Album Notes

Trying to be Cool has received airplay at over 150 stations in the US and abroad, and has sold over 1,000 copies.

"Echoing the Paul McCartney video to 'Coming Up,' Jeff Miller is pictured playing every instrument but drums inside the CD booklet to his debut effort, 'Trying to Be Cool.'

And like McCartney, the songwriter actually played those instruments -- and more, including violin -- on the record, accompanied only by the drummer from his high school trio, Jimmy Cramer, who also co-produced the record in his studio."

-Ed Masley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Jeff has been playing music for almost as long as he can remember. Starting with the violin at age 5, he has picked up many instruments and styles along the way. He concentrated mainly on violin and trombone, and classical and jazz music until his freshman year of high school.

During the summer before his freshman year of high school, Jeff made the decision to sell all his video games and buy his first guitar. Soon after, the guitar became his primary instrument, and Jeff fell in love with songwriting. The seeds of songwriting were sown during Jeff's high school years, and he was active in many groups, ranging from jazz bands and string quartets to a rock trio.

The musical journey continued when Jeff started classes at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Here he dual-majored in Songwriting and Guitar Performance and studied with the likes of Pat Pattison and Jon Finn. Jeff's songwriting really began to develop and take form at Berklee. It was during these years that Jeff performed and recorded with artists such as Mike Schmid, Stacy Phillips, and Stephan Sharp.

After graduating in December of 2001, Jeff focused his efforts on writing this debut album. While much of this album fits generally into the Rock/Pop category, many different feels are explored from song to song. A lyrical concept / theme album, Trying to be Cool explores our human tendency to put on false fronts and hide our problems. Trying to be Cool is eclectic, drawing from Jeff's rich musical background while also revealing aspects of his writing, playing, and singing that are still developing.

Jeff's sophomore release, 'Something Different', was added to CDBaby in February of 2005, and his third album, 'Seesaw' has just been released, and includes Matt Mangano (John Mayer, Darrell Scott) and Nick Buda (Edwin McCain).

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