Guitarist Craig Douglas Miller’s Blueburst: A Manifesto of Musings from a 20-Year Musical Sabbatical.
Craig Douglas Miller and Marty Willson-Piper are at the forefront of an old-wave resurgence within the sphere of alternative music.
Miller’s career stalled after big labels lost interest in the star guitarist and singer from the ’90s band “The Reach” After two decades of not writing anything new, he finally sought help for the acute depression, writer’s block, that had been plaguing him.
Now, Miller has found new life and inspiration. Miller revived his at-home studio during the epidemic by teaming up with famed guitarist Marty Willson-Piper (The Church, Noctorum, All About Eve), and naming the project Blueburst after the finish on his prized instrument.
In the first two singles of the year, “Vanish” and “Supernova,” Blueburst showed us their many aspects. One of their newest songs is called “Amplify Me,” and it’s a blaring, angry testimonial to the frustration of being silenced.
The Clash’s “Train in Vain” was a punk anthem, and it’s interesting to hear how they’ve reimagined the song. Miller discovered an unexpected story inside what at first glance looked to be breakup songs.
This realisation led to the song’s transition into a sombre hymn to sadness and despair, a reflective look back at the turbulent events of 2020 such as the worldwide epidemic and the George Floyd tragedy that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.
Blueburst’s tone is a welcome departure from the sleek production values of today’s alternative music. This band flaunts its old-wave influences while providing guitar-driven, textured alternative music.
They take inspiration from the raw intensity of alternative and post-punk music from the 1980s, but add a modern twist, creating a sound that is at once reminiscent of the era and completely fresh.
Blueburst represents strength, originality, and music’s staying force in the ever-changing scene of alternative rock.
Miller and Willson-Piper have created a sound that speaks to both longtime fans and newcomers through the turmoil of personal and global adversity.
