About the Book
The hard-won pleasures of putting heart over brains, conviction over caution, and madness over market share"The music business is not a meritocracy: it is a crapshoot taking place in a septic tank balanced on the prow of the Titanic, a venal snake pit where innovation, creativity, and honest business practices are actively discouraged." Rob Miller arrived in Chicago wanting to escape the music industry. In short order, he co-founded a trailblazing record label revered for its artist-first approach and punk take on country, roots, and so much else. Miller's gonzo memoir follows a music fan's odyssey through a singular account of Bloodshot Records, the Chicago scene, and thirty years as part of a community sustaining independent artists and businesses. Hilarious and hundred-proof, The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low delivers a warm-hearted yet clear-eyed account of loving and living music on the edge, in the trenches, and without apologies.
About the Author :
Rob Miller is the cofounder and former co-owner of Bloodshot Records.
Review :
“Lingering Inland explores the richness and diversity of the Midwest as no other book has managed to do, through the celebration of the region’s many and divers writers and the places they’ve been. What a marvel of landmarks, these birthplaces, museums, houses, burial sites, and roadside attractions! What a tapestry of American prairies, rivers, marshes, caves, deserts, dumps, and empty lots! These are the places that mattered to America’s fictionists, poets, playwrights, abolitionist newspapermen, and speech writers, and they matter to the authors of these remarkably intimate essays. In these pages, we explore the edges of the Midwest, where it rubs up against the south (in Twain’s Hannibal, MO) and the west (in L’Amour’s North Dakota), and to the north (via the Ambassador bridge to Canada). The essays stand as a magnificent protest against the erasure of monuments and voices, continually under threat by what passes for progress. Read this book to find out about the past and present of this vast and remarkable region, its natural features, its architecture (its cornbelt cubes, shacks, cabins, camps, and ruins), and, of course, its literature. I have never been so enthralled by my own part of the world, my Midwest.” - Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of The Waters: A Novel
“This is an absolutely charming book, utterly original and appealing in all ways. Whether you are from the Midwest or not, you will find yourself drawn to these very personal and illuminating profiles of writers in their Midwestern home places—it’s a book to give to everyone you love in the entire region and elsewhere. As a child, my class was bussed up to Mark Twain’s home in Hannibal and to poet Eugene Field’s home in south St. Louis. I recall weeping both times, feeling stirred to my roots by tales of children who departed and left their toys behind or daughters who died in a bathtub, with grieving fathers who could also continue being humorists. To feel writers as our neighbors on all sides, honoring love and loss, was a gift to a young reader. This book is a huge gift to everyone, and I hope the entire Midwest rejoices.” - Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Fuel: Poems
“The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low delivers a gripping insider’s account of a truly special moment in music and culture. Thanks, Rob, for living to tell the tale” - Rhett Miller, Old 97’s
“Do you possess that perfect combination of idealism and insanity that it takes to evade the minefields evergreen to independent labels - dyspeptic musicians, low budgets, chronic overwork, and blasÉ audiences? The foolhardy soul contemplating whether indie label life is for them would be wise to pick up Rob Miller’s The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low, detailing the heady highs and subterranean lows of co-owning Chicago’s Bloodshot Records for 25 years. The through line is Miller’s singular devotion to discovering and propagating great music, learning the hard way that the only way to do it, is to do it.” - Lisa Fancher, founder and owner of Frontier Records
“Rob Miller’s pseudo-bio of his years with Bloodshot Records covers much musical ground that no foot has yet set upon. He does it with both wisdom and positive enthusiasm for the real and authentic music he played a guiding role in launching. A real treat to read!” - Peter Greenberg, Barrence Whitfield and the Savages
“I don’t think anyone could have done a truer job of describing the times we all had in the Chicago music scene as Rob does here. He is gifted with such a sincere and un-jaded (no matter how hard he pretends. . .) appreciation of what music and community can do and where it can take you. He has never forced the wide-eyed music fan inside him to ‘grow up.’ Thank goodness!” - Neko Case, musician, author, and producer
“A gritty, authentic stroll through Chicago’s indie music scene told through the eyes of a fan who loved the music so much he built his life on it. For anyone who wants a glimpse into the scene, the time, the music, or Chicago itself, this book is written for you.” - Kenn Goodman, CEO and cofounder of Pravda Records “I very much enjoyed reading this book. The tone was entertaining, and I loved the storyline. The writing is emphatic, authentic, and brainy. Miller’s story is one of an outsider - someone who was really struggling, and then slowly becomes enlightened to a whole world that was already there to accept them.” - Rose Marshack, author of Play Like a Man: My Life in Poster Children
“Wow, what a great read/ride. I found Rob Miller’s journey through the music industry fascinating and fun, and when not giggling I was laughing out loud. While obvious in hindsight, the marriage of punk and country was anything but. Yet Miller and his cohorts identified with the punk attitude coursing through many of their favorite bands in Chicago’s underground country scene and thought they could help introduce their music to a wider audience. With instinctual grassroots marketing and a commitment to treat their bands fairly, they outmaneuvered the corporate vultures circling overhead. The musical husbandry of Bloodshot Records produced many musical masterpieces over the next twenty-five years. Bloodshot made the world a better place, and Miller was at the center of it all.” - Jeff Nelson, Minor Threat and cofounder of Dischord Records
“Back in the day, I used to own a hot dog stand. More importantly, I used to trade hot dogs for Bloodshot CDs. I easily won those deals. Being introduced to Bloodshot’s stable of artists was an incredible gift - it was like having the coolest record store delivering its stock direct to my hands every month.” - Doug Sohn, former owner of Hot Doug’s
“A vibrant, informative, and often hilarious look at a crucial—if undervalued—slice of the music industry. Rob Miller’s book also serves as a moving coming of age story and a richly detailed description of life in Chicago during the 1990s, a time of upstart artistic explosions and the last vestiges of venerable institutions. The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low stands above the slew of books by bigger-name record company founders. While those entrepreneurs seem driven by egos and cash flows, Miller sharply focuses on what the music is all about.” - Aaron Cohen, author of Move on Up: Chicago Soul Music and Black Cultural Power
“I’ve always been so proud to be involved with the Bloodshot Records movement and to witness the impact that Rob Miller has had on the arts community in Chicago and ultimately the world. Everyone who shares his love for the moment and his heart first perspective will delight in this musical journey!” - Mike Miller, owner of Delilah’s
