Wheels Off with Rhett Miller

Latest Episodes:

Queen Esther Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

Musician, songwriter, actor and playwright Queen Esther joins Rhett from her home in Harlem to talk about her extraordinary multi-hyphenate career, which currently includes two new albums (to be released this year), and a play, which will culminate in an off-Broadway run. There’s no shortage of wisdom and inspiration in this conversation, as Queen Esther discusses the importance of following the creative spirit, what it means to plug into one’s own uniqueness, and why imposter syndrome is off the table.

Queen Esther’s most recent work includes a performance with her western swing collective The Black Rose of Texas at Lincoln Center’s 2022 Summer for the City. Her critically acclaimed 2021 Black Americana album Gild The Black Lily is the fourth release on her imprint EL Recordings – and her 2018 TED Talk about the true origins of country and bluegrass continues to reverberate throughout the Americana community. Coming in 2023: Rona, an EP of rangy alt-Americana songs written in Harlem during the early months of the pandemic lockdown and Things Are Looking Up, a jazz album of original songs and Lady Day's lost classics.

Queen Esther website

Queen Esther on IG @thisisqueenesther

Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Rhett Miller website

Wheels Off is brought to you by Osiris Media. Hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Co-produced by Kirsten Cluthe in partnership with Nick Ruffini (Revoice Media). Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils and Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more. Find Rhett's podcast #WheelsOff and other music-powered shows on @Osirispod

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Joe Reyes Mar 21, 2023

Show notes

Grammy winning producer, songwriter, and guitarist Joe Reyes joins Rhett from San Antonio to talk about his impressive career, which includes a Latin Grammy award nomination and a Grammy award win. Reyes discusses the upcoming Buttercup release, explains why he decided to get a degree despite his career in music, and shares some of the wisdom that he imparts to his music students.

Joe Reyes has recorded with Buttercup, Mitch Webb and The Swindles, Marcus Rubio, Cartographers and The Cheats. He was nominated for a Latin Grammy for his work with Lara & Reyes and won a Grammy award for his work with Freddy Fender. He currently performs as a solo artist and with Buttercup, Mitch Webb, Salim Nourallah, Hilary York and Patricia Vonne.

Joe Reyes on IG @joereyesmusic

Joe Reyes website: http://joereyes.com/

Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Website: Rhettmiller.com

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more. Find Rhett's podcast #WheelsOff and other music-powered shows on @Osirispod

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Owen King Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

Owen King is the author of Double Feature, and We’re All in This Together: A Novella and Stories. He is the coauthor of Sleeping Beauties and Intro to Alien Invasion and the coeditor of Who Can Save Us Now? Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories.

Owen joins Rhett to talk about how he built the world that The Curator takes place in and what it means to capture the “sound” of a novel. The two discuss the value of early reader feedback, recognizing work-life balance, and Owen shares a story about the time when he had to dig the galleys for his first book out of a snowstorm, along with the Fedex guy who was delivering them.

His new novel, The Curator, is out today and available here

Owen King website

Owen on IG @owenkingauthor

Rhett on IG: @rhettmiller

Website: Rhettmiller.com

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Cassandra Lewis Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

Singer-songwriter Cassandra Lewis performed her first real show at a retirement home when she was eight years old. She joins Rhett to talk about that experience and what’s happened in between, the new album she’s working on, and the co-songwriting scene that she’s become part of since moving to Nashville. The two discuss the trope of needing to suffer in order to be creative, and Cassandra explains what she means when she says she’s a ‘trash artist’.

Cassandra Lewis is a cosmic blend of classic country, Americana and psychedelic soul. She’ll call you into her journey of self-discovery, addiction, love affairs, and a fever dream of in-betweens. Think Dolly Parton, Etta James, and Jeff Buckley at Woodstock 69’, then sprinkle it with something otherworldly. Her massive voice, real talk, and wild storyteller’s wit will leave you feeling raw and reeling in the dreamiest way.

Cassandra Lewis on IG: @cassandralewismusic

Cassandra Lewis website

Rhett on IG: @rhettmiller

Rhett Miller website

Go see a show! Rhett’s tour dates are here

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Sam Quartin Jan 17, 2023

Show notes

Sam Quartin is an actor, activist, and frontwoman for The Bobby Lees, which she founded after discovering her future bandmates at a music school in upstate New York. The two discuss her recent role in Candy Land, a film about the underground world of truck stop sex workers. Sam tells Rhett about the impact that Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way had on her life, shares her process for boosting self-confidence, and explains why she’s opted out of having a digital profile.

A band that proves it pays to think young, the Bobby Lees are a frantic garage punk act from Woodstock, New York, whose sound is fast, fresh, energetic, and filled with a snotty sense of fun. Boasting a revved-up attitude and a level of precision that matches the tempos without making them sound stiff, the Bobby Lees made a bracing debut on their 2018 album Beauty Pageant. They got tighter, speedier, and rowdier on 2020's Skin Suit, produced by Jon Spencer, and they developed a more polished but no less powerful approach for their third LP, 2022's Bellevue.

Rhett on IG: @rhettmiller

Website: Rhettmiller.com

Go see a show! Rhett’s tour dates are here

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Julia Cameron Jan 10, 2023

Show notes

Bestselling author Julia Cameron joins Rhett once again to talk about her new book Write for Life, in which she turns to one of the subjects closest to her heart: the art and practice of writing. This episode is full of wisdom, as Julia gives Rhett a peek into her own creative process and shares some of the best practices she’s developed over the last two decades. Julia and Rhett discuss how to manage your inner critic, what it means to be authentic, and why she is an advocate of writing by hand.

Hailed by the New York Times as “The Queen of Change,” JULIA CAMERON is credited with starting a movement in 1992 that has brought creativity into the mainstream conversation—in the arts, in business, and in everyday life. She is the best-selling author of more than forty books, fiction and nonfiction; a poet, songwriter, filmmaker and playwright. Commonly referred to as “The Godmother” or “High Priestess” of creativity, her tools are based in practice, not theory, and she considers herself “the floor sample of her own toolkit.” The Artist’s Way has been translated into forty languages and sold over five million copies to date.

Order Julia’s new book, Write For Life, here.

Julia Cameron website

Rhett on IG: @rhettmiller

Website: Rhettmiller.com

Go see a show! Rhett’s tour dates are here

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jeff Tweedy, Glen Philips, and more. Find Rhett's podcast #WheelsOff and other music-powered shows on @Osirispod

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Salim Nourallah Jan 03, 2023

Show notes

Salim Nourallah is a musician and award-winning producer who has worked with OLD97s and Marty Wilson-Piper of The Church. He’s also the co-founder of indie label Palo Santo Records, and this week he joins Rhett to talk about balancing his role as musician, producer, and businessman. The two discuss the new projects he’s working on, what it means to be successful, and why Salim believes it’s important to stay in touch with one’s inner child.

Learn more about Salim’s new album A Nuclear Winter here

Salim Nourallah website

Salim on IG: @salimnourallah

Rhett on IG: @rhettmiller

Website: Rhettmiller.com

Go see a show! Rhett’s tour dates are here

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Anthony D'Amato Dec 27, 2022

Show notes

“You're much more productive when you actually feel like getting out of bed for the day. And I just think that you don't have to be in a dark place to write a dark song. And realizing that has opened up a lot of opportunities for me to live a more healthy life.” - Anthony D’Amato

Singer Songwriter Anthony D’Amato joins Rhett on this episode to talk about going from publicity intern to client at Shore Fire Media, and what he learned by coming up on the business side of the music industry. Anthony shares the story of working on a St Vincent publicity campaign, explains why the idea of being a sellout has gone out the window, and the two discuss Fantastic Cat, his side project that is “something of a supergroup”.

Anthony D’Amato first rose to international attention with the ‘The Shipwreck From The Shore,’ his 2014 debut for New West Records. Inspired in part by time spent studying with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon, the album garnered rave reviews on both sides of the pond. Along the way, D’Amato toured extensively across the US and Europe, sharing bills with the likes of Ben Folds, Valerie June, Keb’ Mo’, The Felice Brothers, American Aquarium, and many more. Most recently, D’Amato headed west for his new album, At First There Was Nothing, marking his first first full-length release in six years.

LIsten to Anthony’s new album At First There Was Nothing here

Anthony on IG @anthonydamatomusic

Rhett on IG: @rhettmiller

Website: Rhettmiller.com

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Elizabeth Nelson Dec 20, 2022

Show notes

The Paranoid Style is a garage-punk-pop outfit built around singer songwriter Elizabeth Nelson. Elizabeth joins Rhett this week to talk about their new album, “For Executive Meeting”, as well as the many other creative projects she’s involved in, like an upcoming piece about Springsteen’s “Nebraska”. Elizabeth and Rhett discuss what it means to be a musician and a published music critic, the process she employs to get a multitude of things done, and why it’s important to take a compliment. Plus, she explains the origin of the unique name of her band.

Elizabeth Nelson is singer-songwriter for the Washington, DC–based garage-punk band the Paranoid Style, a civil servant in the field of education policy, and a regular contributor to The Ringer, Oxford American, The New York Times Magazine, and Pitchfork, among other publications. In 2020, Spin Magazine ranked the Paranoid Style the 27th best rock & roll band currently working, thereby adding 26 names to her renowned Enemies List.

Listen to For Executive Meeting

Paranoid Style on IG @paranoid_style

Rhett on IG: @rhettmiller

Website: Rhettmiller.com

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Glen Phillips Dec 13, 2022

Show notes

During his years as lead singer and main songwriter of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillips helped to create the band’s elegant folk/pop sound with honest, introspective lyrics that forged a close bond with their fans. He joins Rhett on this episode of Wheels Off for a deep dive into the inspiration behind his music and the playful approach he took in the making of his new solo record, There Is So Much Here. Glen shares stories of his life with Toad, discusses what it means to be creatively curious, and explains how the practice of community singing helps him realize a life of gratitude.

Get Glen’s new album here

Glen Phillips website

Glen on IG: @glenphillipsmusic

Rhett on IG: @rhettmiller

Website: Rhettmiller.com

Go see a show! Rhett’s tour dates are here

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