At Seymour Duncan, we are all about the players and their quest for the right sound. For every band that has achieved critical mass, there are thousands more who are putting in their dues at local bars and coffee shops across the world. Seymour Duncan Underground is a new continuing series to showcase unique musicians and bands that have not quite reached the mainstream. Today, we sit down with Tommy Mills of Tommy Mills & The Jade Amenity.

Tell us about your band Tommy Mills & The Jade Amenity
“I started The Jade Amenity in late 2001 – early 2002 right after my former band No Sighlence. I’ve always had a really warped way of perceiving music. The ‘60s and the ‘90s had a profound impact on me, I didn’t get to live through the ‘60s, so I was satisfied with just growing up in the ‘90s. I was really in the alt/grunge/garage/punk. I wore out a lot of my dad’s old vinyls, everything from 60’s garage stuff and psychedelic acid rock stuff, ‘70s punk stuff that my neighbor had given me, it all had a big impact on me. I had my own ideas that I wanted to hear coming from my music. Like fuzzboxes, feedback, midnight hours and sounds that expressed how I actually felt. It was always a cool feeling for me after a show when somebody walks up and says “Sonic Youth” or “I get why you wrote the 2nd to last song.” It always made feel like I had a sense of belonging and somebody actually “got me” for the hour and a half I was on stage. People ask me how to describe the sound umm…. I guess it sounds like really angry smurfs got in to a fight with The Ramones and Black Sabbath. Haha, I just close my eyes, write and play what I feel and forget everything else.”

Tommy Mills & The Jade Amenity

How did you get started playing music?
“I started playing guitar when I was 5. My dad was the one that turned me on to the guitar and taught me how to play. I was kinda introverted. I found a lot of solace in my art and my music. I felt like I could be “Tommy” through my music.”
What kind of gear have you used?
“In 20+ years, I’ve had a lot of gear. I was in to more older and “lesser known” stuff, for one its price was attractive and another I was just more comfortable. I’ve always been more in to Fenders (strats, teles, musicmasters, mustangs, duo-sonics) I’ve had several strats over the years, I had one set up with Duncan Vintage Rails, I had a tele I toured with that had Duncan Antiquity pickups in it. My main strat is a ’64 body with a ’68 neck that I’ve had for years. I also use a ’63 Danelectro Silvertone, a re-issue Gretsch Duo-jet and an old ‘70s lawsuit copy tele.”

What bands have inspired you personally?
“Well….. haha there’s a pretty good sized list! Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Jimi Hendrix, Velvet Underground, The Ramones, The Pixies, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Janitor Joe, The Seeds, The Doors, Syd Barret and a lot, lot more. I always looked up to the “underdog” bands. Bands that had something deeply personal to say but for whatever reason weren’t as recognized as some, but should have been. There’s a very good friend of mine Tom Hamilton of the ‘60s cult garage band “The Human Expression.” They were a band that really did have an impact on the whole indie/punk/garage movement. This was a band that was comprised of basically a bunch of 15-16 year old kids in 1965 that hit the record button on their reel-reel and came out with something timeless. Yet, it’s not until over 40 years later that it’s finally getting the recognition that it deserves. Stuff like that has always inspired me.”
For more information on Tommy Mills & The Jade Amenity please visit their Facebook or Myspace page.