Jim Miller (born 1954) is a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

guitarist, singer, teacher, recording artist and band leader in the “

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational "jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...

” genre’. He has performed with Oroboros and his present group, JiMiller Band. He has also founded and organized several events, including co-founding the Rock &

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

Festival and founding Lazy Daisy and DeadFall at Nelson Ledges State Park in northeast Ohio. He lives in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Personal history

Miller was born July 2, 1954, at the historic St. Ann's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. He has a wife, Beth, a son named Michael who plays guitar in the JiMiller Band, and two stepchildren, Reid and Sarah Street.

Oroboros

Miller co-founded Oroboros in 1980 as a

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

tribute band, which soon generated original music in the jam band genre. It was named for the

ouroboros The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...

, an ancient symbol for

infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

, depicting a

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

eating its own tail. Among the bands they have opened for are Go Ahead (with members of the Grateful Dead and

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

), The Radiators,

Black Uhuru Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru ( Swahili for 'freedom'). The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful per ...

, Santana and

Rusted Root Rusted Root is an American worldbeat rock band formed in 1990 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by singer-guitarist Michael Glabicki (born January 21, 1971), bassist Patrick Norman and percussionist Liz Berlin. The band got its start as the house band ...

. They co-founded the Rock & Reggae Festival in 1984 with First Light at Meadowoods Farm, originally as a benefit for the Cleveland

Free Clinic A free clinic or walk in clinic is a health care facility in the United States offering services to economically disadvantaged individuals for free or at a nominal cost. The need for such a clinic arises in societies where there is no universal ...

. They performed until 1998, produced five albums, and played a reunion concert in 2003.

Past members

* Jim Miller (guitar & vocals) * Bill Cogan (guitar & vocals) * Mary Beth Cooper (vocals, etc.) * Gary Maxwell (bass) * Rocky Miller (keyboards) * Rob Luoma (drums). * Dave Downing (bass) * Don Safranek (percussion) * Will Douglas (drums) * Scott Swanson (bass) * Mike Rotman (keyboard, guitar, percussion) * Mike Verbick (guitar) * Michael Bradley (keyboards, vocals) * Ned Kalafat (bass)

Highlights

* 1984 - Co-Founded the Rock & Reggae Festival with the band First Light * 1994 -

HORDE Tour Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere or H.O.R.D.E. Festival was a touring summer rock music festival originated by the musical group Blues Traveler in 1992. In addition to travelling headliners, the festival gave exposure to bands, charities, ...

(

Blossom Music Center Blossom Music Center, locally referred to simply as Blossom, is an outdoor amphitheatre in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States. The venue is the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra and site of the ensemble’s annual Blossom Festival. Blossom M ...

) * 1991 – opened for

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

at the

Agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...

(Cleveland, Ohio) * 1995, 1996 & 1997 (July) –

Starwood Festival The Starwood Festival is a seven-day Neo-Pagan, New Age, multi-cultural and world music festival, taking place every July in the United States of America. The Starwood Festival is a camping event which holds workshops on a variety of subjects. Th ...

(

Sherman, New York Sherman is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It is an interior town in the county, west of Chautauqua Lake. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,618. The town contains the village of Sherman. History The area wa ...

) * 1996 - Southern

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Jazz Festival * 1996 - Furthur Festival * 2003 - Reunion

Discography

* 1985 - ''Different Feeling'' * 1988 - ''Psycha Deli: Live at the Euclid Tavern'' * 1991 - ''First Circle'' * 1993 - ''Serpent's Dance'' * 1996 - ''Shine''

JiMiller Band

The JiMiller Band was founded in 1998 by Jim Miller, continuing to play the style of jam band music Miller played with Oroboros. They have performed since their founding, sharing the stage with such notable bands and artists as

String Cheese Incident The String Cheese Incident (SCI) is an American jam band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado, formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael Travis ( drums and perc ...

Galactic Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...

, Rusted Root and the

Rhythm Devils The Rhythm Devils is a band led by former Grateful Dead drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart. Grateful Dead The Rhythm Devils had their origins as an informal but frequent fixture in the Grateful Dead concert repertoire starting in the mid ...

, and produced four CDs.

Current roster

* Jim Miller - Lead Vocals & Lead Guitar * Vince Berry - Guitar * Steve "Nev" Scheff - Keyboard & Vocals * Brian "Bagel" Golenberg - Drums & Vocals * Dave Blackerby – Bass

Past members

* Brett Miller (bass) * Matt Harmon (guitar, dobro) * Dan Carter (drums) * Rick Davidson (guitar) * Steve Zavesky (drums) * Mike Miller (guitar)

Highlights

* 2004 -

10,000 Lakes Festival The 10,000 Lakes Festival (abbreviated as 10KLF) was an annual four-day music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, at the Soo Pass Ranch that was held from 2003 until 2009 before going on indefinite hiatus due to financial losses and has not bee ...

* 2005 & 2006 (summer) - opened for Little Feat at Cleveland's

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...

* 2007 (Memorial Day weekend) - opened for Rusted Root at

Tower City Center Tower City Center is a large mixed-use facility in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, on its Public Square. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including Terminal Tower, the Avenue shopping mall, Jack Cleveland Casino, ...

Amphitheater (Cleveland) * 2007 (New Year's Eve) – opened for Rusted Root at The House of Blues (Cleveland) * 2009–2011 – opened for the Early Bird Festival at

Nelson Ledges Nelson Ledges Road Course is a paved automobile and motorcycle racing circuit in Garrettsville, Ohio which first opened as a dirt track in 1958. In its current form, the track is long and consists of seven major turns. Nelson Ledges Road Course b ...

* 2010 (Labor Day) - opened for the Rhythm Devils with

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

and

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued ...

from The Dead. * 2012 - Starwood Festival at Wisteria Event Campground (

Pomeroy, Ohio Pomeroy ( ) is a village in and the county seat of Meigs County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River 21 miles south of Athens. The population was 1,852 at the 2010 census. History Pomeroy was founded in 1804 and named for landowner Samuel ...

)

Discography

* 2000 - ''Rock and Roll Always Do'' * 2001 - ''Crooked River Groove'' * 2004 - ''Family Roots'' (Double Live CD) * 2006 - ''In Trance It'' (Double CD: 1 Live, 1 Studio)

Original Songs

*Sing It To Your Children ** Sing It To Your Children - Oroboros - Different Feeling Released: 1985 ** Sing It To Your Children - Oroboros - Serpent's Dance Released: 1993 (Euclid Tavern, Cleveland OH, 2/26/93) *North Coast Waters ** North Coast Waters - Oroboros - Different Feeling Released: 1985 *Agathodaimon ** Agathodaimon - Oroboros - Different Feeling Released: 1985 ** Agathodaimon - Oroboros - Serpent's Dance Released: 1993 (Shuba's, Chicago IL, 3/5/93) *Shake It To The Limit ** Shake It To The Limit - Oroboros - Different Feeling Released: 1985 ** Shake It To The Limit - Oroboros - Psycha Deli Released: 1988 *Syzygy ** Syzygy - Oroboros - Psycha Deli Released: 1988 *Paradox ** Paradox - Oroboros - Psycha Deli Released: 1988 *Win or Lose ** Win or Lose - Oroboros - Psycha Deli Released: 1988 *Weather the Storm ** Weather the Storm - Oroboros - Psycha Deli Released: 1988 *Fog Over the Flats ** Fog Over the Flats - Oroboros - Psycha Deli Released: 1988 *Laughing at Harpo ** Laughing at Harpo - Oroboros - Psycha Deli Released: 1988 *Water Unto The Stone ** Water Unto The Stone - Oroboros - First Circle Released: 1991 *Whispers of Love ** Whispers of Love - Oroboros - First Circle Released: 1991 *Glad Messenger ** Glad Messenger - Oroboros - First Circle Released: 1991 *The Griffon Song ** The Griffon Song - Oroboros - First Circle Released: 1991 *King Kong II ** King Kong II - Oroboros - First Circle Released: 1991 *See You Smile ** See You Smile - Oroboros - First Circle Released: 1991 *Smell the Roses ** Smell the Roses - Oroboros - Serpent's Dance Released: 1993 (Euclid Tavern, Cleveland OH, 2/26/93) *The River Runs ** The River Runs - Oroboros - Serpent's Dance Released: 1993 (Shuba's, Chicago IL, 3/5/93) *Funk in A ** Funk in A - Oroboros - Serpent's Dance Released: 1993 (Euclid Tavern, Cleveland OH, 4/9/93) *Siddhartha's Train ** Siddhartha's Train - Oroboros - Serpent's Dance Released: 1993 (Euclid Tavern, Cleveland OH, 4/9/93) *The Friend Song ** The Friend Song - Oroboros - Serpent's Dance Released: 1993 (Tulagi's, Boulder CO, 3/27/93) *Shakin' the Cage ** Shakin' the Cage - Oroboros - Serpent's Dance Released: 1993 (Euclid Tavern, Cleveland OH, 4/9/93) *Calliope - Oroboros ** Calliope - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996 *Do All You Can ** Do All You Can - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996 *Leaving This Place Too Soon ** Leaving This Place Too Soon - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996 *Far and Few ** Far and Few - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996 *Big Black Snake Blues ** Big Black Snake Blues - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996 *San Juan Man ** San Juan Man - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996 *Cuyahoga Bayou ** Cuyahoga Bayou - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996 *Won't Be Long ** Won't Be Long - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996 *You Shine ** You Shine - Oroboros - Shine Released: 1996

Notes

References

* ''Earlybird Gathering Simply Groovy'' by Malcolm X Abram, April 23, 2010, The 33

* ''Grateful Dead at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Poet Mark Kuhar and Rocker Jim Miller Pay Homage'' by Michael Norman, March 22, 2012,

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

br>
* ''‘In trance it,’ latest JiMiller Band CD, debuts in Lakewood'' by Charles Cassady in West Life New

* ''Jam Bands: North America's Hottest Live Groups Plus How to Tape and Trade Their Shows'' by Dean Budnick -

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...

, 1998 * ''Jammin' Again: The Midwest's First Jam Band Reunites at the Grog Shop'' by D.X. Ferris, October 6, 2004, The Cleveland Scen

* ''JiMiller Band'' – Soundclic

* ''JiMiller Band 'Grateful' to be Playing Outpost'' by Allan Lamb, Feb. 17th, 2005, KentWire

* ''JiMiller Band's Final Live CD Recording at Park Street Tavern on April 28'' by Margaret Marten - Short North Gazette, Mar/Apr 2012 Issue * ''Oroboros'' - The Kipple Archives Volume No. 17, Issue No. 2, April 199

* ''Rock ‘n Roll and the Cleveland Connection: Music of the Great Lakes'' by Deanna R. Adams -

Kent State University Press Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses ...

, 2002 * ''Rockers Play Tribute to Grateful Dead'' by Kenny Miles, September 30, 2005, Grateful Dead New

* ''A Slippery Band to Define'' by Neil Malhatra, February 6, 1998, UWO Gazette

External links

JiMiller Band Website

JiMiller Band on Archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Jim American male singer-songwriters American rock songwriters American rock singers Singers from Cleveland Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Musical groups established in 1998 Psychedelic rock musicians Jam bands Musical groups from Cleveland 1954 births Living people Singer-songwriters from Ohio