Best Kazoo-Playing Fool
J. Ashley Miller
J. Ashley Miller's voice is reminiscent of Will Oldham's, only more cheerful. The sound of his backup band -- the Golden Calves -- is the sound a twangy pop band would make on painkillers: slowed down and kinda wacky, but still essentially upbeat, humming with energy at its own leisurely pace. Miller packages his CDs in tissue paper. He draws on them with crayons. He hasn't made the big time just yet, but in the past year, we've seen him expand past the Y.J.'s scene in the Crossroads, tacking his name onto the lineup at Davey's and taking his place center stage during several Rural Grit Happy Hours at the Grand Emporium. And it's when he's playing one of the most underappreciated instruments ever -- the kazoo -- that Miller truly demonstrates his unique gift. Effortlessly smiling, tapping his foot and bopping his head while playing the kazoo and the guitar at the same time, Miller chimes in with the instrument's characteristically nervous whistles in all the right places. Pretty soon, we're fairly certain we'll be saying we knew him when.
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