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

Kevin Welch "Answer Me That"

Kevin Welch's brand new CD A Patch of Blue Sky dropped yesterday. That's industry talk for it now being available to purchase. From his announcing press release, "Songwriter & Traveler Kevin Welch Releases First Solo CD In Eight Years." The main reason I copied and pasted is for the word 'traveler.' Recently I sat over beers with someone who articulately illustrated the difference between being a tourist and a traveler. It is a philosophy of life. We all know what the tourist piece is, I think, primarily an unwillingness to engage, at an arm's length 'just passing through' the circumstances. But when a person is a traveler, it imparts a full drinking in of the places one visits. An ability to be home anywhere in the world. A meeting of people on their own terms, and an appreciation of what's put in front of them. Kevin Welch is all that, moreover, because then he articulates it. Such beauty to his craft. The ability to dig down deep and bring you a mood, a portrait; to focus you on something special, something to hold dear.

This latest CD is a painful travel through love and loss. Ever questioning, ever fine tuning the words and music...and traveling too! Kevin is on the road in the US, popping over to Sardinia, Italy for the first weekend in July. He makes it all feel effortless. "Answer Me That." Indeed!

- Jessie Scott

[To see a wonderful video featuring the making of the record, visit the album's page on Kevin's website by clicking here.]

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