Miller & Sasser
Tucson
Weekly - Big Talent: A few words on amazing visiting
musicians playing at Fall Club Crawl®
Chris Miller and James Sasser (Bud Light Music
Stage, 10 p.m.) hail from Portland, Ore. That's not a city that one would
consider a hotbed of country music, but once you hear the rich baritone voice
and the plaintive notes of the Telecaster, you'd swear they came from a place
like Bakersfield. Perhaps the sound comes from the fact that Chris Miller spent
so many years in Austin as a sideman for the likes of Wayne Hancock, Dale
Watson, Chris Gaffney, Ted Roddy and Marcia Ball. Or maybe it's because James
Sasser originated from cowboy stock out in rural Oregon. In any case, the end
result is pure honky-tonk music, the way Waylon, George and Hank would've liked
it. Since Chris Miller also plays guitar and lap steel for Dave Alvin, he has
enticed the rest of the Guilty Men to come out and tour with him.
Arizona
Daily Star Review - Honky-tonk duo to play free concert on Sunday
Austin-by-way-of-Portland, Ore., guitarist Chris
Miller found some time on his hands last year, so he did what you would expect
from a veteran musician.
He went out and made more music.The Texan's project
with Portland honky-tonk singer James Sasser is less rocking than his regular
guitar gig with roots rocker Dave Alvin's Guilty Men. (Alvin put his Guilty Men
on vacation and went out with the Guilty Women this year.)
Sasser's honky-tonk recalls old twang, simple lyrics
and uncomplicated melodies. It's the kind of music you'd hear in the West Texas
dance halls where the guys once upon a time put on crisp shirts and ties and
wore their best Stetsons, and girls were likely to wear patterned cotton
sundresses and sandals.
He sings about getting over an ex to the backdrop of
a three-chord melody. Toe-tapping Western melodies sneak in, the kind you can
play with an acoustic guitar, a stand-up bass and a snare drum. It's comfort
food for your ears. Miller, whose Tucson
tie was co-writing the title track of Troy Olsen's debut indie album, "Living
in Your World," hooked up with Sasser last year when he returned to his native
Portland. A prolific songwriter himself, he was struck by Sasser's honky-tonk
writing style that hinted at the pop stylings of Roy Orbison and Buddy
Holly.
Tucson Weekly "Short Takes" Review
During his 20 years living in Austin, Chris Miller
played guitar for a virtual who's-who of roots performers. During a break from
playing guitar and lap steel for Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men, Miller returned
to his native Portland, Ore., where he teamed up with songwriter and
golden-throated singer James Sasser. The collaboration runs the gamut from
full-fledged honky-tonk to songs that could have come from the '70s AM gold
era, and it's all pretty damn great.
- Website:
- http://millerandsasser.com/fr_home.cfm