Brian Wright "Loaded Gun"

I can’t believe how busy the last few weeks have been. From the sleep deprived Americana Festival, to coming home and packing up my house for the move, to the three day haul from Austin to NYC. I am ready for a nap! Even for someone who has moved as much as I have, the whole thing, the enormity of it, never lessens. When the boxes were being packed, it felt like they would not ever come back together. 126 pieces, between furniture, clothing, knick knacks, books, music, and so on. It is really very confusing. I have no idea how long it will take to unpack when the truck makes its way to the big city. And yet, I yearn for a simple life, a life with less possessions. Minimalist, downsized. Achievable? I don’t know.

I have a couple of guns that have been in the family for a long time. For my last two moves, they have been commented on by the crews who have moved me in and out. I don’t, however, keep them loaded. Brian Wright does, though, well...at least in this song. I saw him briefly during Americana Fest in Nashville a couple of weeks ago. No, he didn’t have a gun with him, at least not that I could see. He performed this song for the Music Fog cameras during out Spring Music Fog Marathon in March at Threadgill’s WHQ in Austin in 2011. Wow, I am not in Austin anymore. That is going to take a minute or two to settle in to my head! And of course Brian had earlier made the move from Waco to LA, a long haul in itself. Once again, thanks to Abbey and Robbyn for making this road trip with me. Thanks to Shilah and Dee and Hag, and the folks who came to the parties to say ‘so long’ for now. I have taken so many road trips lately, that it hasn’t yet crystalized that I am actually in a new place. Thanks and love to all who gave comfort and aid. I will report on this new chapter as it unfolds. Meantime, here is Brian, who is recording a new album and creating another chapter himself!

-Jessie Scott

The Agnostic Phibes Rhythm & Blood Conspiracy "Neckin' Party"

I am waxing nostalgic as I write this. It is my last night in the East Austin shotgun shack that has been my home for the last three years. I came to Austin to heal my heart from major losses; my husband Robert passing in 2007, my XM job ending in 2008, my son striking out on his own to his first apartment in 2009. I found an incredible community here, banded together by a love of music and a communal sense of rugged individualism. It has been wonderful on so many levels. I think you have to throw yourself into the stream, to resonate vibration in the universe, and if you do that, the path will unfold. I am letting life take me on the next journey, to the next chapter, though I take with me all that has come before.

I have been getting lots of questions if the things I do are continuing. I say resoundingly YES! I am staying on the air at KDRP, though I will be doing my show from NYC through the magic of technology. The School Night Sessions at Threadgill's will continue on Sundays and Tuesdays for October, then go to primarily Sunday nights with the occasional midweek special thereafter. And Music Fog isn't going anywhere either, we promise to continue as a trusted Americana music discovery site. Next week, I set out for New York. There will be updates along the way, as Abbey Road from Luckenbach is road tripping with me.

Today's taste is a weird little concept video, shot through the peep hole of a door featuring The Agnostic Phibes Rhythm & Blood Conspiracy. It is a meeting of the minds, a Canadian delta-punk-blues-alt-country-garage-rock quartet, with members of Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir and Forbidden Dimension. The video is the debut, "Neckin' Party," from their critically acclaimed CD Campfire Tales. It was filmed and produced by the Conspiracy's drummer Jay Woolley and features a special cameo appearance by Canadian cult
movie hero Old Man Mask. Behold the weirdness!

-Jessie Scott

Scrapomatic "I Want The Truth"

I am packing. This is my last weekend in Austin for a while, as I hit the road  to make the move to New York. A great job awaits, I have been named the Director of Hill Country Live. It is honest to goodness Texas barbecue with two locations, in New York City and Washington, DC. Hill Country marries authentic and succulent Texas barbecue with great American Roots Music, and that makes for an incredibly simpatico evening out. I am northward bound to a city that glitters when the sun goes down.

I want to turn you on to an album with a decidedly big city title; I’m A Stranger and I Love The Night, from the band Scrapomatic, which came out in August. The band is led by Mike Mattison, who also sings and writes songs for the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Paul Olsen, an in-demand New York musical director. Scrapomatic brings an amalgam of roots, r&b, folk and soul music. Mike picked up a Grammy in 2009 as the lead singer for The Derek Trucks Band for Already Free.  In 2010, he joined the newly formed Tedeschi Trucks Band as a backing vocalist and songwriter and won another Grammy for Revelator.

Today’s tune is “I Want The Truth,” from the Jammin At Hippie Jack’s Festival. Here is the sweet voice of Mike Mattison and Scrapomatic.

-Jessie Scott