Live and Local: The Wild Hymns

Seeing Wild Hymns playing at Ploughman a couple weeks ago, I was struck once again as I was the first time to saw them, at Scene and Herd Fest… déjà vu. Something was familiar, even though I didn’t know what.

Then, it hit me. Jahoona Miller and Phil.

My kung fu teacher had a very eclectic group of friends. One of them was a musician/performance artist named Johnna Miller. The first time I met her was at a bar, where we were with a group of martial artists and artists more generally, and we were  seeing a band. She handed me her business card, and I was a little tipsy, so I read “Johnna” as “Jahoona”… it stuck.

Jahoona was a competent guitarist and violinist, and could even hold her own with a flute. What she could really do, though, was sing. She sang in a lilting, folky way, best I can explain is if Edith Brickell had been a jazz singer from the 40s. it was distinctive and well crafted. Her song writing was heavily influenced by the folk and blues stuff of the 70s with a jammy, loose swing.

Jahoona was terrible at playing pool, but constantly would challenge me if we were ever at a place that had a table. She got really, really mad at me when she realized I was letting her win one time, such that there were cubes of chalk thrown and beer spilled and some really well intonated curses thrown. After that, I’d just beat her like a drum whenever we played, though she did all the trash talking before and after.

Her performance art act was…weird. Her explanation of it afterwards was weirder. I guess performance art is like stand up comedy, in that if you have to explain it, it isn’t working. Eventually she moved on to focus on her music with less flowers and feathers and clams on stage (don’t ask). It was then that she met Phil.

Phil was only in his early 20s, but he looked like Johnny Carson. Clean cut, wore Brookes Brothers sweaters and docksider shoes. Strikingly soap-opera handsome and very quiet. Looked like he was probably a board member of the local Young Republicans.  

All of that was your impression until you talked to him. There were really only three things to know about Phll. He loved cats and volunteered excessive time to various no-kill cat shelters, he was violently snobbish about Mexican food to the point we all came to avoid Mexican restaurants with him…and he played guitar.

Sweet, toasty Jesus on a Segueway, he could play. First time I heard him play, I handed him a strat I had been working on that had a bad ground somewhere such that it was humming like a breadbox full of yellowjackets. He picked it up, tuned it, and broke right into Jeff Beck’s version of “Ain’t Superstitious”… it was incredible and fast and clean, all doing this on a broken guitar while watching and laughing along with Beavis and Butthead on the TV.

Jahoona noticed too. They got together. She with feathers woven into her hair and dresses that she made herself that were way too big for her on purpose. He looking like an aide for a state senator. The romance flamed out pretty quickly…it was almost as if they let it de on the vine because they were too interested in doing music together. More likely, he pissed her off somehow. Jahoona was like a wicked storm when you pressed the wrong button, believe you me.

They would go on stage, she’d be dressed like a fairy queen or a Tolkeinian Elf. Phil would have a herringbone sweater and a spotless Martin, and they would bring it. A lamer writer than myself would say they were “magic”. They weren’t that. They were just right, and everything around you was right in the moment when you were there with them. A certain tone to her voice, an embellishment Phil would throw around a line… just all made you want to be there.

Wild hymns are right in that way. They’re not the same as Jahoona and Phil. Megan’s voice is much more versatile and sophisticated and professional, but still has the sense of wonder and comfort that was so attractive and appealing. Jeff is no Young Republican, but he is an incredibly natural and talented guitarist who lines up with Megan as one of the more intuitive accompanists I’ve really ever heard.

They’re a unique act, so I find myself talking about them by relating them to other people. Not to compare competitively, but just to explain. I realize that some of you may not have ever caught Jahoona and Phil back in the day, so that’s not much help to you.

After seeing them at Scene and Herd, I said something like Judy Collins with Chet Atkins. That’s not wrong, but now seeing them again and thinking about jahoona and Phil, I think I can do better…so strap up.

Judie Collins is still who comes to mind to me when hearing Megan. She’s a consummate pro, using her voice as an instrument, and has a range and tone that makes it a great time to listen to for as long as she decides to sing. With a lot of great singers, I often imagine what she  would do with certain songs… I’d love to hear her do “Autumn in new York” or “Rambling Rose”. But I love the selection in the sets they do as it is.

The very first time I heard Jeff, I thought of Chet Atkins because (to me) he’s one of the very best “expert” guitarists. Technically, Chet played effortlessly, and he could watch you tap a pencil on a table and come up with a riff that not only swings like a lead hammock, but other guitarists would commence to stealing for decades after.

Jeff has that comfort and ease that comes w/ mastery, and he’s incredibly spontaneous and creative. That makes him an outstanding accompanist for a singer like Megan. It’s also interesting when Llew sits in with them, to hear how he plays differently with a different singer.

Now, don’t get me wrong. When I say Jeff’s a great accompanist, I in no way mean that as a limitation. Quite the opposite. I would love to get a chance to sit and listen to Jeff up there by himself, just doing whatever he feels like in the moment. But he’s so intuitive and so comfortable w/ a guitar, that he hears what the singer is doing and plays the rhythm and embellishes around it in a way that almost seems psychic.

I’ve only ever heard him play delicate and clean acoustic, but I suspect if you handed him a les paul with blast furnace hot pickups, he’d know exactly what to do with it, and he’d burn your eyes out of your head, then look at you in a friendly manner as if to say “is that what you were looking for? Want something else?”

Their music is available for streaming, and I strongly recommend you look out for them playing live. It’s a Stable-shaker-level treat to catch them if you can.