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Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M.[2] Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., his musical repertoire also includes keyboards and occasional lead vocals. He contributed to a majority of the band's musical compositions and is the only member to have had formal musical training.

Mike Mills
Mills performing with R.E.M. in 2008
Background information
Birth nameMichael Edward Mills
Born (1958-12-17) December 17, 1958 (age 63)
Orange County, California, U.S.
GenresAlternative rock, folk rock,[1] college rock, jangle pop
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, music producer
Instrument(s)Bass guitar, keyboards, vocals
Years active1980–present

Early life


Michael Edward Mills was born to Frank and Adora Mills in Orange County, California, where his father was stationed in the Marines. The family moved to Macon, Georgia, when Mills was around six months old.[3] Mills met future R.E.M. bandmate Bill Berry while they attended high school[4] in Macon.[5] The duo started out in bands together. Early projects included the band Shadowfax, later called The Back Door Band.[5]

Mills attended the University of Georgia in Athens, which is where R.E.M. formed.[6]


Career


Mills is credited with being the chief composer behind many of R.E.M.'s songs, including "Nightswimming",[7] "Find the River", "At My Most Beautiful", "Why Not Smile", "Let Me In", "Wendell Gee", "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville",[7] "Beat a Drum", "Be Mine", "Electrolite",[8] and "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" In particular, R.E.M.'s 2004 album Around the Sun was heavily shaped by Mills' piano and keyboard contributions.[citation needed]

Mills is responsible for the prominent backing vocal and harmony parts found in the band's back catalog, with his vocal contributions being most noticeable on 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant and 2008's Accelerate. He sang lead vocals on the songs "Texarkana", "Near Wild Heaven", The Clique cover "Superman" and The Troggs cover "Love Is All Around".

Mills performing in 2004
Mills performing in 2004

R.E.M. had been talking about disbanding since 2008,[9] and eventually did so in 2011. In a 2013 interview, Mills said there is no possibility of an R.E.M. reunion.[10] Mills described it as "31 wonderful years and the opportunity to end it on our own terms".[11]

Mills has written and performed with friends on various projects during his time with the band and since.[12] In 1990 he wrote music for Howard Libov's short film Men Will Be Boys.[13] That same year, he recorded with Warren Zevon together with Buck and Berry as the Hindu Love Gods.[14]

In 2012, Mills contributed piano to a Record Store Day single released by Drive-By Truckers member Patterson Hood, in protest of a Walmart development being built in Athens, Georgia.[15]

Mills is a member, along with Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, and Linda Pitmon, of The Baseball Project.[16]

Mills performs as part of singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur's band.[17] On April 3, 2014, while performing with Arthur, Mills broke the news that David Letterman would be retiring in 2015.[18] Mills took a band self-portrait that he posted to Instagram[19] and did a short interview about "breaking" the story.[20]

Since 2010, Mills has played with a rotating group of musicians for a series of concerts built around Big Star's album Third/Sister Lovers. Known as Big Star's Third, the concerts have taken place in London, Sydney, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York.[21] A longtime Big Star fan, Mills wrote the liner notes for the 2014 reissue of the band's first two releases, 1972's #1 Record and 1974's Radio City.[22]

In 2016, he toured to support a Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra with childhood friend Robert McDuffie,[23] along with guitar players William Tonks and John Neff.[24] The tour resumed in 2022.[25]


Musical style


Mills' melodic approach to bass playing is inspired by Paul McCartney of the Beatles and Chris Squire of Yes; Mills has said, "I always played a melodic bass, like a piano bass in some ways ... I never wanted to play the traditional locked into the kick drum, root note bass work."[26] Mills has more musical training than his bandmates, which he has said "made it easier to turn abstract musical ideas into reality."[27]

During R.E.M.'s career, Mills often harmonized with Michael Stipe in songs; in the chorus for "Stand", Mills and Stipe alternate singing lyrics, creating a dialogue.[28]


Discography


Mills, 2017
Mills, 2017

Personal life


Mills is an avid fantasy sports player, with interest in NFL, NBA, and PGA teams, among others.[32] He is also a fan of his alma mater's football team, the Georgia Bulldogs.

He is married to Jasmine Pahl.[33] He is an atheist.[34]

Mills has one sibling, younger brother Mitch, who is also a musician.[35]


Notes and references


  1. Stipe, Carrey Duet On R.E.M. - Penned Soundtrack
    MTV.com
    Retrieved 20 June 2016
  2. Ankeny, Jason. "Mike Mills Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  3. "Mike Mills Interview from WHO KNEW Celebrates R.E.M.'s Out of Time" – WHO KNEW, YouTube, November 1, 2016
  4. "Mike Mills and Bill Berry: Historic Macon Music Registry". Retrieved 2022-09-23.
  5. Evans, Brad (August 12, 2013). "An Interview with Mike Mills of REM". 11th Hour. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  6. Kretsch, Ron (March 7, 2014). "R.E.M.'s Mike Mills on 'Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee'" (YouTube clip). Dangerous Minds. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  7. Hyden, Steven (16 November 2011). "R.E.M.'s Mike Mills". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  8. reporter, Mark Caro, Tribune. "Mike Mills reveals R.E.M.'s songwriting process, sort of". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  9. Jarnow, Jesse (10 November 2011). "R.E.M.'s Mike Mills Says Split Was Gestating Since '08". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  10. Greene, Andy (May 15, 2013). "R.E.M. Bassist Mike Mills: 'There Are Zero Plans For a Reunion'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  11. Cruz, Gilbert (November 14, 2011). "R.E.M.'s Mike Mills on Saying Goodbye After Three Decades". Time. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  12. Hyden, Steven (November 16, 2011). "R.E.M.'s Mike Mills". The A.V. Club. Onion Inc. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  13. Gill, Andy (5 March 1991). "The Home Guard". Q Magazine. 55: 56–61.
  14. Gill, Andy (5 March 1991). "The Home Guard". Q Magazine. 55: 56–61.
  15. Kane, Tyler (February 1, 2012). "Patterson Hood, Mike Mills of R.E.M. Record Walmart Protest Song". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  16. Leggett, Steve. "The Baseball Project - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  17. Glide (November 14, 2013). "R.E.M.'s Mike Mills Joins Joseph Arthur's Touring Band". Glide Magazine. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  18. Testa, Jessica (3 April 2014). "David Letterman Is Retiring From "The Late Show"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  19. Ryan, Shane (3 April 2014). "David Letterman Will Retire in 2015". Paste Magazine. Paste Media Group. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  20. Breihan, Tom (3 April 2014). "R.E.M.'s Mike Mills Announces David Letterman's Retirement" (YouTube video). Stereogum. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  21. Matheson, Whitney (September 2, 2014). "Q&A: R.E.M.'s Mike Mills chats about Big Star reissues". USA Todaya. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  22. News Staff. "Big Star's first two albums to be remastered and reissued". uncut.co.uk. Uncut. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  23. Grow, Kory (October 19, 2016). "R.E.M. Bassist on 'Breaking Down Walls Between Classical and Rock'". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media.
  24. "Review: R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills, violinist Robert McDuffie cook up a rockin’ classical gas" Arts ATL 2016
  25. "Leavell, McDuffie, Mills make ‘A Night of Georgia Music’ one to remember" The Telegraph 6 March 2022
  26. David Buckley (2002). R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin. p. 105. ISBN 1-85227-927-3.
  27. David Buckley (2002). R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin. p. 81. ISBN 1-85227-927-3.
  28. David Buckley (2002). R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin. pp. 180–181. ISBN 1-85227-927-3.
  29. "Mike Guests on Jason Ringenberg's New Album Nature Jams". R.E.M. 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  30. "Weekend Update: Record Store Day, Dresden, Will Rock 4 Food, Futurebirds, Finster, and Future Music". R.E.M. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  31. "Wild Loneliness, by Superchunk". Superchunk. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  32. Tierney, Mike (April 20, 2013). "Mike Mills: A Rock Star of Fantasy Sports". New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  33. - February 10, 2020
  34. Q, March 1995
  35. "Rock for Learning Features SUGARWALL's Mitch Mills". Rockforlearning.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved 2013-04-01.



На других языках


- [en] Mike Mills

[es] Mike Mills

Michael Edward Mills (Orange County, California, 17 de diciembre de 1958), conocido como Mike Mills, es un músico estadounidense, exbajista de la banda R.E.M., principalmente conocido por encargarse del bajo y del piano, pero también en ocasiones instrumentos de percusión, cuerdas y teclados. También contribuyó en la creación de las letras de la banda.

[fr] Mike Mills

Michael Edwards Mills, plus connu sous le nom de Mike Mills, né le 17 décembre 1958 à Orange County, Californie, est le bassiste du groupe de rock américain R.E.M. Il est un des fondateurs, avec Bill Berry, Peter Buck et Michael Stipe, de R.E.M.

[ru] Миллз, Майк

Майкл Эдвард «Майк» Миллз (англ. Michael Edward "Mike" Mills: род. 17 декабря 1958 года, Ориндж, США) — американский музыкант, мультиинструменталист и композитор, более известен как один из основателей альтернативной рок-группы R.E.M.[2]. Хотя Майк прежде всего известен как бас-гитарист, бэк-вокалист и пианист, его музыкальный репертуар также включает в себя: клавишные, гитару и ударные инструменты. Он внес вклад в большинство музыкальных композиций группы.



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