11 Bones "Wild and Unholy"

I hate to wait. I think it is one of the things you can retain from youth that helps prevent the early onset of graying. I love the anticipation, the feeling of excitement, the wanting the moment to come. It applies to all kinds of things, both personal and professional. From opening birthday and Christmas gifts, to the next milestones for Music Fog...when will our videos reach their 2 millionth view (in the next couple of days!)...when will we reach 5,000 fans on Facebook (in the next couple of days!)...when will we reach 2,000 subscribers on YouTube? How long 'till The MusicFest at Steamboat Springs, and Folk Alliance and SXSW? I find myself wishing for the next trip, the next big show, the bus ride to Steamboat. There are all kinds of things that I can't wait to do, and like I say, it might just help to be so engaged.

We are waiting to see what 11 Bones is up to next, too! Having a band with so many movers and shakers has got to make it hard, as I am sure carrots are constantly being dangled for the band members' individual talents. For instance, you'll find Silva at Cedar Creek, and with The Trishas. Skinner and Dub are hunkered down in songwriting land. Brian Beken is doing Milk Drive and All The Elements That Make The Earth. Meagan is singing on albums, writing, and designing clothes. Meagan and Adam have been playing some shows with Matt King. Adam is in the studio with Cody Canada and The Departed, Bart Crow, and Mike Ethan Messick. And there is new 11 Bones stuff coming down the pike, too. They have written some new tunes and worked up some fun old ones. The feeling is palpably right when the band gets on stage together, and that's the way it should be. Look for 11 Bones to start some gigging after the first of the year, and maybe even their own 'little thing'! We await that, and to see what emerges from the crew of 11 Bones 'industries,' because, I tell you, they've most certainly got it all!

- Jessie Scott

The Deep Dark Woods "All the Money I Had Is Gone"

OK, so let me get this straight, because it is getting to be the twelve days of Thanksgiving: Red Wednesday, T-Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, (we have had no reported name for Sunday...yet, but if I had my druthers, it needs to be something football and food related. Dang, I wish Super Bowl Sunday wasn't already taken!) and then Cyber Monday. All cutesy, tied up with ribbon for the holidays. Shop, Shop, Shop, it is the mantra, and the push is on everywhere. Commercials abound, sales in every store and online, and all I can say is it's very hard to escape the magnetic pull of the sport of Christmas. Let us not forget that it is not even DECEMBER yet! I think they should just rename the 4th quarter Christmas, and be done with it. So transparent, but that's just me! I am reminded, coming off the feast of this past Thursday, that for me, what this is really about is being with people you love. I am touched by the stories you see this time of year about families donating time and resources to work in food banks to provide Thanksgiving for those that couldn't do it for themselves.

Photo Credit: Patrick Schmidt

Today's video comes from one of my favorite bands out of Canada, The Deep Dark Woods. They have just recorded a new album with engineer Darren Van Niekerk, which we hear will be out next year...hey, that isn't too far from now, ya know! I think the band is taking a bit of a breather, before they continue their frenetic tour schedule in Canada and the US in 2011. DDW member Ryan Boldt has started a new blog to keep in touch called Old Time Hour. Check it out. And for you now is the ever appropriate "All the Money I Had Is Gone," from their most recent album, Winter Hours. We filmed this, with guest Kendel Carson, at Threadgill's WHQ in Austin, Texas during SXSW 2010.

- Jessie Scott

Chris Berardo & The DesBerardos "Pure Faith"

"There are places I remember..." Hey, I just bought $30 worth of Beatles from iTunes, and I have been driving around in the car with my iPod cranking to drink it all in. What is it about listening in the car that is just so...right? "In My Life," gawd, how did they ever write such beautiful and meaningful lyrics when they were so young? It is hard to believe, in retrospect, that the 60s didn't just yield The Beatles, but the landscape also yielded the likes of Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones, and oh so much landmark music. It was a golden age, and I am happy to have witnessed it first hand, although to be sure, we had no idea how special it was historically while we were in the midst of it.

I'm happy to report that many of today's artists bring it forward, with attention to the details. Melody, lyrics, counterpoint, production. Chris Berardo and The DesBerardos have been referenced by Mario Tarradell of the Dallas Observer as a missing link of sorts, "These guys make clean, real music that harkens back to the 1970's golden era when The Eagles and Jackson Brown attracted fans of pop, rock and country. Ah, the good old days."

Chris fronted the New York City based band Sleeper, before he moved to L.A. to form the band Berardo. Along the way his songwriting grew, as he collaborated with Hall of Fame member Bob Crewe ("Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You," "Lady Marmalade," "Big Girls Don't Cry,") and Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf ("Green Eyed Lady.") Chris returned to the Northeast and, along with his brother Marc, started the DesBerardos. There have been three CDs under the DesBerados brand so far, with album four in the works. Chris and company will be playing at The Mansion on O Street this Thursday night, December 2nd. So if you are in the DC area, come check them out...but you have to get your reservations in advance of the show, not at the door. The Mansion is a mysterious place, and if you don't know the password, they will disavow any knowledge of what is going on inside. To whet your appetite, this is "Pure Faith," the title track from album number two, with this version recorded during SXSW 2010 in Austin, at Threadgill's, for Music Fog's artist showcases.

- Jessie Scott