Old 97's - News

new reviews, new music, new dates!

2010-01-26T18:54:00.003-06:00

Howdy gang! First up, even if yer webmaster hasn't been of late, your Old 97's remain ridiculously prolific, waxing tracks to keep piping fresh pop product on your shelves. Up next: At the behest of Tom DeSavia, once the Old 97's A&R rep at Elektra and now of Notable Music, Rhett Miller hit the studio with producer Salim Nourallah to cover Bobby Hebb's 1966 classic, "Sunny." Named by music publisher BMI as #25 in the Top 100 Songs of the [20th] Century, "Sunny" has been covered by the likes of Frank Sinatra with Duke Ellington, Cher, Johnny Rivers, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli, The Four Tops, Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield, James Brown, and now in what may be its first-ever cover by a rock artist, by Rhett.

It should be on finer digital store shelves everywhere (emusic, iTunes, Amazon, etc.) any day now, ~~but for now I may have a little leak of a surprise for the first caller ;-)~~

Also, I recently received a link to an in-progress documentary about the Carter Family, called The Winding Stream: The Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music. Check out the link, and make sure you have Java enabled and your sound turned up. You may recognize the singer. Wow, can't wait!

In other news, for those of you who missed the NYE-week "An Evening with Old 97's" shows at Dallas' Sons of Hermann Hall, well... Psych! Those were some great, great gigs, but ones for which we may someday all get a souvenir. Plus, rumor has the 97's in the studio, or at least headed that way in the coming days, to deck their next record. Stand by for more soon.

Also, in upcoming tour news, the Old 97's gigs-o-the-year so far look like this:

Feb 25: Winstar Casino - Thackerville, OK
Feb 26: Wormy Dog Saloon - Oklahoma City
Feb 27: Cain�s Ballroom - Tulsa
Apr 09: Fair Park - Dallas
Apr 10: House of Blues - Houston
Jul 03: Oak Canyon Ranch - Silverado, CA

And Rhett's solo shows are shaping up thusly (note the full band gigs with "The Serial Lady Killers" who are reportedly the crackerjack "Believers" from Rhett's 2007 solo shows):

Feb 03: Belly Up w/The Serial Lady Killers - Solana Beach, CA
Feb 04: The Galaxy w/The Serial Lady Killers - Santa Ana, CA
Feb 05: The Troubadour w/The Serial Lady Killers - El Lay, CA
Feb 06: The Independent w/The Serial Lady Killers - San Francisco
Mar 05: Shank Hall - Milwaukee
Mar 20: City Winery - NY, NY
Mar 25: Narrows Center - Fall River, MA
Mar 26: Stone Mountain Arts Center - Brownfield, ME
Mar 27: Regattabar - Cambridge, MA
Apr 02: John & Peters - New Hope, PA
Apr 03: Rams Head Tavern - Annapolis, MD

And just as soon as I can get another hour of free time, I'll add these to the Tour Dates page proper. I know, don't look, I haven't updated it since the Bush Administration and owe you an explanation: The main reason for my slackness here is that for the past year and a half or so, in addition to the regular job, I've be fightin' the man as a union organizer and officer. Yeah, I know, I'm a usually a Republican, so don't hate me on either account. In any event, my term in office is up on March 1, so join me won't you, in a toast, as I drink to having a life again? I'm told it's fun ;-) Cheers! - frank

2010-01-10T15:04:00.003-06:00

Satellite Rides wasnt good enough to be named one of Dallas Observer Best Area Albums of the '00 list, but it did make Rolling Stone, The Decade's Best Under-the-Radar albums.

First up, 2001�s Satellite Rides by the Old 97�s, a Dallas band who turn out crafty pop-rock songs rooted in the Byrds and old AM radio hits. Frontman Rhett Miller sings about the vagaries of love earnestly and intelligently on this turning-point LP, and on �Rollerskate Skinny� he offers the thesis �I believe in love, but it don�t believe in me.�

Texas Music magazine also named Satellite Rides to its list of Best Albums of The Decade list.

~michael

4 Nights, 96 Songs

2009-12-31T13:07:00.002-06:00

Well, the boys' four-night stand at Sons of Hermann Hall is in the books � and in the can, as the entire shindig was recorded. Cross your fingers that it will see the light of day. I was only able to attend night two, but I can attest that they were on fire, and the rarities just added to the fun.

You can read a couple of good reviews at The Dallas Observer and at Pegasus News.

And for your reading pleasure, here are the setlists from all four nights:

NIGHT ONE
Bird in a Cage
504
Streets of Where I'm From
My Two Feet
Crash on the Barrelhead
You Belong To My Heart
The New Kid
Barrier Reef
Friends Forever
Old Familiar Steam
Busted Afternoon
I Will Remain
Iron Road
Stoned
King of the World
Miss Molly
The Easy Way
------------
Champaign, Illinois - Ranchero Brothers
Harold's Super Service - Ranchero Brothers
Bel Air
Ride
Curtain Calls
Timebomb

NIGHT TWO
Niteclub
Jagged
Here's to the Halcyon
Weightless
Let the Train Blow the Whistle
Moonlight
Victora
Murder (or a Heart Attack)
If My Heart Was a Car
Alone So Far
She Loves the Sunset
Buick City Complex
Can't Get a Line
St. Ignatius
Indefinitely
Am I Too Late
Big Brown Eyes
-----------------
Daybed - Ranchero Brothers
In the Satellite Rides a Star - Ranchero Brothers
Five Years (David Bowie cover)
Dressing Room Walls
Nineteen
Timebomb

NIGHT THREE
The Fool
Just Like California
Book of Poems
Making Love to You
W. TX Teardrops
Dancing With Tears in My Eyes
Lonely Holiday
Early Morning
Melt Show
Valium Waltz
The Other Shoe
Let the Idiot Speak
Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue
Question
Designs on You
The One
Four Leaf Clover
----------------
Sweet Thing Pine Bluff - Ranchero Brothers
Lost at Sea - Ranchero Brothers
Tupelo County Jail (Webb Pierce cover)
Salome
W.I.F.E.
Timebomb

NIGHT FOUR
Won't Be Home
Dance With Me
Over the Cliff
Adelaide
Up the Devil's Pay
Bloomington
Desperate Times
The Villain
What We Talk About
Eyes For You
Wish the Worst
Valentine
No Baby I
What I Wouldn't Do
Blinding Sheets of Rain
Oppenheimer
Smokers
The House That Used To Be
Drowning in the Days
Rollerskate Skinny
Doreen
----------------------
Visiting hours - Ranchero Brothers
Mama Tried - Ranchero Brothers
Coahuila
Broadway
Goin', Goin' Gone
Nervous Guy
Timebomb
---------------------
Cryin' Drunk
Jack

That, my friends, was one for the ages.

-jefe

2009-12-23T05:36:00.002-06:00

There is a new merch store for Old 97's. There are some of your old favorites and new t-shirts. There will be more product coming soon. Old97's.com is going to be run by a new company. The old one wasnt keeping up with tour dates and the store had some problems. The new site should be better and up and running soon.

~michael

Boot Share 1: Ranchero Brothers 5-7-99

2009-12-16T10:33:00.003-06:00

Welcome to our first attempt to share some live shows with the unwashed masses. If this works, I'll add more shows over the coming weeks.

This is an interesting CD. Labeled Ranchero Brothers, 5-7-99, Viper Club. It's a recent acquisition for me, found through Twitter and the generous @Pens7M. I believe it refers to the infamous Viper Room in West Hollywood, CA. Anecdotally, a search of Wrecked (the belovedly random Yahoo group) leads me to believe the boys played before a '70s disco revival band named "Boogie Knights" that was in residency on Friday nights at the time. Maybe that's why the crowd chats a little more than one would like.

However, the Ranchero portion of the show ends with Big Brown Eyes at track 13. After that, it's a full-on Old 97's show. Seven tracks of classic awesome, all pre-TFTC songs. I would love to know when/where that was recorded, and I'd love to have the rest of that show. I don't normally like to mix 2 shows on a single CD, but this stuff was too good to leave off.

Some technical details: the link should start a download of a ZIP file from my shared Dropbox folder. Unzip it and you'll have every track in FLAC format. If you don't know what any of that is, this is going to be very hard for you. But Google is your friend, and you should be able to find the free apps you need to decode them. I'll never share a live boot in MP3 format, it's against the bootlegger creed and I'll not anger that randy bunch.

Enjoy.

~jefe

2009-12-01T09:16:00.002-06:00

Look's like everyone was excited about Jefe idea for a Ranchero Brothers album. And Dallas is about to finally get the "An Evening with Old 97's" shows at Hermann Hall. Dr David is back with some goodies for us. He video taped some solo performances of Rhett and Murry and will post a new video clip each week until the show. Including a Ranchero Brothers version of Timebomb. This week we have Murry singing Lost At Sea. Enjoy!

~ michael

Wither Ranchero?

2009-11-20T16:04:00.003-06:00

As you�ve probably heard by now, the boys are going in the studio early next year to record the follow-up to Blame It On Gravity, and we the fans couldn�t be more thrilled.

Or could we?

Any new material from the Old 97�s is cause for celebration. After all, we�re about to finish a decade that only saw three albums of new material released by the band as a whole. I�m as pleased as anyone that they�ve chosen to bring Salim Nourallah back to produce, and I�m sure the finished product will offer all the quality sonic thrills we love them for. Sign me up for the pre-order right now.

But anytime the band gets together in the studio, one specific footnote from their long and storied history comes to mind. A missed opportunity, if you will, of massive proportions.

I�m speaking, of course, of the long-lost and seemingly forgotten Ranchero Brothers album.

A brief recap for the new folks on the bandwagon: back in the day, Murry and Rhett sometimes performed as an acoustic duo called the Ranchero Brothers. They did lots of Old 97�s �covers� and may unique songs as well. Just an acoustic rhythm guitar, acoustic bass, and the beautiful harmonies of Rhett and Murry.

As this side project grew in popularity, they decided to record an album, and did so in Dallas in 2001 or so. A handful of tracks from this recording have circulated on bootlegs, but most of them are stuck in a crashed hard drive (or were the last I heard of it). Murry wasn�t thrilled with the sound of the recordings anyway, and wanted to re-record it in his home studio of vintage sound equipment. However, somewhere around the time The Instigator came out, the project became a much lower priority. Many songs that were recorded for the Ranchero album were re-recorded with the full band for 2004�s Drag It Up � "Valium Waltz," "Blinding Sheets of Rain," "In The Satellite Rides a Star" and what would have surely been the centerpiece of the album, "Won�t Be Home No More."

And that�s where it stands today. A few more of the Ranchero songs have come out in various forms. The whole band recorded a cover of Robbie Fulks� "I�d Be Lonesome" for a compilation. "My Two Feet" took the chorus from "Goin� on Down the Mountain." Murry put "Lost at Sea" on his solo album.

Yet I find myself unable to let it go. I know in my heart that a complete Ranchero Brothers album would be a timeless work of art that would bring joy to millions. Or at least thousands. Thousands of people with really good taste in music.

So please allow me to address a few of the arguments that might be proposed against the idea.

� We wouldn�t want a Ranchero Brothers album to compete with a new Old 97�s album. Well, here�s the thing. With a fan base as rabid and loyal as this one, it�s just not an issue. As I stated above, we�re wrapping up a decade with just three albums of new Old 97�s material. I feel certain most of us would have happily paid for triple that.

� What about the record label and distribution and blah blah. I�m certainly no expert on record label contracts and whatnot, but come on. This is 2009. Labels are practically obsolete. There�s this thing called the internet. You�re on it right now. And people have found numerous ways to share an distribute music on it. Some of them have even made money doing so. Throw a couple of tracks up as free teaser downloads, offer lossless digital versions for purchase, and create some nifty collector�s packages with CDs and t-shirts and vinyl and all that. Hello, profit! Hello, happy fans! Win-win.

� Too many of the songs have already been released in other forms. Simple answer to this one... SO WHAT. We�re fans. We just love the music. We download live shows and trade bootlegs. I personally own around 15 solo acoustic Rhett shows, and all of these versions of the songs in no way diminish my love for the studio versions. It�s just another way to enjoy the beauty of what�s been created. Demos, outtakes, alternate versions � fans LOVE these things, and they�ve been too hard to find for too long. Hell, Dwight Yoakam put out a solo acoustic album that was pretty much a greatest hits set, and it was amazing. And not once did I stop and think HEY! That song was on another album! RIPOFF!

� What about Ken and Phillip? Great idea! Do a couple of tracks with them on there, too! Phillip would have fun on stripped down kit, and who wouldn�t want to hear what Ken could do on an acoustic guitar? That would be awesome. Did anyone get Jeff Tweedy�s Sunken Treasure solo acoustic stuff? There were several tracks where a couple of band members sat in, too. And it worked.

� There�s no time. Well, you�re going in the studio early next year... maybe you could fit it in then. Just a thought.

My fear is that Rhett and Murry see the Ranchero Brothers album as an idea whose time has passed. Lord knows I could be wrong. But if that�s the case, the only thing that will change their minds is an outcry from the fans. They do so try to keep us happy. So please, if you�d like to see this idea become a reality, say so in the comments section. FLOOD the comments section with encouragement and we�ll see to it that the boys know about it. In return, I�ll throw you a little bone right here. Enjoy it, and dream for moment about how magic an entire album like that could be.

Gracias.

-jefe

2009-10-29T12:58:00.002-05:00

Lakers coach Phil Jackson singing an Old 97's song? Yes, it's true. At the end of an interview session with reporters he sang, "It takes a worried man to sing a worried song".

~michael

Happy Holidays, Y'all!

2009-10-14T16:17:00.002-05:00

This just in from the Dallas Observer:

Longtime favorite local alt-country outfit the Old 97's has been booked to play four consecutive nights at the [Sons of Hermann Hall] from December 27 through December 30. Like this past summer's tour from the band (although not the case here in Dallas), all four nights will be presented as an "An Evening With..." affair, with Murry Hammond and Rhett Miller both performing opening solo sets each night before 97's take the stage.

So now do you believe in Santa Claus? - frank

albums, albums and more albums

2009-10-09T09:59:00.002-05:00

Bloodshot records is releasing "Wreck Your Life and Then Some: The Complete Bloodshot Recordings" on November 17. This is a double LP with a limit of 1000 copies. It includes the full length Wreck Your Life, 7" singles, and compilation tracks. Pre-order now!

If that wasn't exciting enough, there should be a new cd release from the boys next year.

And finally the covers cd should be out early next year. No release date yet.

~michael

bits & pieces

2009-09-15T09:15:00.001-05:00

Hi everybody: I'm not dead! Just overwhelmed with work, union, and family at the moment. Unfortunately, I don't see much letup either until next Spring. But I do have a grab-bag of Old 97's goodies today, first up a nice new interview of Murry and Rhett the folks at NoDepression.net, another with Rhett from CNN (hat tip: Sean Martin), and some great photos of the guys' recent Ft. Worth gig at the hoidy-toidy Bass Hall from Clay Billman. Thanks Clay! Meanwhile the Dallas Observer kicks in a fine slideshow of the 97's kicking off the inaugural gig at Dallas' new Hard Rock Cafe a few weeks back.

Murry himself forwards a link to a classic, November 1982, Texas Monthly article on the burgeoning punk-rock 'zine scene in Texas, featuring "Most Likely To Suceed" Boyd High School athlete, and punk-teen 'zine impresario, one Murry Hammond. In all immodesty, I did point out to Murry that I beat him into Texas Monthly by over a year, as illustrated here. That's yours truly in glorious black & white on the cover page of the piece, back when I was defending Bryan-College Station against the encroaching march of godless communism. While we won the Cold War on the Brazos, IIRC, we lost to U of H that day, 10-7. (Bonus joke: Why did the orphan pray to be adopted an Aggie? Because Aggies never beat anyone.)

Also, while watching previews before "District 9" a couple of weeks back, I noticed "Timebomb" prominently featured in the soundtrack for the upcoming Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, and Justin Long comedy, Youth In Revolt. Check it out then take this pop quiz: How many feature films how now featured that Old 97's classic?

Finally, again with thanks to Sean Martin, here's a link to a great boot of the tribute to the then-recently departed Johnny Cash, in which the 97's stole the show, from the 2003 ACL Fest in Austin. I was there, and lemme tell you, they kicked about a hundred miles of ass.

I've got more stuff, but no more time, as I'm off in a couple of hours for some R&R in Europe. So until next time, Cheers. y'all! - frank

Rhett in Europe

2009-09-11T17:34:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd posted this already, but I guess not. Check this link for info on Rhett's upcoming European tour with none other than Steve Earle. Here's hoping they get some downtime to collaborate on some songwriting together!

Wreck Your LIfe LP re-issue

2009-09-01T18:34:00.007-05:00

Bloodshoot Records is re-releasing Wreck Your Life on vinyl on November 17, according to the label's twitter feed. You can see an image of it here.

EDIT for further info from @BSHW: The LP will include Wreck Your Life (never before available on vinyl), 7'' singles, compilation tracks and a snazzy gatefold jacket!

2009-08-21T15:44:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wondered what the Old 97's might sound like without Ken? Last night about thirty of us found out. They were playing the Grand Opening for the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas. Everything got off to good start with Murry's "Hello Everybody" and they jumped into "Dance With Me". After nine or ten songs, Ken told Rhett he wasn't feeling well and left with his wife, not to be seen again. It seems he had some bad food for dinner. The band was a little confused at first but played "Question", "Miss Molly" and some Buck Owens songs, hoping that Ken would return. When it was apparent that Ken wasn't coming back they went on with the set list. The highlight of the show had to be when Rhett came down from the stage and danced with Doreen (yes, that Doreen) while still playing his guitar. They closed with "Time Bomb" and Rhett humming Ken's guitar solos. After the concert, Rhett donated his white and yellow Fender guitar to the Hard Rock to be put on display with the other famous rock and roll memorabilia on the walls.
~michael

LA Show Report

2009-07-23T22:51:00.002-05:00

Nice review of "an evening with the old 97's" from Ground Control magazine. Here's the link. Make sure to click "additional photos" to see them all.

2009-06-10T04:52:00.002-05:00

We finally have at least one date for the boys in DFW. August 21, at the Bass Performance Hall. Yes, I said the Bass. No word on tickets yet. Look for another show in Dallas.

~michael

"Rhett Miller's latest reminds of a young Elvis Costello..."

2009-06-09T00:45:00.002-05:00

"An accomplished piece of work that grows richer with each listen." So says the Dallas Morning News of Rhett Miller. Nice! - frank

Tour dates, 10 days, 4 stars

2009-05-30T13:43:00.002-05:00

Howdy kids! Well, with just 10 days left until the June 9 drop date for Rhett Miller, the Old 97's last week announced a big bunch of new tour dates, most of them for July, and nearly all in "An Evening With The Old 97's" format, featuring opening solo sets from Rhett and Murry Hammond.

BTW, Rhett's CD is already getting some great early buzz, with one early review saying, "the disc is worth repeated spins, and for those who may not be familiar with his �other� project, Rhett Miller should prove to be a smooth gateway for those fans who will likely connect with Fight Songs or Satellite Rides," while the June 11 issue of Rolling Stone gives the album FOUR stars, calling it Rhett's "strongest solo set ever." Not bad, not bad at all!

And finally, if yer looking for some more Summer reading, don't forget Rhett also appears in the new Amplified anthology, with - among others - Maria McKee, Robbie Fulks, and Jon Langford.

That's it for today, but check back soon. Cheers! - frank

Rhett Miller news

2009-05-21T16:08:00.005-05:00

Some Rhett Miller news. Rhett will performing at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles on June 10. He will discuss and perform songs from his upcoming cd and take questions from the audience.
And in his spare time he found time to co-produced an EP from the group
The Spring Standards.

In Old 97's news, their song "Dance With Me" will air in an upcoming episode of the FOX reality competition So You Think You Can Dance.

~michael

Rhett Miller sneak-peek rescheduled for...

2009-05-12T06:50:00.003-05:00

UPDATE 5.12.09 5:46pm: Our Rhett Miller sneak-peek listening party has been reset for this Thursday 5/14 at 10pm ET, 9pm CT, right after Rhett's guest shot on 30 Rock. Just point your browsers here.

BTW, I reckon the whole show will run 70 minutes or so, and a high-speed internet connection will be helpful, as will QuickTime (for the video interviews). But if you've got iTunes, you've got QuickTime, so don't sweat it. It's a good time either way. The wait'll be worth it, so we'll see you there! - frank

Change to "Rhett Miller" sneak-peek

2009-05-10T14:25:00.003-05:00

Hi all:

I'm afraid that a late change in my work schedule will keep me away from the computer - turns out I'll actually be on an plane - at what I'd hoped would be the start-time for our tentatively scheduled sneak-peek of Rhett Miller, the new self-titled CD from... well... Rhett Miller.

I'm free this Wednesday or Thursday evening, or even next week (5/18 - 5/22) and would love to hear what day works best for you guys. As always I can be reached at landings DOT geo AT yahoo DOT com.

The good folks at Shout! Factory have pitched in some really neat bells & whistles for the listening party, and the album itself kicks about a hundred miles of ass, so I can promise your wait will be worth it. Still, I appreciate your patience!

Cheers - frank

Rhett on Books, Rhett on Sale, and RSS

2009-05-09T14:01:00.005-05:00

Howdy gang:

Just a quick note to hip everyone to a fine new interview, up just this week, between Rhett and author Ben "Superbad" Greenman, and to get y'all in on a pre-order of Rhett's new, self-titled CD. It's available for order today at Amazon.com, which also has up a nifty, solo-acoustic video of the album's catchy-like-a-cold first single, "In Need To Know Where I Stand." You can also pre-order from Newbury Comics, and that one comes complete with a signed CD booklet. It's all good!

Pop Quiz: Did you know that Hit By A Train has an RSS feed? It's been there... forever. It used to be listed cryptically at the bottom of page as "Add 'Hit By A Train' to your My Yahoo page," and worse still, it hasn't been working correctly since HBAT's hosting company moved us onto some new servers last year.

But much griping in the comments has shamed me into fixing it. First, the link at bottom now reads "Subscribe to Hit By A Train's RSS Feed." I'm also spending this afternoon to get it up and running correctly again, reconfiguring the HBAT archives, AND getting ready for a little Rhett Miller sneak-peek and listening party. That's right, we're going to preview Rhett's new CD here in its entirety. At the party, we'll stream the songs, interspersed with audio comments from Rhett on the album's creation, and while all that's going on, you'll be able to share your thoughts, and see what others have to say about Rhett's fourth solo CD. And it takes place here at Hit By A Train.

Now what works best for you guys, next Tuesday 5/12 at 8pm, or should we shoot for the following week? Leave your thoughts in the "Comments" and stay tuned. Cheers - frank

RM sneak-peeks!

2009-05-08T12:42:00.003-05:00

Check out a new fifteen minute podcast from Dallas NPR affiliate KERA, featuring extended clips and an interview with Rhett Miller and his new, self-titled solo CD. Better still, stand by for the announcement here, because in the next few days, Hit By A Train will be hosting a sneak-peek listening party, featuring a full length preview of the new Rhett Miller CD. Stay tuned! - frank

2009-05-05T12:56:00.002-05:00

Rhett told us via Twitter that the boys were in the studio in Dallas last week recording some cover songs. After-show buzz in Chicago suggests it's four songs total, will be available on iTunes, and the bands being covered are R.E.M., Rolling Stones, David Bowie and the Fratellis. If anyone knows the specific songs, spill!

-jeff (@old97s)

Rhett to appear on 30 Rock

2009-04-14T14:16:00.004-05:00

According to his twitter feed (@rhettmiller), Rhett will appear on the season finale of 30 Rock, playing himself. The episode is already in the can. No other details as of yet, though he's hinted that he may "live tweet" the show when it debuts. Set the DVRs, folks.

-jeff (@old97s, @jefeboy)