Old 97's roll call

I like Ken's surf guitar-esque solo on that one.

Ironic that one of the tunes Murry sings would get the airplay.

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
They've been playing this one on WOXY. Sounds like the Strokes.

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Smokers

I have to admit, these two posts on the Old 97's website guestbook are pretty funny

"hello. i saw the 0ld 97's at summerfest. and i have to say that they are by far the worst band i have ever seen in my life. their songs are not only morally and immorrally retarded, but they are pointless. i find no point or value in any of the songs. the way they acted on stage was so stupid that it was entertaining, but i have to say that i couldnt have been more glad for them to get offstage and for switchfoot to get on stage. this music was the worst music i have ever heard in my life and i pray to the dear Lord above that i never have to hear it again. if i do i bet i will cry because i was onthe verge of tears when i saw you anyways. thank you" (allison)


i agree with allison, the leader singer looks like Hansons dad with the moves of elvis, Murray looks likes an aged 40 yr old harry potter with way too tight pants, the base player is one chromosome from having down syndrom, and the drummer looks like a rapist. not that looks matter, but your songs suck my asshole, and i pity your children. you are old men. grow up.

flawd is really a girl named Allison???

who knew….

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
"hello. i saw the 0ld 97's at summerfest. and i have to say that they are by far the worst band i have ever seen in my life. their songs are not only morally and immorrally retarded, but they are pointless. i find no point or value in any of the songs. the way they acted on stage was so stupid that it was entertaining, but i have to say that i couldnt have been more glad for them to get offstage and for switchfoot to get on stage. this music was the worst music i have ever heard in my life and i pray to the dear Lord above that i never have to hear it again. if i do i bet i will cry because i was onthe verge of tears when i saw you anyways. thank you" (allison)

I had the same exact thought when I read that. I guess great minds think alike. (Flawd and Allison, that is.)

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
flawd is really a girl named Allison???

who knew….

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
"hello. i saw the 0ld 97's at summerfest. and i have to say that they are by far the worst band i have ever seen in my life. their songs are not only morally and immorrally retarded, but they are pointless. i find no point or value in any of the songs. the way they acted on stage was so stupid that it was entertaining, but i have to say that i couldnt have been more glad for them to get offstage and for switchfoot to get on stage. this music was the worst music i have ever heard in my life and i pray to the dear Lord above that i never have to hear it again. if i do i bet i will cry because i was onthe verge of tears when i saw you anyways. thank you" (allison)

What's laughable is that you will probably say this and mean it in a few years.

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
i agree with allison, the leader singer looks like Hansons dad with the moves of elvis, Murray looks likes an aged 40 yr old harry potter with way too tight pants, the base player is one chromosome from having down syndrom, and the drummer looks like a rapist. not that looks matter, but your songs suck my asshole, and i pity your children. you are old men. grow up.

Murry finds Jesus

http://musicspectrum.blogspot.com/

So is the 9:30 show going to sell out fast enough that I need to get tix when they go on sale at 10:00 a.m…?

No. Don't wait a long time, but most assuredly they won't allsell out this week.

Originally posted by Bagalicious Tangster:
So is the 9:30 show going to sell out fast enough that I need to get tix when they go on sale at 10:00 a.m…?

does anyone know about this opening act CHUCK PROPHET? the name doesn't sound familiar to me at all.

Chuck Prophet is a label mate of the Old 97's on New West:
Chuck Prophet page

Check out more about him on allmusic.com too (if it's actually now in a navigable mood).

Personally - I like him. I have seen him a couple times, including once opening for Lucinda Williams. He's not gonna impress any indie kids, but he's quite talented, a good showman, and pops out some fine summery tunes.

Should be a good fit opening for the Old 97's.

awesome. thanks for the info, i look forward to seeing him!

I saw Chuck Prophet at Bumbershoot last year. Pretty average, though entirely competent. Wouldn't make an effort to get there early to see him, though it won't be unpleasant seeing him as we stake out a good spot for the 97's.

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
I saw Chuck Prophet at Bumbershoot last year. Pretty average

Like I said…"He's not gonna impress any indie kids." :D

allmusic disgrees with you though:

"One of America's great underground artists"

Olds 97 are pretentious sellouts… The new record got reviewed in Entertainment Weekly (it got a A-) and the record is a song cycle or concept album about growing up. Starts with a song about birth and ends with a song about death. Sounds like twank fest to me

Old 97's new disc has something to please all of its fans
Friday, July 16, 2004
MICHAEL TOMBERLIN
News staff writer
OLD 97'S

Drag It Up

New West Records

It's hard to please everybody, particularly when you're the Old 97's.

The Texas quartet has built a varied fan base ranging from puppeteers to pilots and from Bruce Springsteen to prep school students in rural Forest of Dean in England.

That fan base was built by a decade of recording and touring with a string of five albums. The variety of the fans the Old 97's has won is due to the evolution of the band from the straight-up twang-filled alternative country of its 1994 debut "Hitchhike to Rhome" and its follow-up "Wreck Your Life" to the high-octane cowpunk of their breakthrough "Too Far To Care."

The band's last two offerings, 1999's "Fight Songs" and 2001's acclaimed "Satellite Rides" veered more into power pop and smart balladry, taking it farther from its alt-country roots.

Fans of the early Old 97's who feel it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that twang liked the latter work of the band but rated it below the early work. Latecomers love the last two efforts while reluctantly embracing elements of the early records.

With "Drag It Up," the band's debut on label New West due out July 27, the Old 97's have created the ultimate record for all of its fans.

The pedal steel on "Bloomington," "Moonlight" and "Blinding Sheets of Rain" will be to the liking of yesteryear Old 97's fans while "Won't Be Home" and "Friends Forever" recall the band's "Too Far To Care" period.

"The New Kid," "Borrowed Bride" and the equally beautiful "Adelaide" and "The Satellite Rides a Star" will please latter-day fans.

Not all of "Drag It Up" is reminiscent of the Old 97's past. The blazing "Smokers," the Buddy Holly-meets-Tex-Mex sound of "Coahuila" and the semi-psychedelia of "Valium Waltz" are fresh sounds with plenty of texture. Even the somber "No Mother," a tribute to a fan, friend and promoter of the Austin music scene killed by a drunk driver, is as vulnerable and personal as anything the band has recorded.

The Old 97's have long been viewed as a foursome led by the duo of rhythm guitar player Miller and bassist Murry Hammond. The two have shared songwriting duties and while Miller has sung lead on the majority of the band's songs, Hammond has stepped up to the mike on several occasions on each album.

Miller's excellent wordplay is again in rare form on the songs of "Drag It Up," in lines such as "She was a thin girl/ but she had substance" on "Bloomington" and "You knew all was lost/ when she named you the winner" from "Borrowed Bride."

Another treat about Old 97's songs is the band often works on multiple levels without being too obscure. The first single, "The New Kid," for instance, could be a straight-forward jealousy tune about a Johnny-come-lately rival. Or it could be a tongue-in-cheek song to Miller's newborn son.

But what "Drag It Up" proves more than any past Old 97's record is how integral drummer Philip Peeples and lead guitarist Ken Bethea are to the band. Peeples is the backbone, becoming the manic accelerant or the genteel shuffle depending on what each song calls for.

Bethea is the true star of "Drag It Up." Not since his back-to-back opening riffs of the band's signature songs "Timebomb" and "Barrier Reef" has Bethea staked out his spot within the band with such force.

"Drag It Up" shows Bethea in his most beautiful ("Adelaide"), his most experimental ("Valium Waltz") and his most understated ("Moonlight"), all the while showing his versatility. We also hear Bethea as lead singer for the first time ever on an Old 97's record with his frolic through "Coahuila."

Bethea's stamp truly made many of the songs Old 97's songs. A handful of the best songs on "Drag It Up" were slated to be on an often-promised album by the Ranchero Brothers, the alter ego of Hammond and Miller, because the songs did not sound like Old 97's tunes. Bethea, with a lot of help from Peeples, successfully changed that.

After a decade of recording, the Old 97's have found a way to make all fans happy, not an easy feat for a band that has evolved so much. The real reward, however, will be in the new fans "Drag It Up" is destined to add to the growing and diverse fold.

Well if the Birmingham News says it's good……

Well I think it makes good points about its appeal to fans of various parts of their career, as well as breaking new ground.

Rest assured, none of the other songs sound like "Smokers".

And I agree, Ken Bethea's guitar work has never been truly appreciated as it should be.

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Well if the Birmingham News says it's good……

'Drag It Up': Old 97's Two-Step Program

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19739-2004Jul27.html

Thanks for posting that link, Sieve. Nice review.

Not about to change my screen name, but on first listen I'm very disappointed in Drag it Up. For all the talk of it being a step back to Too Far To Care it is not half the album that TFTC was. There is not one song on it that I would put in my Old 97's top ten. Gotta say I'm bummed by it, as I was by Satellite Rides.

It might be time to cherish the old discs, see the live shows, but move on otherwise.