The Omnibus

Issue date: 10/21/04 Section: Feature

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When Associate Professor of Communications Brett Miller was 13 years old, he and a friend discussed running away from their homes to begin their own band. Though they never followed through with their plans, Miller is, in a sense, living out his childhood dreams.

Brett Miller and Todd Mincks perform at theThird Annual Spokane Songwriter Festival held May 2004.

Miller is one member of a singing / song writing duo. He and his friend of 17 years, Todd Mincks, play guitars and sing harmony vocals. Miller says, however, "...to say I'm a guitarist is not really honest. I'm nothing more than a rhythm guitar hack. Todd is the guitarist in the duo."

Mincks and Miller met when Miller student-taught at Ozark High School. At the time, Mincks was a student. Miller said, "We became friends, and our mutual love for music and song writing grew into this ongoing hobby."

Mincks now works at Nixa High School as a counselor, but he and Miller find time to write songs and play a few gigs. They are currently working on releasing a CD through MayApple Records in Springfield. "MayApple is a fabulous label that primarily focuses on local song writing talent," Miller said.

Though the label boasts Big Smith, a popular local band, Miller said, "Neither one of us is interested in trying to make it big as musicians. We just love taking an idea and communicating it through music. We keep at it because people seem to enjoy our songs."

Miller said he is proud of the duo's song writing abilities. He says they try not to do anything "too complicated instrumentally" because their goal is not to impress people with "complicated picking."

"There's something more interesting and honest to me about singer / songwriter music," Miller said. "It seems to be less about performance and more about communicating something authentic - at least the way we approach it."

Mincks and Miller are also influenced by songwriters who have an authentic message to communicate. "I suppose our biggest influences as songwriters are probably Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne," Miller said. "We appreciate the romanticism and relaxed beauty of Browne and the raw spiritual honesty of Dylan."

In reference to the duo's own music, Miller said, "Our music is not explicitly religious. I would say there is a spirituality in our lyrics and a consistent theme of grace, but we are not interested in using our music to push a particular agenda." Miller described the duo's music style as being folk-rock.

The duo's music can often be heard at local bookstores and libraries including Well Fed Head Books in Springfield. However, Miller said the duo will probably not perform again until the spring of 2005.

For more information about Mincks and Miller, check out their mailing list by e-mailing mincksmiller@sbcglobal.net.

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