PRINTSomething old, something new
Old 97’s offer up their brand of quirky country
Courtesy of Old97s.com
The music of the Old 97’s — Ken Bethea, Philip Peeples, Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond — was featured in The Break-Up, starring Vince Vaughn. The band, sadly without Vaughn in tow, will hit The Blue Note Oct. 15.
October 9, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Rhett Miller has come to grips with his past. “I’m kind of a nerd,” he says. “I hate to admit it, but it’s true. I played [Dungeons and Dragons] in high school.” But Miller is not just any nerd; he’s a nerd who is also the lead singer of a band with some cool connections. Not only have the Old 97’s appeared in 2006’s The Break-Up (Vince Vaughn is a fan), but they also embraced their geeky side in a music video that’s a sci-fi fan’s dream come true: meeting Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer.
But the Old 97’s are more than just the band behind celebrities. They’ve been around for 15 years, providing clever lyrics over guitar hooks and hand-clapping beats. Now, the group brings their brand of country-inspired pop to The Blue Note Oct. 15.
Vox accosts performers and music fans with a very sharp pencil and forces them, under duress, to answer six questions. This week, Rhett Miller pitches in and speaks his mind.
1. What is your favorite album?
Hunky Dory by David Bowie. For me that record is the perfect example of beautiful music that is a vehicle for smart, honest lyrics.
2. Which album do you wish would spontaneously combust?
I could say John Mayer, Room for Squares, but honestly, that’s more because I wish I put out
that record.
3. What’s the best live show you’ve ever seen?
There was a show when R.E.M. played in Dallas and Robyn Hitchcock was opening up. Hitchcock is an eccentric British songwriter, who I’ve wound up idolizing.
4. What is your favorite make-out album?
Back in the day there was Echo and the Bunnymen’s Ocean Rain.
5. What band is so last year?
Last night I was eating in a restaurant, and I heard Ashlee Simpson on the radio. I can’t even believe that people consider this real music. I was hoping when she was on Saturday Night Live when she basically had to admit that she was like a complete fraud, that that would be the end of her career, but it wasn’t.
6. Build your dream band.
Let’s see ... How about David Bowie on vocals; the drummer from the Wedding Present (Graeme Ramsay); Billy Zoom, the insane guitar player for the band X; and Murry, the Old 97’s bass player.
Frontman Miller, bassist Murry Hammond, guitarist Ken Bethea and drummer Philip Peeples formed in Dallas in 1993 and charged onto the alt-country scene that was popular in the mid-’90s. The band has produced seven albums, and its sound has evolved from their more pure country origins.
But that little twang is still present in Blame It On Gravity, the band’s May 2008 release. The tunes slide from the folksy pop of “The Fool” to the guitar-driven gospel sound of “Here’s to the Halcyon.” Although the tracks are good to throw in the player for a road trip and provide some steering wheel-tapping fun, Miller’s quirky songwriting drives the record.
“The trick that you’ll find with the Old 97’s is that there are sad songs and happy music or happy songs with sad music,” Miller explains. “If you’ve got some sweet message and put it in a sugar pill, then it’s too much. But if you have contrast, it makes it more interesting.”
For example, on the mellow track “No Baby I,” Miller sings: “the room was full of undertakers/ the movers and martini shakers gone/ the reaper left at 7:30/ took off in a taxi with a blonde.” Not your typical approach to a funeral.
Miller’s quirky style comes from his approach to songwriting. He used to stay up late and focus on personal agony. Now he finds time to squeeze in his creative writing. “For me now, it’s all about stolen moments,” he says. “The songs I really like to listen to are about moments between people,” he says.
Richard King, owner of The Blue Note, says: “Rhett has a great onstage persona. He connects with the
audience and is a great storyteller. He is one of the best frontmen to grace our fine stage here at The Blue Note.” King, who has booked the Old 97’s multiple times, also says that though the band had a country influence in the early days, “obviously he’s [Miller] progressed to just a great songwriter. We have seen that band sort of grow over the years from very small crowds to probably a sell-out crowd.”
