Colin Gilmore "The You That I Knew"

Oh my, oh gee….. I have started to sift slowly through the stuff I had in storage for two and a half years. Now understand, in order to even move out of my house in Maryland, I worked with an organizer to whittle it down to what would fit in an 8’ x 16’ POD. I thought I did good. But being without all this stuff for this long, it shocks me what I kept! Not to mention it shocks me how much fits in a POD! Can anyone say “Yard Sale?” Seriously, I want to get rid of three quarters of it. I am yearning for the simple, uncluttered life again! Organizing involved a five pile process: keep, think about it, shred, giveaway, and trash. That is my tip, and one that I am, unfortunately going to have to tackle again. One other thing, pick a room, or a corner of the room and start there. Work your way around. That is my public service announcement for today.

Photo By Devin BoldtOf course so much of my bulk is from the relentless march of CDs that come into my life. I dunno, for an audio format that is being phased out, you sure couldn’t tell from my house! I find it almost impossible to get rid of them,  even after I digitize. There is always some tidbit; who sang backup, who produced, who co-wrote; that I just HAVE to know. And don’t even get me started about vinyl. Yeah, of course I have some of that too!

Colin Gilmore is dapper, sophisticated, and writes a mean pop song. He deserves to be enshrined in vinyl, actually. I don't know if he did a run of it for his last album, 2010’s Goodnight Moon, but as he is recording his new one right now maybe he will consider vinyl. Colin is playing Folk Alliance on Saturday, then he heads to California for a couple of other dates. As we get ready for this year’s Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s next month in Austin, we throw back to last year’s event for “The You That I Knew,” originally released on his EP 4 Of No Kind. Colin Gilmore on the Fog.

-Jessie Scott

Ray Wylie Hubbard "Count My Blessings"

The weather is nice with sunshine reigning supreme here in Texas. It looks like the trees are even budding early. I am savoring these temperatures, because I know what comes next, the swelter of triple digits. But I digress. It’s always about today. Savor this moment, yesterday’s gone, and tomorrow will bring what it may. It takes a long time to feel good in one’s skin, to get the outside stimuli to stop bombarding you, to hear the voice deep inside and follow that. It is about getting centered. It is a process, and well worth the journey. I think when you get to that place, it can be very fruitful and creative.

Ray Wylie Hubbard has been in that space for a while. Lately, there have been so many cool things happening with him, like touring with Joe Walsh, and collaborating with Ringo Starr who contributes to Ray’s next album, The Grifter’s Hymnal. George Reiff, Rick Richards, Lucas Hubbard, and Ian McLagan also make contributions. You can catch up with the ever-entertaining Mr. Hubbard here. Of course, we haven’t seen a track listing yet for the new album, but this as yet unreleased tune might just be on it. Ray and Rick Richards were filmed during last year’s Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s WHQ, for this, our second recording of "Count My Blessings." Compare with the first one here.

- Jessie Scott

The Civil Wars "20 Years"

Man oh man, is it hard to break a band these days! You know the system has broken down, because radio doesn’t play much new music anymore. The new artists you are exposed to are a mere trickle, from what used to be a flowing fountain of discovery and ascendancy. I have ranted many times about it all, and it still blows my mind that once music was so important to so many of us, and yet a few decades later, we are lost at sea. The sad truth is, even if a band gets some radio play, it is not enough to really penetrate our consciousness. It take so much more than that now; festival plays, television soundtracks, placement in TV commercials. It ain’t just radio, like it was in the old days. Thinking back on the last couple of years, let’s take a look at Lady Gaga. It was more than a year after I heard ABOUT her, that I actually heard a song FROM her that I could name, let alone hum along to. It certainly does help when someone who has prevailed then endorses another artist. That happened when Taylor Swift tweeted about The Civil Wars.

Photo Credit: Allister Ann

The Civil Wars have had the fairytale ride these last couple of years. It has been exciting to watch them explode on the scene, especially for how rare that occurrence is these days. It certainly doesn’t hurt that they are unique in concert, so minimal, yet so powerful. Joy Williams and John Paul White are up for two GRAMMYs® this Sunday; for Best Folk Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance. We wish them ‘bon chance!’

We had the great fortune of having them perform during our Spring Music Fog Marathon last March, at Threadgill’s in Austin, Texas. Here is “20 Years” from that session.

- Jessie Scott