Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers "Hey Little Darlin'"

It takes me about the length of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row” to drive home from the Saxon Pub. “They’re selling postcards of the hanging...” What we have come to accept as the norm for society is scary. It has gone so far passed the bonds that used to hold us tight, it boggles the mind. 'Snooki' and the 'Housewives' and the relentless celebration of bad behavior. And the politics of it all, as both left and right decry what we are becoming, while espousing the same aspirations. The irony is that both sides have different points of view, 180 different, but seemingly want to attain the same things. Now with the growing poverty, widespread uncertainty and relentless upheaval, it leaves one to wonder whether will we be a new generation of nomads in search of the future; hitchhiking, riding the rails, living in new-fangled communes, growing our own?

Photo Credit: Genevieve Pierson

Enter Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers from Washington state. They visited us during the Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s in March, whereupon they rocked sweet and cool. “Hey Little Darlin’” positions the unrequited outsider, set against a subtext of hard times. It is no wonder to me why Americana music is being embraced right now. It speaks to what is going on in our lives. Who needs to crawl into fantasy pop when it seems like everyone we know is suffering. Zoe Muth and the band are playing the Rhythm and Roots Reunion today and tomorrow. Lucky you if you're in Bristol, Tennessee. The original version of this song can be found on the debut self-titled album. Here is the Music Fog version.

- Jessie Scott

Shinyribs "Devilsong"

Long ago, I had The Gourds up for a visit to the XM Studios in Washington, DC, when I was programming the channel X Country. We were doing a session for our weekly concert series, which was called Wired In. The recording engineers we worked with were amazing; they were quick, they had great bedside manner, and great ears to boot. There was just one problem with The Gourds. They played musical chairs, switching up to sit where the next instrument they wanted to play was located. Not so good for the precise setting on the microphone for each of their voices. The engineers that recorded that day hadn’t encountered the loosey goosey, hippie dippie, let it all hang out ‘tude that The Gourds brought. I remember going to dinner with them afterwards at a DC institution called A.V. Ristorante, an old school Italian joint that sadly has closed. It was perfect bringing The Gourds there, as we eyeballed the photos lining the walls of Senators, Judges and other DC luminaries who had worshipped at the chapel of AV’s incredible pizza and swarthy delicacies.

The Gourds do indeed like to mix things up, and yesterday marked the release of Old Mad Joy, their brand new CD. It was produced by Larry Campbell at Levon Helm Studios (The Barn) up in Woodstock, NY. This marks the first time they have recorded outside the state of Texas. We bring you a taste from the new album called “I Want It So Bad.”

The Gourds - I Want It So Bad by Vanguard Records

There are three Gourds writing, bassist Jimmy Smith, multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston formerly of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo, and guitarist and vocalist Kevin ‘Shinyribs’ Russell. Kevin, along with The Gourd's Keith Langford, graced our Threadgill’s stage in 2010 under the Shinyribs moniker. Jeff Brown joined on bass, and Winfield Cheek was on keyboards for “Devilsong,” taken from their album Well After Awhile. Here is hoping we get to record The Gourds next month at our Music Fog Fall Marathon sessions during Americana Fest in Nashville.

- Jessie Scott

Jimmy LaFave "Only One Angel"

There is so much sorrow in the solemn remembrance of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. It has been so hard to watch the stories over the weekend and to know that so many lives were changed forever. Our society is forever different.

Love starts with just one. And then may it expand to the next, and next after that as we open our hearts, as we embrace compassion and put the confrontational aside. All we have is each other.

Photo Credit: David FiscaleanuToday’s video is a simple song from Jimmy LaFave, “Only One Angel.” Be someone’s rock, especially someone who is hurting. One good deed, one gesture of kindness. May it spread through the land, and may we heal.

- Jessie Scott