\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen Miles Miller<\/a> kicked off a fall tour as a bandleader and frontman singing from behind a drum kit, he was breaking new ground for himself, so he came up with a simple measure for the audiences\u2019 response. \u201cIf girls start shakin\u2019 their asses, you\u2019re doing something right,\u201d Miller deadpans. He\u2019s talking to me in late September, days after he premiered music from his album Mr. Runaway<\/em> during a set at the behemoth Bourbon and Beyond festival in Louisville.<\/p>\n \n\tMiller had been close to this position before, with an important distinction. The 11-track Mr. Runaway<\/em> marks the second solo project for the Kentucky native \u2014 whose job playing drums for Sturgill Simpson<\/a> often casts a shadow over Miller\u2019s own career. He recorded and released<\/a> Solid Gold<\/em> in 2023 with a solo tour that included dates opening for Tyler Childers and featured Miller in a traditional frontman spot, playing guitar and singing at the center of the stage. However, Mr. Runaway<\/em> is full of musical and melodic curveballs. Miller decided any shows in the wake of the record needed to be full-band experiences led by him from behind the drums.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe only thing I really had to compare all of this to was \u2014 well, it was a couple of things,\u201d Miller says. \u201cOne was Sturgill\u2019s world, but the other one was my first record and touring off it. I was out front with a guitar, which is all well and good. That\u2019s the way<\/em> you sing a song. But I struggled to find a groove with all that. This time around, I was singing and playing drums. I don\u2019t know why I put that off forever.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJust immediately, I think the fans\u2019 perspective was, \u2018Oh, wow! How can he do that? It\u2019s incredible.\u2019 I think that when I see some shit like that, too. You\u2019ve got the wow factor. You have to sing completely different. You have to play completely different. I don\u2019t even really get to enjoy it because I\u2019m just working so damn hard to play the show.\u201d<\/p>\n