Frontier Ruckus "Junk-Drawer Sorrow"

Monday. Crack of noon wake up, unwillingly. Throat hurts, back hurts, nothing in the house to eat. Mounds of mail, mounds of laundry. Ridiculous amount of email to wade through as I sort out the suitcases. Coffee. Ahhhh. Warmth of my laptop as I lie on the couch to write. Smiling at the fragments of visual memories from last week that appear in my mind's eye from last week's Americana Music Festival in Nashville. Jed Hilly, AMA Executive Director and Danna Strong, AMA Operations Director did an amazing job. I can't imagine how they are feeling today, but I am hoping they are taking a few well deserved days off! The Music Fog BBC (name of the truck, Big Blue Crew) made it back home at 4am yesterday with pit stops for Krystal sliders and Krispy Kreme. I talked to Beans, who had just awaken, too, and he was digging out, and feeling all of the above. Aaron had a few appointments on Monday, so his golden slumber came last night. Sheila is on the run again, as she's moving to Austin today! Denise probably fared the best out of us all, upon her return, as her home has feng shui sensibilities. Oh, man, it may be time for a nap! But first, I was able to ascertain that a Frontier Ruckus video was available to post. So here we go...

Photo Credit: Julie Roberts

Frontier Ruckus is on Ramseur Records, home of the Avett Brothers. The label was started by wunderkind Dolph Ramseur. He has great ears and great business sensibility. Matthew Milia (songs, voice, guitar, harmonica, pedal steel), David W. Jones (banjo, dobro, voice), Zachary Nichols (trumpet, euphonium, alto horn, singing-saw, melodica, harmonium), and Ryan 'Smalls' Etzcorn (drums, percussion), call their music "lyrically intensive folk rock." Music Fog originally made their acquaintance a little over a year ago, when they played at Cyclops in Baltimore, and Andy Rubin, one of our favorite people on the planet, and one of Music Fog's trusted sources, called us and said, "You have to record this band!" Their latest album Deadmalls and Nightfalls hit the street in July. We were so happy to invite them back to our set at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown as they were showcasing at the Americana Fest! They brought their sweet, rich and sorrowful sound and wowed us once again. This tune hasn't been released yet, and as a matter of fact, this is the first time they've performed the song together! It's such an honor for them to share this debut with us, on both fronts! So, now we pass it on to you, where you can wallow in your "Junk-Drawer Sorrow."

- Jessie Scott

Annie & The Beekeepers "Come On"

Mercury is retrograde. Whatever that means. The Cliff Notes version is that travel plans and communications can go awry. (Are Cliff Notes even necessary in a web enabled world?) The best laid plans, ya know? So you see, there was this tropical storm, which got to be a named hurricane at the eleventh hour, Hermine, pronounced her-Meen'. Ever heard that name before? Well me either! All I know is "Houston, we have a problem." Denise and I were on our way to Nashville, but no...now we are connecting through Denver. It was either that or Orlando. Oh well. Hanging in the gate, we ran into Cody and Willy Braun, who are going to sing the national anthem at the Rockies' ballgame on Thursday! Nice. I have fond recollections of last year's Americana Fest, going shopping at Manuel's with Cody. Fun.

Nashville is where we are headed, if Hermine cooperates. Last year's trip was full of spectacular moments, among them meeting Annie and The Beekeepers. They came aboard the Music Fog bus late one night and made magic. We had no idea that we would be capturing lightning in a bottle. They're not making the trip to Nashville this year, because they're on their way to the UK to play the End of the Road Festival. In their absence, enjoy this video, "Come On," an unreleased, exclusive track from our Threadgill's video extravaganza in March. We wish them a great time at the festival, and a safe trip, with no hurricane-related delays.

- Jessie Scott

Stonehoney with Jimmy LaFave "I Shall Be Released"

You want to talk iconic songs? The ones that are burned into our brains; where we know every nuance, every lick, every lyric. You know, the songs that are always covered by other artists. At the top of that list is the 1967 Bob Dylan tune, "I Shall Be Released." Golly galoshes, it even has its own WIKI entry! It was on the legendary Music From Big Pink, The Band's first album, issued in 1968. Add to that a long list of other folks who have recorded it including, Joan Baez, Bette Midler, Melissa Etheridge, U2, Big Mama Thornton, even the Beatles, though their version has never seen light of day.

While we are talking Bob Dylan, there are two projects coming out on October 19th, The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 - The Witmark Demos: 1962 - 1964; these are the original recordings for his early music publisher, done before he hit the tender age of 24! This 2-CD set, 47 songs, is the first addition to the aclaimed Bootleg Series since 2008. Also out the same day: The Original Mono Recordings, an 8-CD boxed set of his first eight long-playing albums, reproduced from their first generation mono mixes. Among the tunes on The Witmark Demos are 15 songs that Bob recorded solely for these sessions, some of which are just now being released to the public. These include “Ballad For A Friend,” “Long Ago, Far Away,” “The Death Of Emmett Till,” and “Guess I’m Doing Fine." Many of the other early songs did appear later on Bob Dylan’s own albums, as well as having been recorded by others; including Peter, Paul and Mary and Stevie Wonder (“Blowin’ In The Wind”), Judy Collins (“Tomorrow Is A Long Time”) and The Byrds (“Mr Tambourine Man.”)

It is simply amazing that this crop of songs has been covered by more than a thousand artists in the nearly fifty years since these demos were created. And Dylan continues his amazing legacy, with important new releases of his own, as well as by continuing to have his songs interpreted today. At WoodyFest 2010 in Okemah, OK this past July, we had the occasion to film Stonehoney, with Jimmy LaFave and Red Molly. They stopped time with this version of "I Shall Be Released."

- Jessie Scott