About a year and a half ago I saw a video of Ian Fitzgerald playing a shitty old kay acoustic guitar in a coffeehouse storefront window with Courtney Gallagher singing along. The video was awesome, the people behind the camera just had an eye for shooting great, organic feeling videos. Ones that make you feel like you are getting a little glimpse into what was unfolding. Well, a year and a half later and I have my own video playing that shitty guitar (except I was under a bridge) and forged a friendship with the man behind that camera that is stronger than most relationships that I have had 10 times that amount of time. The man behind the lens was Connor Millican and he is this month’s featured artist.
The thing that was really inspiring about Connor was how long it took him to really mention to me that he was a songwriter himself. When he is shooting video he is doing just that. There is a line between the work he does for other people and his own songwriting and performing, but he sinks something from the depths of his heart into both of those things equally. And damn, is the guy good at both.
Connor finally came clean about his music and his ever evolving and revolving band, Wise Old Moon. With a fairly recent release titled “The Patterns”, he has been playing relentlessly and sharing his songs with the world. The record, tracked with our family at Dirt Floor Studios and in Millican’s backyard down in Connecticut, is a mix of warm and vintage tones with a bit of grit and attitude. His voice is fantastic, but not too prettied, it has some of the wear and tear of a working man who spends his days earning and his nights singing. The textures and differing variety of sounds within the record and his arrangements are intricate and interesting, utilizing effects from clanking chains to bowed saw. It just has this old timey, but not inauthentic feel and vibe to it. Truly something special.
I am very happy and proud to announce Connor as the September Artist of the Month here on Red Line.