1.26.2010 6:54 PM:

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

Labels: murry, rhett, tour dates

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9.15.2009 9:15 AM:

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

Labels: Aggies, Johnny Cash, murry, rhett, Texas Monthly

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5.30.2009 1:43 PM:

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

Labels: murry, rhett, solo, tour dates

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4.03.2009 6:39 PM:

Thanks for the update below, Michael! And as he mentioned, we have got a ton and a half of new, Old 97's and Rhett Miller tour dates, including a series of "An Evening With Old 97's" featuring solo sets by both Rhett and Murry!

Also, don't forget that Rhett's self-titled fourth solo CD drops 6/9. Shown above, the early buzz is outstanding, as those of you who've seen Rhett trying out the new tunes at solo shows can testify.

In addition, Rhett is also a contributor to the upcoming Amplified: Fiction from Leading Alt-Country, Indie Rock, Blues and Folk Musicians, due out from Melville House on May 5.

Finally, you guys deserve a bit of an explanation for the less-frequent than normal updates over the past few months. The reasons behind them are several. Late last summer I had a health scare that kept me laid up and off work for a couple of months. I'm completely fine now, thank you. Then in the fall, after fourteen years in my old home, I bought a new place. I know, right? I was just trying to be patriotic in the midst of the credit crunch. Besides, the place was a steal ;-) Those of you who've ever bought or sold a home know what a time-sucking vampire the whole home-buying, selling, and moving process can be, and it was in this case too.

Then, two weeks after I moved in, my father had a massive stroke. (BTW, that's us in both pictures, just after we'd upgraded to captain, taken in the same spot in my parent's house, some twenty years apart.) He's making an amazing recovery, thank you, but as you can imagine, from December through late January, much of my free time was otherwise spoken for.

Then, just as I was coming up for air in February, I was asked to take on some additional duties in the union where I work. All in all, it's just been a crazy nine months. But as we approach the drop date for Rhett's new record, a whole mess of new shows, and have the Old 97's reconvening in the studio for their next album, I can assure you that Hit By A Train will be up to speed and on the job with all the latest and greatest on the 97's, and some inside skinny on the finest alt-country/insurgent rock/pop/Americana/name-your-genre band in the land. Cheers! - frank

Labels: murry, rhett, solo, tour dates, vampires

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3.11.2009 1:25 PM:

Loads of good stuff today. First up, don't forget that Old 97's headline the after-party for Dallas' annual Greenville Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade. And what a great bill! Joining the boys will be The Drams, 1100 Springs, and The O's. After that, the 97's next announced appearance comes May 8 at the always phenomenal Taste Addison Fest.

And this just in from Billboard: Rhett's self-titled fourth CD now has a release date: Rhett Miller hits the shelves of finer sound emporiums on June 9. Another great tidbit from that piece:

Miller plans to tour in support of "Rhett Miller," both on his own and with Old 97's. In fact, he says, the band, which will be on the road this summer, is thinking about incorporating solo sets by Miller and bassist Murry Hammond as part of an "evening with" concept.

Sweet mother... FINALLY! Now as an overgrown fanboy, would it be too much to hope to hear the Old 97's take a crack at "The El" or "Lost At Sea"? A guy can dream, right?

And if you're jonesing for some 97's today, and can't wait for Saturday, check out A Truer Sound, which just posted a 2-disc boot of a show at the Crocodile Cafe on May 29, 1999, the Old 97's full Austin City Limits set from Jan. 26, 1998, and "1998 Gypsy Tea Room show where the boys previewed Fight Songs and played a lot of Buck Owens covers." (hat tip: Mike Orren - Pegasus News)

And speaking of the guys' solo side-projects, Murry just keep getting more and more love for I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm on My Way, this time from Pop Matters. Enjoy! - frank

Labels: green beer, murry, rhett

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