By Mike Tofin
On a late summer night, CKY guitarist/vocalist Deron Miller of stumbled upon a dead body under an east coast boardwalk after a leaving an arcade, during a family vacation. Or at least, that’s what the rumours on the Internet say.
“That must be somebody else’s better creative idea,” says Miller. “A late night after the Arcade? Sure, sure we will go with that.’ “
Miller further explains the lyrics behind new album Carver City’s standout song “The Boardwalk Body.”
“When I took a trip to Wildwood, New Jersey — as I often did in my pre-adolescent years — they discovered a body under the boardwalk about a quarter of a mile away from the motel that I was staying in,” clarifies Miller.
Traumatic situation in tow and trying to find a method for self-remedy, Miller explains the therapeutic process he undertook while writing the song.
“I just wanted to write about [the body]; it’s something that has been in my head for a while,” he says. “I pretty much wanted to flush out who it was and why it happened and what would have happened if somebody as young as me fell upon it and what their reaction would be.”
Even though he never saw a body after dropping some coins at the arcade, Miller suggests that a little old school gaming helps distract and entertain him on tour, as opposed absuing alcohol, a problem which had persisted on many previous tours. Thankfully, video games helped him find something to do in his recently decision to go sober.
“Shit, when I talk video games I’m talking one of those Atari joystick things they sell at Toys ‘R Us,” says Miller. “Like Pac Man and Galaga — stuff like that.”
Miller explains his frustration with modern gaming systems exists because of their simulated, but over-simplified, pseudo-real life experience.
“I don’t touch the new stuff,” says Miller. “I have a Playstation 2, but I can’t get some of those controls to work. That has to be the only thing I’m pretty square at. I can’t get that shit to work. I get frustrated pretty easy and I don’t need that. It would be fun to have a Rock Band or a Guitar Hero on the bus. That’s always fun to play, but some dudes take that shit too seriously.”
Miller himself is frustrated with the lack of empathy towards art and a superficial musical entertainment process. This frustration is accompanied by the increasing simplification of culture that he sees as a growing problem in contemporary society.
“People like less these days, people are making less money, they have less goals, they have less motivation and they want to be entertained by less things,” states Miller. “It’s the way we are; our ambitions are through the shitter. But that’s fine, the more losers [there] are [the] easier [it is] for the winners to win. Keep those people losing, you know.”
Continuing on the topic of resisting simplicity and superficiality in regards to appreciating life and music, Miller explains his perception of what it takes to make outstanding tunes.
“We stay out of touch with musical trends — all we know is that we are four guys that are capable musicians,” he explains. “Music is something that is something to listen to, not look at. I think people judge it on too many things, they say things like: ‘That band’s old or that band looks stupid.’ That’s not music.”