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The short train ride to kiddie rock from Destroy All Monsters, The Empty Set, and Larynx Zillion’s Novelty Shop
16 February 2000
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Ann Arbor’s Laurence Bond Miller might easily carry off the role of enigma were he to don the mantle of mysterious rock star, tortured genius, or dark space wizard. After all, the 30 year musical trajectory he has carved through the fabric of entertainment culture is unique. Few have had the vision, the chops, or the balls to make noise in half the number of genres and styles he has, let alone stretch and warp those genres in directions nature never intended.
But Mr. Laurence, as he now refers to himself, is an open book. No mystery. Just a font of creativity with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of new musical ideas.
Mr. Laurence MP3 samples
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| Just One Little Leaf |
18 sec playtime, 128 kbps encoding, 288 K download |
59 sec playtime, 320 kbps encoding, 2.2 MB download |
| Hand In Hand In SorryLand |
13 sec playtime, 128 kbps encoding, 208 K download |
86 sec playtime, 320 kbps encoding, 3.3 MB download |
| Choe Chee’s Reoccurring Dream |
28 sec playtime, 128 kbps encoding, 456 K download |
82 sec playtime, 320 kbps encoding, 3.1 MB download
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He is best known for his work with the most successful of the many incarnations of ’70s art punk band Destroy All Monsters, in which he played 'space guitar' along with his twin brother Ben on saxophone, ex Stooge Ron Asheton on guitar, ex MC5er Michael Davis on bass, Rob King on drums, and sexually electric death diva Niagara on vocals and hypnotic presence. (During the same era, brother Roger Miller headed out to Boston and helped put that city on the early alternative map with Mission Of Burma and Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic.)
No doubt a landmark, for Miller Destroy All Monsters was in the end just one station on a surrealistic train ride that has been winding its way among locales called Brainal Unit, Marsh Crabbits & His Clapfold Platune, Empool, Mezanine, and The Empty Set. At his most extreme (so far), circa 1990 through the middle of the past decade, Miller explored the farthest reaches of deep avant-garde space with his self-described “over the top” project Larynx Zillion’s Novelty Shop.
These days Miller still keeps multiple musical irons in the fire. And he hasn’t lost his flair for bravely going where no one has thought to go before. But now he gets his best kicks watching the spark of wonder in children’s eyes as he treats them to his eminently accessible and charmingly innocent, yet musically complex and hauntingly psychedelic ditties. Because as Mr. Laurence he is in the business of delivering kiddie rock.
He has two grown daughters, has left the baser aspects of the music business far behind, and sees a bright path opening up ahead.
Rockbites: What were you doing musically just before inventing Mr. Laurence?
Mr. Laurence: Back in 1996 I had made the final decision to move on from my way over the top avant-garde camp-glam band, Larynx Zillion’s Novelty Shop. There weren’t any bands around like us that promoters could pair us up with, and very few venues interested in taking a chance on us. Having worked the Shop to death over a span of nearly seven years, I felt it might be a smart idea to get back to something perhaps a little more accessible.
The unplugged/folk revival was hitting hard and all the rage on the college scene. I’d done that sort of thing back in the mid ’80s, and I still passed as a reasonably youthful looking guy. So I rehashed some of my older pop tunes while writing a few new ones in the same flavor. One may have described me as the Robyn Hitchcock of Ann Arbor, with an even mix of slightly surreal, rather romantic, and most definitely depressing songs.
But... the fragile, airy-fairy stuff I was laying down was simply not cutting it.
“I began to see a whole new avenue open up before my very ears.”
In 1997 I began working in some of the children’s centers around Ann Arbor. As assistant teacher and head of the music enrichment program, I began to see a whole new avenue open up before my very ears. Having children of my own, I was accustomed to their level of thought, and before long—presto!—I was writing songs for children.
Much of my songwriting over the years has had a playful and childlike nature to it. As a result, this change in style was not that difficult. During drawing time or out on the playground I would get great lyrical ideas and I began writing them down. I was even able to rework the lyrics on a few of the older pop tunes, changing them from an R rating to CG (Childrental Guidance suggested).
It is preschool policy that all teachers are addressed by their first name. For instance, Ms. Karen or Mr. Tom, or in my case, Mr. Laurence. This is how Mr. Laurence was born. So I recorded a handful of tunes, mixed the backing tracks down to cassette, and began performing against them live through a small monitor system. Essentially I was/am doing karaoke to my own songs.
“It is preschool policy that all teachers are addressed by their first name... in my case, Mr. Laurence.”
Rockbites: Who was most surprised by your decision to migrate from space rock and avant-garde explorations to your new genre?
Mr. Laurence: Actually, there was little surprise among my friends and fans. Sure it was a departure, but was that anything new? My middle name is departure. I have never been one to be pigeon holed. I have written, recorded, and performed in many genres of music: space rock, freeform jazz, classical, punk, camp-glam, avant-garde experimental, lounge—whatever.
“So, Laurence Bond Miller is doing children’s music now? Oh? When’s his next gig?”
Rockbites: Could you describe the rewards of composing and performing for children, relative to your other musical work? What’s most challenging about children’s music?
Mr. Laurence: To look out at my audience as Mr. Laurence, the attention, the smiles and awe in the children’s faces... the warmth from their moms, dads and caretakers is so vastly beyond anything I ever experienced in the alternative club scene. No smoking, no drinking and drugging, no idiot club owners and personnel, no bouncers, no ego competition with other bands, no wasted youth who have long since lost their way.
I’m having a positive effect on my audience. They walk away smiling and this makes me happy from the inside out. I’m making more money than I ever did before, and what’s more, the process is as creative as it ever was. I’m selling CDs, I’m happy, and I’m making people happy. Who could ask for more?
“The same players were in both bands, so we just dressed up differently and no one knew the difference.”
The most challenging aspect of writing for children—the most difficult obstacle I’ve run into—has been in the process of rehashing some of the older pop tunes I couldn’t leave to rest. These are songs of adult topics, and I found it rather difficult at times to go from adult perspective (politely speaking) to a genuinely innocent and wholesome viewpoint.
For instance, one of the tunes I revised went from One Hopeless Romantic to The Pouting Song [on Flaghorn]. Another, I Love You So Completely [on Tugboat Tow], originally about my ex-wife, is now in praise of Mother Nature and our need to recycle.
And then we have There’s A Poem In My Head, which was perhaps the hardest of all. It’s a beautiful song of pining love but with a few rather heady metaphors. In the case of this song, I had to keep nearly every lyric to keep the sense intact, and it was very hard to skirt around the imagery successfully.
But, and thankfully so, I have written many new songs and stories for children since first venturing out into the kiddie-rock world of Mr. Laurence two years ago. I am now well into the making of my third CD, tentatively called Pancake Heaven.
“Ultra-gushy camp fun for all those in attendance!”
Rockbites: One of my favorites from Flaghorn is One Little Leaf, which sounds a bit like a dreamy John Lennon ballad. Were you thinking about him when you wrote it?
Mr. Laurence: There were a small handful of tunes Lennon wrote after going solo that I thought were good, but his best stuff was with the Beatles. Paul may have kept more of the Beatles sound than John after going solo, but I still think John was the coolest of the two, and my all time fave.
But I wasn’t thinking about him. I used to have a small lawncare business and I would get ideas for songs as I worked. I wrote the majority of Just One Little Leaf as I was raking Mrs. Ramfjords’ lawn. I also wrote a film vignette on the very same lawn, but that’s another story all together.
Rockbites: What other musical projects have you worked on over the past few years?
I have been toying around with three other musical projects, two with my musical brothers Ben and Roger and the other being my comic-lounge act called Mezzanine. Mezzanine’s first gig was opening up for Larynx Zillion’s Novelty Shop back in 1994. The same players were in both bands, so we just dressed up differently and no one knew the difference.
For studio work with Mezzanine, like many of my brainchildren, I perform all tracks. It started as a one shot deal but I’ve kept it alive. I have recorded a handful of original mock ’40s styled crooners with plans for a release later in the year. The CD will be entitled That Lonely Half Floor In-between.
Unlike most of my products, there are a few songs in this collection I didn’t pen, but the majority of the material is mine. Twin brother Ben Miller, Mr. Sincerely, will be accompanying me in concert on guitar and alto saxophone, while I, as Yours Truly, will be busy hamming it up on my vintage mic with romantic gestural movement. Ultra-gushy camp fun for all those in attendance!
“If I had known in my youth what I would have to go through to get where I am today, I would have been a carpenter.”
The other two projects I’ve been working on are called M3 and M2. M3 has both my brothers Roger and Ben, while M2 has only Ben. Both projects are mostly instrumental and freeform. Many of the pieces were not discussed before laying the tracks down. A few of them were born from just a seed—an idea one or the other of us began in a moment’s time, saying 'Let’s do this,' roll the tape and we would all have at it. As one might expect, the outcome from such exploration is always a refreshing surprise. Even more surprising—9 times out of 10 the experience was well worth the journey.
Rockbites: You are a survivor who has maintained his dignity and artistic integrity in a cynical, hypocritical, and manipulative industry—not to mention successfully raising two daughters on your own. How would you advise a young aspiring rock star about her road ahead?
Mr. Laurence: Suggestions for a budding star? My initial reaction here would be something like: TURN AROUND, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND DON’T LOOK BACK! If I had known in my youth what I would have to go through to get where I am today, I would have been a carpenter. The music business is just as cutthroat as any there is. I might say something like 'Don’t dare trust a soul—especially your bandmates. They are the worst—unless they are family.'
“Suggestions for a budding star? TURN AROUND, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND DON’T LOOK BACK!”
Get everything in writing. Copyright everything you record and even the material you teach others to play. Even your seemingly closest band member will rip you off. Here’s the toughest one of all: Steer clear of drugs and booze and getting close to those who do. This may alienate a large majority of musicians, but consider yourself lucky. The need to go down to prove oneself as an artist is a myth and disgustingly passé. To summarize, I say 'Shoot for the stars using every ounce of imagination you have. Stay clean and don’t give up. And above all BE TRUE TO YOURSELF.'
Rockbites: Do you plan to release any of your past recordings?
Mr. Laurence: I have a tremendous backlog of music dating from the mid ’70s up thru the late ’90s, where I reinvented myself as Mr. Laurence. But I don’t have any plans to release any of this material right away.
Rockbites: What do you see ahead for Mr. Laurence? Any surprises you can reveal?
Mr. Laurence: There are three surprises I see coming up ahead for Mr. Laurence. What’s more, I can reveal all three of them to you. Don’t you feel privileged?
I’ll be releasing a video along to two songs off my new CD Tugboat Tow: Banging All The Pots & Pans and Sea Of Daisies. Brain Kelley, a good friend, has been dying to do something creative with me for some time. We are working on preproduction, with plans to mix live footage from my upcoming CD release performance next month with a variety of fanciful studio scenes. We’re going for a full blown Hollywood look.
Second, I’ve got three new CDs in the wings to follow Tugboat Tow, which comes out in March. The next one, Pancake Heaven, is well on its way. Again, this will be a mix of transformed songs of the past along with brand spanking new kiddie-rock material. Then I’m planning to record an unplugged performance over college radio this year, and if all goes well, I will release it shortly thereafter. I also have several songs in the can (including some Christmas songs I recorded with my kids over the years), and many more waiting to be recorded, for one or two holiday/seasonal CDs.
Finally, I’m working on a children’s musical which I sketched out some 15 years ago called The Endless Excursions Of Choe Chee Wu. I plan on developing and releasing this epic journey some time over the next two years. It is in story-form, with theme songs and various voices in narration. Choe Chee’s Reocurring Dream, a song on my first CD Flaghorn, is one of the theme songs.
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Mr. Laurence: Laurence Bond Miller