10/24/02-Rhett Miller's solo debut The Instigator is in stores now. All of you should immediately call your local radio stations and request the first single Come Around (download it here). If you've been to eville dot net before, then you've probably seen our Old 97s page. If not, then you should check it out when you get done poking around here. Look at the pictures, let me show off my autographs, and let me know what you think. -Seven

11/8/02-I went to the Rhett show last night at the Fabulous Satellite Lounge in Houston. HooOoOoOoo Boy, what a rock show. There was the perfect mix of acoustic vs. electric, solo stuff vs. Old 97s stuff. Highlights of the evening were The El, Jagged, Big Brown Eyes, Terrible Vision, Question, Indefinitely, Hover, and World Inside the World. The show felt like a 97s show but better: it came complete with the comforts of Rhett's very-frequent broken guitar strings (am I the only one who notices this and thinks it neat?), but it didn't have quite as many of the catty female audience members elbowing one another to get in front of me. After the show, I showed Rhett & his wife Erica my tattoo. I wasn't sure what kind of reaction it would get, but he thought it was awesome. (Sorry to disappoint all of Rhett's female suitors who desperately want to hate Ms.Erica, but she was really nice.) I got some stuff signed, took pictures, and floated home on a cloud of Instigatey Goodness. Check out the Pictures page and the Etc page for updated information and scans.

Here's what Elektra Records has to say about Rhett:
For nearly ten years, Rhett Miller was the charismatic frontman and main songwriter for acclaimed Dallas quartet Old 97's. Old 97's made their initial impact as one of the smartest, highest-energy, hardest rocking bands of the rock/country scene. However, they quickly left that label behind, with records and concerts that demonstrated a pop sensibility, a rock power and a lyrical depth that couldn't be contained by the genre's narrow confines. Over the course of their three Elektra albums, Old 97's scored hits at college, modern rock and adult alternative with "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)," "Nineteen" and "Timebomb." They toured relentlessly as headliners and in support of bands like Wilco and Third Eye Blind, and Details magazine called them "one of the most ferocious and inspiring live bands in the US." They also appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and more. Acclaim for the band appeared in the pages of Rolling Stone, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Alternative Press, and many, many others.

Now Rhett Miller is releasing his first solo album, The Instigator. The album, recorded in Los Angeles with pop guru Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Macy Gray, Aimee Mann), captures Rhett's tremendous growth as a songwriter and performer.

As Rhett recently told Rolling Stone, "Obviously when a singer-songwriter frontman goes and makes a solo record, there's the immediate preconception that he's gone soft, especially if he's recently moved to L.A. And then there's also the question of why would he go and make a solo record to begin with. So what we're talking about is sort of a two-prong focus where half the songs illustrate why I needed to make a solo record, songs I've written that wouldn't work within Old 97's. And then the other half of the songs, will be total balls-out rock & roll, just to prove the point that a) rock isn't dead, boring and stupid and moot and b) I'm not turning into some cheeseball lounge singer because I split off with my band for a record."