User:Kazzazz

Al Millar [ALAKAZAM]

Alan James Millar (Born April 19, 1978) "ALAKAZAM" is a Well-known Australian Street performer. Known for his comedy street show "The Human Knot" Millar has travelled extensively around the globe since his career began in 1996 on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

FAMILY LIFE

Al Millar is the son of Graeme Millar and Susan Midgley. After a divorce and re-marriages he is also the stepson Of Warren Midgley and Giselle Millar. Millar grew up with his mother and stepfather until he left home to work for Stardust Circus. He would see his father on weekends and also has a stepsister Amanda Midgley. Millar is recently married to Tina Lempke Millar, and is currently a permanent resident of the United States residing in Boston MA.

EARLY LIFE

Al Millar grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney Australia. He attended Blacktown South Primary School, Mitchell High School and William Clarke College for his senior years. Millar was a competing athlete since he was 5 and excelled in Long distance running, Cross Country Running and Speed walking. He held state titles and records in his early teen years. He started learning Juggling and acrobatics from his cousin Mitch Bastin when he was 15 years old.

CAREER

After high school, Al Millar started with Stardust Circus in 1996. Working as a stagehand and tent builder and practicing circus skills in his free time. Stardust Circus is a traditional circus featuring Flying Trapeze, Lions, Tigers, Elephants, Monkeys and Horses. Millar began street performing at 18 with his cousin Mitch Bastin with a 2-man show consisting of Juggling, Acrobatics, Fire Eating and Comedy. Bastin taught Millar a majority of his circus skills and the pair practiced in the backyards of their parent’s houses performing for the neighbors and friends. They were known as "The Gas Brothers" (in tribute to all the fuel they used to juggle fire torches) and travelled to Melbourne to start their street performing career in the Australian summer of 1996/1997. Bastin was also responsible for naming Millar "ALAKAZAM".

After Bastin was accepted into Charles Sturt University in Bathurst Australia, the duo did less and less shows together and Millar started performing by himself on the streets of Sydney. He was taught by local performers J-P McKendry and A.J James and learned how to hold a crowd and the fine art of extracting tips from the audience. Millar spent most of 1997 traveling around to different cities in Australia mastering the art of street performing and taking advice from Australian street performing greats such as Lucky Diamond Rich, Dom ferry and Damien Ryan. Millar developed a successful show remarkably quickly and became a prominent performer by consistently building and holding large crowds with unique tricks. Millar's show evolved from a straight up juggling show into a variety show including tricks with a running weed wacker, Chinese high pole, miniature bicycle riding and body contortion tricks.

Seeing International street performers such as Tom Comet and Byron Bertram come to Australia inspired Millar to travel overseas to try his luck performing in a different country. In 1998 he spent 6 months performing in Canada, Scotland, England, Denmark, Germany and Holland. His time traveling that year was key in building a reputation that would be talked about in the industry by fellow performers and festival organizers. International Street performing heavyweights like Master Lee, The Butterfly Man, Nick Nicholas, The Checkerboard Guy and Peppe Mime guided him each in their own way and played key roles in the evolving of Millar’s show.

In 1999 Millar was invited to Street performers festivals in Edmonton-Alberta, Dundas-Ontario, Waterloo-Ontario, Denver-Colorado and also attended fringe festivals in Winnipeg-Manitoba, Saskatoon-Saskatchewan, Vancouver-British Colombia and Victoria-British Colombia. The name ALAKAZAM became synonymous with the ability to draw extra large crowds and collect record amounts of currency in the hat after the show. Millar also made ripples in the USA that year performing in Jackson Sq.- New Orleans, Washington Sq. Park- New York City and Faneuil Hall in Boston. The show had become mostly Contortionism, Comedy with Juggling of swords up on the Chinese Pole at the end.

Millar was scouted by a talent agent in 2000 and made regular appearances on Australian television in multiple commercials as well as small parts in feature films "The Matrix Revolutions" and "The Postcard Bandit”. Millar studied acting under acting teacher Barry Quinn, but after his agent moved abroad, he too head overseas for more street performing festivals. He made regular visits to Canada, USA, England, Germany, Holland, Scotland, Belgium and New Zealand for festivals and won awards for "The Peoples Choice" and "Best Performer" on 13 occasions. He Toured Briefly with "The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus" in 2001, a New York based Burlesque Circus Sideshow that tour consistently throughout the United States.

In 2003 Bruce Springsteen, his wife Patti Scialfa and entourage happened upon Millar’s show at Circular Quay, Sydney. Springsteen was so impressed my how well Millar worked the crowd up that he approached afterwards, tossed a hand full of cash in the hat and gave Millar his contact details. Millar has since been backstage to a dozen Bruce Springsteen and E-Street Band concerts and has also been connected with "Sting" and performed for him and his family on numerous occasions.

In 2006 "Australia's Got Talent" Producers requested "The Human Knot" to be part of the first season. Millar Wowed the crowd in the heat, won the judges pick in the semi-final and was in the grand final in April 2007. Only losing out on the last night to a 12-year-old gospel singer. Millar appears regularly worldwide at street performers festivals, college campuses and sporting events. He is set to appear in the 2011 season of "America's Got Talent"

ALAKAZAM is now considered one of the most influential street performers of the 21st century, inspiring countless new performers to try their luck at street theater. These days every new show on the street has a little bit of "Al" in it.

MUSIC CAREER

As a 10 Year old boy into bands like "Poison" and "Motley Crue" Millar became interested in learning to Play the Guitar. He was rewarded for weeks of house chores with his first acoustic Guitar and subsequently had a lesson a week for about 2 years. Playing consistently through his teen years, Millar wrote countless songs on his Acoustic Guitar. He also invested his early street performing earnings into buying electric guitars, amplifiers and keyboards.

In 2002, Millar met New York City Drummer Jason Gardner on the street at Harvard Sq. in Boston. Gardner was a working street musician who played drums in a duo. In 2003 they formed the first incarnation of their band "HUMANKIND". The pair made their debut 5-song recording in Sydney Australia. Songs were co-written by Millar and Gardner and produced by Marty Haley. Later that year Humankind started performing around the clubs in Boston with help from new bass player George Chinaglia and Lead Guitarist Matthew Ley. 6 months later, Ley left the band and Gardner found Berkelee guitar prodigy Sean Murray to fill the lead guitarist role. Humankind recorded their first Full-length studio album "CHOKE" in 2004 in Somerville MA with producer Rob Ignazio.

Humankind played extensively throughout New England and New York in 2005 and 2006 when Millar had time off from his street career and could be in the USA. Murray announced he would also leave the band in 2006 due to a heavy workload at his job, and Humankind was yet again without a lead guitarist. Deciding they didn't need one, Millar, Gardner and Chinaglia became a power trio and started writing new songs to fit the new line-up. The group received a full-page write up in Boston paper "The phoenix" which sparked a rise in attendance at the Humankind Live shows around Boston. Being a long time friend of Amanda palmer, in 2006 Millar was performing with "The Dresden Dolls" at The Paradise Rock Club in Boston and met Record Producer Sean Slade. Slade and Paul Kolderie were the founders of Fort Apache Studio's in Cambridge MA and were responsible for such albums as- "Live through this" by Hole and "The Bends" by Radiohead. The team also recorded the smash hit "Creep" by Radiohead. Slade was interested in Millar's Musical endeavors and promised they would make an album together soon. In 2007 he made good on his promise and the newly formed trio recorded "Blood & Skin" at Mad Oak Studios in Allston MA, with Slade as Producer and Benny Grotto as sound engineer. The group cut a 10-song album that threw back to 90's grunge with a new flavor. The single "Hate Song" was played regularly on Internet and college radio and was quoted as being "Dangerous Rock and Roll".

Maturing as a three piece, the band quickly had another slew of songs ready for a recording. In 2008 Sean Slade and Benny Grotto returned to Mad Oak with Humankind to record a follow up to "Blood & Skin". The new songs were raw and pungent and had formed a new sub-genre coined by Millar as "Grunk" (Half Grunge Half Punk). The band finished the record in a week and had a new album to release. "Monster Minor" was released in Early 2009. Song 2 on the album "Hammer Animal" became the audience favorite at live shows, sparking a sing along most nights. Millar’s Lyrical efforts had taken on a rapid-fire, hard-hitting mouthful a minute style reminiscent of The White Stripes.

Not content with how the live scene was playing out in Boston, Millar decided it was time to use his skills as a street performer to make the live shows more memorable. He teamed up with Ben Maitland- Lewis, a young music industry entrepreneur to produce a run of live shows featuring not only bands but also live sideshow acts on stage. It was called "The Rock and Roll Sideshow". Millar enlisted the help from some of his circus friends and they perform all kinds of freaky sideshow acts between band sets. Millar would always hit the stage and do a contortion set right before Humankind would play to bring the smokers in from outside. Gardner, also an avid street performer would perform live acts of escapology and mind reading.

Millar and Lewis set up a tour for The Rock and Roll Sideshow from Boston to Austin TX. Humankind and Lewis's band "The Thickness" took to the road and performed their sideshow/rock show all over the eastern USA on their way to play the coveted South-by-South West festival in Austin. The run was fraught with tour bus breakdowns and cramped quarters but the shows were successful and ultimately the Austin show was sold out with a line-up down the block.

In 2010 Humankind was ready for something new. The band introduced a keyboard and sampler into the mix and what resulted was a much different kind of music and "Swedish Suicide" was born. "This is Swedish Suicide" is a phrase that was uttered by Millar as he attempted to build a chest of drawers from Ikea. He put it to Gardner and Chinaglia and they agreed to have Humankind further be known as Swedish Suicide. New songs, new instruments, new sound, new name. Swedish Suicide spent the year playing live heavily in the Boston market and made their debut recording as Swedish Suicide in the fall. Christopher Thomas, lead guitarist for "The Thickness" was enlisted as producer of the album. The band recorded the EP at Strewnshank Studios in Charlestown MA for release in early 2011.

RELEASES

HUMANKIND "HUMANKIND" -2003
HUMANKIND "CHOKE" -2005
HUMANKIND "BLOOD & SKIN" -2007
HUMANKIND "MONSTER MINOR" -2009
SWEDISH SUICIDE "SWEDISH SUICIDE" -2011