Avery Millard Powers III (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician, songwriter,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, and

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

. While a student at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

in the 1980s, he collaborated with fellow student

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

and with Alabama-based singer-songwriter Owsley, both of which he continued to work with as a musician and as a producer for the next several decades. Since 2005 he has played bass guitar in the band

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

Career

Early history

Powers studied piano for six years, and played trumpet in his middle school and high school bands for five years. He went on to study Guitar Performance and Communications at

Majosha

Majosha Majosha (formerly stylized as Majôsha) was an American alternative rock band formed around early 1988 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It featured Ben Folds on bass and keyboards, Millard Powers on guitar, Evan Olson on guitar, and Eddie Walker ...

was a band formed around early 1988 with

on bass, Powers on guitar, and Dave Rich on drums. They played their first show at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

's Battle of the Bands in 1988 and won. Majosha released an EP, ''Party Night: Five Songs About Jesus'' in 1988, which contained four tracks, and none of which were about Jesus. After gaining popularity, they released their first album, ''

Shut Up and Listen to Majosha ''Shut Up and Listen to Majosha'' is Majosha's first and only full-length album, released in 1989. This album never made it to CD, and was only ever available on vinyl and cassette. All songs were written by Ben Folds and Millard Powers except ...

'' in 1989. Around the same time, they did a dance mix of ''Get That Bug'' which was released in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The band's label was Fresh Avery Records. All tracks were produced by Folds and Powers.

The Semantics

The Semantics The Semantics was an American pop rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed by Jody Spence (drums), Millard Powers (bass) and Will Owsley (guitars, vocals). Zak Starkey later replaced Spence on drums. The band recorded one album, ''Powerbill'' ...

, a power-pop band formed by Millard Powers and

Will Owsley William Reese "Will" Owsley III (March 6, 1966 – April 30, 2010), known professionally as Owsley, was an American singer and songwriter. His two solo albums won critical acclaim, and his debut album was nominated for a Grammy Award, as was the ...

, featured Jody Spence and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

's son,

Zak Starkey Zak Richard Starkey (born 13 September 1965) is an English rock drummer who has performed and recorded with English rock band the Who since 1996. He is also the third drummer to have appeared with English rock band Oasis. In 2020, Starkey toure ...

appeared on drums on two demos which were not released and on keyboard at a few live performances. Folds was not involved with the creative aspects of the group. The band was signed to

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

, and their album Powerbill, initially slated for release through Geffen Records in 1993, was released in Japan through Alfa International on December 21, 1996.

Solo album

Powers released a self-titled solo album in 2001. Powers played all instruments ( bass,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

), recorded, produced, mixed, and engineered the album himself in his apartment in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. No other artists were featured on the album.

Track listing

# Pamela (4:28) # One More Step (3:34) # Jerry Deacon (2:26) # Gone (2:49) # She's So Clean (2:26) # Heart Attack (2:55) # Simple Thing (3:04) # Jenny Won't Play Fair (2:19) # Vegas (4:12)

Production and engineering

Powers was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Engineered Album in 1999 for his work on the album Owsley by American singer-songwriter and guitarist Will Owsley.

Touring

He has played with acts such as

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

, Holly Williams,

Cyndi Thomson Cyndi Thomson (born October 19, 1976) is an American country music artist. Thomson wrote songs with songwriter Tommy Lee James and in 2000, she signed with Capitol Records Nashville as a recording artist. She released her first album, '' My Wor ...

, Greta Gaines,

Anita Cochran Anita Renee Cockerham (born February 6, 1967), known professionally as Anita Cochran, is an Americans, American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She has released two albums for Warner Bros. Records Nashville and one for Straybra ...

, and

Butterfly Boucher Butterfly Giselle Grace Boucher (born 2 June 1979) is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer born in Adelaide. From the age of 15 years she played bass guitar in her older sister, Rebecca Boucher Burns (Becca ...

Counting Crows

Following longtime bassist Matt Malley's departure from the band in late 2004, Powers began touring with

. He played his first show on April 22, 2005, in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, and would eventually join the band full-time. Powers plays

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, upright

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and performs live vocals. He's recorded on each of the band's studio albums since 2008's ''

Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings ''Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Counting Crows, released in the United States on March 25, 2008. It is thematically divided into two sides: the rock music of ''Saturday Nights'' and the more ...

'', as well as two live releases. He also appears on a Counting Crows compilation album.

''Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings''

'' was released March 25, 2008. The album debuted at #3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and #1 on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. This is the fifth studio album by

. It is thematically divided into two sides: the

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

of ''Saturday Nights'' and the more

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

-influenced ''Sunday Mornings.'' The ''Saturday Nights'' portion was produced by

Gil Norton Gil Norton (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer known for his work with alternative rock bands such as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo Par ...

(who also produced the band's second album, ''

Recovering the Satellites ''Recovering the Satellites'' is the second studio album by American rock band Counting Crows, released on October 15, 1996, in the United States. Released three years after their debut album (and two years of worldwide touring), it reached No. 1 ...

''), while ''Sunday Mornings'' was produced by

Brian Deck Brian Deck is an American music producer and member of band Red Red Meat. He co-founded Idful Studios in 1988. Since becoming a full-time producer, Deck has worked with bands and artists including Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, Califone, All Smiles, ...

. Powers' contribution to the album is listed in the liner notes as, "bass guitar, upright double bass, general all-around unflappable musical genius... and vocals."

''Live From Soho''

'' iTunes Live from SoHo'' was recorded on March 27, 2008, at an in-store performance in Apple's famous

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

location in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. This album was an

exclusive. Powers plays bass and upright double bass.

''Aural 6''

'' Aural 6'' is an EP released on November 27, 2008. The

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

-exclusive

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

sampler contains tracks from several of their previous albums, including ''Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings''. This was one of a series of six-song EPs released at Best Buy on Black Friday, 2008.

''Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation)''

Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) ''Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation)'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Counting Crows, released on April 10, 2012, on Cooking Vinyl. The album is composed of cover songs, with vocalist Adam Duritz stating, ...

'' was released April 10, 2012. The album consists of nothing but cover songs. The band chose to re-record several songs that they have previously released, including "

Amie Amie may refer to: *Amie, an alternate spelling of the female personal name Amy *AMIE, the Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers, a professional certification given by India's Institution of Engineers *Amie (song), "Amie" (song), song f ...

," "Four White Stallions," " Ooh La La," " You Ain't Going Nowhere" as well as songs they have not previously performed.

Television appearances

Powers has made multiple television appearances on

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

, The View, the

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

, and many other programs between 1991 and present. In 2005 he appeared in 10 episodes of the program Three Wishes, with

. In 2009, Powers performed on the

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

series

Live from Abbey Road ''Live from Abbey Road'' is a 12-part, one-hour performance series/ documentary that began filming its first season during 2006 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Season 2 was filmed between 2007 and 2008, season 3 was filmed in 2009 and Season ...

with Counting Crows.

Discography

Powers has taken a role in the following works:

2010-present

* 2014: ''

Somewhere Under Wonderland ''Somewhere Under Wonderland'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Counting Crows, released on September 2, 2014 in the United States through Capitol Records, and on September 15, 2014 in the UK, through Virgin EMI. It is available ...

'',

(bass guitar, harmony vocals) * 2013: ''

Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow ''Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow'' is a 2013 live album from American alternative rock band Counting Crows, released on Cooking Vinyl. The album was made available by the band through digital distributors, physical media, and pre-orders for tick ...

'', Counting Crows (bass guitar, backing vocals) * 2012: ''

'', Counting Crows (bass, acoustic guitar, upright double bass, backing vocals)

2000-2009

* 2009: ''

Lines, Vines and Trying Times ''Lines, Vines and Trying Times'' is the fourth studio album by the Jonas Brothers. It was released June 16, 2009, in the US. The album received mixed reviews from critics and fans. In its first week, the album sold 247,000 copies, debuting at num ...

'',

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in W ...

(12 string acoustic guitar) * 2008: '' Aural 6'', Counting Crows (bass) * 2008: ''Live from

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

'', Counting Crows (bass, upright double bass) * 2008: ''

'', Counting Crows (bass, upright double bass,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

) * 2008: ''Whiskey Thoughts'', Greta Gaines (bass) * 2008: ''Raiders of the Lost Hook Volume 3'', various artists (featured artist, Heart Attack) * 2006: '' Time Again... Amy Grant Live'' (CD & DVD),

(bass, vocals) * 2005: ''Popcorn And A Mama Who Loves Me Too'', Swan Dive (bass,

Moog bass The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...

) * 2004: ''It Was Hot'', Greta Gaines (bass, vocals) * 2004: '' The Hard Way'', Owsley (bass) * 2003: ''Memory Girls'', Warren Zanes (bass, vocals) * 2001: ''Millard Powers'', Millard Powers * 2001: ''Gypsy Flat Road'',

Sandra McCracken Sandra Marie McCracken Work ID: 886831052 ISWC: T9140398330 (born June 16, 1977) is an independent singer-songwriter. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Drawing from folk, gospel, and hymn traditions, her music often weaves together ...

(bass) * 2001: ''Covered'',

Sarah Siskind Sarah Siskind (born April 15, 1978) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Career Siskind grew up in North Carolina in a musical household. She learned the piano at an early age, began writing songs at age eleven and recorded her first albu ...

(bass) * 2000: ''Six Songs of Mine'', Sarah Siskind (bass)

1990-1999

* 1999: ''Deep Volume 3'', Various Artists (Featured Artist, She's So Clean) * 1999: ''Greta Gaines'', Greta Gaines (bass) * 1999: ''Owsley'', Owsley (producer, engineer, songwriter) * 1998: ''Nashpop: A Nashville Pop Collection'', various artists (featured artist, She's So Clean) * 1998: ''Ten: The Birthday Album'', Various Artists (bass, engineer) * 1993: ''Powerbill'',

(songwriter, producer, musician) * 1992: '' The World as Best as I Remember It, Volume Two'',

Rich Mullins Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997) was an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter best known for his worship songs " Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". Some of his albums were listed by ''CC ...

(vocals)

1980-1989

* 1989: ''

'',

(

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, vocals, producer) * 1988: ''Party Night: Five Songs About Jesus'', Majosha (guitar, vocals, producer)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Millard Counting Crows members American audio engineers American multi-instrumentalists Record producers from North Carolina Record producers from Tennessee American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rock double-bassists Male double-bassists American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock keyboardists American rock musicians American rock pianists American male pianists American rock songwriters American male songwriters American rock singers Singer-songwriters from North Carolina 1965 births Living people Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Musicians from Greensboro, North Carolina Guitarists from North Carolina 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century double-bassists Singer-songwriters from Tennessee