John Miner
Encyclopedia
Information
Composer John Miner may be best known for his rock opera Heavens CafeHeavens Cafe
Heavens Cafe is a rock opera written and composed by John Miner. It was first staged in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1996. The opportunity to perform the musical theater project came after his demo was heard by investor Mike Lewis of Las Vegas-based Tributary Music Label after his departure from...
, which was staged at the Flamingo Theater in Las Vegas 1996, the Charleston Performing Arts Center in 1997, and later at Insurgo Theater in Los Angeles in 2004. Miner formed the progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
group Art Rock Circus
Art Rock Circus
- Key Members :* John Miner * * Kelton Manning * Milo - Information : has been the brainchild of composer John Miner. The band was originally put together after his departure from California based progressive rock group Mantra Sunrise. The band's first mission was to perform the rock opera...
to perform the music with a live band on stage alongside the singers and actors. Investor Mike Lewis was instrumental in financing and staging Heavens Cafe. The Tributary Music Label released a live CD of Heavens Cafe to the progressive rock community in 2000.
Previously, Miner co-founded the California based art rock
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
band Mantra Sunrise
Mantra Sunrise
-Information: was a progressive rock band that performed and recorded in the early 1990s. The band's power trio format featured vocalist and bass guitarist Joel Bissing, guitarist John Miner, and Wayne Garabedian, who doubled on drums and keyboards....
in 1992 with singer-bassist Joel Bissing and drummer Wayne Garabedian. The band produced the self titled album "Mantra Sunrise" in 1994.
In 2001 "A Passage to Clear" was released by Miner's Art Rock Circus
Art Rock Circus
- Key Members :* John Miner * * Kelton Manning * Milo - Information : has been the brainchild of composer John Miner. The band was originally put together after his departure from California based progressive rock group Mantra Sunrise. The band's first mission was to perform the rock opera...
, also
being conceptual in nature. The album featured two female vocalists, Karyn Anderson, and Karen Marquart. The album was not as well received as Heavens Cafe'.
Collaborating with drummer and composer Nolan Stolz, Miner rebuilt the Art Rock Circus from the ground up, and in 2005 released a double CD Tell a Vision. The extensive keyboard palate in addition to Miner's eclectic guitar stylings found an accepting progressive rock audience.
Musically, Miner is known for his use of several alternate guitar tunings
Guitar tunings
Guitar tunings almost always refers to the pitch of the open string, though some tunings may only realistically be attained by the use of a capo on an unmodified instrument....
, and this is evident in nearly all his compositions. The use of a double necked guitar has enabled the performer to switch from one tuning to another within the same song in a live situation.
His use of odd time signatures is apparent in the majority of his work as a composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, particularly in Heavens Cafe, in which the majority of the album features unorthodox metering. Other distinct characteristics of the composer include the absence of repeating choruses. Drum and bass parts are usually hinting toward melody, rather than standard rock fare. As a producer, Miner's analog recording techniques have been the discussion of much debate in the modern digital world.
Albums
- [2005] Tell A Vision/ Art Rock Circus
- [2005] Book of the Dead/ K2
- [2001] A Passage To Clear/ Art Rock Circus
- [1998] Heavens Cafe' Live/ Art Rock Circus
- [1996] Heavens Cafe'/ John Miner
- [1995] Lost My Way/ Art Rock Circus
- [1995] Mantra Sunrise/ Mantra Sunrise
Discussions and Critical Analysis
- Progressor- Russia: The merits of Heavens Cafe as a significant contribution to the historical genre of rock opera
- Progressive World-Mexico: Las Vegas as a venue/ unorthodox rock opera/Psychedelic influences
- Russian Musicologist Vitaly Menshikov analysis of Tell a Vision
- Prog Freaks critical review of Heavens Cafe
- Prognose- Art Rock Circus methodology/ pros and cons of analog recording
- Euphonia- Spanish review of Tell a Vision
- European Progressive Rock Reviews/ Tell a Vision retrospective relevance
- Music Street Journal- Critical of Editing Tell a Vision/ Uniqueness
- Rock Reviews- Heavens Cafe Live shows in LA/ Sharing Guitar duties with Allan Holdsworth K2
- Hairless Heart Herald UK- Passage to Clear/ Complexity of arrangements
- Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock- Miner as Art Rock Circus Ringleader/ Odd meters/ Alternate tunings/ HC studio vs. HC Live
- Sea of Tranquility- Assessment of Miner's guitar playing on Heavens Cafe' Live/ critique of analog production values
- Expose Magazine- assessment of the bands musicianship within the framework of Tell a Vision
- Rock Progressivo Brazil- Reviews of three of Miner's works in Portuguese
- Arlequins Italy- Review of "A Passage to Clear" in Italian
- DPRP Netherlands- Rock Opera unique in the 1990s
- Prognosis- Review of Tell a Vision