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Old 97's Recharge Batteries, Motor On
After spotty reception to their last album in 2004 it looked like the Old 97's, one of the best alternative-country bands, was finished. A breakup was never officially announced, but the members all became family men and were living in different cities, each pursuing solo projects.
10-05-2008 | read whole article
Always Alone, Even When He’s with Somone He Loves: A Conversation with Murry Hammond of Old 97’s (Snake Oil)
Back in the second Clinton Administration, when No Depression proudly billed itself as “The Alternative Country (whatever that is) bi-monthly magazine,” no band seemed to carry more potential to bring this music into the mainstream with its integrity intact than Old 97’s...
09-17-2008 | read whole article
Old 97’s “Blame It on Gravity” New West Records (Country Music Goodness)
The Old 97’s return to the studio for the first time since 2004 with Blame It on Gravity. The band’s third album with New West picks up where their up-tempo alt-country sound left off before front man Rhett Miller’s most recent solo venture. Miller’s aptitude for pop-friendly phrasing is on display immediately with the driving opener “The Fool,” the track fading to the repeated line “You’ve got to be a fool to be a fool in love.”
08-26-2008 | read whole article
Old 97's keep an old band fresh (AM New York)
What's the recipe for sustaining a successful band for 15 years? "Spend big chunks of time away from each other," says Rhett Miller, the lead singer and guitarist of the Dallas-based band the Old 97's, with a laugh...
07-31-2008 | read whole article
Lyrically Hellbent: The Words of Rhett Miller of the Old 97's (Express from the Washington Post)
THE ALT-COUNTRY MOVEMENT of the 1990s didn't produce many distinctive songwriters, which is one of many reasons why Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller still stands out among his peers. Honing his wit on Elmore Leonard and his concision on Raymond Carver, Miller wrote and sang about bad come-ons and tricky hook-ups, playing the highly conflicted role of the guy your mother warned you about disguised as the guy your mother approves of.
07-29-2008 | read whole article
The Spin: Old 97's at Mercy Lounge (Nashville Scene)
We might as well get it over with and just take a paragraph here at the beginning to talk about how fucking pretty Old 97’s frontman Rhett Miller is. The shaggy-haired crooner is movie star handsome. Tigerbeat cute.
07-24-2008 | read whole article
Old 97's – “Blame It On Gravity” (The Charlotte Observer)
The Texan foursome is in fine form once again, following 2004's somewhat disappointing, rough-edged Drag It Up. More on the “alt” side of alt-country, Old 97's boast an incredibly well-rounded collection of jangle-pop, driving rock, surf guitar, and Tex-Mex swing.
07-24-2008 | read whole article
Old 97s: Chemistry makes them headliners (The Birmingham News - blog)
Despite two opening acts and a late start for a show on a school night, Old 97's showed why they were the headliners Monday. The Texas twang-pop-rock quartet ripped through old fan favorites of their 15-year catalog while relying heavily on new songs from their latest album, Blame It On Gravity, many of which are sure to become mainstays at future Old 97's shows.
07-23-2008 | read whole article
Rhett Miller: 'Serial Ladykiller,' Lovelorn Crooner (NRP)
Alt-country favorites the Old 97's are as reliable as a worn pair of cowboy boots and an old flannel shirt. The band has been playing for 15 years now, and they just released the album Blame It On Gravity...listen to Rhett being interviewed and performing here.
07-18-2008 | read whole article
Wreck Your Life: Old 97's bassist Murry Hammond talks long-distance relationships, charity work and his frontman's pesky solo career (Nashville Scene)
When the Old 97's are on—when rambunctious frontman Rhett Miller is cooing and crooning over a ragged honky-tonk snarl and dropping lines so snarky and devastating that they can make you forget how darn pretty he is—there are few bands better. But none of it would work without stalwart sidekick and bassist Murry Hammond and his flawless vintage sensibility. On the handful of songs he sings on each release, Hammond reminds the listener that this band's magic is most potent at its most dissonant—when pop rubs up against punkabilly and when Miller's rakish charm is mitigated by Hammond's unpretentious skill...
07-17-2008 | read whole article
The DL: 'If We Didn't Tell You...' With The Old 97's: No. 2 (Spinner)
07-17-2008 | read whole article
Local Scene: 'YEP Fest, The Morning Light, The Coast (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
The new home on the Schenley Plaza was a winner for the WYEP Summer Music Festival last Saturday night. The station packed an estimated 3,000 people into the one-acre space for a concert headlined by The Old 97's.
07-03-2008 | read whole article
Summerfest Is A Favorite For Old 97's (Today's TMJ4)
hey're called the Old 97's, but there's a youthful energy in this Texas alternative country band. And, after a handful of shows here, front man Rhett Miller has some Summerfest favorites.
"The bratwurst, the people, the little air trolley that goes around," he told TODAY'S TMJ4 reporter Tom Murray.
06-29-2008 | read whole article
Old 97's get boost from experience, 'Gravity' (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
It's not a boastful statement, a la Muhammad Ali or any other sports figure who has just won some kind of championship. Nor is it an offhand remark borne of youthful brashness. It's just a fact that so much time together -- 15 years, to be exact -- yields results.
06-26-2008 | read whole article
Reviews: OldD 97'S - [LIVE] (Ground Control Magazine)
Rushing home from the airport after flying in from a business trip from Albuquerque, my focus had been getting back to my wife and our newborn so I could see him before he went down for the night. With that accomplished I flashed back to the plane ride into LAX where I spent time decompressing from my business meetings by scanning the impressive catalogue of material Old 97’s have amassed in their 15-year history, wondering how tonight’s set list would shake out.
06-26-2008 | read whole article