Melissa McClelland & Luke Doucet "Glenrio"

Whoa, it has been hot in so much of the country that it makes it hard to pull oneself away from the pool or stream or beach to go back to work, and here it is Monday already. Bah humbug. Well maybe you have vacation time, and are luxuriating in the aforementioned places. I try to keep a low profile this time of year, or as we like to say, don’t get your chins in an uproar. Keeping on even keel will help you to not be hot under the collar. But sometimes, we have no choice but to rage. Like Melissa McClelland in this tune, “Glenrio.” “Revenge is a dish best served cold" The Wiki reports its earliest identified appearance in European literature is in the 1841 French novel Mathilde by Marie Joseph Eugène Sue: la vengeance se mange très-bien froide.” There is more literature cited here.

We go north of the border today for some Canadiana from Melissa McClelland, and her ‘get even’ tune, “Glenrio.” The thing about this is that she delivers it so authentically, that for sure, I wouldn’t want to mess with her. Really, “I’ve got blood on my knuckles from her pretty lips.” Yikes! The original version came out on her 2009 CD Victoria Day, and was the iTunes tune of the week in May of 2009. Of late, Melissa has been doing shows with Sarah MacLachlan, and of course with husband Luke Doucet, with whom she appears here. This is from Music Fog’s 2010 sessions at Threadgill’s South during SXSW® music week.

-Jessie Scott

Jack Grace Band "Warm Rock In The Sun"

The era of space shuttle exploration is ending, sad to say.  I think it gave us something collectively to dream about.  In 1989, I moved to Florida to program 107.1 WAOA, and was able to absorb the culture around the Space Coast, through the different folks I met along the way that contributed their talents to the space program.  And one of my all-time career highlights has got to be the two shuttle launches I was able to broadcast from Kennedy Space Center.  

One of them was for STS 31 which launched the Hubble.  The other was STS 36, which took off in the middle of the night, lighting the entire sky.  Being on site for these, in the bleachers that were constructed next to the network news booths, we were as close as people could get.  Upon launch, the cameras would start to go black as the cords melted from the heat.

Feeling the power, hearing the roar, it made me so proud to be an American. Thinking about all the governmental and private industries that had to cooperate to make this happen is dizzying.  And that is a model for the future, for any collective dreams we might choose to conquer next. Yes, there are still things to be achieved.

We welcome the crew of the shuttle back from their last mission to our “Warm Rock In The Sun.” Bringing you a tune we recorded during or Music Fog Marathon in Austin during SXSW in March.  And I don’t know about you, but being greeted by a Mariachi Band is a most welcoming sight for anyone, whether astronaut or not.  The Jack Grace Band does the honors; road dogs all, though they haven’t quite taken to the sky yet. They are at work on new material, which Jack says, “Will be less country and more rock, with a lot of the Latin flavorings.”  This time of year, they wisely are staying in the northern tier for their touring pleasure, heading up into Canada in September.  Dare we even think about fall, and the cool air?  Let’s join the band on the Threadgill’s stage; here are Jack Grace, Daria Grace, Mark Gonzales, Stephen Butts, Bruce Martin, and Carolyn Mark.

- Jessie Scott

Amy LaVere "Damn Love Song"

A plea for honesty. Watching Real Time with Bill Maher this week made me laugh out loud for the ACTUAL things that were expressed, not even being clothed in the usual euphemisms. And because it is HBO, there is that healthy sprinkling of obscenity that serves to further drive the emphasis. It’s actually very refreshing, delivered in this no holds barred way. I wish politicians could be so overt, and put it out there for all to see. But that ain’t gonna ever happen.

There can, however, be honesty in songs thank goodness. Amy LaVere’s new album comes out today, and you can count on her to lay the emotions bare. Through the years she has explored the underside, and I know there were lots of life changes in the ramp up to this album. Jim Dickinson was scheduled to return to the producer’s chair, but his passing in 2009 set Amy to finding another to fill his shoes. That he was mentor and a huge supporter, made the grieving especially tough. And the breakup of her 6 year relationship to drummer Paul Taylor left another hole. She missed his collaboration, and wound up asking for him to play drums to complete the record. Amy’s third CD is called Stranger Me, and here is our live version of one of the tunes, “Damn Love Song,” filmed at the Music Fog Marathon in March at Threadgill’s.

- Jessie Scott