Julian Mills
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Julian Harvey Mills (September 28, 1966 – October 5, 2018) was an American musician, bassist, and singer/songwriter in the noise rock and post-hardcore music scene in Chicago and New York City in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He was the founding member, composer, lyricist, and lead vocalist of the bands Drunk Tank and Dirty Old Man River.
Julian also ran the label Radial Records (earlier a subsidiary of Matador Records, and later distributed by Touch & Go).
Career
Plywood 1987-1988
Julian began Plywood, a noise rock, post-punk trio in Chicago in 1987. The band also featured Alex Barker and Clark Johnson, musicians who later were part of Squirrel Bait and Drunk Tank. The band recorded “Shelf Life” in early 1988 with Steve Albini at A-1 Studios in Chicago, but the album was never released. They opened for the bands Sonic Youth and Urge Overkill at Cabaret Metro, Chicago, in October of 1987. They also played with Phantom Tollbooth at Batteries Not Included, Chicago, November 6th, 1987, and with Tar Babies and The Didjits.
Drunk Tank 1989-1992
Drunk Tank was founded in Chicago in the summer of 1989 with Julian on vocals and bass guitar, David “Alex” Barker on treble guitar, and Lou Ciccotelli on drums. Drunk Tank recorded four songs with Steve Albini in his basement 8-track studio in Chicago, which were released as two 7-inch singles (“Leadfoot” b/w “Scissors” and “Hayride” b/w “Mary Worth”).[1] The band relocated to New York City in August of 1989, where Steve Cerio took over on drums, and as part of the early 90s New York City noise rock scene, Drunk Tank played at various venues including the Matador Night Showcase at the CMJ Festival in 1991 and opened for Hole at Maxwell’s in Hoboken NJ in 1991 and for The Ex at CBGB in NYC in 1992.
They recorded their first album, the thirteen-song, self-titled Drunk Tank at Waterfront Studios in NJ and released it in February 1992. While touring in London, the band recorded four songs for John Peel at The Peel Sessions on BBC Radio 1 on Aug 18, 1992. [2] Also, their song “Hogditch” was included in the compilation "Mesomorph Enduros" (Big Cat UK), curated by Jim Thirlwell to represent his favorite American bands of the time (also on the compilation: The Jesus Lizard, CopShoot Cop, Laughing Hyenas, Tad, Melvins, Unsane, Foetus).
Drunk Tank’s initial effort received hyped-up press in prestigious national publications, Siltbreeze and Forced Exposure, as well as others:[3]
“The band proves itself to have a heart on this album – even if it’s a blackened one. Drunk Tank is Wreck with some soul. It’s also the Bastards with tenacity. For some reason, major-label interest seems imminent.” (AP Alternative Press, June 1992)[4]
Drunk Tank broke up at the end of 1992. A final 7 inch/ 3 song CD EP (of their last studio recordings from '92), called "Missing" was released posthumously in 1995 on Radial/Matador.[5]
Dirty Old Man River 1996-2000
The lineup consisted of Julian writing the songs, singing, and playing bass, Daniel Freed on the drum kit, Kevin Drumm on prepared guitar, and Hector Magaña on piano. For the second album, Julian played the piano and sang, with Daniel Freed on drums, Ben Miller on tabletop stereo guitar (adding more unconventional and non-musical guitar textures), and Sava Vuckovic on bass guitar.
Dirty Old Man River recorded a six-song LP/CD called Dirty Old Man River in August-September 1996 at CRC (Chicago Recording Company) and at A-1 Studios in Chicago with Bob Weston, and their first live show was at Lounge Ax Chicago on December 3, 1996, opening for Chavez and The Jesus Lizard. The LP/CD was released in early 1997, and the band played at various clubs around Chicago, including several dates at the Lounge Ax Chicago in 1997 and 1998.[6]
The eight-song LP/CD Saddest Movie Screen was recorded in CRC Studio in Chicago with Bob Weston and released in September 1998.[7]
Saddest Movie Screen was declared the Best Album of 1998 by Jordan Mamone[8] in CMJ New Music Report for the album “packs a classy, lumbering punch of impending doom (with a) precision rhythm section, lively ivory-tickling, cabaret-influenced bone rattling, Mills’ Methadrone groan, Miller’s chainsaw hum.” (CMJ review, Oct 19, 1998). The (UK) Wire recognized its “menacing intimacy to unrelieved tension; Mills’ expressive beautifully ruined vocals make Tom Waits sound like a choirboy.”[9]
The Chicago Reader said that, with Saddest Movie Screen, the quartet “finds its one note — grim, brooding roots gothic — and hovers there, counting on the buildup of spurts, hisses, and whines from bass, piano, and prepared guitar to maintain the intrigue. It induces the creepy sensation of being trapped on a dark country road as a supernaturally long train crosses, altering your perception of time and making the slightest rustle seem sinister.”[10]
A third album, an eight-song LP/CD called Ageless, was recorded in December 1999 with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio[11] in Chicago and released in June of 2000. It featured Julian (vocals/piano), Ben Miller (stereo prepared and standard guitar), and Steve Hess (drum kit). In support of the album, the band opened for John Zorn at The Knitting Factory in NYC, and Roger Miller in Cambridge, and they played various venues in Chicago including Empty Bottle. Dirty Old Man River’s final public show was at Schubas in Chicago on December 12, 2000, with The Black Heart Procession and Octant.
A fourth album, called The Funeral Album, was due to arrive in September of 2003 with Neil Jordan (ex-Catherine) on prepared lap steel guitar, but the seven tracks were mysteriously never released.
Life
Julian was born on September 28, 1966, in Chicago Illinois, and passed away on October 5, 2018, in Chicago Illinois. He was the son of the photographer/artist Helen Harvey Mills and the poet Ralph J. Mills, Jr.
Discography
Drunk Tank
Dirty Old Man River
- Dirty Old Man River six-song LP/CD (Radial RDL 10) 1997
- Saddest Movie Screen eight-song LP/CD (Radial RDL 11) 1998
- Ageless eight-song LP/CD (Radial RDL 12) 2000
References
- ↑ "Drunk Tank: Leadfoot/Scissors". Maximumrocknroll (79). 1989. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- ↑ "BBC Radio 1 – Peel Sessions".
- ↑ "Woodlief, Mark (1992). "Drunk Tank: Drunk Tank". Option. Sonic Options Network. 42-47: 99. Retrieved December 18, 2015". 1992.
- ↑ "Christie, Ian (1992). "Drunk Tank: Drunk Tank". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. 48".
- ↑ "Drunk Tank – Peel Sessions Recording".
- ↑ ""Memories of Julian Mills/Legacy.com". Chicago Tribune: October 2018". 2018-10-06.
- ↑ "Daniel Freed - Saddest Movie Screen Recording Imagery".
- ↑ "Mamone, Jordan N. (December 28, 1998). "Artist Spotlight: Dirty Old Man River". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. 57 (600): 5. Retrieved November 4, 2014". CMJ Network, Inc. 1998-12-28.
- ↑ "The Wire (UK) - Dirty Old Man River".
- ↑ "The Chicago Reader – Spot Check, June 10, 1999".
- ↑ "Electrical Audio - Dirty Old Man River".
External Links
Drunk Tank discography at Discogs: Drunk Tank on Discogs
Drunk Tank discography at MusicBrainz: Drunk Tank on MusicBrainz
Dirty Old Man River discography at Discogs: Dirty Old Man River on Discogs
This article "Julian Mills" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Julian Mills. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
