Life & Work with Khristopher Michael Miller

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Khristopher Michael Miller.

Hi Khristopher, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m Khristopher Michael Miller, frontman and lead guitarist of Khris Glaring.

I’ve always been creative. I loved to draw from a young age and did martial arts for many years before I picked up the guitar in my teens. When I discovered 90s grunge bands — Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Bush — I never looked back.

I loved music. I started with lessons right away; my first experience performing was at church, then I joined a Jazz band in high school and continued at the community college until I found myself graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston — which is where I discovered I’m a pretty dang good arranger and songwriter. I realized I had a unique sound, and I felt called to release it. But I knew I’d have to learn to sing and produce, as well.

A couple of years after graduating, just as my first band was building steam, my wife and I, along with our first baby, took a leap of faith and moved to Nashville. We didn’t know anyone out here. We didn’t even have jobs lined up. We just knew it was the right move for us to pursue music and raise our family. I had lived in Boston for six years and told myself I’d do greater things in that amount of time in Nashville.

Man, was I wrong!

I had trained hard to be excellent in my craft, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t progress. I was stuck. Everything I attempted felt like a failure. You don’t know what you don’t know, and I had no idea the problem was me. I crashed. Musically and spiritually, as a husband and father, I came nowhere near my dreams of making it in my music, and my personal life was a wreck! I didn’t have a choice: I had to look inside to discover what was going on.

I realized a lot of ugliness from my past held me down, and I’ve had to face it and figure out how to heal to move forward. Striving for success without first seeking health always ends in failure — even if you do succeed!

With God’s help, my beautiful wife and kids, and the incredible support of so many who have loved and poured into me, I’ve been able to start the process of undoing wrong thought patterns and the lies that kept me down for so long. As I journey towards health, so have my relationships and my music.

Being in Nashville, I quickly realized that being a guitar player isn’t enough to get my music out. I didn’t know anything about the music industry, but I knew I had to learn how to sing, write, and produce, and I’ve even learned the art of mastering. Apart from the excellent musicians in my band, I’m a self-sufficient artist, and I love to do it all!

But being able to do it all doesn’t mean I can. With family responsibilities and just the realities of doing life, I’ve chosen to narrow my focus to my band, Khris Glaring. Khris Glaring is a Rock/Hard Rock band that honestly confronts life’s difficulties and leaves room for hope.

Being the lead singer/guitarist, I’ve teamed up with some very talented musicians who share the same passion that I do to create good music with a message. We play locally, in and around the Nashville area, and look forward to taking our sound beyond.

We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been smooth. One of the biggest challenges was an injury I endured while pursuing my associate’s in music at a community college.

I had muscle fatigue, and I lost 80% of the strength in my arm. I couldn’t play guitar for nine months. And when I got back to it, I could only play 15 minutes daily! The expectation for my program was to practice 8 hours a day.

Recovery was slow, and I hastily reinjured myself many times, dragging it out even longer. Altogether, it took 10 years for me to regain my strength.

I wish I could have put in the practice time I wanted to during that time, but I believe everything happens for a reason. I’ve had every excuse to call it quits, but one I always told myself is I would never give up.

I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m proud to be a self-producing artist. Something I’ve heard over and over in the music industry is that you shouldn’t do it all yourself: if you’re an artist, someone else should produce your music; if you’re a recording engineer, don’t master yourself because you want a different pair of ears to hear the music. It’s the standard for the big artists.

But I don’t have a choice. I don’t have the resources to hire out. And having so many ideas of my own, I don’t want to pay someone else not to give me exactly what I hear in my head. I want to share my music the way I hear it. So, I’ve taken the time to learn and, over time, invested what I could in my own equipment to record, mix, and master my music.

The thing about hiring a producer is, ultimately, you’re at the mercy of that producer’s sound and vision. I’ve heard many stories where artists wanted to release their music but weren’t happy with the production they invested in. I don’t want that. So, I continue to grow and hone my skills in the recording process, just like I do with my instrument. I love having full control of my sound.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.khrisglaring.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khrisglaring/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KhrisGlaring/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-zpMY99PTrDQ_H8zAmkthg
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@khrisglaring?lang=en

Image Credits
Larry Mcgrath and Michael Edwards