Matt King & the Cutters "Rockabye the Cradle"

The Pennsylvanian is an Amtrak train that rolls 444 miles from New York, through Newark to Philly, and on its way to Pittsburgh. I used to live in Pittsburgh, where I started my career in radio so very last century. A friend of mine, Ed Salamon, just published one of those "Images Of America" series books called "Pittsburgh's Golden Age of Radio." I am humbled to have been included. Pittsburgh is the birthplace of commercial radio, with the FCC granting KDKA a license to operate in 1920. And there used to be magic on the airwaves in Pittsburgh. I haven't been in so long that I can't know for sure, just making the assumption that it isn't now what it used to be. But then, what is? We are in the middle of such a seismic shift, so obvious when you take a train through rust belt towns and see boarded up building bearing graffiti and broken windows; factories and warehouses that used to be serviced by the circulatory system that was once these tracks. And you know things have changed when you get to a place in your own life where you have to explain your resume, as what was once held in esteem no longer even exists! Oh, but the changes we have seen over the last half century. The landscape, the wealth, the industry, the migration to the south from the north. From once thriving communities to rack and ruin. Meth labs and prostitution, and gigantic prisons to accommodate society's losing class.

Matt King posted a train tune on his website on August 16th, "Back To Baltimore." Matt writes about the changes the march of time has brought. And he delivers biting socially commentary, deceptively clothed in an easy to swallow musical pill. Goes down without you even realizing what you are ingesting. Music with a message, what a concept!

There are Texas gigs coming up, catch 'em when you can! The EP Matt King and the Cutters, came out in March. It was recorded old school style to one-inch tape by Vance Powell in Nashville. You will find a Jeff Lynne flavor there to the tune "Rockabye The Cradle," which Music Fog also recorded, during SXSW at Threadgill's in Austin.

- Jessie Scott

Margo Valiante "First Born Son"

It's pretty cool being mobile and having the "rolling office" come along with you. I live in my own purple haze of electronic wizardry. Think aircards and smartphones, and of course the right cords! That is always the key, can you make it work, do you have the right inputs? It is fun to work this way, except for when you wind up in a space where you have no connectivity, as was the case when we were at the Cherokee Creek Music Festival. Being without service for 4 days was really hard for me. I am sure some people take a deep breath when they can unplug. I am an addict. I admit it. I now try to put my phone out of site for meals, or the red flashing light beckons me, rudely.

Sometimes, though, it is a blessing of efficiency, as when Margo Valiante reached out to me as I was in transit last Saturday, flying home to Austin. Could we, she asked, ready the video of "First Born Son," as she had been accepted as a Regional Round Finalist of the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. And yes, you can support Margo by voting. The 2010 contest winner will get the opportunity to record an EP with 2010 Grammy winning producer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Norah Jones) to be released on the NewSong Recordings label. In addition, the winner will get to perform on an internationally broadcast Mountain Stage (NPR) show. As we wish her luck, we also wanted to acknowledge her other recent accolades; 3rd place at the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Songwriters Showcase in Lyons, CO August 13th, and 4th place at the Telluride Troubadour Competition. She also just made a pit stop to play for the movers and shakers at the Triple A Radio Conference in Boulder, CO last week.

We invited Margo Valiante to our stage at Threadgill's in Austin, during SXSW 2010, and she brought Matt Meyer with. This one is just beautiful, "First Born Son," from her EP I Can't Pray.

- Jessie Scott

Catherine MacLellan "Old Tin Can"

Sweet. I am in New Jersey, the Garden State, so named for its one-time ability to feed the city of New York, not to mention itself. No, it is not all highways and exits, as billed. There are little towns, and everything from the shire, to dense industrial areas, to farmland contained within. Whatever your expectations of the place, there are other defining vistas as well. And the state is a whole lot bigger than you think it is, too. Locally grown tomatoes, corn, and blueberries are found in road side stands, the bounty of summer. I can't believe I am talking food again today, but Jersey takes her cuisine seriously! There is this way cool restaurant called the Reservoir Tavern that we ate at - a "neighborhood" Italian roadhouse that has been serving up awesome food since the 1936 "Happy Motoring" days.

Catherine MacLellan has recently posted a blog about her garden, up north from here, in Canada. She's growing garlic, and songs of course. A quote from it, "This note is to say, there is food growing in the garden, songs getting ready for recording, ideas running about my head, and summer flying away as I write this." She and Chris Gauthier came to the Music Fog stage during our SXSW 2010 stay at Threadgill's in the back room. The song "Old Tin Can" is from that session, and is slated for her forthcoming album, which we think will be released in 2011. I am thinking the Old Tin Can reference might be about the clunky headphones we used to wear in the studio, as we called them "cans." The songwriter's story contained within chronicles their journey over the border from Canada to New York, and then on to Nashville, which happens to be the next stop for Music Fog, in early September, too.

- Jessie Scott