Noise rock duo Sleigh Bells nearly cracked the walls of the Varsity in April 2011 with explosive guitar blasts and ground-rattling beats. The pair has since released “Reign of Terror” — a louder, fiery sophomore studio album — shared stages with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and started another tour at the end of September.
Guitarist, producer and song-writer Derek Miller recently spoke with LEGACY magazine over the phone about the group’s past work and future plans, as well as his onnection to Louisiana. Miller ran through the groups exciting experiences, from their new album and upcoming tour with AraabMuzik, to Flea’s disposition and the personal emotions that helped fuel the creation Reign of Terror.
Don’t you have relatives in Baton Rouge?
Derek Miller: I do, yeah. A lot of my family — my Mom and my Dad were both from New Orleans and my dad went to LSU, my sister went to LSU, my brother in law went. I’m the only Miller who really didn’t go, and that’s because it was widely understood that I was going to drop out of college to play music. I ended up going to FSU [Florida State University] for a semester. It was basically a deal that I had. I was like ‘Listen, I’m playing hardcore right now. I’m going to go on tour.’ So they said ‘Well, go to school for a semester. If you don’t like it, you can drop out, and we’ll be cool. We’re not going to be mad at you — you’re going to have to be ready to take care of yourself, but if that’s what you want to do, that’s fine.’ I would have applied but the out-of-state tuition is a little pricey if you know you’re not going to stick with it.
What have you guys been up to in the time leading up to this tour that’s about to start?
We have been in studio. Pretty much anytime we have a break — we’ve been out since February — we’ll have five days or 15 days or whatever. Every time we’re [home] for more than a minute or two, we go into the studio and work on new music. So that’s it,man, really. I’ve been stacked thinking about this band. It’s my life.
Is there anything about this tour coming up you guys are particularly looking forward to?
Yeah. We’re doing it with this producer named Aaraab Muzik. He’s an exceptional producer. He does live MP3 sets where he’s just dangerous and furious. I’m a fan. We ran into some of his people at Pitchfork [Music] Festival in Chicago over the summer, and we were just shootin’ the shit, and I was like ‘hey man, tell your dude if he wants to do any shows with us and he’d be down, it’d be a lot of fun.’ Stylistically we have a little more in common than people think. We both just do high energy music. So I think it’s going to be great. It’ll be exciting for fans to get to see something a little different.
You guys seem pretty hyped up at your shows. How has the addition of “Reign of Terror” affected your live performances this past year?
It’s been great man. The “Reign of Terror” stuff lends itself to the live settings and you know, “Reign,” it’s a guitar record. I’m not stuck behind a sampler or anything. It’s very physical, and I’ve been on stage with a guitar since I was 16. I’m 31 now, so I’m just very comfortable with it. It’s also a really heavy record, which usually translates well live. It’s very physical. I hope people come away from it feeling very energized, for lack of a better word.
How did the writing process work between you and Alexis [Krauss] for “Reign of Terror”? Was it a bit more collaborative this time around?
It was, yeah. We’ve slowly been moving in that direction. With “Treats” I had most of it finished when I met her. With “Reign,” you know, it was our first chance to actually spend a lot of time together because we were on tour for “Treats” for 16 months, and we were together everyday and everynight, so, just by virtue of proximity, I would be working on an idea and she would be right there. Like maybe she’d be standing in the dressing room, you know, painting her nails or something, and she hears what I’m working on and she just starts humming and then we’d have a song. With the new stuff, it’s kind of at a point where I finish the instrumentals, and she’ll take them home, and she’ll come back with a ton of melodies. I still do the majority of the lyrics, but it’s becoming our thing and less of my thing, which is nice.
How did you guys decide to kick off that album with the New Orleans opening with Alexis on “True Shred Guitar?
That’s my family, you know what I mean? My blood is in New Orleans. We just had to pick a city [for the opening segment], and it’s also one of my favorite cities in the state. It’s completely unique. It’s kind of lawless in a way. It’s wild, and it’s dangerous for me because you can lose focus in New Orleans really quickly if you don’t have a ton of discipline. I’ll go every few months and just eat, go to touristy spots like Jacques-Imo’s and hang around. I love the city. I’ve been going you know since I was 10. My parents would take me for Mardi Gras, and we’d eat at Middendorf’s in Manchac. So, it just felt right.
Does that mean anything for the New Orleans show? Will it be extra crazy or anything?
We played the Varsity in Baton Rouge [for] the last record. It just feels like, when we play Miami or West Palm Beach — because I grew up in South Florida — that feels like a home show. But Louisiana feels so much like a second home for me, specifically Baton Rouge and New Orleans. I grew up in a Tiger household — it was the Saints and the Tigers, like I said. It’s just all very familiar to me. Whether it’s black and gold or purple or gold. It’s just very familiar. You know I lost my Dad in the summer of 2009, and I think even more so I’m drawn to it now because it reminds me very much of him, and it’s just very comforting.
What’s touring with huge bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers been like?
Honestly man, it’s fascinating to see how a production of that scale works every day logistically. It’s kind of fascinating. You roll into the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and it’s just this big empty space. Within a few hours, they turn it into this massive production, and it’s incredible just to witness it. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were just so kind and accommodating and treated us well. I mean, those dudes have been on top since ’91. They’ve had their ups and downs personally; they’ve all been through a lot. I think those dudes, they’ve got something on them, you know what I mean? But they came out, they’re all clear and healthy. Flea [of the Red Hot Chili Peppers] just bounces around. You know, Flea’s got some years on me and a lot more energy than me, and he’s in better shape. He’s just lucid, and yeah, it was just incredibly inspiring. I was working on music that whole time, and he just comes bouncing into the dressing room with his bass [guitar] on, and no shirt on just talking a million miles an hour but just totally focused. He’d just be like, ‘all right, peace!’ and he’d be gone. Nothing but good things came from that experience, which isn’t always the case. A lot of times in situations like that, opening bands, they don’t mean shit because the crowd isn’t there to see you, they’re waiting through you, and that’s understood, you know? We were just happy to have the stage for 40 minutes. That being said, the crowd was really polite to us because they really are tolerating you, and you know, you can’t go up there spoiled. Just play your set, be gracious and introduce the Chili Peppers. It was great.
You describe [Reign of Terror] as emotional. Were there personal influences that affected the writing for that album?
Yes. I mean, absolutely. I mentioned my Dad, his passing — June 25 of ’09 — it wasn’t natural or timely, and it kind of spun me out. It was really difficult for myself, my Mom and my whole family, really. My main concern was my Mom. They’d been married for many, many decades, and she got very ill when he passed away. I had a very, very normal, sound upbringing and a very healthy household and that went out the window in a split second, literally. And it’s all right. I was 27, so I got a lot of time with him. It wasn’t so much that as it was readjusting. Things happen you know? It’s not just me. Shit happens. I got kind of dark, naturally, and I think that made its way onto the record. ‘Reign of Terror’ the title alone is a good example. I wasn’t trying to be tough. It was very literal I felt like that’s what I was going through. I’m glad I worked through that stuff. I’m in a better place now.
I read that you did a bit of writing shortly after “Reign of Terror” came out, and you mentioned you’ve been working on some more music. What made you decide to quickly jump back into that, and how has that been going?
It’s been amazing, man. I feel like I’m doing the best work of my life. I jumped back into because I never get out of it. There’s nothing I’d rather do with my time. This isn’t my hobby. It’s not just my livelihood either, it’s just my life. If I can’t do this well, then it’s difficult for me to feel good about myself. I do it like my life depends on it. It is the love of my life, it really is. Once I met Alexis, I just felt like the universe did me a favor there. She came along at a time in my life when I desperately needed something like that because things were so fucked up. It just gave me something to bury myself in and just focus on. I’ve been a music fanatic since I can remember anyway, and I had no luck meeting somebody like a creative partner or somebody to work with. She was the answer, so I just do it every day of my life because there’s nothing I’d rather do.
Well, is that work — you’re newer work — is it any different than “Reign of Terror?”
It is, it’s a lot less heavy, a lot less guitars, a lot less of a metal influence. I was listening a lot to Def Leppard — who I love to death — and a lot of Slayer. Just a lot of records I grew up with. I’m just looking for different sounds now, different beats, and I’m just trying to become a better producer and arranger. I’m getting a little more involved so I’m not spread quite as thin. I just feel across the board we’re really stepping it up, and it’s a good feeling. I can’t do the two or three year album cycle. It’s not enough. It’s not enough work for me. Too much down time. By the time we finish touring, a record we usually have most of the next record finished. I can’t just sit on it. I got to put it out. We’ll probably put the next record out in the middle of 2013.
