We were lucky to catch up with Professor B. Miller recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Professor B., thanks for joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Having the word “Satanic” as part of your band name certainly seems to stop most people in their tracks. Over the years, we’ve had shows cancelled and vendors turn us away as a direct result. People don’t really seem to spend much time looking any deeper to see if there is actually something offensive or problematic going on. I’ve found it sort of works as a litmus test, and if you get past that and still want to know more, you are probably open minded enough to appreciate our strange band.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra is a satirical, robot-fronted performance art band. Dr. Nericcio who has taught us in his class at San Diego State University described us as “If Kurt Vonnegut was in Devo,” and that seems pretty accurate. We don’t fit neatly into any one genre. In fact, we often change genres entirely from one record to the next. What ties our work together is the strange sense of humor in our approach to the lyrics, and of course a robot singer. We’re interested in the themes of technology, commercialism, and authenticity. We are currently working on a series of twenty themed albums, of which we are about halfway through. The themes thus far vary wildly, and have included entire albums about the grocery store, outer space, the paranormal, and economic philosophy. Each has been released with elaborate laser-etched vinyl records and on-topic ephemera.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Art shouldn’t be a competition or popularity contest. Our current conventions for measuring the quality of art are nonsense. Views or sales don’t equate to quality. Not everything will resonate with everyone, and that’s great. Find something you connect with, and engage. That’s where your community is.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I’m happy for my fellow artists who have found a way to capitalize on NFTs. As a consumer, they aren’t something that interests me. Digital scarcity is a strange concept that is counter intuitive in a medium that specializes in infinite, perfect reproductions. The underlying technology is definitely fascinating when applied to something like decentralized currency. On our financial-themed album, our statement on NFTs was to do the exact opposite and include some fungible tokens… two minted custom coins with lyrics from our song “Placebo Currency,” and a stack of purple paper money that spills out when you take the vinyl out of the sleeve.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.satanicpuppeteer.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/satanicpuppeteer
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/satanicpuppeteer
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/satanicpuppeteer
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2xO4od4U5cDGWPt6RbTITe?si=5vFUG3iyRj20EmcAayxvNw

Image Credits
Grocery store photo by Arem Bilderback; Beach photo by Candice Eley