Fifteen years ago this month, the Old 97's released their major label debut, Too Far to Care. Last week, frontman Rhett Miller released his latest solo record, The Dreamer. Darryl Smyers and Eric Grubbs sat down and talked about the legacy of Too Far to Care, and whether or not it's a bigger deal than anything Miller has done as a solo artist. Whether or not you agree with these codgers, Rhett Miller plays a free show at Good Records tonight at 6 p.m.
Eric Grubbs: Audra asked me about what would people care more about, that it's been 15 years since Too Far to Care came out or Rhett's new solo record. I think the legacy of Too Far to Care is bigger than any solo record that he's put out. Your thoughts, hater? Darryl Smyers: I'm not the hater! I've known both Rhett and Murry [Hammond] too long, Murry about five to ten years longer than Rhett. It depends how good this solo record will be. If it follows in the footsteps of The Instigator and The Believer, then no one will care. If it goes back to some of the things he's been writing for the last few Old 97's records, then people have seemed to embrace that, even after Too Far to Care, the band distanced themselves from the kind of alt-country they're magically back playing these days.