Old 97's

Old 97's Roll Out Cyclical Rides, Map Tour

30 Mar 2001 07:56:00 EST

Album finds inspiration in ups and downs of life, alt-country band's singer says.
By David Basham

Old 97s
Photo: Elektra

For Old 97's singer/guitarist Rhett Miller, the alt-country band's new album, Satellite Rides, is all about some very universal ups and downs.

"I see this record as having a lot to do with cycles," Miller said, "the endings and beginnings of relationships, mortality and the cycle contained therein. But that's not to say it's all bad or dark or anything. The lead track from the album, 'King of All the World,' I think that's probably the most optimistic song I've ever come up with.

"It's a falling-in-love song with some darkness at the edge of it, I imagine," Miller said. "But it was one of the very last songs written for the album, and I was glad that we got it down, because there wasn't a hopeful, excited love song on the record that really reflected that portion of the cycle."

Old 97's completed a cycle of their own with the recording of Satellite Rides, as Miller, bassist Murry Hammond, guitarist Ken Bethea and drummer Philip Peeples reteamed with producer Wally Gagel (Juliana Hatfield, Belly, Sebadoh), who manned the boards for Too Far to Care, the band's 1997 major-label debut for Elektra.

"The reason we wanted to work with him initially, years ago when we did Too Far to Care, is that he's a very rock and roll producer," Miller said. "Wally's all about getting the right sounds, and his forte is mic placement, creating a good vibe and a good rock and roll texture.

"We went into this knowing that we had the songs and knowing that we had done three or four months of preproduction and intense work to make the songs sound good," he added. "So, we didn't really need somebody to come in and rearrange them or add other instruments or anything like that. We just wanted to somebody that could come in and maximize our rock." After recording their last album, 1999's Fight Songs, at the allegedly haunted Kingsway Studios in New Orleans with producer Andrew Williams, parental responsibilities brought on by newborn babies for Bethea and Peeples required the Old 97's to record a little closer to their Dallas home base.

The band eventually settled into the Willie Nelson-owned Pedernales Studios in Austin, Texas, a decision that Miller said helped keep the recording sessions loose rather than overly tight and businesslike.

"We'd always been so reluctant to be anywhere near our home or our friends when making a record, thinking that it had to be a total immersion, no-contact-with-the-outside-world type of situation," Miller explained.

"This time was a lot looser. When we weren't working, we were swimming or we would have friends down visiting, or we were having a party. It was really nice, and it was the best sessions we've ever had. It was like summer camp." The Old 97's have already released "King of All the World" to alternative and college radio as the first single from Satellite Rides, although Miller admitted that his favorite track from the new record is "Buick City Complex," a tune he penned after playing a one-off show with Semisonic in Clio, Michigan.

"They put us up in a hotel in Flint, Michigan, the site of where [filmmaker] Michael Moore shot 'Roger & Me.' Flint was the biggest car-producing town in America at one time, but it had been whittled down over the years," Miller said.

"So the very last car-producing plant there was the Buick City Complex, and the day we were there was the day they closed it down once and for all, and all these people that were the last remaining autoworkers and the last vestige of the American auto empire were jobless.

"I started thinking about it, and I imagined a guy that had just been laid off," Miller said. "He's at a bar and there's a girl and she's just been laid off, and what are they gonna do? Of course, they're going to combat that hopelessness by sleeping together." The Old 97's will be spilling more tears and beers next month when they head out on the road for a tour in support of Satellite Rides, and will preface the trek with a live performance Tuesday on NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." Old 97's tour dates, as provided by the band's label:

4/4 - New York, NY @ Fez (Rhett Miller solo)
4/6 - New York, NY @ Fez (Rhett Miller solo)
4/10 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
4/11 - Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
4/12 - Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theater
4/13 - Chicago, IL @ The Vic
4/14 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
4/16 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Rosebud
4/17 - Towson, MD @ Recher Theatre
4/18 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
4/19 - Nashville, TN @ 328 Performance Hall
4/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Roxy
4/21 - Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern
4/23 - Indianapolis, IN @ Birdy's
4/24 - St. Louis, MO @ Pageant
4/25 - Columbia, MO @ Blue Note
4/26 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
4/28 - Boulder, CO @ KBCO show
4/30 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Zephyr (tentative)
5/1 - Vancouver, BC @ TBA
5/2 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
5/3 - 5/11 - TBA
5/12 - San Francisco, CA @ KFOG show

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- Old 97's

Old 97's Saddle Up For Satellite Preview Tour

23 Jan 2001 02:35:00 EST

Alt-country band hitting road February 16 with hometown show in Dallas.
By David Basham

Old 97's
Photo: Elektra

The Old 97's will saddle up their musical gear and head out on the concert trail next month for a series of shows leading up to the March 20 release of Satellite Rides. The Dallas alt-country band plans to kick off the tour with a hometown appearance on February 16 at the Ticketstock festival, after which the Old 97's will travel to Seattle to perform alongside the Josh Joplin Band at KMTT-FM's Ski Day & Annual Cardboard Derby on February 18.

For the new album, the Old 97's again teamed with producer Wally Gagel, who handled the group's 1997 major-label debut, Too Far to Care, and engineer Tchad Blake, who recently produced Pearl Jam's Binaural and Tracy Bonham's Down Here. The band recorded at Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas, a facility owned and operated by Willie Nelson.

The first single from Satellite Rides will be the album's lead track, "King of All the World," which is expected to be released to college and alternative radio stations in the next few weeks.

Old 97's tour dates:

2/16 - Dallas, TX @ Ticketstock
2/18 - Seattle, WA @ Ski Day - The Summit
2/19 - Seattle, WA @ promotional show
2/20 - Portland, OR @ Dante's
2/26 - Atlanta, GA @ Smith's Old Bar
2/27 - Arlington, VA @ Iota
2/28 - Philadelphia, PA @ North Star
3/1 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
3/4 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
3/6 - Chicago, IL @ Shuba's
3/7 - Minneapolis, MN @ TBA
3/9 - Boulder, CO @ Tulaggi's
3/12 - San Francisco, CA @ Foley's
3/13 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint
3/20 - Dallas, TX @ Gypsy Tea Room

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Old 97's

3 Doors Down, More Make Musical Offerings At Sundance

11 Jan 2001 10:11:00 EST

Paul Oakenfold, Old 97's, Deana Carter also perform; Ozzfest documentary premieres
By Joe D'Angelo

3 Doors Down's
Brad Arnold
Photo: Universal

The annual Sundance Film Festival doesn't exactly bring music to mind, but this year's celeb-studded event is packed with some great sounds and music-oriented movies amid its film-world sights.

3 Doors Down, über-DJ Paul Oakenfold, and L.A.'s Ghost Team are among the acts performing at nightly parties held during the festival, which will take place in Park City, Utah, from January 18 to 28.

Other acts confirmed to perform at Sundance parties are pop-rock quartet Paloalto, jazzy hip-hop trio the Broun Fellinis and house DJ Twenty Twelve.

Old 97's and Deana Carter are among the folks who will be found at the ASCAP-sponsored Sundance's Music Café, located in Park City's Elks Building. Throughout the festival, the café also will host performances by Amy Correa, Jill Sobule, Nickel Creek, Otis Taylor and Fisher, among others.

In the cinematic realm, "We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll," the Ozzfest documentary directed by Penelope Spheeris ("Wayne's World," "The Decline of Western Civilization Pts. I & II") and produced by Sharon Osbourne (manager and wife of festival kingpin Ozzy), will make its premiere in Park City. Featuring live performances and interviews with fans and artists (Osbourne and Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Godsmack and Slayer, among them), the film chronicles the Ozzfest '99 outing and examines the cultural significance of the annual multiband metal tour, which will embark on its sixth excursion this summer. A theatrical release is expected later this year. Dandy Warhols frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor will make his film directorial debut with an as-yet-untitled short about a group conversation that takes place 10 minutes before the end of the world. The film stars Taylor and Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland as well as model Kirsty Hume, her husband, actor/director/glam-rocker Donovan Leitch (son of folk icon Donovan), and his sister, Ione Skye. Taylor plans to screen his creation just prior to his band's performance at Harry O's on January 25. No stranger to the visual medium, Taylor has directed clips for "Dandy Warhols T.V. Theme Song," off the band's debut, 1995's Dandys Rule OK, and "Bohemian Like You" from its latest, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia. He's also expected to make an announcement about a film production company and a contest for young directors at the event; both projects are in the works.

DJ Q-Bert of now-defunct turntablist collective Invisibl Skratch Piklz will be making his Sundance premiere with the 50-minute animated flick "Wave Twisters: The Movie," based on his 1998 album, Wave Twisters. Featuring animation by San Francisco graffiti artist Doug Cunningham (a.k.a. Doug One), the film is scheduled to screen at select theaters in the weeks following the festival.

Other submissions of musical note include the Mick Jagger-produced "Enigma"; "Helicopter," a documentary about the chopper crash that killed legendary promoter Bill Graham; "Julie Johnson," which stars Courtney Love; two films produced by Michael Stipe ("Sleepy Time Gal" and "Stranger Inside"); and the DJ documentary "Scratch." A private party for "Scratch" will feature performances by DJ Q-Bert, Mix Master Mike, Jurassic 5 and Cut Chemist.

A schedule of times and venues for performances will be posted on the festival's official Web site, www.sundance.org, as the event nears.

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Old 97's Dominate Dallas Music Awards

20 Apr 2000 06:30:00 EDT

Old 97s' Rhett Miller

Alt-country darlings The Old 97's rolled through the Dallas Observer Music Awards on Tuesday night, as the group took home six honors for its 1999 album, "Fight Songs."

In addition to being named as the city's Best Overall Act, The Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller also won awards for Male Vocalist Of The Year and Local Musician Of The Year, and he shared the Songwriter award with the band's bassist, Murry Hammond.

"Murder (Or A Heart Attack)," The Old 97's lost and found feline track from "Fight Songs" (see "Old 97's Get 'Catty' For New Single") earned the Single award at the show, which was staged at the Gypsy Tea Room.

In other Old 97's news, frontman Miller is preparing to head out on the road for a solo tour, and the group plans to start work on a new album in the next few months. According to the band's label, Elektra Records, The Old 97's hope to have the new LP out sometime this fall.

Aside from The Old 97's, the other multiple DMA winners were Chomsky, whose record, "A Few Possible Selections For The Soundtrack of Your Life," was named best Album Release, while the band was tapped as best Rock/Pop Act. Singer-songwriter Meredith Miller also won DMAs in the Female Vocalist and Folk/Acoustic categories.

Other local artists and hometown musicians feted at the 2000 Dallas Music Awards included Erykah Badu, The Reverend Horton Heat, Hellafied Funk Crew, Jump Rope Girls, and The Deathray Davies.

The 2000 Dallas Music Awards were sponsored by alternative newsweekly the "Dallas Observer," and winners were chosen by a popular vote of its readers. For profiles on all of the artists honored at the show, check out the official Dallas Music Awards site.

Winners of the 2000 Dallas Observer Music Awards:

Best Act Overall: The Old 97's
Album Release (1999): Chomsky - "A Few Possible Selections For The Soundtrack of Your Life"
Single Release (1999): The Old 97's - "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)"
Local Musician Of The Year: Rhett Miller, The Old 97's
Songwriter(s): Rhett Miller & Murry Hammond, The Old 97's
Male vocalist: Rhett Miller, The Old 97's
Female Vocalist: Meredith Miller
New Act: The Deathray Davies
Rock/Pop: Chomsky
Country: The Old 97's
Metal: Slow Roosevelt
Rockabilly/Roots: The Reverend Horton Heat
Funk/R&B: Erykah Badu
Rap/Hip-Hop: Hellafied Funk Crew
Reggae: Sub Oslo
Folk/Acoustic: Meredith Miller
Avante Garde/Experimental: Jump Rope Girls
Industrial/Dance: DJ Merritt
Jazz: Earl Harvin Trio
Blues: Andy Timmons
Latin/Tejano: Brave Combo
Producer: Matt Pence
Radio Program That Plays Local Music: "The Local Show," KEGL-FM (97.1)
Local Record Label: One Ton Records
Live Music Venue: Gypsy Tea Room

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Old 97's

Old 97's Get "Catty" For New Single

13 May 1999 02:45:00 EDT

Old 97's

The Dallas-based Old 97's have just released a new record, "Fight Songs," on which the band eschews some of its alt. country roots for a more melodic-based sound, evoking the Smiths crossed with Freedy Johnston.

Thanks in part to its catchy new single, "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)," the group is beginning to generate a buzz on alternative radio, and the band also made its network TV debut earlier this week when it performed the song on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

In spite of the mysterious and rather ominous tone of the lyrics to "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)," the Old 97's recently told MTV that the song isn't actually about a missing person, but about the disappearance of a household pet.

"Originally, I wasn't going to be allowed to tell the story of the song," explained Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller,

"So the back door's open, and I'm sad, because that means the cat's gone," he continued, "but Ken [Bethea, the guitarist] begged me not to tell the story. He was like 'Man, everybody's gonna think its stupid if you talk about how [the song] is about a cat.' And that's true. But my whole argument is that it sounds like it's about a cat, so... "
"It's good because it's real deceptive," added bassist Murry Hammond. Miller said.

Miller will have to find someone else to look after his fussy feline when the Old 97's head out on the road next week for a month-long tour beginning on May 20 in Lawrence, Kansas.

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Old 97's

Old 97's Cut New Album, Plan January Mini-Tour

17 Dec 1998 04:00:00 EST

Old 97's

Dallas-based cowpunkers the Old 97's have just finished recording its fourth album, tentatively titled "Imaginary Friends," in New Orleans with producer Andrew Williams, and will head out in the road in mid-January to preview the new material prior to the record's release in April.

Songs laid down during the band's stint in the Big Easy that are expected to make the album include: "Busted Afternoon," "Crash on the Barrelhead," "Let the Idiot Speak" and "Alone So Far."

Sessions for "Friends" began back in October, and were held at Daniel Lanois' former studio in New Orleans, Kingsway. The forthcoming Old 97's album is actually the last record to be cut at the Big Easy studio -- which has hosted the likes of R.E.M., Sheryl Crow and the Squirrel Nut Zippers in the past, but recently shut its doors.

Lanois has since relocated his base of recording operations to Oxnard, California, where he has opened his Teatro studio.

The Old 97's are still hammering out an itinerary for its mini-tour, but the dates that have been confirmed so far:

1/15 - Columbia, MO @ Blue Note
1/23 - Madison, WI @ University Of Wisconsin
1/28 - Cambridge, MA @ T.T. The Bear's
1/29 - Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's

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Old 97's

Old 97's - Dance with Me

23 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Dance with Me

Artist: Old 97's
Label: New West
Director: Keven McAlester
Album: Blame It on Gravity

Photos | Old 97's Photo Flipbook

18 Apr 2001 01:30:00 EDT

Old 97's Photo Flipbook

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Old 97's