Erin Mills is an up and coming indie folk singer/songwriter currently studying under Joey Heier at Crystal Clear Recording Studio and Video Production in Woodbury Heights, NJ. New to the program, but demonstrating a drive to learn and a strong work ethic, she landed a job almost immediately. We sat down with Erin to discuss her music, the program, and her new gig!
How did you originally get interested in music?
I grew up with two kids down the street from me; we were a little friend group, them and my little sister. When I was 6-years-old, my older sister was like, “You guys should make a band.” We had a few practices and performances, but our collective discipline and resources weren’t quite plentiful enough. But it opened up a world where I started writing songs. We never went anywhere with the band, but it got me into it. I started learning guitar. I took guitar lessons for a little, which definitely helped further my abilities in that area, but taught myself mostly. When I was about 14, our one friend moved to California, and we decided we were going to make a set of MP3 songs for her. My dad brought us a microphone from his office and downloaded Audacity for us. It was just supposed to be us singing into the microphone, making silly songs for her, but I kind of took off from there. I figured out how to layer tracks. I loved putting the music together, it was satisfying and fun.
Your music seems to fit well into the indie-folk cannon. Is that a fair assessment?
I do stick mostly to acoustic music, as that’s what I’m comfortable with. I don’t play too many instruments, but I do play acoustic guitar. It’s easy and accessible to me. Like you said, I love folksy music and indie. I love Maya Hawke, Adam Melchor, Arctic Monkeys, Lizzy McAlpine, and I think Patrick Watson has done some really cool stuff. My Dad raised me listening to the Beatles, and got me into some of the Rolling Stones, BeeGees, and some Indigo Girls as well. Folk definitely has a place in my heart, it sounds so natural and organic, but in the future I’d like to maybe branch out and work with a band playing some more electric-influenced tunes.
Folk music has a pretty storied history within the counterculture, from the labor movement to queer issues. Is that history part of the draw for you?
I don’t know much about the history of it to tell you the truth. I like the sound of it, and that definitely makes sense. It’s a very human form of music. It’s a person and a guitar, and then they start singing.
Where would you like your career to go from here?
I used to just want to be famous, you know what I mean. It’s silly, but a lot of kids go through that. I’m getting older and I’d like to use music to spread positivity. If you have standing, and people are listening to you, you should be saying something worthwhile and helpful. I would like to use my music to shine a light in any way I can. Just projecting a positive outlook on life. A lot of music– and there’s a time and place for everything– but a lot of music is just sad. Well, I guess not “sad” music, but what I mean is that I think a lot of music is destructive to the listener’s wellbeing. Sadness is normal and humans have been singing about it for ages. Heaven knows I do. It’s hard to write songs and NOT write a sad one here and there. But if I’m going to have a career in making music, I hope to write songs that are ultimately beneficial for people’s mental and spiritual health. Even if they’re sad, I can strive to maybe throw the “bright side” in there, and add a sense of hope that’s present even when you can’t feel it. To write that way isn’t always my first instinct, but it’s what I’d like to do in the future, so I’ll have to keep working on it. I don’t want to bring people down.
How did you discover the program?
After I graduated I knew I wanted to do something in music. I was pretty happy with my songwriting abilities; I didn’t want to go to school for an instrument or singing. I was enjoying producing music, even though I was very much an amateur and just picking it up as I went along. I didn’t have any teaching, and I didn’t like that. I’d finish a song and be like, “That doesn’t sound professional!” If I was going to go to school for music, it made the most sense for me to go for music production. That’s where I wanted to excel and get better. I looked around at schools for a while, and worked for two years to save money. I was enrolled in another program for a second, but I didn’t pursue it, as they were more audio engineering based, instead of production. I found you guys, and it seemed like a fit. I really liked that it was a shorter program, because I didn’t want to go somewhere for four years. It was more casual.
It sounds like you chose the program to better your own craft. Are you also interested in doing more behind-the-scenes music production work, as well?
You hit the nail on the head, I would like to work on my own music more. I have a deep passion for it, and I love the feeling of writing music. But, I’m not opposed to working in a studio, producing other people’s music and doing mine on the side. It’s all art, and it’s nice to be involved.
I know you’ve been studying with Joey Heier! Tell us a bit about him.
Things are going well! Something I liked about him right away is that he told me, “My teaching style is repetition.” That’s really nice. There’s a lot of pressure when you’re expected to remember something you’ve only heard once. He believes in doing things over and over and having me do things over and over again. He’s right, I agree with him. He works so hard and with a real purpose. He’s good about working around my schedule and I’m so blessed to be learning from him. He’s nice too, which helps.
I heard he got you a job super quickly. What do you think it was about you that made that happen?
I don’t know! Part of it was probably that I had been doing production work for a while. Like I said, I was pretty amateur, but I had a little history with it. Maybe that helped me pick up on things a little quicker. It was easier to connect the dots. Maybe he took that as me learning super fast. He hooked me up really quickly, within the first two weeks. It’s been really cool.
That’s so fast, you must have done something right.
There wasn’t a lot of effort that went into landing it, honestly. This guy was looking for someone to bring on to help out with stuff. Joey’s recommendation helped a lot! We had a phone call and talked for a while, he told me about the job, and brought me on. He had me come to two gigs at the beginning to make sure I liked it. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to handle it. But it went well. It’s exciting. It’s helped me get more familiar with the equipment. You’re plugging cables in and loading trucks…
Be careful with your guitar-hands…
Yea, there’s a little bit of heavy lifting, but also he’s teaching me a lot about electronics and the mechanics of sound equipment. He went to school for electrical engineering. He knows a lot that completely goes over my head. I’m really grateful for the work and experience. I get to see a lot of bands and be behind the scenes. It’s been really great.
Do you have any advice for students entering the program?
One thing I think is big, is to not be afraid to ask stupid questions or to look stupid. You walk in and don’t want to seem like you don’t know anything. But, sometimes you don’t know anything. You aren’t going to learn if you don’t humble yourself and ask. I know I struggle with this, and I think it’s something that most of us could stand to grow in.