Honolulu Weekly

Jason Miller is an anomaly in the music business world. Where other promoters consider popularity of artists, cost management, guarantees and contract riders, Miller has one criteria: Would he want to see the band in question?

Miller transferred to UH–Manoa in 1992, when his college in Long Beach, Calif., dropped the swim program because of budget cuts. After graduating and returning to the mainland to compete in competitive watersports, he decided to move back after just two years.

“I’d been here for four years before I went back,” he said. “Hawai’i had grown on me.”

But growing up in California in the ’80s also made an impression with the punk scene. “Friends of mine were just getting into the punk scene,” he explained. “And for the first time eve I heard a music that felt right. Growing up, my dad had a lot of stuff like Beatles and Cream and my mom was really into country, and I couldn’t stand the stuff. I can appreciate it now, but once hearing some of these punk bands, I said this is my music.”

What stuck with Miller perhaps even more than the music were the interworkings of the alternative scene’s DIY attitude. More than two decades later, Miller sticks to those same principles learned during his youth, starting his own record business with Hawaiian Express, which is coming up on nearly 120 releases, all revolved around the local scene.

The word “business” probably doesn’t fit what he does, however. Miller never takes a profit for himself, reimbursing his initial investment only–if he’s lucky. When he brings bands to town, his first goals are to make the show all ages and to keep the door price low. And if there is something left over, it goes to fund new projects.

“That’s always been really important to me,” he said. “People will come up to me and say they would’ve paid twice that to see them, and I’m thinking I’d rather see twice as many people come. I defiantly go out of my way to make it all ages and to keep costs down. On occasion, I’ve had to compromise some, but it’s always my first choice. Even bands will say I should take some of the money when there’s a profit–which isn’t all that often–I always tell them, no one came to see me.”

When it’s begins to sound like putting out records and promoting concerts is his life, he’s quick to clarify. “I consider all this a hobby, because I have a day job,” he said. “I can only put into Hawaiian Express as much energy as I’ve got remaining after being a dad and having a day job. But it’s one of those things where if you believe in something, you ought to be able to practice what you preach, or lead by example, and DIY is ultimately about getting it done,” he said. “Bottom line, if I really want something to happen, I’m just going to go ahead and do it.”

And after working so closely with Hawai’i’s underground scene, does he have any favorites? Not really. “Anytime I get asked that question, I just say local bands,” Miller said. “I really, really appreciate what local bands do and so I can’t single out any of them.”