Deron Miller

Miller has stated that his first musical influence, at the age of three years, was Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley.{{cite web |url=http://www.musiciansfriend.com/resources/article/10-Questions-with-Deron-Miller-of-CKY/m710787 |title=Interview:10 Questions with Deron Miller of CKY |last=Sharken |first=Lisa |publisher=Musicians Friend |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712215557/http://www.musiciansfriend.com/resources/article/10-Questions-with-Deron-Miller-of-CKY/m710787 |archive-date=July 12, 2015 |url-status=dead }} He started taking guitar lessons at the age of eight, after "losing interest" in playing the piano,{{cite web |url=http://www.esoterikguitars.com/artists.html |title=Artists |publisher=Esoterik Guitars |access-date=July 12, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815022216/http://esoterikguitars.com/artists.html |archive-date=August 15, 2015 |df=mdy-all }} and was later influenced by death metal band Death, including vocalist Chuck Schuldiner and guitarist James Murphy, followed by "more extreme music ... and more underground musicians" such as Cynic, Pestilence and Malevolent Creation. He has described his first guitar as a "$50 piece of crap", noting that it was possibly J.C. Penney-branded, followed by an "imitation B.C. Rich" and, later, an Ibanez RG570 in 1992.

Miller played in his first band This End Up in 1992, and later formed Foreign Objects with future CKY drummer Jess Margera, whom he originally met at high school.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/cky-mn0000634463/biography |title=CKY Biography |last=Prato |first=Greg |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} The band released its debut EP The Undiscovered Numbers & Colors in 1995. Along with bassist Ryan Bruni, the duo later performed under the name Oil, before meeting guitarist Chad I Ginsburg (who was then working as an audio engineer) and changing the name of the band to CKY. Miller is credited with having conceived the name, which stands for "Camp Kill Yourself" and was believed by the frontman to be "a perfect title for a horror movie".

CKY released its debut album Volume 1 in 1999, which originally featured songwriting credits exclusively for Miller.{{cite AV media notes |title=Volume 1 |others=Camp Kill Yourself |year=1999 |publisher=Distant Recordings/Teil Martin International }} 2002's follow-up Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild credited "Deron Miller w/ Chad I Ginsburg and Jess Margera",{{cite AV media notes |title=Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild |others=CKY |year=2002 |publisher=The Island Def Jam Music Group }} with Margera being omitted from the formulation for An Answer Can Be Found and Carver City.{{cite AV media notes |title=An Answer Can Be Found |others=CKY |year=2005 |publisher=The Island Def Jam Music Group }}{{cite AV media notes |title=Carver City |others=CKY |year=2009 |publisher=Roadrunner Records }}

File:James_Murphy_in_the_dressing_room_at_the_Nokia_Theater.jpg (pictured) worked together on a Death tribute album and the second Foreign Objects release.]]

In December 2002, it was announced that Miller would be working alongside guitarist James Murphy, drummer Dave Culross and vocalist Bret Hoffmann on a tribute album for the band Death, to benefit the family of founding member Chuck Schuldiner.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ex-death-malevolent-creation-members-team-up-to-record-death-tribute-cd/ |title=Ex-Death, Malevolent Creation Members Team Up To Record Death Tribute CD |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=December 24, 2002 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} After Schuldiner's family approved the project,{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ex-death-malevolent-creation-members-get-green-light-to-record-death-tribute-cd/ |title=Ex-Death, Malevolent Creation Members Get Green Light To Record Death Tribute CD |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=February 23, 2003 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/chuck-schuldiner-s-mother-endorses-upcoming-death-tribute/ |title=Chuck Schuldiner's Mother Endorses Upcoming Death Tribute |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=February 25, 2003 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} bassist Terry Butler, Slipknot members Mick Thomson (guitar) and Paul Gray (bass), and more joined the project,{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/slipknot-members-to-contribute-to-death-tribute-album/ |title=Slipknot Members To Contribute To Death Tribute Album |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=July 17, 2003 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} which was titled Within the Mind: In Homage to the Musical Legacy of Chuck Schuldiner and scheduled for release through Mascot Records.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-s-deron-miller-speaks-out-on-upcoming-death-tribute-this-is-the-real-deal/ |title=CKY's Deron Miller Speaks Out on Upcoming DEATH Tribute: 'This Is The Real Deal' |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=February 6, 2004 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }}

In addition to their collaboration on the Death tribute album, Miller and Murphy also worked together again on Universal Culture Shock, the second album by Foreign Objects, released in 2004.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-s-deron-miller-offers-updates-on-death-tribute-album-foreign-objects-side-project/ |title=CKY's Deron Miller Offers Updates on Death Tribute Album, Foreign Objects Side Project |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=October 17, 2004 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} Murphy contributed lead guitar and mastering to the album, with Miller praising the guitarist for making the album "one thousand times better".

During the build-up to the release of CKY's third studio album An Answer Can Be Found, Miller was involved in a number of controversies with the music media. First, he called out Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine for threatening to cancel shows at which "Satanic" bands were also scheduled to appear, asking him to "stop creating drama".{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-frontman-has-a-message-for-dave-mustaine-stop-creating-drama/ |title=CKY Frontman Has A Message For Dave Mustaine: 'Stop Creating Drama' |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=May 8, 2005 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} A few weeks later, he criticised a number of commentators on the website Blabbermouth.net for posting negative comments about CKY, describing them as "lonely, jealous music fans".{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-frontman-slams-lonely-jealous-blabbermouth-net-losers/ |title=CKY Frontman Slams 'Lonely, Jealous' Blabbermouth.net 'Losers' |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=June 2, 2005 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} Following the release of An Answer Can Be Found, Miller also responded to Jenny Eliscu's one-star review of the album for Rolling Stone magazine, describing her as "juvenile" and an "ugly skank", and proposing that she was "not intelligent enough to understand" the band's lyrics.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-frontman-slams-rolling-stone-journalist-over-cd-review/ |title=CKY Frontman Slams Rolling Stone Journalist Over CD Review |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=July 9, 2005 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} Eliscu responded by complaining to CKY's label, The Island Def Jam Music Group, that the frontman had launched a "harassment campaign" against the journalist, alleging that he had posted her home phone number online, leading to fans calling her with death threats.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-fans-wage-harassment-campaign-against-rolling-stone-critic/ |title=CKY Fans Wage 'Harassment Campaign' Against Rolling Stone Critic |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=August 12, 2005 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }}

file:CKY-Colchester09-Deron1-edited.jpg

In October 2006, it was announced that Miller was working with drummer Tim Yeung and producer Logan Mader on a demo for new death metal side project called World Under Blood.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-frontman-working-on-brutal-world-under-blood-project/ |title=CKY Frontman Working On 'Brutal' World Under Blood Project |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=October 22, 2006 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} The band later released a number of songs on its MySpace page.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-frontman-s-death-metal-project-uploads-first-track/ |title=CKY Frontman's Death Metal Project Uploads First Track |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=November 29, 2006 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/world-under-blood-another-song-posted-online/ |title=World Under Blood: Another Song Posted Online |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=March 11, 2007 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} In 2008, Miller also performed with Malevolent Creation and recorded with thrash metal group Believer,{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-s-deron-miller-to-tour-with-malevolent-creation-record-with-believer/ |title=CKY's Deron Miller To Tour With Malevolent Creation, Record With Believer |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=April 17, 2008 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} and later also recorded with progressive metal band The Alien Blakk.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cky-frontman-lays-down-vocals-for-new-the-alien-blakk-album/ |title=CKY Frontman Lays Down Vocals For New The Alien Blakk Album |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=January 27, 2009 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} His Believer contribution later surfaced in the form of a guitar solo on Gabriel opening track "Medwton".{{cite AV media notes |title=Gabriel |others=Believer |year=2009 |publisher=Metal Blade Records/Cesspool Recordings }} World Under Blood's debut full-length album Tactical was eventually released in July 2011 by Nuclear Blast Records.{{cite news |url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/world-under-blood-to-release-debut-album-in-july/ |title=World Under Blood To Release Debut Album in July |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=April 11, 2011 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }}

After a CKY show in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2007, Miller reportedly had an altercation with Ginsburg in the tour bus, after which the guitarist claimed that the frontman had left the band.{{cite news |url=http://www.metalinjection.net/latest-news/drama-insues-inside-of-cky-band-fight-breaks-out |title=Drama {{sic|in|sues|nolink=yes|expected|ensues}} inside of CKY, band fight breaks out |publisher=Metal Injection |date=October 22, 2007 |access-date=June 19, 2015 }} Miller responded with claims to the contrary, while Ginsburg proposed that he would continue CKY with Margera.

The fate of CKY was cast into doubt in 2011, when the band released a video in which each member spoke about their desires for the future of the band; all members but Ginsburg wanted to record solo albums, while the guitarist favoured releasing another CKY album.{{cite news |url=http://www.metalinsider.net/splits/shall-we-wish-cky-rip-now-or-later |title=Shall We Wish CKY R.I.P. Now Or Later? |last=Shaw |first=Zach |publisher=Metal Insider |date=August 2, 2011 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} Miller elaborated on the situation on his Facebook page, claiming that Ginsburg had left the band, and that no one in the "CKY camp" kept him informed of plans and updates, which had led to tensions. Miller was replaced in CKY for the first time since the band's formation in 2012, when former Year Long Disaster frontman Daniel Davies joined for a series of shows at Australian music festival Soundwave.{{cite news |url=http://www.metalinsider.net/metal-musical-chairs/cky-replaces-deron-miller-with-year-long-disasters-daniel-davies |title=CKY Replaces Deron Miller With Year Long Disaster's Daniel Davies |last=Shaw |first=Zach |publisher=Metal Insider |date=March 19, 2012 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} In 2014, Miller reunited with Ginsburg for a planned reunion of the band and a new album,{{cite news |url=http://www.theprp.com/2014/01/09/news/cky-to-return-in-2014-with-deron-miller/ |title=CKY To Return in 2014 With Deron Miller |author=wookubus |publisher=Theprp.com |date=January 9, 2014 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} although no further activity was reported and by 2015 he had once again been replaced by Davies.{{cite news |url=http://www.theprp.com/2015/04/17/news/cky-confirm-the-return-of-daniel-davies-for-amnesia-rockfest/ |title=CKY Confirm The Return of Daniel Davies For 'Amnesia Rockfest' |author=wookubus |publisher=Theprp.com |date=April 17, 2015 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }}

Since the inactivity of CKY, Miller has released his debut solo album Acoustified!, featuring acoustic recordings of CKY and Foreign Objects songs,{{cite news |url=http://www.theprp.com/2013/12/11/news/deron-miller-releases-cky-etc-acoustic-covers-album-acoustified/ |title=Deron Miller Releases CKY, Etc. Acoustic Covers Album "Acoustified!" |author=wookubus |publisher=Theprp.com |date=December 11, 2013 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} as well as resurfaced the Foreign Objects moniker for a new album, Galactic Prey.{{cite news |url=http://www.theprp.com/2014/03/31/news/foreign-objects-cky-etc-streaming-new-track-galactic-prey-cky-working-on-new-album/ |title=Foreign Objects (CKY, Etc.) Streaming New Track "Galactic Prey", CKY Working on New Album |author=wookubus |publisher=Theprp.com |date=March 31, 2014 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} Both releases were funded via crowdfunding website Indiegogo.{{cite web |url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/deron-miller-the-acoustic-album/ |title=Deron Miller – The Acoustic Album |publisher=Indiegogo |access-date=July 11, 2015 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/foreign-objects-album-2014/ |title=Foreign Objects Album 2014 |publisher=Indiegogo |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} In 2016, Miller announced that he was concurrently working on a number of different projects: a deluxe vinyl reissue of CKY's Volume 1, the debut album by MechaCKY (later renamed 96 Bitter Beings), two albums by World Under Blood (Life Is Too Long to Like You and Tetanus Invasive), a new Foreign Objects album entitled Lean, Mean and Bleeding Green, and a sequel to Acoustified!{{cite news |url=http://www.theprp.com/2016/02/03/news/ex-cky-frontman-moves-on-with-his-own-version-of-the-band-mechacky/ |title=Ex-CKY Frontman Deron Miller Moves On With His Own Version Of The Band 'MechaCKY' |publisher=Theprp.com |date=February 3, 2016 |access-date=February 8, 2016 }} It was later announced that 96 Bitter Beings would be releasing two albums, Synergy Restored and Camp Pain, as part of an Indiegogo campaign.{{cite web |url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/96-bitter-beings-new-album-2016#/ |title=96 Bitter Beings New Album 2016 |publisher=Indiegogo |access-date=August 28, 2016 }}

In 2022, Miller became the new frontman of death metal band Malevolent Creation,{{Cite web |date=2022-10-19 |title=MALEVOLENT CREATION Recruits Former CKY Frontman DERON MILLER |url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/malevolent-creation-recruits-former-cky-frontman-deron-miller |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=Blabbermouth.net}} but left the band in 2024.

In an interview in August 2015, Miller revealed that he was working on a pilot for a new show called The Chuck Draper Show with Funny or Die producer Matt Sweeney. He added that he would be playing the eponymous character Chuck Draper and that former CKY crew member Chris Raab was in line to play Draper's roommate. Speaking about the tone of the show, which he claimed was inspired by the work of Howard Stern and Christopher Guest, Miller described it as "very offensive" and "hilarious", joking that he wanted people "to be very angry with [him] after seeing it".{{cite web |url=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thesinnersball/2015/08/10/the-sinners-ball-radio-show-episode-9-return-of-deron-miller-of-cky |title=The Sinner's Ball Radio Show : Episode # 9 Return of Deron Miller of CKY |publisher=BlogTalkRadio |date=August 10, 2015 |access-date=August 13, 2015 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924003131/http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thesinnersball/2015/08/10/the-sinners-ball-radio-show-episode-9-return-of-deron-miller-of-cky |url-status=dead }}

Speaking in an interview with Guitar.com in 2002, Miller noted that he played Parker Guitars, including the NiteFly M, P38 and P40 models, with d'Addario strings and the Marshall JCM2000 amplifier. He signed a deal with Jackson Guitars in 2011,{{cite news |url=http://www.jacksonguitars.com/blog/artist-news/deron-miller-joins-jacksons-stable/ |title=Deron Miller Joins Jackson's Stable |author=MDuffy |publisher=Jackson Guitars |date=November 17, 2011 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }} then later with Esoterik Guitars in 2014.{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX-J2qMHong |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/PX-J2qMHong |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Deron Miller CKY |publisher=YouTube |date=April 24, 2014 |access-date=July 11, 2015 }}{{cbignore}}

Miller has been married to actress Felissa Rose since 2004. They have three children.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-1-of-2}}

;Solo albums

• Acoustified! (2013)
• Crude (2024)

;with 96 Bitter Beings

• Camp Pain (2018)
• Synergy Restored (2022)
• Return to Hellview (2024)

;with CKY

{{main|CKY discography}}

• Volume 1 (1999)
• Volume 2 (1999)
• Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild (2002)
• An Answer Can Be Found (2005)
• Carver City (2009)
• B-Sides & Rarities (2011)

{{col-2-of-2}}

;with Foreign Objects

• The Undiscovered Numbers & Colors (1995)
• Universal Culture Shock (2004)
• Galactic Prey (2015)

;with World Under Blood

• Tactical (2011)

;with Believer

• Gabriel (2009) – "Medwton"

;with The Alien Blakk

• Bekoming (2010) – "The Path"

{{col-end}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{cc}}

• {{facebook|deronmillermusic}}
• {{twitter|realderonmiller}}

{{CKY (band)}}

{{Foreign Objects}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Deron John}}

Category:1976 births

Category:Living people

Category:CKY crew

Category:Musicians from Chester County, Pennsylvania

Category:American rock singers

Category:American heavy metal singers

Category:American death metal musicians

Category:American heavy metal guitarists

Category:American rock guitarists

Category:American heavy metal bass guitarists

Category:American rock bass guitarists

Category:American heavy metal keyboardists

Category:American male singers

Category:20th-century American singers

Category:21st-century American singers

Category:Malevolent Creation members