NICE THINGS PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT:
“THE HOURS ARE LONG, BUT THE PAY IS LOW”
“Over 300 pages, including six must read appendices, every page a treasure. Not just a must read, it’s the most engrossing book since Tamara Saviano's Without Getting Killed Or Caught: The Life and Music of Guy Clark (2016). Reading it brought back a lot of memories, and gives so many backstories to the hundred or so Bloodshot albums that you would have to pry from my cold, dead hands.”
—-NO DEPRESSION
“Hits that magic combination of total behind-the-scenes access, coming-of-age wonderment, relatable music lover energy and some really entertaining and descriptive language."—-Selena Ferguson, Chicago Sun-Times contributor
"..insightful, idealistic and intelligent, written with love and humour." Read the whole thing here—Louder Than War
“Like the best Bloodshot releases, it’s fiery, funny, intelligent, and fun” —OnMilwaukee
“…told with enthusiasm & nostalgia with an inspired delivery. The book is an interesting journey for those interested in music, the business, or the struggling artists who had determination & guts to believe in what they were doing & a thrift store entrepreneur like Rob Miller who shared their dreams & tried to make it happen for them. It’s a bunch of pages music lovers would delight in. Miller never holds back, & that’s what makes the entire effort delightful. It’s like he’s talking to you.” READ THE WHOLE THING HERE
—AMERICANA HIGHWAYS
“He recollects his trials and tribulations with quick-witted, Gonzo-like detail, coming back to a main tenet he shares in the very first pages of the book: “I love music.””
—-CHICAGO SUN-TIMES/WBEZ PUBLIC RADIO
“The result is a book that captures the love, passion, and drive that allowed Bloodshot to thrive over the course of nearly thirty years. For anyone who remotely cares about alt-country and Americana music, and all points in between, Miller’s book is a must-read.”
—-GLIDE MAGAZINE
“A hugely entertaining account of Chicago’s Bloodshot Records. An independent label that was “too rock for country, and too country for punk”…brilliantly written with a frenetic, almost gonzo flavour to it. He avoids a chronological blow-by-blow retelling, preferring to alight on instances, happenstances, highs and lows and the grim reality of organising recordings, tours and events, and he does so in a highly entertaining style.”
—-AMERICANA UK
(Since they are English, I’ll forgive their quaint misspellings)
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“A rollicking memoir…compulsively readable”
—-Booklist
Rob Miller paints a glorious, detailed landscape of how it feels to be transformed and elevated by music. He bestows heartfelt and moving reverence upon the grimy, unique scenes that make art, music, and community possible. I have never read better descriptions of what it meant to “search for” the music you needed, and how difficult, DIY and exciting that search can be. 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
“Rob Miller’s book 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
“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
“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. 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