Deron Miller | |
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Miller performing with CKY in 2009.
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Background information | |
Birth name | Deron John Miller |
Born |
Chester, Pennsylvania, United States |
May 21, 1976
Origin | West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1993–present |
Labels |
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Associated acts | |
Notable instruments | |
Parker NiteFly M Parker P38 Parker P40 Jackson Warrior Esoterik DR3 |
Deron John Miller (born May 21, 1976) is an American heavy metal musician. He is best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of alternative metal band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Outside of CKY, Miller also fronts the progressive metal band Foreign Objects (of which CKY drummer Jess Margera is a former member) and the melodic death metal group World Under Blood.
Miller has stated that his first musical influence, at the age of three years, was Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley. He started taking guitar lessons at the age of eight, after "losing interest" in playing the piano, and was later influenced by death metal band Death, including vocalist Chuck Schuldiner and guitarist James Murphy, followed by "more extreme music ... and more underground musicians" such as Cynic, Pestilence and Malevolent Creation. He has described his first guitar as a "$50 piece of crap", noting that it was possibly J. C. Penney-branded, followed by an "imitation B.C. Rich" and, later, an Ibanez RG570 in 1992.
Miller played in his first band This End Up in 1992, and later formed Foreign Objects with future CKY drummer Jess Margera, whom he originally met at high school. The band released its debut extended play (EP) The Undiscovered Numbers & Colors in 1995. Along with bassist Ryan Bruni, the duo later performed under the name Oil, before meeting guitarist Chad I Ginsburg (who was then working as an audio engineer) and changing the name of the band to CKY. Miller is credited with having conceived the name, which stands for "Camp Kill Yourself" and was believed by the frontman to be "a perfect title for a horror movie".