The blues haunted me as a teenager. It hinted at the mysteries, of love and heartbreak, joy and sorrow. Because of that, I especially cherish the time I spent living in the south and getting to travel the Delta, furthering my understanding of where the blues came from. In April, I visited Louisiana State Penitentiary, which is bordered on three sides by the Mississippi River. I was there for the Angola rodeo, which was a trip unto itself. I will tell you about that soon. It is not a place you would want to try to escape from, bloodhounds on your trail.

On the plane flying down to NOLA, I couldn't wait to feel the earth under my feet. Today, we offer a tune replete with the moss of the delta in its DNA, “Watching The Sun Go Down” from Kevin Gordon. I got to watch Kevin play this week, as he came to Hill Country Live in NY for a performance on Thursday. I can tell you it is great to have a home for his music in NYC, with so much Delta influence, as will it should be for this Louisiana native now living in Nashville. Music Fog captured this version of “Watching The Sun Go Down” at Americana Fest in 2011.

-Jessie Scott

Wow and just like that, it is springtime! Cue the sun, daffodils are blooming, trees are budding and flowering. It is a time of renewal and rebirth. I always loved this time of year, it feels so gentle on one's skin. And doesn’t it feel good to shed the extra layers of clothing and not have to carry so much around. I have been telling anyone who will listen, the secret to city dwelling is wearing the right shoes; long walks, weather, and style all being important criteria. And voila, it is time for Chuck's again!

I have the perfect springtime anthem from Shinyribs, as they are delivering a brand new album tomorrow called Gulf Coast Museum. Of course you know Kevin Russell is from The Gourds, but since he is such a prolific writer, he began performing solo shows under the pseudonym Shinyribs around 2006. Kevin and the gang are a persuasive lot, including Gourds drummer, Keith Langford, bass Jeff Brown and keyboardist Winfield Cheek. We first brought you this video in 2010, having recorded Shinyribs during the 2010 Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s WHQ during SXSW that year. We bring you one from the Fog Bank for you today, “Bolshevik Sugarcane.”

-Jessie Scott

I call New York City a contact sport. Most people who don’t live here think it is an unfriendly, foreboding place. Really nothing could be further from the truth. There is the burgeoning realization here that we are all in it together. Saturday night there was a gaggle of club kids on my subway car, well dressed with the least possible amount of clothing on. Snap judgments aside, upon talking to them, I found out that they were actors, and coming home for seeing a show on Broadway. They were cultured, multiracial, educated, and full of joy. People watching reigns supreme here. Not to mention, the chasing of dreams is a high art form in this city.

Over The Rhine is dream chasing, too, as they want to record two albums this year. They are doing a house concert at their farm on May 26th to raise money for the project. We love self-funded, self-propelled projects. It keeps the vision focused. Over The Rhine has been passionately following their own path for over two decades now. This is music infused with milk and honey. Music Fog caught up with Over The Rhine during Americana Fest 2010, when The Long Surrender, was soon to be released. Here are multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Karin Bergquist, AKA OTR, with “Only God Can Save Us Now.”

-Jessie Scott

Wowie zowie, Music Fog is about to hit 15 million views on our YouTube Channel. We do over 500,000 views every month, as people tell people and virally spread the word. We love the role of curator, providing an opportunity to reach Roots Music lovers worldwide. There are a couple of things you need to know. We all have fulltime jobs outside of Music Fog, because it has never sustained us financially. So requests for us to show up in different cities to video your band are unlikely to happen. We are an enigma. We don’t live in Texas or Nashville; we don’t even live in the same city as each other. So to get us all together for an event requires some planning and some cash, for that matter. We were self-funded while we could do that with our XM severance pay, but that is long gone. We hope that we can find funding for the Americana Music Association Conference and Festival in September, but I ain’t holding my breath. Sponsorships are hard to find, and most of the artists we would want to film don’t have budgets for these kinds of things, as they are mostly just scraping by themselves. That said, maybe a coalition of the willing could be formed. BTW, we won’t do another Kickstarter campaign to get it done.

The video today is from Robert Ellis, recorded in Nashville during Americana Fest 2011. “Friends Like Those” has a particularly poignant message, especially as we lead such mobile lives these days. Thankfully there are ways to stay in touch that make it easier to bridge the miles, but there is nothing that can compare to being together. Big news from Robert’s camp is that he is working on the follow up to the 2011 Photographs album, where you will find this song. He is steeped in the old school tradition, especially when he is solo, but you owe it to yourself to see him with his band, as it becomes an altogether different vibe. Great musicianship, great songs, great voice. Here is Robert Ellis with the Music Fog video of “Friends Like Those.”

-Jessie Scott

It is time for SXSW, the annual rite of passage into Spring, and I do hope you turned your clocks ahead on Sunday like you were supposed to. Thank goodness for computers and smart phones, cause now they do it for you.

But seriously, SXSW won't be the same for me as it is when the rest of the Music Fog crew is in attendance. I arrived Sunday, and am doing two official showcases at The Saxon Pub for Hill Country Live in NY and DC, which is my new job. As of October, I am director of the music program for Hill Country Barbecue Market. This will be HCL's third year of official SXSW showcases (badges and wristbands needed for admission.) I am also putting on a day of music at Threadgill's WHQ on Friday for KDRPlive.org. you can listen to the Saxon shows and the Threadgill's daytime show on KDRP.Alas it won't be the same without the pictures, and the Music Fog crew…and our yearly piñata!.

Today's video was filmed at SXSW last year. One of the things that is ever cool are the special events at SX, and last year that included the magic of The Hobart Brothers with Lil Sis Hobart. They are JonDee Graham, Freedy Johnston and Susan Cowsill, in case you don't know, and they kicked their heels up upon the release of their album At Least We Have Each Other last year. From that, we have the Music Fog recording of “Why I Don’t Hunt,” from last year’s Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s during SXSW music week.

-Jessie Scott

Long story short, I knew Aaron Beavers from the band Shurman back when he lived in LA, and as the fates would have it, we both wound up moving to Austin. His is a tale that mirrors the twists and turns of the state of the record biz. Label deal, then not, bad management that set him back for a year to regroup. Then a new indie oriented mindset, and a new album, accompanied by a major touring schedule. That is how you do it these days, when you do it for the love of music. I am proud of him for his perseverance, his dedication to family and music and path.

The latest album is called Inspiration, hatched when backs were up against the wall, and it was released almost exactly a year ago. I think there is always this feeling of not quite finished business when one leaves to move somewhere else, illuminated by the song "Hometown Judgement Day," from the Inspiration album, as captured by the Music Fog crew in March 2012 during the Spring Marathon at Threadgills.

-Jessie Scott

I would be happy bouncing between New York and Texas season to season. I am not the only one; The Masterson's do it, as does Suzanna Choffel. I hear she is working on new material, and has put a band together. All this of course, after her appearances on NBC's The Voice at the end of the year. I think she made the best possible use of shows like that, being on long enough to make an impact and show folks what she can do, without getting sucked into the big machine and losing credibility.  Music Fog captured her solo, powerful, last year at SXSW at Threadgill's WHQ in Austin. Here is "Hold Of The Night" from that session.

-Jessie Scott

Hope you had a spectacular holiday. Me, I am sitting in the airport in NOLA, wondering if I will make it all the way back to NYC because of the storms and the attendant airport delays. I feel so sorry for the folks impacted by the tornado breakout in the South, tragic, especially on Christmas Day.

Today, we have something filmed at the Americana Music Fest 2011, from the amazing Elephant Revival. BTW, they have a brand new EP out. The song we bring you is the Music Fog recording of "Ancient Sea." Timeless music, perfect for the days after, and the days to come.

-Jessie Scott

We have an early Christmas present for you today from a band of two that recently announced a hiatus from each other (they called it irreconcilable differences, but they are not married – at least to each other.) Joy Williams and John Paul White, better known as The Civil Wars, catapulted into the Americana world with meteoric trajectory. They won our hearts at the Americana Honors and Awards, and are nominated for a Grammy this year with Taylor Swift, who has been a fan of theirs since almost the beginning of their union. The Civil Wars: VH1 Unplugged will come out on January 15, 2013, and you will only find it on iTunes.

Here's hoping they reunite to tour behind it, as they create a communication on stage that is utterly captivating. Here is a taste, from 2011, when they played for the Music Fog cameras at Threadgill's WHQ during SXSW. The song is “From This Valley,” which can be found on the Mercyland, Hymns For The Rest Of Us album, which came out earlier this year.

-Jessie Scott

Got one of them today, from the 2011 MusicFest at Steamboat, the father and son collaboration of Kevin Welch and Dustin Welch. Of course Dustin has been a busy boy these days, he does workshops with Wounded Warriors to bring music creation to their lives. Check out Voicesofagratefulnation.org  or soldiersongs.org for more information on this worthy project. Dustin is also readying his new album, Tijuana Bible, for late February release. He slid me a copy before I left Austin, and I can’t wait for you to hear it. Kevin is on tour in Canada now, and continues his songwriter workshops in Wimberley, TX. A beautiful thing indeed.

Speaking of beauty…here is the Music Fog recording of “Things I Cannot Change,” from Dustin’s forthcoming album!

-Jessie Scott

So the first round of boxes are almost all unpacked and put away.  As I look out on the river out from my new apartment, it feels like I am finally settling in. It is good that it is just in time for the holiday. Come the new year, a whole new crop of CDs will be released, among them Max Gomez’s New West debut Rule The World. He is an amazing songwriter, who has recently toured with John Hiatt and Patty Griffin. As is sometimes their way, the record label has released a tune from the forthcoming album to radio, ahead of the date it will be on the street in January. We caught up with Max during the Music Fog Spring Marathon at Threadgill’s back in March in Austin, TX. Here is the Music Fog recording of the lead track, “Run From You.”

-Jessie Scott

We welcome the return of Josh Crutchmer (reach him on Twitter @jcrutchmer) as guest columnist. As today, the first album of original material hits the street from Cody Canada and The Departed. The album is called Adventus, and it rocks hard. Our video is from March during SXSW 2012, a tune so new at the time that the working title is not ultimately what the song came to be called. Cody told us "Your Brother And You" but on the new album you will find it as "250,000 Things." From the Fog Bank, here is the Music Fog version, and here is Josh with an "anti-review" of the album.

-Jessie Scott

______________________

By Josh Crutchmer

There are exactly eight possible ways I could write a review of Adventus, the second album — and first original work — released by The Departed. 

Look it up in the online encyclopedia: Turns out, only eight types of review exist in all of music. There are good ones: “It’s groundbreaking,” “This album rocks.” There are bad ones: The truly angry, “Don’t waste your money,” or the less-biting “Not what you’d expect from this band.” Don’t forget the two that try to out-artist the artist: “Departed vocalist Cody Canada has something to say, and he hopes you listen,” or “Cody Canada had no idea what to expect when he walked into the studio.”

My personal favorite two are the ones that just string words along in a row and hope they make sense: “This album is a bit rough around the edges but with a soulful touch.” and “It’s hard to pin this music down, but I tell you what, it’s definitely not Cross Canadian Ragweed.”

After that, you’re out of review possibilities. Turn the page and read the News of the Strange feature or dollar movie listings. 

There’s nothing wrong with this, it should be said. 99-plus percent of all albums in existence can be molded into one of those reviews. They’re essential to both the music business and the human need to put art into perspective.

Thus, in the midst of a post-show discussion with Departed members and well-wishing fans in Des Moines last month, I said out loud (for some reason) that I didn’t think I could review Adventus, and that I didn’t think I could take any review I saw seriously.

From here on my perch in New Jersey, the destruction that Sandy left behind is surreal. We still have no power at the house, so I sleep with many layers on, plus with my hooded jacket. I am thankful that it wasn't worse in my neighborhood. Some fared better, and tragically, some lost everything. I do have power at work, so it is possible to get some things done. It is remarkable how important having a charge for your phone is. The power strip has become king. Last night I waited on a gas line for an hour, only to have them run out before I got there. I can't wait til I can do the laundry again!

So I have the blues, along with all the other folks in the huge swath that Sandy cut. As life slowly returns to normal, I figured it would be soothing to hear a bluesy number today from Lake Street Dive doing the ultimate cold shoulder tune, “Got Me Fooled.” The band entered the studio mid-month in Maine to record their next album. They are as off the grid as you can get while they explore the creative process, and we can’t wait to hear what they lay down. We bring you a track from their self-titled album, done up Music Fog style from our Fall Marathon last year during Americana Fest in Nashville at Marathon Recorders.

Jessie Scott

So today is Halloween, huh? I hope the kids don’t trick or treat tonight in my still darkened neighborhood, not that I want to eat all the candy by myself! For our first post-Sandy stab at a return to normalcy, here is Corb Lund with a Halloween treat, from his brilliant new album Cabin Fever. “Dig Gravedigger Dig.”

-Jessie Scott

I keep hearing the strains in my head of a classic radio tune from way back when; “Sandy, 4th of July, Asbury Park.” It would be a cruel irony indeed if Sandy makes landfall on the Jersey shore. This storm is so huge though, that it will bring misery to many - wind and flood damage, disruption to normal life. Heck, it is not every day they shut down the NYC transit system. So if you are in the affected area, Godspeed through it all. May you and yours stay safe. Here is an offering from David Jacobs-Strain, “Ocean Or A Teardrop,” originally found on his 2004 album. Here is the Music Fog recording, filmed during Americana Fest 2010.

-Jessie Scott