Randy Weeks "Sugar Lee"

The L.A. Times called him a "2009 Artist to Watch." He was already transitioning to Austin, and has been a welcome addition to the artist community for the last three years. Let me tell you about just one of the scenes that is alive and well here in ATX, there are many, you know...but this cadre of folks from SoCal includes Stonehoney, Ruby James, Danny B. Harvey, Shurman, Deadman, Jesse Dayton, The Mother Truckers, and the man we're featuring here today, Randy Weeks! There is a sharing of time on stage and off. This scene spins around my bosom buddy and fellow flaming redhead Shilah Morrow, and her Sin City Social Club. Mama Shi came here from L.A. three years ago, too. She is an inveterate scene builder, and there have been a host of other L.A. artists that have migrated to Austin in these last three years, also. Selfishly, I am happy to be able to watch Randy on stage in the multitude of clubs he visits around town.

We recorded Randy at Folk Alliance 2009, when he was besieged by laryngitis. We were delighted to have the opportunity for a second meeting on the bus, with a few of his friends, as we returned to Memphis for Folk Alliance 2010 this past February. "Sugar Lee" is an as yet unreleased tune. You can watch it here, and watch Randy in person as he cruises the Mid West this summer.

- Jessie Scott

Nudie and the Turks "You Try to Be Right"

You have to do what you love. It is a mantra I am hearing everywhere these days, for in the shifting sands of our times there is nothing to tuck back into. So you might as well chase your dream. Why the hell not, or as we at Music Fog say, "How hard can it be?"

Enter Nudie and the Turks, who started life as a band just five short years ago. There was busking involved. Take it to the streets, that seems to be a good place to start! Nudie and company parked themselves at Willie Nelson shows, playing for the entering audience. They got the idea from doing it at a George Jones show, where they met George backstage (glory day!). The advice given was "do what's in your heart and good things will happen to you." And so they have, with two CDs under their belt, and countless nights on the road. Nudie and the Turks are living it.

They spent two weeks in a Halifax studio, working on their new project, after their trip to Folk Alliance in Memphis back in February, and the new recording is due to be released this fall. We wonder if this track might not be forthcoming! "You Try to Be Right." Let us sing the praises of art and technique. Let us start by celebrating the rumble, tone and drive of the guitar. And let us bow our heads at the joy of harmony, the realization of being able to hear the lyrics, let alone share in the timelessness of the sadly all too recognizable situation. Nudie Turk on vox and acoustic guitar, Roger Carter on snare, Dean Dunsford on vox and upright bass, and Aaron Currie on mighty electric. Then let's admire the wardrobe choice, the handy work of the multi-hued Western shirts with beautiful detailing. Ya know, I'll bet their boots were cool, too!

- Jessie Scott

Patterson Barrett "Come Back to Me"

Patterson Barrett is a man about town, that town now being Austin, TX, but past that, he is a man about the country. He has made friends in lots of quarters, and can be spotted on stages all over the place. There is Threadgill's North, for the ongoing Sittin' Singin' and Supper series where he has been jamming with Stonehoney, or just this past week, where he had Gurf Morlix and Slaid Cleaves sit in with him, as he is taking over the stewardship of these shows while Stonehoney is on the road. Then there was the spectacular evening I attended a while back, Patterson had put together a tribute to Gram Parsons outdoors at Threadgill's South. It was a lyrical, 'wrap the music around you' kind of night. Patterson seems to specialize in community building and collaborative effort. It is the thing that makes musicians so attractive to me, that there is a need for union, and a willingness to communicate with one another on that wonderful exploratory level. It has brought him to work with a list that includes Jerry Jeff Walker, Nanci Griffith, Al Kooper and Lou Ann Barton, to name just a few luminaries.

He released his first solo CD in 2007, I Must Be Dreaming: "If you haven't heard of Patterson Barrett you'll wonder why. He's great at everything and he's got a lot of heart. That's what comes through." - Buddy Miller. Or "Hooray! The ever talented Patterson Barrett (longtime friend and mentor) has, at last, got these beautiful songs down for us to hear this "art & heart." - Julie Miller. By the way, Buddy and Julie are each to be found playing on the CD as well!

We invited Patterson on the Music Fog bus in Memphis this past February, and he brought some friends with him, Doc Simons and Julieann Banks. Of course he did!

- Jessie Scott