Our interview with Jenks Miller of Mount Moriah

Hi and how are you today?

Hello!  I’m doing well, thanks. 

What’s is the feeling now that your latest album is complete, is there time to enjoy the moment or, is it straight on to the next project or tour?

We’ve worked hard on this record, but it’s also been a very enjoyable process.  The band had a great time recording in Nashville.  Now that the record is done, we’ve set our sights on promotion.  We’ll hit the road for a few weeks in March, including some time at South by Southwest in Austin, TX.

How would you describe your music to people that have not heard your songs yet?

Mount Moriah plays American folk-rock, drawing influences from our favourite 1970’s Americana artists (Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, etc) as well as more contemporary songwriters.  Both Heather and I come from a background in more confrontational kinds of music (Heather in Bellafea and myself in Horseback) so Mount Moriah serves as an outlet for our gentler musical inclinations.  To this end, we work very hard to keep the arrangements spare and -- more often than not -- understated.  It’s actually a challenge to play “straight”, as it were, and try to connect directly with and audience.

Where do you write and how do you decide what to write about and, does North Carolina influence your sound?

Our process varies, and usually starts at home.  One of us (usually Heather, sometimes myself) will bring a melody or a riff or a basic framework into a writing session and the band will flesh that out into a song together.  For Miracle Temple, Heather, Casey and I spent a weekend in eastern North Carolina developing the basic arrangements and talking about the direction we wanted this record to take.  Yes, I’m quite sure growing up in North Carolina has influenced all of us profoundly.  It would be hard to talk specifically about the ways our home state has influenced us because it’s such a part of who we are.

Are there any particular stories you would like to share behind the songs on the new album?

A couple of the songs we developed in those early writing sessions were particularly fun.  We were recording demos in a remote cabin in a swamp.  The location was isolated and moody, perfect for a few days of intense writing.  The song I Built a Town came to life during those sessions, and it’s one of my favourites from the record.  That one started off sounding very sparse, and we gradually built it into the more country/soul sounding version that’s on Miracle Temple.

Do you feel part of the global music business, or do you try to plough an independent furrow?

I’m not sure how to answer this question!  I think all working artists are part of the global music business, whether they’re “independent” or not.  So I suppose the answer would be “both.”

You use bandcamp, how do you find the format and what are the main benefits to you as a band?

We do use Bandcamp.  I’m partial to physical formats myself, but I do appreciate Bandcamp as a convenient and fair alternative to piracy on the net.

Anywhere you would really like to play a gig, where you haven’t played yet and are there any UK dates on the horizon?  

We haven’t played Europe yet, but I’m sure we’ll find our way over there sooner or later!  I think we’d all love to play the UK.

What were the albums that ‘blew you away’ at the time from School/College days that you exchanged with fellow students? Do you still play those records today?

Heather and I worked together at School kids Records in Chapel Hill (now closed) for a couple years after graduating from college.  Needless to say, working in a record store puts you in touch with lots of great albums!  We were both taken with Gillian Welch’s records at the time, particularly Time (The Revelator).  I’ve recommended that one to lots of folks over the years.

If you could tour with any band or artist, who do you think you could learn the most from on tour?

We’ve toured with the Indigo Girls a couple times and we certainly learned a lot from those experiences.  It was very inspiring to see a band of veteran professional musicians who have been working at that level for so long.

What is your favourite radio station today and why?

I love WXYC, UNC-Chapel Hill’s college radio station.  They have free-format programming, so you get to hear everything from folk to jazz to noise to metal.  My own tastes range broadly and I get tired of hearing the same few rock songs on corporate radio stations; college stations are the perfect antidote.

Any particular instruments, effects or, recording techniques that you use that would like to share with your fellow musicians’

As a guitarist, the best advice I know is to use fewer effects!  Start by getting the sounds you want from your fingers and your playing technique.

Mount Moriah / Photo by Andrew Synowiez via Merge

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