Blood, Sweat And Beers

With an easy-on-the-ear acoustic style somewhere between the surf and roots rhythms of Jack Johnson and John Butler, with a touch of John Mayer's pop prowess for good measure, 26-year-old Jordan Millar has racked up an impressive swag of achievements since starting on the scene as a Tasmanian teenager. Now a Sydney local, he's supported the likes of Colin Hay, Lisa Mitchell and The Fray, played Falls Festival and Bluesfest and charmed national television audiences on Channel 7's Morning Show; all up over 1000 shows.

“Well I've been doing it since I was 16 very, very regularly, and over the last few years a whole bunch, like at least 100 or so [gigs] a year,” says Millar of the notable figure that includes his own shows, side-projects and session performances. Doggedly pursuing a life as a career musician since his teens, the singer-songwriter has six EPs, a live album and debut 2009 long-player Lies In Translations to his name, though admits his February sophomore album Cold Lights On Curious Minds is his most considered release to date. 

“I spent a long time writing for it – I had about 20-25 songs that were kind of floating around… I culled it down to the best 12 and spent a lot of time in pre-production working hard on getting the structures right, and really focussing on the lyrics. It was kinda different because normally with the EPs I was just like, 'Oh that's a good song, that's a good song – let's do an EP'. But this was a much more focussed effort of like, 'This is how I want it to sound, this is how I want it to be'.

“My drummer lives over in LA so we'd go back and forth on Skype,' says Millar of the demo process. “He went into the studio and busted out all the drums in three days, and then he sent it back to me, and I did all the other tracking at the studio at my house. It's a pretty random way, watching someone else on Skype record your drum tracks,” Millar chuckles, adding to the unconventional recording process by nabbing the services of a bassist whose style he admired in a bar one night. 

Millar is in the midst of of smashing out a five-state, 23-date tour alongside fellow acoustic troubadour Jack Carty, who's sharing in the launch celebration with his new Modern Life EP. 

“We toured together about two years ago and we did a kind of smallish tour, I think it was about 13 or 14 shows up and down the coast,” says Millar, showing he's certainly no stranger to the road. “And he's a good buddy of mine – he came and helped sing [backing vocals] on the record a little bit.”

As a self-managed artist who's been in the game for a decade, Millar is proud of having earned his place through determination and a spirit for adventure, and looks forward to what the future holds. 

“It's a slow thing, being independent, and you know, it's hard work and it's been a long time coming but it's never stopped growing from the first time I went to Canberra to when I can go down there now and pack out a room, so it's always been on the grow and hopefully it just continues to go down that path… It's my full-time job so I can't complain, that's for sure.”

Jordan Millar will be playing the following dates:

Wednesday 3 April - Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane QLD
Thursday 4 April - Cafe Le Monde, Noosa Heads QLD
Friday 5 April - The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba QLD
Saturday 6 April - The Loft, Gold Coast QLD
Thursday 11 April - The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay NSW
Friday 12 April - Lennox Hotel, Lennox Head NSW
Saturday 13 April - 5 Church St, Bellingen NSW
Sunday 14 April - Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour NSW
Thursday 18 April - Lizotte's, Newcastle NSW
Saturday 20 April -  Brighton Up Bar, Sydney NSW
Friday 26 April - The Aztec, Forster NSW
Saturday 27 April - The Pier, Port Macquarie NSW
Sunday 28 April - The Fig, Port Macquarie NSW
Friday 3 May - Yours And Owls, Wollongong NSW
Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May - Front Gallery, Canberra ACT