Special fan-only bundles include the CD or LP version of the album, an exclusive limited edition silk-screened Rhett Miller & The Serial Lady Killers poster hand-numbered by Rhett, new T-shirt designs, buttons, stickers and more.

All orders are accompanied by an instant download of the Bob Clearmountain radio mix of Rhett’s song “Out of Love”, only available for download in the pre-order store.

Rhett is out on the road now:

05/15 – Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge *
05/16 – Knoxville, TN – The Square Room *
05/17 – Carborro, NC – The Arts Center *
05/19 – Addison, TX Addison Arts and Music Festival ^
06/04 – Vienna, VA – Jammin Java ^
06/05 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe ^
06/06 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe ^
06/07 – Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s ^
06/08 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom ^
06/09 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall ^
06/13 – Austin, TX – Blues On The Green (KGSR Free Show) ^
06/15 – San Diego, CA – The Casbah ^
06/16 – Hermosa Beach, CA – Sainte Rocke ^
06/17 – San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House ^
06/18 – Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour ^
06/19 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent ^
06/21 – Portland, OR – The Doug Fir ^
06/22 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe ^
07/11 – Dewey Beach, DE Bottle Cork ^
07/12 – Annapolis, MD Ramshead ^

* = Rhett Miller solo
^ = Rhett Miller and The Serial Lady Killers

Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who entered! It was a lot of fun reading through all these and debating with the powers that be.

The following are all the new entries that will be added to the Glossary page, with credits:

Boiler Room – Dive bar on Elm Street in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood where Old 97′s began. (submitted by Greg Ziegler)

QUOTE: “I’ve been lightin’ matches in the Boiler Room…” – “Bel Air”

Buick City Complex – Refers to the General Motors manufacturing facility in Flint, Michigan, that was shuttered in 1999. A visit to the area inspired Rhett to imagine the adventures of a soon-to-be-unemployed man contemplating the status of his love life —and whether or not he can consummate that relationship—in the face of the plant’s imminent closing. (submitted by Clay Billman)

Was in the running to be a single from Satellite Rides but the idea was shot down by label folks who thought the title would confuse people. (-jefe)

QUOTE: “They’re tearing the Buick City Complex Down. I think we’re the only people left in town. Where are you gonna move? Where are you gonna move? Do you wanna mess around?” – “Buick City Complex”

Easy Way – From 1944 to 1985, the Easy Way Cafe was a beloved fixture of the Dallas BBQ scene: down-home hospitality, lip-smacking barbecue, and vintage jukeboxes stationed table-side.  The cafe is long-gone, but still fondly remembered by our favorite band. (submitted by David Welsh)

QUOTE:  “One buck in the jukebox gets you two…meet me at the Easy Way” – “Easy Way”

Heisman – The trophy awarded annually to college football’s top player, the “Heisman” is a stiff-arm pose imitating the well-known statue. Referenced in the original version of “Won’t Be Home No More” when the protagonist “helps” his ex-girlfriend out of his car during a rather spirited break-up. The recorded version found on Drag It Up replaced “Heisman” with “pavement.” (submitted by Clay Billman)

QUOTE: “I’m pulling off the road, I’m opening the door. I’m giving you the Heisman, I’m telling you what for…” – “WoBeHoNoMo”

Holy Cross Electric Association – A rural utility co-op that derives its name from a unique geologic feature on a majestic Rocky Mountain peak that resembles a white cross when covered in snow. Located near Minturn, Colorado, the Mount of the Holy Cross is the northernmost 14,000-ft. peak in the Sawatch Range. The company changed its name to Holy Cross Energy in 1998.

The song (one of Rhett’s Mom’s favorites) tells the tragic story of a Holy Cross employee who died in a head-on crash. Recorded in the Too Far To Care sessions, it first appeared on a Summer Break Records compilation CD called Sunny Teriyaki Hamburger Breakfast in 2003. The accident left at least one man dead and one thermos homeless. (submitted by Clay Billman)

QUOTE: “Holy Cross Electric Association. Oh, it’s more than a job. It’s more like a damnation.” – “Holy Cross”

“I Won’t Be Home No More” – 1953 posthumous hit by Hank Williams, Sr. Starts with the brilliant line “Well, you’re just in time to be too late” and just gets better from there. (submitted by Sandi Kennedy)

Quote: “And the very first song that the radio sang was ‘I Won’t Be Home No More’…” – “WoBeHoNoMo”

Ol’ Dan – Popular name for a horse prevalent in western lore, literature, music and movies. The moniker “Ol’ Dan” stems from traditional folk ballads of the 1800′s, which were brought from the campfire to the mainstream by Tex Ritter’s “A-Ridin’ Old Paint” from 1933 (“I Ride an Old Paint” as Roy Rogers, Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger and many others recorded it) and featured in his 1937 movie “Mystery of the Hooded Horseman.”

I ride an old paint, I lead an old dan

I’m goin’ to Montana to throw the hoolihan

They feed in the coulees, they water in the draw

Their tails are all matted, their backs are all raw

The horse is perhaps most famously found in Bob Nolan’s “Cool Water” (performed by his Sons of the Pioneers in 1936, along with Hank Williams, Marty Robbins and scores of artists to follow).

The name is also immortalized in vintage “Old Dan” cigar labels featuring an illustrated horse. Not surprisingly, generations of equine lovers have grown up riding horses of that popular name. (submitted by Clay Billman)

QUOTE: “Scorpio’s up, a leadin’ ol’ Dan to pasture…” – “Color of a Lonely Heart is Blue”

Paco and Flaco – Pseudonyms of Rhett Miller (Paco) and Murry Hammond (Flaco) when performing under the stage name “The Ranchero Brothers.” Often accompanied by witty repartee by Rhett Miller that “he is Paco…or am I Flaco?” when introducing himself and Murry. (submitted by John Vrsalovich)

Pickwood Bowl – A bowling facility located in Burbank, CA. Hence, the bowling reference of knock nine (bowling pins) down and leave one in the hole (standing). Almost a strike, but just falling short of the mark… not performing to desired expectations. (submitted by Jeff Sargen)

QUOTE: “Do you want to meet up at the Pickwood Bowl? We could knock nine down and leave one in the hole.” – “Rollerskate Skinny”

Marble Falls – One of many Texas towns name-checked by the Old 97’s, this little burg of 7,000+ is located in the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin.  We’ll never know if the mayor’s daughter was a fan of prescription pharmaceuticals, but we are grateful for her memorable appearance in “Valium Waltz.” (submitted by David Welsh)

QUOTE: “And it’s written all over the face of the daughter of the mayor of Marble Falls…” – “Valium Waltz”

Marquita – Instrumental initiated by Ken, recorded for The Grand Theatre Vol. 2. “Oh yeah, why is it called “Marquita?” It’s the name of the street where I met Rhett and Murry and we started the band. We lived in a brownstone called Marquita Courts. Murry and I were “fronties” and Rhett was a “backie.” We fronties considered ourselves a bit more sophisticated than the backies. We drank martinis, listened to jazz and paid our bills on time. The backies stayed up all night eating cereal, playing Genesis Hockey and smoking. It was a great place and time to start a band.” – Ken Bethea (2011) (submitted by Julie Strehle)

The One – Highway 1 runs along much of the California coastline and boasts some of the most spectacular scenery in all of America. The jaw-dropping vistas of spectacularly steep cliffs crashing into fog-shrouded surf would be the perfect backdrop for a victory lap after signing your first major-label contract with visions of rock-and-roll stardom dancing in your heads! (submitted by David Welsh)

QUOTE: “Take the money and run, but what’s the rush… let’s take The One” – “The One”

Wuzza – Setlist abbreviation for fan-favorite, yet seldom played “If My Heart Was A Car” from Hitchhike to Rhome. Served as show closer during the band’s very early days before “Timebomb.” According to Ken Bethea,“Wuzza” closed the band’s first out-of-Dallas experience at a show in Denton, sparking a raucous dancing frenzy of college students that gave the 97′s cause to believe there might be a future beyond Big D. (submitted by Greg Ziegler)

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Vote for your favorite in the comments section, and the person who submitted the post with the most support will get the bottle of Old 97′s beer!

Music That Matters: The Third Annual Esquire Songwriting Challenge

Long before the festival lines began to form, we boarded a tour bus with five stars from across the iTunes spectrum and headed to California’s Coachella Valley. Once there and dressed in the season’s sharpest suiting, they took up our challenge: write and record an original song inspired by the phrase Pacific Standard Time.

You can buy Rhett’s song on iTunes.

Spotify

iTunes

>LINK

I do think they got one detail wrong, though — there’s no way the couple went back to her apartment. They’re in the Good Times van, obviously.

Enjoy.

We thought it would be fun to get to know a little more about the man who keeps this train from running off the rails.

1. How long have you been involved with the band?

I did my first run of shows with them in Fall of 1997 during the “Too Far to Care” album tour. We parted ways temporarily around 2000 since I had a day job as a producer at a dot com during the goldrush. That year, I met my wife, and had steered my life in a non touring direction for several years. The 97s stayed in contact with me because we were friends outside of the business anyways. I started up my touring business again in 2005, and I think Philip called me and told me about a job opening in 2006. It is a true piece of good fortune that I am back on tour with the guys.

2. How did you meet the band and subsequently become part of the touring crew?

I was tour managing a second stage act on Lollapalooza 1997, and I spent my free time on that tour hanging out with the Old 97s, because they were on that stage as well, and there was a ton of free beer around after the set was done. All of us were done working by 4:30 pm on that tour.  We had a lot in common, so when Lollapalooza ended, I told them that I would be happy to work for them, since my artist, Jeremy Toback, had no shows scheduled after Lollapalooza, I needed a gig.

3. Were you in a band back then?

Yes, There were still some occasional gigs for my instrumental surf band, “The Revellators”.

4. Take us through a typical day. The bus pulls into town at 9am and…

I wake up because I can tell when the bus driver is looking for a parking space, or driving into a parking lot. I get the bus driver situated with a hotel room as soon as the hotel will permit. Hopefully it is immediately, as drivers are usually very sensitive to extending their workday with waiting. Once that is done, I look for breakfast, knowing full well that no one on the bus is awake yet. After that, I return to the bus, turn on the satellite tv, troubleshoot it and make it work if the signal went out. Fire up the laptop and check email, look for red flags regarding interviews, guests, meet and greets, things that will be issues within a few hours of the guys waking up.  At 2:30 I will enter the club with Jason and Jeff (our loyal crew), or our guitar tech du jour, and meet the venue’s staff for the show. We do a quick rundown of how things are going to go, and then the crew loads in and sets up. At 4:00, I get the band off of the bus, and go into the venue for sound check. We normally take about ten minutes to get the vocals loud enough on stage to work, and then we do two or three songs for a sound check. Then we give the stage up to the support band, and look for dinner. Some time during or after dinner, I will have completed the guest list (except for the ones that certain people only add after doors have opened) and Rhett will have made the set list for tonight’s show. He will make a set list every night with a deliberate effort to be unique to the previous show , and from the previous show at that same venue even a year before. It is much more labor intensive than any set list that I have ever seen. Then doors open up, we hang backstage, I keep an ear out for anything dramatic happening with guests, promoter reps, crew or band members. We keep conversations light and cheery till set change. At set change we put out the set lists, double check all of the instruments and mics, and I play my set change music, and the walk on song. After the show, I collect the band’s check, do a quick review of the night with the promoter, thank them for having us again, and tell them that we hope to return soon. If the agent calls them in 9 months for another show, we want them to remember that we were good to work with. Then I leave, call the bus driver, have him cab it to the bus, then we take the bus to the hotel for showers. After 90 minutes of shower time at the hotel, we start our journey to the next town. Average drive time is 8 hours, so generally, I get my sleep while the bus is in motion, and stop sleeping when the bus stops. That has been the bus schedule for 20 years now.

5. There have been several comments online from fans complimenting the song selection played prior to Old 97′s taking the stage on tour. Who’s responsible for choosing the tunes? Is it thought out,completely random or mood driven. Earlier in the winter leg of the tour last year, Devo’s “Freedom of Choice” was featured prior to a Wisconsin gig. A nod to the anti-union political happenings in WI? 

I make the itunes playlist for set change during the tour. Sometimes they are based on a song that we all wanted to hear after a conversation that takes us to the core of our being. Being cooped up in the same 200 square feet of living space with 7 guys will do that to you. Ken and Philip will throw out really random song or band names, just to see if I can find the song. So, that’s why the good people of Lawrence Kansas had to hear “Carry on my wayward son” by Kansas as a closer.  Some of the songs are meant to get someone’s attention because of a lyric or title, or an artist’s home town. Freedom of Choice is actually just a song to raise the spirits, and prepare the audience to get up and move. It was a walk on song for us. The walk on song says, no more standing around talking, it’s about to get loud. I was glad that Madison folks took it as a fight song.

The Pink Floyd song “Time” has a tempo and a feel that sort of puts the audience onto a virtual moving sidewalk that moves them out of the building feeling like they just had an epic experience.

5a. We all have guilty pleasure favorites in our iPods, songs that we’re all embarrassed to admit we not only own, but know every word to. Spill it. What’s yours?

Uh, well probably… “to Sir with Love” by Lulu. It has the best chorus of any song on my ipod that I can think of. It reminds me of some really great people who used to cover that song in a cabaret show.

6. What’s your most important duty as tour manager?

The big picture is that I have to make sure that 7 people make it to 19 shows in 21 days in 19 cities at the time that was agreed upon in order to play the show for the fee that was negotiated so that the band and crew can continue to do this as a way to make a living. Getting us all to the show, and going through the associated pitfalls and stress of dealing with different people every day, without freaking out and stressing out the band. That is the challenge. Feeling like the world is trying to kill you, and looking like you didn’t notice is the daily challenge. Growing up in L.A.;  friends could all tell horror stories about that time they drove to San Francisco… 400 miles… Or the time we drove to Vegas after work… 320 miles…. Most people remember drives like that after doing them once. We do them at least 100 times per year, and then put on a rock-show at the end of each drive.

7. Is Murder Or a Heartattack really about your stealthy kitty cat, Charlie? How do you feel about Rhett’s less than flattering portrayal of you in his retelling of that story to audiences. It is kinda rock ‘n roll, but still, does Rhett pay you a little extra to trash your rep?

It really is about the kitty cat Charlie. I just celebrated ten years of sobriety, so I have no problem saying that I was a big lush when Rhett and I lived in Hollywood together. My apartment was sort of a hostel for musicians and world travelers who had met me through my years of touring. Everyone was welcome, and drinking was encouraged. So, while I was not even in the same county as Rhett and Charlie when that song was written, Charlie did come back, and I was very drunk very often when I was at the apartment. So Rhett’s stories are at least based in reality. And, yes he pays me extra quite often. He is a generous employer.

8. You’re in the enviable position to have heard the Old 97′s catalog performed over and over. Which songs are your favorites? Any tunes you’d like to see put back in heavier rotation?

Uh, Barrier Reef, 4 Leaf Clover,  are classics that I look forward to every night. Jagged needs to be in heavier rotation, and Let the Whiskey Take the Reigns should be played more. Iron Road is the Murry song that I miss live. We need to put that one in again. I suppose that I am partial to “Too Far” songs since they pretty much played it in full every set when I first toured with them.

9. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for or with the band. Anecdotes, please.

Well, this is crazy in terms of maritime safety, and just hilarious in terms my misfortune making for an amusing story. We had a day in Annapolis, MD with two events on the schedule. Event one was a radio show, which is broadcast from the second floor of a candy store. Event two was a concert on a 40 foot harbor cruise boat that had only one toilet for 300 people.

I was trying to cut down on my sugar intake, so I asked the candy store owner if she had anything low in sugar. She said yes and handed me a complimentary 16 oz bag of Sugar Free Gummy Bears. I ate the whole bag in 10 minutes and then took the band to the boat for the harbor cruise concert. Once the boat was good and full, my lower intestine made a sloshing noise and then I felt a sick pain and heard my stomach make a noise like… geglunk… It turns out that the fake gummy bears are indigestible, and they have an incredible laxative effect if you eat one ounce of them. I ate 16 ounces. The band was onstage, the boat was full, there was one tiny toilet on the far end of the boat. 300 drunk contest winners, 150 people in line for the toilet, and me holding down 16 times the normal dose of a super laxative disguised as gummy bears. The ship’s people got me a special pass-the-line privilege on the boat, so I survived without losing it. In terms of maritime safety, the boat had about 3 times more people on it than it should have. The vessel was listing to one side, because the audience all moved to one area of the boat to see the band.

10. So… what’s this I hear about a dalliance with Gwen Stefani?

Her brother and I were close friends in High School, she was two years younger than we were. We all lived walking distance to each other’s houses as well as Disneyland. My friend was Gwen’s first boyfriend, but he was not very nice to her at the time, and they broke up right before a Winter Formal dance.  It was a traditionally girl ask boy dance. Gwen asked me, I said yes. We double dated with her brother and his girlfriend. It was pretty much something out of Happy Days or American Graffiti. Eric Stefani had a 65 Plymouth Belvedere, I think we all drove in that.

11. People would be surprised to know that…

The mission of the Old 97s on tour (besides playing shows) is to feel at home, and comfortable. Parties and exotic outings are truly silly ideas.

12. Anything you miss about the early, lean years?

Uh, I miss Noah Polk, my old crew mate, and current Pizza Mogul of Austin Texas.—East Side Pies—I occasionally miss the college-bar feel that some of the old gigs had.

13. If you weren’t involved with Old 97′s, or the music biz, what would you be doing?

If I still needed money, then I would be working in TV doing editing. Some of my friends back home in LA do that, and it’s a great job. I am learning the software right now, just to have another skill.

14. You’ve recently picked up the Twitter baton (@broktune). How are you liking the Twitterverse so far? Where did that moniker come from?

Well, I have less than 10 followers, so I don’t really feel the power of Twitter yet. I am following Steve Martin, He is deeply snarky. Broktune is the secret code name for the guy who plays Mr Belvedere. Credit to Kevin Nealon SNL Tom Hanks episode.  (watch the skit here)

15. Regarding chicken and women, leg or breast man?

Chicken, breast, Women, leg.

16. I believe the answer to this next question reveals a lot about a man, so answer carefully. Samantha or Jeanie?

Hmmmmm, well Samantha could get me in there with Serena. So Samantha.

17. Favorite city(s) on tour?

Uh…. Austin, Boulder, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Charleston, New York, Chicago, Gruene Texas,…I just like towns with a lot of people who dig music, or are really unique in an architectural or geographic sense. When the weather goes cold, keep me away from the Great Lakes. I have terrible seasonal depression. Winters near the great lakes would make me hang myself.

18. You’re always so laid back, is there anything that just royally cheeses you off?

Um… Well my main word in trying to get people to work together is flexibility. If I am faced with a person who is inflexible and therefore unable to solve a problem, I get a bit miffed. I still handle it with courtesy and professionalism. Then, if the band feels that it requires further action, we file a complaint with the booking agent, and then the doo doo hits the fan, long after we have left the city.

19. You recently met musical legend Chuck Berry in Missouri. How cool was that? Who are your musical idols? Anyone in particular you’d give your first born to meet? 

Well Chuck was incredible, because on the surface he is a sweet old man who I wished could be my grandfather. But if you shake his hand and think about Johnny B Good, or any of his hits, it is a religious experience.

I would love to meet Bowie. I would only want to meet him if we could chat for 10 minutes. The handshake, and walk away routine means nothing to me. My idols were pretty cliché rock icons. Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger, David Bowie. My bar is set really high for rock idols.

20. What do you do in your down time between touring?

I cook for my family, take care of the house, the cars the pets. Fix whatever broke while I was on tour. Try to make a romantic getaway plan with my wife. We live on an island east of Savannah GA. We sometimes do weekend trips to the beach in Florida. I actually do road trips in my spare time. Sitting still makes me kind of crazy.

21. Earlier this month, I was backstage at the Tin Angel in Philly. All four walls and the ceiling were covered with artists’ signatures and drawings. I have one question: why so many penises? 

Well, at that level of touring the guys are usually broke, bored to death, and handling their own penises so much, that their hand is naturally inclined to draw a penis as soon as they get a Sharpie between their fingers.

22. Is there an actual dressing room that isn’t crappy?

Well, venues come in two categories. Those to which, I would bring my mother. And those with penises on the dressing room walls. Category one usually requires 1,200 capacity and rather expensive tickets. The extra money goes to keeping the building nice. We just played a club this month that has not painted its dressing room, or vacuumed the carpet since before 1990. I tagged the wall in 1990 and it is still there, and it was a dump in 1990. So it is safe to guess that this room has been neglected since the 80’s.

23. Is there a favorite restaurant/diner you guys never miss while touring?

Well, we all have our go to places that we know from the trip before. I will sadly guarantee that we will have breakfast at Cracker Barrel on a travel day for every tour. So while it is corporate, and a bit cheesy, we never miss a Cracker Barrel.

24. Best thing you ever bought, received or stole.

I bought an Ibanez Paul Stanley Iceman at a pawn shop in Australia for 200 bucks 20 years ago. That was probably the greatest shopping experience of my life.

25. And finally, Dude… the McRib is STILL around. Are you psyched?

Yes, but the words… “for a limited time only” really make me insecure. When will they give McRib full time status?

Thanks again Mike for taking the time to answer these queries. I think I speak for every one of us when I say we’re all glad you and your innards survived the Annapolis harbor cruise.

There you have it. A little more insight into the coolest man behind the band. Be sure to stop by and say hello next time you’re at a show.

I recently stumbled upon an interview and in-store performance the 97′s did back in July 2008 during their Blame It On Gravity tour.

Rhett and Philip sat down to chat with Joel Black of Amoeba.com before taking the tiny store stage in Hollywood to perform their nine song set.

Both the interview and performance are here. Enjoy this blast from the past.

That year I had the great pleasure to see them perform under the stars at a thank-you show for WYEP in June on a warm Pittsburgh summer evening and then again in a small club in October. The legendary Charlie Louvin was the opener. Needless to say, both shows were phenomenal.

So where did you see the guys back in 2008?

Enjoy!

http://launch.vidaroo.com/12945

And while your at it, you might want to devise some plans to catch our favorite foursome on their mini-tour in May.

Jagged

The Other Shoe

Four-Leaf Clover

Stoned (featuring The O’s)

State of Texas (featuring Caitlin Rose)

Also, here’s a ton of pix from @LoriHillhouse on Photobucket.