and Tracy Chapman, but mostly she thinks she sounds like herself.
"Listening to her is like pulling up a pair of very, very soft faded jeans over bare skin."
--Les Reynolds, indie-music.com
Shelley performs regularly throughout Chicago. Her songs have taken First Place in the Fall 2003 A Call to Arts Song and Music Contest, Second Place in the 2004 Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest, Finalist in the VH-1 sponsored 2004 Song of the Year contest and the Just Plain Folks Songwriting Contest, Honorable Mention in the 2004 SongPrize Contest and Semi-finalist in the 2001 Dallas Songwriters' Association Songwriting Contest. Her co-writing credits include two songs on the upcoming Ramblers CD (written with Ramblers frontman Jeremiah Birnbaum). Her music has been featured on samplers released by Waterbug and SBS Records, and on 'Hope: Next 2 Exits', a 9/11 benefit CD. Her version of Red River Valley (recorded with several other Old Town School of Folk Music teachers) appears on the acclaimed 2007 Bloodshot release Songbook: Volumes 2 and 3. She also bakes a mean batch of vegan chocolate chip cookies.
"...Miller at her best hauntingly channels Tracy Chapman."
--David C. Eldridge, Illinois Entertainer
Shelley released her newest CD, Morning Somewhere in October 2006. Arranged and produced by Tommi Zender, this twelve song disc offers a darkly redemptive journey through loss...and love. From the rootsy title track to the swampy "Hurricane" and the lush folk-pop of "Say It's Love", "Morning Somewhere" marks Miller's maturation as a songwriter and offers a collection of tunes sure to appeal to fans of artists such as Patty Griffin and Lucinda Williams.
Produced by Tommi Zender, "Morning Somewhere" features Miller's rich voice, guitar work and evocative storytelling, and guest appearances by Zender (multiple instruments, vocals), Ellen O'Hara (Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - cello), Greg Schultz (Lush Budgett, Lure - pedal steel), Kara Kulpa (fiddle, vocals) and Anthony Whitaker (vocals).
Shelley is a Performing Member of Indiegrrl. In addition to her solo work, Shelley performs with Jeremiah Birnbaum, Anthony Whitaker, Kara Kulpa and Dave Golden. She has also performed with the improvisational ensemble She Laughs, folk/poetry duo Moon Lodge, and goth-metal band Urn. She teaches guitar and songwriting at the Old Town School of Folk Music. When not playing music, Shelley can often be found careening her bicycle through the streets of Chicago...singing.
