Heider concert a homecoming of sorts for Grammy winner

Grammy Award-winning musician Bill Miller has a long history with the Coulee Region, and although he’s out on the road 150 days or so out of the year, Miller can’t be accused of forgetting where he came from.

“After I won the Grammy and came off the Staple Center stage in Los Angeles, I made two phone calls,” Miller recalled with a laugh. “The first was to my mom on the reservation and the second was to Geri Parlin at the (La Crosse) Tribune.”

Thirty-five years ago, Miller, who is part Mohican, moved to La Crosse from Milwaukee. He had been attending the Layton School of Design there, but then the school closed down. That’s when some recruiters from UW-La Crosse made their pitch.

“They were pretty good — they showed me the bluffs and that was all it took. Besides, I felt like it was time to get out of the city,” Miller said.

It wasn’t long before he put down roots. He met his wife here and they had their first two children in the area. Today they live in Nashville.

“My first professional gig was in La Crosse and over the years I’ve watched the city grow,” Miller said. “In places like La Crosse and West Salem, if you stay there long enough you become part of a family. I’m just blown away by how people remember me when I come back.”

Miller said he’ll never forget the loyalty shown him during his early years of being a musician, and he credits much of his success to that loyalty.

“The beauty of small towns is that there’s no way you can get lost,” he said. “If you’re going to excel — or decel, if that’s a word — they will remember you. Those people supported me when there was nothing there, and I feel they’ve made a difference in my making a difference.”

Miller had planned to do a solo acoustic show at the Heider Center, but he’s learned recently that bassist Hans Meyer will be in the area, so Meyer will be joining him for a part of the concert. Although it will be Miller’s first appearance at the Heider Center, he’s clearly looking forward to the evening.

“Coming home is always a great time — I don’t quite know how to explain it,” he said.

Asked what kind of songs he’d be doing at the Heider, Miller declined to say. He prefers to let the mood of the evening dictate what songs will be played.

“These kinds of gigs are my favorite,” he said. “I like to go for the moment. You can’t have the same generic set list for every performance. Every town and every place is different. Fortunately, I’ve got plenty of ‘ammo’ in terms of songs.”

One song Miller did concede he will play is a Native American flute version of “Amazing Grace.” “I did that with a symphony on PBS, and it turned out great — it’s simple but stunning,” he said.

Miller, who also is a visual artist, said there are three elements in everything he does: his heritage, his life experiences and his spiritual path. “My audience expects that of me, and I’ve learned that if I leave anything out they are disappointed.”

There’s a good chance that Miller will play a song or two from “Spirit Wind North,” the first of a series of albums about the four directions. Raised in northern Wisconsin, Miller said he’s particularly proud of the fact that voices of Wisconsin Indians are heard on that CD.

For those who have never seen him perform, Miller hastened to add that his concerts are not strictly about his heritage. “My ‘platform’ is that we’re all part of the human race,” he said.

Miller will spend a little extra time in West Salem on this trip — Sunday evening he’ll be a judge at a talent show at Coulee Christian School.

“The only other time I was ever a judge for anything was at a fry bread contest up in Hayward, so it should be interesting,” Miller said.

AT A GLANCE