Spring 2023 Issue

came in 2002 when the group cut a new album,
“Movin’ On.”
Post-college, the ever-evolving Miller expanded
his A-list experience via Donna Summer, performing
with her band as a bass player. He also played bass
for Swallow, an 11-piece band that recorded two
albums with Warner Brothers.
While performing with Swallow at a venue in
Bedford, Massachusetts, a “gorgeous girl with
green eyes” approached Miller after the first set.
“She innocently walked up to me and said, ‘I
love your band and I want to wish you good luck
with your album,’” recalled Miller of meeting his
future wife. “Our eyes met for an instant then she
disappeared into the crowd.”
Fate intervened when, at a second performance
at the same venue, that green-eyed girl sat front
and center. “The rest is history,” said Miller.
He remained in Boston for more than a decade
and returned to New Jersey in 1976 to start the
next phase of his life, teaching instrumental music
in the South Orange-Maplewood School District.
Given his background, Miller said he was often
approached by students about his experiences or
invited to speak to groups about his career.
“I had a real good rapport with my students and
have established lifelong friendships with many of
them, which is very meaningful to me,” he said. “I
think my experiences helped me have credibility
with my students.”
Meanwhile, Cook’s foray into the music world
took a completely different route.
A childhood transplant to Maplewood from
Atlanta, Georgia, he experienced “culture shock” in
New Jersey. “I had this deep Southern drawl,” he
recalled.
He found a constant in music and started singing
along with the radio on long car rides.
“In elementary, middle and high school, I joined
whatever choir I could,” he said. “If there was
singing, I was there.”
Having never taken voice lessons, Cook said
he tried to mimic the vocal tones he heard from
his favorite artists on the radio.
In terms of musical inspiration, Cook
gravitated towards R&B male quartet groups
from the ‘90s like Boyz II Men, Shai and Jodeci.
Later, he explored the ‘60s and ‘70s, gravitating
to the likes of Stevie Wonder, The Temptations,
Smokey Robinson and Bill Withers, as well as
soul and country bluegrass.
When it comes to vocal inspiration, Cook said
Otis Redding is his ultimate inspiration.
“I love the way he delivers what he’s singing,”
he said. “He tries to extract every bit of soul out
of every note and every lyric that he sings and
writes. I do try and emulate that.”
Vocals aside, Cook started experimenting
with writing music when he was just 14.
“I got the idea that I could turn these poems
into songs. In the early 2000s I sang with
a quartet and was also one of the primary
songwriters. I’ve been writing ever since.”
A stint in 1998 on the amateur night segment
of “Showtime at the Apollo” cemented his
pursuit of music full time.
“After that show aired, I remember going
to school Monday or Tuesday,” Cook said. “I
walked into history class and got a standing
ovation. It was the best feeling. From that point
on, this music, this is what I wanted. I wanted to
put that feeling in a bottle.”
The spotlight also served as a crash course
in copyright infringement laws. His plan was
to cover Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbon in the
Sky,” not realizing he would
need a copyright agreement
to perform it on national
television. “I didn’t realize that
until the last minute, so I had
to do an original song that I
wrote.”
A ruthless crowd and the stress of possibly
being booted off the stage only heightened
his performance. “I figured if I could make it
on this stage and impress these people then
I’m doing the right thing, and I’ve been doing
it ever since.”
While music conducts his heart, Cook
has dabbled in other jobs, including
telecommunications, retail, office work and
sales, to name a few. “This was during the
recession, and I had to do what I could do to
bring some money in,” he said. “Music took a
backseat then…music became secondary over
the need to provide for my family.”
Cue in 2016 and a renewed determination
to learn the guitar and return to his passion.
“I would go to work and sing at inappropriate
times during meetings, and I was like, ‘Why
am I fighting this? Why not try and do this full
time?’”
Positive reinforcement and support from his
wife, Jennifer, made his dream that much more
possible. “Ever since we met, she’s known me as
musical,” he said. “Her answer [to him pursuing
music full time] was never like, ‘What, are you
crazy?’”
While both men are married in the traditional
sense, there is also their marriage to music and
the frequent change of partners that comes
along with it.
But Miller and Cook are still in the honeymoon
stage and see their musical relationship only
...continued
Facing page, from left to right: Jeiris Cook on a six-string, singing “Pride and Joy.” Cook and Vern Miller in Miller’s studio. Cook uses a tablet to write
music (top) while Miller stays old school putting pen to paper.
This page, left to right: Cook and Miller react to playing live together for the first time. Miller poses with framed album covers from his days as a
member of The Remains (top). Cook poses in his home studio.
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