Also in the A Musician's Life series
A Musician's Life: Marcia Ball
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
Austin based musician Marcia Ball is best known for her infectious brand of Louisiana Swamp rock and two-fisted piano playing. And even though she comes from a musical ...
A Musician's Life: Graham Parker
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
Veteran songwriter Graham Parker joins Tracey Tanenbaum on this edition of "A Musician's Life". Early in his career, critics in his native Britain tagged Parker "an angry ...
A Musician's Life: Exene Cervenka
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
As one of the leaders of the seminal LA band X, Exene Cervenka is punk rock royalty. On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Exene takes us through her life. She also reveals ...
A Musician's Life: Wendell Holmes (of the Holmes Brothers)
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
The Holmes Brothers have been entertaining audiences with their uplifting blend of gospel, blues and R&B for three decades. Their latest album "Feed my Soul" was inspired by ...
A Musician's Life: Shelby Lynne
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Shelby Lynne. In 2001 she won a Grammy for best new artist. At the time, Lynne had about a half dozen ...
A Musician's Life: Gordon Gano (of Violent Femmes fame)
(00:05:01)
From: WXPN
The son of a minister, Gordon Gano hardly seemed like an obvious candidate to front the 1980's post-punk band, The Violent Femmes. But his smart lyrics and manic energy spoke ...
A Musician's Life: The Swell Season
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova of The Swell Season. Most people will remember the pair from the 2007 ...
A Musician's Life: Mike Gordon of Phish
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
When Phish formed in the early '80's they played to audiences in their college town of Burlington, Vermont. By the mid 1990's, they were performing in amphitheaters to sold ...
A Musician's Life: Josh Ritter
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
In 2006 Paste magazine named Josh Ritter one of the top 100 living songwriters. But shortly after completing his 2008 album, "Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter", the ...
A Musician's Life: Jace Everett
(00:05:00)
From: WXPN
You may not know his name but if you're a fan of HBO's "True Blood" you know Jace Everett's baritone. Each week Jace's song "Bad Things" accompanies the program's opening ...
Piece Description
Rhett Miller made his first record when he was still in highschool. But his music didn't catch on until he became frontman for the Old 97's in the early 1990's. The band's mix of pop and country made for an appealing blend. Rhett Miller's literary songwriting added another dimension to the group's music. In 2002 Rhett launched a solo career with his major label recording, "The Instigator". He continues to record with his band. He has just released another solo album. This one is called "Rhett Miller". It's a sad record. But Miller balances the melancholy with bouncy melodies.
Broadcast History
This segment will air 5 times on WXPN-FM in Philadelphia week of July 5, 2009. It went up as a podcast on NPR Monday June 29, 2009
Intro and Outro
INTRO:On this edition of A Musician's Life WXPN's Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller
OUTRO:That was Tracey Tanenbaum with Rhett Miller. A Musician's Life is produced at WXPN-FM in Philadelphia.