One of the most popular bands in alt-country's
rock & roll wing,
Old 97's hailed from Dallas and drew their inspiration from classic
country,
bar band rock, the raw sound of early
punk, and -- especially on their later records -- the tight songcraft of
power pop. The band was formed in 1993 by singer/guitarist
Rhett Miller and bassist Murry Hammond. Although six years younger than Hammond,
Miller had previously played around the Dallas area as a folksinger and a British-style pop devotee; he'd also earned a creative writing scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College, but ultimately dropped out to return to Texas and concentrate on music.
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One of the most popular bands in alt-country's
rock & roll wing,
Old 97's hailed from Dallas and drew their inspiration from classic
country,
bar band rock, the raw sound of early
punk, and -- especially on their later records -- the tight songcraft of
power pop. The band was formed in 1993 by singer/guitarist
Rhett Miller and bassist Murry Hammond. Although six years younger than Hammond,
Miller had previously played around the Dallas area as a folksinger and a British-style pop devotee; he'd also earned a creative writing scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College, but ultimately dropped out to return to Texas and concentrate on music.
When he teamed up with Hammond, his original material showed traces of Texas
country; this combination of
country influence and pop sensibility would go on to fuel some of the band's best work.
Miller and Hammond expanded their project by adding lead guitarist Ken Bethea and recording their initial demo tape at Austin's famed Cedar Creek studio. Drummer Philip Peeples subsequently climbed on board, and
Old 97's issued their debut album, Hitchhike to Rhome, on the indie label Big Iron in 1994. It received positive reviews and began to build the group's alt-country fan base, which they consolidated on the album's follow-up,
Wreck Your Life. Issued on the alt-country stalwart Bloodshot Records in 1995,
Wreck Your Life fleshed out the group's sound and presented
Old 97's as a sharp, eclectic
country-rock outfit with a pinup-worthy frontman. The positive attention given to the band's two indie albums led to a major-label deal with Elektra Records, on which
Old 97's debuted in 1997 with
Too Far to Care. Critics hailed the album as the best balance yet between the group's Texas traditionalism and pop leanings, and many publications placed the band among the leaders of the alt-country movement. Their next release, 1999's
Fight Songs, began to move away from their
country influences by offering a more polished, pop-friendly set of songs.
By this time,
Miller had moved to Los Angeles and shed the thick '50s-style glasses that had become a major part of his image; he and Hammond were also performing in an informal side project dubbed the Ranchero Brothers. Released in 2001, Satellite Rides had an even stronger
power pop flavor and once again received highly positive reviews, although
Miller took a temporary leave after its release to record a solo
power pop record,
The Instigator, which was released in late 2002. A lengthy period of relative inactivity followed, as the bandmembers found themselves in different cities and starting families, only sporadically seeing and/or playing with each other. All of that changed in 2004 with the recording of the sixth
Old 97's album, Drag It Up (issued by the band's new label, New West), and the subsequent tour, which featured prominently on the band's 2005 double-disc live release Alive & Wired. In 2006, Elektra issued
Hit by a Train: The Best of Old 97's, which contained songs released prior to the band's 2004 label switch, and 2008 saw the band returning to Dallas for the recording of
Blame It on Gravity. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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