Izzy Miller

“I don’t want to fake it, of this you know I am sure…..”

That is just a line on “The Cure” – all cracked and stripped down like some long-lost Rolling Stones outtake from Exile On Main St -but actually, if you analyse it, it means so much more.

Izzy Miller re-emerged last year, after a self-imposed spell away from music, and did so with a brilliant EP called “American Times”, and the word that went all the way through it was “authentic.”

Now he’s back – with an all-star cast that includes Mike Daly (steel guitar: Travis Tritt, Hank Williams Jr), Joey Huffman (piano, organ: Matchbox 20, Soul Asylum), Shane Davis (guitar: Black Market Salesmen), and Ben Jobe (bass: Wolves of Chernobyl) – but a totally different vibe, and one which proves what a wonderful songwriter Miller really is.

Throughout “Precipice” he sounds like he’s desperately trying to avoid the fall over the cliff. Not for nothing does the four tracker begin with this line: “I stumble through every morning, after surviving every night” and there is a feel here of sharing in Miller’s pain throughout.

Not a rock n roll song in sight either. There are no drums here, no real lead guitar, but it sounds perfect for this confessional style. “Burning Bright” – the opener – sets the tone, and its blue-collar stylings recall everyone from Tom Petty to John Mellencamp.

“So It Goes” is a more southern thing, “I never even had a choice” offers Miller here, and it almost seems like you are reading his diaries. Whether it is or not, the heartbreak here seems real. And special mention too, for Huffman’s incredible organ work on this one.

After “The Cure” – possibly the highlight – a simple yearning for the open road which has always fixated the troubadour, comes the outright country of “Another Drink Or Two”. Drenched in lap steel, it features the line: “I guess I could have another drink or two, swallow a few more pills just to get me through” and it is jarring, raw even.

Nothing fake here, then. There really couldn’t be. If it began with the thought about stumbling through the morning, then it ends with this: “yeah, your memory will haunt me, just like it did before. Ever since you walked out the door.”

There is no light left at the end of this tunnel. A quite brilliant piece of songwriting. “Precipice” is uncomfortable, but incredible, listening.

Rating 9/10 - Maximum Volume Music

Fans of late '60s/early '70s rock, do I have a song for you to check out. Izzy Miller & The Black Market Salesmen have dropped the first single, 'Mr. TV Man', taken from their upcoming album American Times, which will be released December 1st, and it's an excellent look at what I hope we can expect from the rest of the album.

When going down the road Izzy Miller & The Black Market Salesmen have chosen to go down by playing this particular brand of rock music, there are potholes galore that screw up hordes of bands before them. There's a particular balance that the music needs to strike between being able to capture the magic that made old school rock 'n' roll so damn incredible and captivating, while still adding their own fresh take so it doesn't sound old and dated. Lucky for us, Izzy Miller & The Black Market Salesmen have absolutely nailed this balance, with 'Mr. TV Man' ringing vaguely of legendary rockers such as Creedance Clearwater Revival, while still managing to add their own special touch to make the song uniquely theirs.

I truly hope that 'Mr. TV Man' is a fair and accurate indication of what American Times is going to sound like. If so, we're going to be in for a solid rock album that'll be full of catchy hooks and nostalgic vibes.

7 out of 10. - InsertReviewHere

Honeyed and bitter, Izzy Miller’s “Another Drink or Two” pricks the tongue on its way into his bloodstream. Heartbreak can be blunt-force trauma, and in his tears, Miller self-medicates with booze and pills, collapsing onto the bar-top in a haze. His pain manifests in ghoulish fiends sucking the blood from his veins, and they come to him even in broad daylight, never allowing him a moment’s relief. And so, he heads down to the local pub to fully submerse himself in not only liquid salvation but his unending sorrow. The tear-jerker (from his new EP, Precipice) follows a long heritage of drunken barroom ballads, but along with such accomplished players as Mike Daly (Travis Tritt, Hank Williams, Jr.), Joey Huffman (Soul Asylum), Shane Davis (Black Market Salesmen) and Ben Jobe (Wolves of Chernobyl), the weeper emerges as an exemplary story of eviscerating lonesomeness, timely in its own way. - B-Sides & Badlands

Alabama singer/songwriter makes his return to the fray – and Andy finds something in common

“So let’s go out tonight, see if they recall my name, been a few long years, but I’m back in the game”

Sometimes you just know lines mean more than most. So it is with that one – which comes towards the end of “American Times” on the track “On Top Again”.

As that might indicate, Izzy Miller had a couple of hit singles then basically, for the last three years retreated from view altogether. Based on the rather glorious six tracks here, his continued exile would have been a real shame.

He’s “back in the game” with a new band of talented reprobates behind him, and The Black Market Salesmen help him drive a hard bargain here.

He ushers himself back in with the wonderfully confident “Mr. TV Man” which takes apart the American talking heads over a timeless organ led groove and harmonies that scream ebullience. Lyrically modern, but as far as music is concerned, this is perfectly happy if the last three decades hadn’t existed.

That is not to say “American Times” is some dated thing, though. The title track manages to sound gritty and blue collar, recalling MV faves from the last decade, Marah, and the lead guitar here has more than a hint of Warner E Hodges about it.

There is no doubt, either, about the record’s most ambitious turn. “It Just Happens, I Guess” features the keyboards of Joey Huffman (Matchbox 20) and the duet vocals of Tawny Hills. The organ again is the engine here, giving the track an almost trippy, widescreen feel.

It just shows the skill of everyone involved here that each song is slightly different. “One Day” is the kind of three-minute power thing that The Trews do in their sleep, but interspersed with the kind of lines that suggest at real heartbreak. And it would strike a chord with anyone who has ever “waited for you at work just hoping to say hello”….Not us you understand. Its not like we bought a shit load of records we didn’t need in HMV in the late 90s…no sir….

Anyway, moving on….

The sense of longing, wanting something different never leaves this either. “American Times” ends with “One Night Stand” – a track that would make Steve Earle proud – and finds Miller searching for more.

A brilliant return, and more to come, you sense. Izzy back? You bet he is. This is his Times.

Rating 8.5/10 - Maximum Volume Music

IZZY MILLER’s voice is from a decade of the past. Every crinkle and expression of his voice in ‘Another Drink Or Two’, makes a very tough world feel a little bit better to deal. It’s that warm and kind hand on your shoulder, from your best pal. It’s the warm hollar of support from your best gal. It’s your brother’s sweet and nostalgic smile, with an “It’ll be alright” to boot. Alabama based singer/songwriter comes as raw as you can, as you can feel the unimpeded story telling through his songs. Even better, his guitar playing sensibilities doubles down on his lyrical prowess, as it adds another lather in poignancy. Each short but straight single (including ‘Another Drink or Two’) are an impactful decision in looking into our own life and soul. His brand new EP ‘Precipice’ is out now, and it features Mike Daly (pedal steel: Travis Tritt, Hank Williams, Jr.), Joey Huffman (piano/organ: Matchbox 20, Soul Asylum), Shane Davis (Black Market Salesmen), and Ben Jobe (Wolves of Chernobyl). If you make one choice today, choose to listen to Izzy’s latest. - comeherefloyd

Izzy Miller is out with a country anthem about losing love and numbing the feelings with drinking and drugs to avoid the sad emotional spiral of heartbreak. The lyrics of “Another Drink or Two” provide the explanation that no matter what he does to cope with his depressing feelings, he will still be haunted by his ex-lovers memory. The song features pedal steel guitars, a raw sounding southern classic-rock inspired vocal, and a swinging acoustic guitar, layered with piano that provides a strong rhythmic foundation. “Another Drink or Two” is the anthem of a heartbroken cowboy who is desperate to get his lover back or at least move on and heal. However, the song seems like he has no hope to get over this person. He’s still completely in love and caught up and not ready to move on. The song is the perfect portrayal of the lose of love and a haunting feeling of loneliness. - Rock The Pigeon

If most of us dressed like Izzy Miller, we'd look like we were wearing costumes. On him though it looks natural, sincere. On a recent afternoon he's wearing a bodacious fringed blue Western shirt, dark pointed boots and faded jeans. Miller's also wearing sunglasses indoors, something 99.9 percent of Earth's population should never do, but he pretty much pulls it off.

Miller is a vintage-guitar dealer of note. A sometime roadie. A no-nonsense country-rock musician. And one of those classic outskirts personalities that helps give the music-business color.

Based in Huntsville, Miller has released his latest solo recording, "Precipice," a four-track acoustic EP featuring wistful pedal-steel-swept single "Another Drink or Two." Miller's songwriting for the project was inspired by, in classic-country tradition, romantic woes. "This record, I wish I could I say we took a bunch of peyote and stumbled into the desert and came up with a sound," Miller says, "but that's not true. It was just us strumming guitars around the house." Miller's collaborators on the EP included Shane Davis, guitarist from young Huntsville rockers Black Market Salesman, who'd backed Miller on raucous 2017 album "American Times."

In addition to vocals, Miller played guitar and mandolin on "Precipice." He has quite the arsenal to choose from there. He operates Izzy's Vintage Guitars, selling everything from pre-war Martin acoustics, to curious electrics like a 1983 Gibson shaped like a U.S. map, to early-1900s harp guitars. "The market's flooded with Les Pauls," Miller says. "Everybody's got a Strat, everybody's got a Tele - and I'm not taking anything away from those guitars, it's a working system. But I like strange stuff." He says he keeps around 300 instruments in stock and another 100 or so in his personal collection.

In addition to selling online, Miller vends at guitar shows, traveling to cities like Dallas, Nashville and Asheville, N.C. for this. Ron Nichols, formerly of shuttered Huntsville venture Musical Instrument Repair Service, has been a guitar-dealing colleague of Miller's for about eight or so years. "He's got a really good eye for old guitars," Nichols says of Miller, "that are unusual or unique and have a likelihood of escalating in value over the years. Looking at him you'd just think, 'Oh another musician,' but he's a very practical person. He probably knows the vintage instrument business and prices better than anyone else in this area."

After graduating from Sparkman High, Miller went on the road with Country Music Hall of Famer Hank Williams Jr., working as a touring backline technician from around 2011 to 2016. His job involved maintaining and repairing the band's guitars, amps, etc.

"It's a very tight-knit group. We're all rowdy friends," Miller says of being part of the Hank Jr. family, while also referencing 1984 Williams hit "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight," a song later repurposed as the NFL's "Monday Night Football" opening theme. "With Hank, you never know who's going to show up. I walked on the bus one time and Justin Timberlake was sitting there."

He became tight with Williams band members such as keyboardist Joey Huffman, who contributed piano and organ on "Precipice," and steel player Mike Daly, whose lines grace "Another Drink or Two."

"I'm naturally drawn to his music because it's the kind I like, kind of Americana-country," Huffman says of Miller, "like Steve Earle or even a little Ryan Adams thrown in there." Based in the Atlanta area, Huffman's musical resume is diverse and impressive. In addition to logging 15 years with Hank Jr., he's recorded and/or toured with the likes of Matchbox 20, Drivin' N' Cryin', Meat Puppets, Miranda Lambert and Cee Lo Green. In 2008, Huffman spent six month playing keys for Southern rock deities Lynyrd Skynyrd, filling in for (the now late) Billy Powell. "Joey's line is, ' 'Freebird' feels a lot shorter when you're playing it with Skynyrd,' " Miller says with a smile.

Huffman is also known for his work with classic-era Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin. His keys can be heard on multiple Stradlin solo albums, including "The River" and "Miami." Huffman joined Stradlin on the road to tour in support of Stradlin's excellent 1992 solo debut "Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds," including a legendary San Francisco gig opening for Keith Richards. (Huffman's hero Ian McLagan of Faces fame played on the actual "Ju Ju Hounds" album.) Of working with Stradlin, Huffman says, "I'll get a call every year, year and a half and he'll say, 'Hey man you want to record?' It's like that. He doesn't seem to have any clock and he doesn't need to. He wrote all those Guns N' Roses songs. I imagine his royalties and publishing are enough to fund a small country."

What do these two Izzys have most in common musically? "Both honest," Huffman says. "Really cool. Has that little something you can't put your finger on, that's there. It's all from the heart and you can tell if it's not and both of those artists are." And yes, Izzy Miller was named for Izzy Stradlin. Miller's dad, a guitarist in local '80s rock bands such as Driver, was a big GNR fan. (Miller's mom wasn't entirely enthused about the name, apparently.)

Miller says he stepped back from touring with Williams to make guitar-selling his fulltime day-job. But not before he learned the importance of populist songwriting. "'Family Tradition,' you could walk out on the sidewalk now and start singing it, someone will start singing along with you," Miller says.

Growing up, Miller listened to the music of country icons like Faron Young and Hank Williams Sr. and Jr. In addition to the tunes, he also admired their rhinestone-bedazzled Nudie Cohn suits. "The gaudier the better," he says. After years of trying to track down an authentic "Nudie suit" of his own, Miller finally found one that would fit him. He's wearing the jacket on the "Precipice" EP cover photo. " I always wanted to be a country singer," he says. "I guess you can tell by the way I'm dressed." - AL.com