Gene & Gayla Mills

Biography

“Skillful and witty writing, clean and tasteful guitar picking, heartfelt lyrics. Very enjoyable!”
– Pete Marshall, WTJU

Gene and Gayla Mills play acoustic Americana–folk tinged with bluegrass, country, and more. “One of the best (and also one of the best-kept secrets) in the central Virginia music scene,” the duo features “impressive lead guitar, solid bass fiddle, and smooth harmonies.” Gene’s songs tell rich, concrete stories of memorable characters, from miners and farmers to lovers and soldiers.

In their new release, “If Stones Could Talk”, Gene portrays recent events, from a vet’s account of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in Forgetting to the pain a woman faces in the recession after two years of unemployment in Twelve Days. Their acoustic Americana sound varies from a folk feel on Great Divide and Talking to a Stone, to a bluegrass treatment on Milk and Honey and River, Railway, Road and a traditional country sound on Thriving and Everyday Things. Two instrumentals, flat-picked Bright Blue Eyes and finger-picked Dying Fire with spare bass accompaniment, add further depth. Talking to a Stone has already won two first place songwriting awards, and Gene’s first CD, “Waiting for Rain”, garnered national airplay and more than a dozen songwriting awards.

The duo are joined on various tracks by Bill Evans (banjo), Ivan Rosenberg (dobro), Barry Lawson (mandolin), and Jim Skelding (fiddle). Add a professional sound by famed engineer Bill McElroy, and Gene and Gayla have an alt country Americana sound both contemporary and timeless.

Track By Track Descriptions

1. Talking to a Stone
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
Bb mid tempo 3:52 Folk
Appreciating loved ones while they’re alive
A man confronts the gravestones of his loved ones and realizes he’s neglected them
Written one summer while losing an in-law and seeing the many graveyards and stone walls of New England.
Adjs: haunting, gripping, poignant, melodic
Similar to: Robin and Linda Williams, Ann and Pete Sibley, Honey Dewdrops, Dan Tyminski, Red Molly

2. River, Railway, Road
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
B Uptempo 3:27
Man hopes lost sweetheart will return
Guy is pining for his lost love and hoping she’ll return by any means—by the river, the railway or the road.
Adjs: twangy, lively, hopeful
Similar to: Seldom Scene, Alison Kraus and Union Station, Blue Highway, Gibson Brothers

3. Twelve Days
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
Key: Cm mid tempo 3:16
Woman faces homelessness in twelve days
Based on a true story about a woman during the current recession who was facing eviction in twelve days. She imagines living in doorways and ponders how she’ll eat.

Gene was inspired to write this after hearing a story on NPR about how the current recession was affecting people. A woman who was being kicked out of her apartment in twelve days, and the story mirrors many of the details of her life.

Adjs: poignant, anxious, sweet, sad
Similar to: Nanci Griffith, Alison Kraus, Claire Lynch, Red Molly

4. Everyday Things
Written by Gene and Gayla Mills
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
Key: Bb slow 3:48
Man pledges to show his love with everyday things
Man says that, unlike the extreme things that others promise to do, he’ll do small everyday things to show his love
Adjs: funny, sweet, touching
Similar to: Randy Travis, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson

5. Bright Blue Eyes
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar: Gene Mills; Upright bass: Gayla Mills
Key: D mid-fast 2:32
Upbeat, bouncy
Similar to: Russ Barenberg, Dan Crary, Aly Baine

6. Forgetting
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
Key Bb mid-tempo 3:36
Iraq vet mourns loss
Poignant true story of wounded soldier in Afganistan and Iraq who mourns how his life and marriage are forever changed
Inspired by story on the radio about veteran at Walter Reed
Adjs: sad, wistful, bittersweet
Similar to: Dixie Chicks, Steve Earle, Gordon Lightfoot, Seldom Scene

7. Milk and Honey
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
Key: C up-tempo 3:04
Couple seeks idyllic farm life
Adjs: bouncy, hopeful, happy
Similar to: Gibson Brothers, Larry Sparks, Alison Kraus, Patty Loveless, Red Molly

8. Thriving
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
Key: D mid-tempo 3:31
Man drowns sorrows humorously
Brokenhearted man humorously thinks that drowning his sorrows is healthy because alcohol is made from vegetables
Adjs: silly, funny, humorous, lively
Similar to: Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Steve Goodman

9. Better Late than Never
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
Key: D up-tempo 3:07
Message: seize the day
At midlife, 2 people realize they shouldn’t delay pursuing their dreams
Adjs: bouncy, hopeful, encouraging
Similar to: Gibson Brothers, Seldom Scene, Claire Lynch

10. Blue Runway Lights
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
Key: Bb mid-tempo 3:28
Woman says final goodbye to old lover at airport
Adjs: wistful, poignant, sweet, sad
Similar to: Alison Kraus, Nanci Griffith, Robin and Linda Williams, Red Molly

11. Great Divide
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills
Key: Bb Mid-tempo 3:30
Small choices change lives
Small decisions affect whether someone turns to crime, gets married, etc.
Similar to: Tom Paxton, Jesse Wincester, Claire Lynch, Robin and Linda Williams

12. The Dying Fire
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar: Gene Mills; Upright bass: Gayla Mills
Key D slow tempo 2:00
Adjs: contemplative, mellow, melancholic
Similar to: Bert Jansch, John Renbourn