The Trishas "Clockwork"

I stopped by the Victory Grill on Tuesday evening for a blues jam, in a spot that has been, as they say, “nourishing the soul since 1945.” It was part of the Chitlin’ Circuit during the day, a place where African Americans could play. It was a home away from home in the 50s to the likes of Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, W. C. Clark. It is a juke joint listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  It is vibey and cool inside. The blues jam had lots of ebb and flow, black and white and soul and shuffle. If you are visiting Austin, you might stop by; it is on the East Side across I-35.

What is it about east side of many towns? They seem to be the rundown side, maybe it’s because that’s the way the wind blows.  The Trishas have headed east from Austin, and there is a tantalizing quiz of sorts on their Facebook page.  I can’t put the clues together, maybe you can. Could it be a new album or a tour? Well I guess we will know soon enough. In the meantime, let’s revisit MusicFest at Steamboat Springs 2011, as the Trishas came to our studio, and played the song “Clockwork” for us.

- Jessie Scott

Update on 2011-12-17 14:39 by Music Fog

Behold, the mystery is solved! Here is the new official music video from the Trishas!

Roger Creager "Turn It Up"

Turn it up. Your life, your energy, your enjoyment. I'm sitting in Austin where the usually mild weather has been replaced by a cold snap, and our first freeze. Coming off the heat of this past summer, it seems impossible to believe that the temps have dropped so low. This summer it was way too hot to drive with the radio cranked and the windows open, and now it is just too cold to do it. That doesn’t take away from that great American tradition of driving down the highway listening to the tunes, even if it is in your mind’s eye for now.

I have to laugh, 32 degrees isn’t really that cold. I talked to a friend of mine in Montana a couple of nights ago and it was 12 and snowing in the mountains there. Now we are talking winter!

Photo Credit: Jack NewtonWe revisit last year’s snowy MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, Colorado for today’s video. I secretly watched MusicFest videos this summer, in the hope that I could remember what cold felt like when it was 105 here in Austin, but I digress. Today, we have a sweater-swathed Roger Creager for you. His new album Surrender comes out next month, and you can preorder if you like directly from his website. “Turn It Up” is the first single from the new album, in advance of its street date of January 17th. Roger’s shows are joyous celebrations. Catch him tonight at the National Rodeo Finals in Vegas, baby! Here is a tantalizing taste.

- Jessie Scott

Gurf Morlix "The Parting Glass"

Heading to New York today, gonna see the sometimes sincere, sometimes funny, always entertaining Canadiana artist Corb Lund at Hill Country Barbecue Market. Leave it to me to leave Texas, land of serious smokers, to eat Texas Q in NYC, but it is the real deal. I like that the music is as much the real deal, as the food is, that makes for a perfect night out. Real stuff; life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Make the most of every day, because we only have so many. We share that too, the end, no one gets out of this world alive.

Gurf Morlix has today’s song. He introduced it to us by saying, ”A friend of mine emailed me and said you'd like it (the song), and I said why, does someone die in it?  He said yeah, but that's not why you'll like it. I learned it, and really liked it and starting doing some digging into it and found out it's at least 400 years old.  Maybe Robert Burns had something to do with it.  It's about a dying man's last drink, a pint of ale, and it's called “The Parting Glass.” It has the feel of Auld Lang Syne in it as well, and it would make for a mournful song as the year wanes. December starts today…the end is near. Gurf is the real deal too, catch him on a European tour for most of the month. We are so glad he came by Marathon Recorders in Nashville during Americana Fest to film “The Parting Glass” for Music Fog.

-Jessie Scott