“I’m the best drummer on this tour!”
BJ Miller gives a hearty chuckle as we sit out the back of Prague’s FUCHS2. The former discotheque, now techno house with a growing punk and underground heavy music bent, towers behind us. Its heavily graffitied facade is deliberately asynchronous with the golden rooftops surrounding the island it sits on.
As the drummer of Health, a self-described neo-industrial band for the 21st century, the symbolism isn’t lost on him. In support of their fifth studio album, Rat Wars, their recent EU tour was named The Old World Tour. As cities like Prague, Vienna and Budapest represent an historic tradition far removed from the glitz and grime of their hometown Los Angeles, so too does Health seem to be caught in a pull between past, present and future. (his earlier joke was a good-natured reference to the two support acts Zetra and gost playing with backing tracks or triggers).
Breaking their teeth in the noise punk scene of the 2000s, Health boasts a longevity and versatility that would be the envy of most. From working with Nine Inch Nails, to video game and anime soundtracks, and now collaborating with a new wave of diverse acts like Poppy, Bad Omens, JPEGMafia, and Danny Brown (and Korn on the same track!), their back catalogue is eclectic to say the least.
When asked about the surprising crossover collaborations with some of contemporary rap’s mavericks like JPEG and Danny Brown, Miller confesses his secret love for the genre.
“I would love to lean more into that world of hip-hop one day! I grew up listening to acts like Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, and Nas, and while I don’t actively follow The Roots, there’s just something about Questlove I can’t resist”
Thoughtful and modest, Miller is a drummer’s drummer. He admits to having very little interest in the internet, video games and the like. This may come as a surprise to many, given Health’s prolific online presence – the kind of organic, viral presence that most other artists would kill for.
“I’m a bit of a primal soul. John does the memes and anime. I roast coffee and hit wooden sticks together. I just do the music, man”
Miller is of course referring to bandmate and bassist/software instrumentalist John Famiglietti (more popularly known as resident memelord and weeb, Johnny Health). Famiglietti has singlehandedly redefined the parasocial relationship between artist and fan. There is a band Discord server with more than 10,000 active members, and he invites fans to come in cosplay and hang out at informal meetups after. Health shows have been effectively rebranded into ‘Health Experiences’.
“Sometimes I feel like the cosplays and everything are the main event and then people realise, ‘oh wait there’s a band playing tonight as well!…The other day there was a guy crowdsurfing in a shark costume, that’s like some Flaming Lips type shit! …There are some bands who are all in on that flamboyant positive energy, which we are not. But if people can come to a Health show and experience that catharsis, then I’m happy for that, even if it may have started from memes.”
Originating in the avant garde noise scene, this new era of Health has brought a new surge in their fanbase. Looking around their show later that night, it was hard to pinpoint a unique phenotype for what constitutes a Health fan – anime enthusiasts dressed as their favourite waifus, teenage metalheads with hair past the waist, Gen Xers with salt and pepper beards and Nine Inch Nails merch…I even saw a cybergoth in full regalia.
Despite this variety, there is a real sense of community at a Health show – at times, it even borders on cult-like. While discussing this, Miller notices parallels with the relationship between The Grateful Dead and their devoted fans, Deadheads.
Referencing the 2017 documentary Long Strange Trip he had watched recently, (“RIP Phil Lesh, by the way”), Miller sees how the intensity of this newfound online fame and a new generation of Health fans could become problematic for the purposes of a band making music.
He jokes about the possible slippery slope these fans raised on Tik Tok and irony could be on:
“Not that we are anywhere near the league of The Grateful Dead, but you know, what started as a positive movement and had such an intense fan following…[maybe ours could also descend into] shooting up heroin and stuff in the car park out front, losing the point, instead of opening your mind and embracing positivity”
With an album titled Rat Wars, it is no surprise that Health fans are attracted to the dark subject matter of their music. The album is a product of the pandemic that represents a point of inflection not just for Health, but in world history itself. It was a time of intense introspection as well as chaotic sociocultural forces around the globe. It’s no surprise a new generation of music fans is resonating with their unique brand of heavy music.
There is a fascinating dynamic between the absurdist tones of Johnny Health’s memeplay and the band’s music itself. When asked about the band’s self-deprecating and unhinged online humour juxtaposed with the dark sound and themes of their music, Miller is deeply grateful for the connection they have with their fans.
“I wouldn’t call it a tension per se, but more of an interplay with each other. I don’t quite get [John’s online presence], but that’s ok…We’re not the kind of band to huddle all together after a show anyway, but we certainly have a real connection together when we play music. I felt it when I auditioned for other bands back in LA [in the 2000s]. There was a weird trip hop act, a rockabilly group, or some Goo Goo Dolls type shit with the fringe and everything… but nothing gelled. Then I answered the boys’ online ad and as soon as I met them, we felt [that connection] instantly”
Watching them play that night, these words really made sense. The trio’s unique personalities all shine through to create something much greater than the sum of its parts; coming onstage to the opening theme of seminal anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, Famiglietti was first on, wearing his cat ears, followed by vocalist and guitarist Jake Duzsik skulking to the side of stage in the shadows. Fairly unusual for a drummer, Miller takes centre stage as the beating heart of the band.
Catching up with the band later, Famiglietti surrounded by a throng of fans, Duzsik fleeing backstage and Miller taking happy snaps with those not occupied with Johnny Health, Miller shares some final thoughts with me.
“I was thinking about what we chatted about before. The word I was looking for was ‘gimmicky’, sometimes I do fear that all this (points to Johnny’s Health Experience), might become gimmicky one day. While it helps our band remain relevant, I want our band to be timeless. But I also know that if we want to be timeless, we have to be relevant”
He smiles cheekily at this adage of wisdom he came up with, before disclaiming himself,
“Ah, that’s too deep. Don’t put that in the write-up”
deadset 
Leave a comment