The EPIC Return of Nick Miller’s Song of the Week

Guess who’s back ladies and gents. That’s right, the man who brought you breathtaking covers of “Umbrella” and “Masterfade“, as well as originals such as “Chemicals and Cowboy Boots” and “Don’t Dance (Two Left Feet)“, Nick Miller is back at it again. I’ll let him describe his newest stuff in his own words:

Howdy ATG readers. Its been too long…but I’ve been busy! I’m taking time off from school, just workin’ and makin’ musics. My co-worker Sean at my “evil corporate job” (which I won’t specify…we’ll call it Barstucks) told me he attended Berklee school of music for electronic music production. I told him I’d love his help recording some material. Over the course of a few spread out sessions we recorded five of my original acoustic songs, and coincidentally (really!) my cover of a Zack fave “Bring it on Home” by Sam Cooke. The original songs were basically born out of all the change (woo Obama!) in location I’ve had. I moved from the Univ. of Wisconsin to Columbia College Chicago then back home to Milwaukee and finally back again to Chicago…you might say I’ve been restless. But I’m nice and settled now. Anywho, Sean liked the raw performance of the songs and didn’t want me playing to a click track to keep me on rhythm and not doing any overdubs, just guitar and vocals together. As a result, the songs are not without their flaws but I think they might be better for it. I am extremely thankful to Sean for all his help. Right now my main goals are to get people to check out the demo and land more local gigs. Check out my myspace to pick up the other three songs not posted below. Oh and Zack wanted my favorite Milwaukee Bucks player…thats low. How about Luc Richard Mbah a Moute…on his name alone. See you soon people.

I hope you’re half as excited as I am about the prospect of new Nick Miller. I’ve listened to all of the tracks multiple times, and am blown away by Nick’s progression and refinement. Not only is the Sam Cooke cover lovely, but his original, “Somewhere Else”, could be blowing up the blogosphere right now with the right marketing. Consider this post step one of “Operation: Make Nick Miller a Star”. Just remember you heard him here first. I love credit and recognition. Seriously though, I recommend these two tracks more than anything I’ve posted in the past 3 months. LISTEN!

MP3: Nick Miller – “Bring it on Home (Sam Cooke Cover)”
MP3: Nick Miller – “Somewhere Else”

Love,
Zack

The Return of Nick Miller’s Song of the Week: Don’t Dance (Two Left Feet)

NICK MILLER IS BACK. Those of you who aren’t familiar with the legend that is Nick Miller, check back to other songs of the week, including Nick’s awe-inspiring covers of Andrew Bird’s “Masterfade” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella”, as well as originals such as “Chemicals and Cowboy Boots”. Nick recently transferred from the University of Wisconsin and is now at Columbia College in Chicago, but that in no way means his musical talents have faded; in fact quite the opposite. All this time away from me has made him lonely, and reflective, allowing him to craft new, more thoughtful, more sexy music. This separation and burning desire for me has culminated into a Nick Miller original, “Don’t Dance (Two Left Feet)”. While this song has absolutely nothing to do with anything I just said, it is still undeniably the jam of the century. Nick produced the whole track himself, which I recommend to anyone with a soul. Check the line “too much time, and two left feet”. Genius. It is my pleasure to welcome Nick Miller back to All Things Go, and, since it’s been a while, I thought I’d do a little exclusive interview with him. Check his new song here, and the interview (as well as alternate song links) after the jump.

MP3: Nick Miller – “Don’t Dance (Two Left Feet)”

Love,
Zack

Nick Miller’s Song of the Week: Umbrella-ella-ella

Nick Miller is a genius. Sure, his renditions of the Stones and Andrew Bird classics were beautiful and ambitious and nice and whatnot, and his original, “Chemicals and Cowboy Boots” may be fun and quirky, but these songs thoroughly pale in comparison to his newest, and finest work to date. While Rihanna and Jay-Z may have collaborated to make the painfully catchy hip-hop dance track of the summer (“Umbrella”), Nick has decided to turn it into the painfully catchy and beautiful folk track of the millenium. Even though Nick may be one of my best friends, and even though I always speak in absolutes and always love everything I write about here, I believe that, if I didn’t know Nick, I would’ve thought that his cover of “Umbrella” was crafted by some popular, thoughtful song-writer along the lines of Sam Beam, Damien Jurado, and the likes. If you’ve never downloaded a Nick Miller track from here, shame on you. But super-duper triple shame on if you don’t give this a listen.

MP3: Nick Miller – “Umbrella” [DOWNLOAD OR DIE]

You can stand under my umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh.

Love,
Zack

Nick Miller’s Song of the Week

Last time we saw Nick, he was covering one well-known indie musician (Andrew Bird) and one superstar band (The Rolling Stones). This week, Nick returns with a song that he created himself. “Chemicals and Cowboy Boots” is a Nick Miller original, and is working it’s way on to many of my personal playlists. With an unbelievably catchy synth-guitar riff and electronic feel, Nick’s newest song of the week is very experimental, and represents a departure from Nick’s last two songs of the week (both covers). So enjoy the Nick original, and let him know how you feel about it. The only way he gets better is if he hears from you guys (but no more comments about him singing from his nose).

MP3: Nick Miller – “Chemicals and Cowboy Boots” [Nick Miller original]

Until next week,
Nick & Zack

Thank You + Nick Miller’s Song of the Week

WOW. I was expecting one, maybe two donations at most. After all, who really cares enough to donate to someone they’ve never met? Well I couldn’t have been more wrong. Since I put the donations bar up two weeks ago, we have received more than $125 worth of donations from seven different people (including former writer Ryan, Kyle from
I’m Just Saying is All (and a fellow Badger), and my ball and chain, Claire). One person, however, truly stands out. Chris Hannafan, a beautful person I have never actually met, got the ball rolling by giving us the heftiest donation thus far. For this, we are eternally grateful. To show our appreciation, I have written a tribute to Chris, which our very own Nick Miller has turned into a beautiful little ditty. Thank you to Chris, and really thank you to every person who has taken the time and money to donate to our humble little blog. This is just reason number 20,000 that I love writing for this blog and for you guys.

MP3: Nick Miller & The ATG Gang – “A Man, a Plan, Chris Hannafan”

Anyways, on to the meat of the post

Our first installment of Nick Miller’s Song of the Week saw Nick expertly covering Andrew Bird’s “Masterfade”. This time, Nick tackles a much more recognizable song. I had been begging Nick to cover The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” (my favorite Stones song) because I thought he could do the song justice better than anyone I knew (granted, I know like 3 people that sing). Little did I know that Nick would take the song in a completely different, yet totally awesome, direction. Mr. Miller trades in the acoustic guitars, bongos, and piano for a much more modern, electronica feel. When Nick’s virtuoso electric guitar and “whoo whoo” vocals come in, I am reminded of how sad I am that I can’t sing, or play any instrument (though I did play violin in 3rd grade, bitches). Enjoy Nick’s remodeled version, and let us know what you think, as Nick is always excited to hear some critique.

MP3: Nick Miller – “Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones Cover)”

Stay tuned next week, when Nick drops some of his original music on y’all.

Love,
Zack & Nick

Introducing: Nick Miller’s Song of the Week

First of all, I would like to say thanks for the 3 people who have donated money this past week (even though one of them is my girlfriend and another is former ATG writer Ryan). We just purchased a new hosting service, but are still looking for donations as the server was quite expensive and we have to re-register the domain http://www.all-things-go.com. A more awesome thank you to the donators will be coming tommorow. But now, on to the meat of the post.

Nicholas Charles Miller is a 19-year-old prodigy and freshman at the University of Wisconsin. He and his guitars are inseperable, and he is a garageband genius. I first came to know Nick when I walked past his room and heard a hip-hop remix of “I Dream of Jeanie”, which Nick has masterfully crafted. We slowly discovered that we have fairly similar tastes in music, and ever since we have had some deep conversations about different bands and music styles.

Nick’s has a very versatile style, as his favorite bands are Radiohead, Bill Withers, Jeff Buckley, Feist, and Nina Simone. He plays more fun, upbeat music with his band The Maxwells, but his true talent shines in his more subdued, soft acoustic work. He has a knack for creating unique melodies and thoughtful lyrics, in addition to being a quality cover artist.

Over the next few months, we will be posting “Nick Miller’s Song of the Week”, which will be either a cover or a Nick original. Let us know how you feel about the music, as Nick is very interested in getting some feedback from a larger audience (his myspace doesn’t quite get the exposure ATG does). Nick kicks things off with a cover of Andrew Bird’s masterpiece, “Masterfade”. Enjoy, and get ready world, ’cause Nick Miller has arrived.

MP3: Nick Miller – “Masterfade (Andrew Bird Cover)”

Love,
Zack