You can usually find second year ethnomusicology major Wes Miller practicing his ukulele or catching a few waves at the beach. Her Campus sat down with this surf rock musician to find out how surfing has influenced his musical style.
Her Campus: How did you become interested in surf rock?
Wes Miller: I grew up five minutes away from the beach and my family has always been super big in Hawaiian culture. The beach life style has influenced everything from the way I talk to how I dress and what I and eat. Surf culture is a big part of my music – It’s a big part of who I am and everything I’m trying to do as a musician.
HC: What was the first instrument that you learned to play?
WM: We were on a family vacation to Mexico when my uncle taught me the C chord on his ukulele. I remember sitting there strumming that chord for the rest of the 6-hour drive. I was six years old – that’s when my family knew I was going to be a musician.
HC: You eventually took lessons from the world-famous ukulele player, Bill Tapia. How did he influence your musical style?
WM: When I was nine I started playing at the Oasis Senior Center in Newport. That’s when I met Bill, who was 93 at the time. At first he was skeptical. I remember him saying, “I don’t teach kids, this isn’t a day care.” But I proved him wrong. Learning from someone who has experienced everything from Prohibition to both world wars to the Internet has shaped my musicianship in a way that made it different from other musicians who were my own age.
HC: How would you describe your musical style?
WM: I don’t think it sounds like anything that anyone’s every heard. I don’t like to limit music by putting categorizing it into genres, but I would say it’s definitely a fusion of surf rock, jazz, straight rock’n’roll and even some hip-hop. It has an electronic spine. Electronic music builds and drops – that’s what my music does but with real instruments.
HC: In high school you produced the eponymous CD, “Technicolor,” started your own music school, and toured with The Shys, a well-known rock band. What’s next?
WM: Last summer I was in Hawaii visiting the Kamaka factory, the largest ukulele producers in the world. One of the owners, Fred Kamaka, heard me playing and invited me to perform at the NAMM show, the National Association of Music Merchants, next weekend. Last year’s performer was asked to play for the Queen of England, so this could potentially open a lot of doors for me.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.