Most bands have reinvented themselves from time to time. Tampa-based Miggs is not new to the idea of reinvention. However, most bands reinvent themselves after they become famous. Being dubbed one of the best rock bands you’ve never heard of, Miggs has recreated themselves with more band member changes than Lady Gaga has wardrobe changes. It seems the band so close to fame never could the right internal chemistry. Until now.

Two years ago Miggs found a steady lineup of musicians. “It’s the same name but a whole different band,” said Don Miggs, the front man. “We just click. There is this intangible with us. We have chemistry.”

With stability in the band, Don feels more confident than ever as a musician. “It feels good being with the right people. Before we would have these dumb arguments and it sucked all the energy out of me. We are all in the same boat now rowing in the same direction.”

The band’s latest album, Wide Awake, was released in the spring. Their single “Girls & Boys” is a hot download.

“It’s the one album I can listen to all 12 songs and I don’t cringe. I can’t say that about the other albums.” Don says the band’s sound falls somewhere in between Elton John and Coheed and Cambria. “It’s an album to put on to feel OK and not ‘let’s have a good night and shake your ass OK’ but like ‘everything is going to be OK.’ It’s upbeat without being a party record. I am damn proud of it.”

The song writing progressed on this album as well as their sound. “I think before lyrically I would try to be cute and do things to impress other musicians. This time I let the songs happen the way they were suppose to,” Don said. Don was even inspired by literature this time around. Incredibly Close off of Wide Awake was inspired by the Jonathan Safran Foer novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close about a nine year old boy who is grappling with death of his father who dies on 9/11. “It’s about how we are all skyscrapers burning at different speeds,” he said.

While the front man is very proud of the band’s fourth album he feels fans need to see the band live to fully understand what they are about. “We are better live. The experience is better. It adds the 3D element to it,”

Miggs has been touring with Ed Kowalczyk and Thriving Ivory for the past several months. “It has been a real treat watching Ed every night,” said Don. “The tour has been a lot of fun. Every night is better than the last.”

While touring continues to shape Don and the band as better musicians, 18 months ago something had an even more profound effect on Don’s life; the birth of his son. “With the birth of my son, I figured out what’s important. I am no longer concerned about being famous. I want to be timeless. I want to make music my son will be proud of,” Don said.

In an age where anyone can be famous for anything, Don wants to be known for his talent. “You can become a sensation for anything; you just have to be a moron on a reality TV show. I want my son to look back on my career and know his father was sensational because he was good at what he did,” Don said.

With the tour and the new single out, Miggs hopes to keep making new fans in every new city they are in. “We want to keep making music and building a solid fan base. We want our fans to be in love with us as much as we love making music. We are an honest representation of American music and we not hip and cool for the sake of being hip and cool,” Don said.

Miggs plays New York’s Mercury Lounge on Thursday at 7 p.m.

About The Author

Sara Brown is a Blast staff writer

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