Joy Kills Sorrow "Jake"

Man, oh man, I can’t believe Thanksgiving is upon us. This year has flown, you know? And so the season changes, bringing new eras to us, to savor for the stasis. But sometimes, a seed you planted before surfaces in the new day. Particularly appropriate as we just got approached by YouTube to commend us on the views that Music Fog still continues to do, even though we haven’t been out to film in a very long time. Having curated these artists, I am happy that they have had traction, and that some of them are enjoying more light in the spotlight, like Lake Street Dive, whose video “You Go Down Smooth” just entered our Top 25, joining another song of theirs, "Got Me Fooled."

We pulled one out of the mist for you today from Joy Kills Sorrow, back before the bass player, Bridget Kearney, left to forge a new path with Lake Street Dive. She has been replace by Zoe Guigueno on bass, who played on the 2013 Joy Kills Sorrow EP Wide Awake. Also, I had the honor of doing a show with Jacob Jolliff in my previous gig, yes, seasons come and go, don’t they. Jacob is out on the road in an eclectic and erudite duo configuration with Wes Corbett, delivering evenings of transcendent music.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Today we bring you Joy Kills Sorrow with the song “Jake,” from the Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s in 2012, during SXSW music week. Here's Emma Beaton on vocals, Bridget Kearney on bass, Jacob Jolliff on mandolin, Wesley Corbett on banjo, and Matthew Arcara on guitar.

- Jessie Scott

Cody Canada "51 Pieces"

I had hip replacement surgery a few months ago, and getting to this point has been a process for sure. Let me paint a picture. When I left Austin to move back to New York, in October 2012, I had been living the typical American lifestyle of automobiles, all the time...like you do in Texas. Within a month of my time here in NYC, it became difficult to go very far by foot, and staircases were tough, making it hard to wend one's way through the extensive New York subway system. After a year and a half of exhausting all other options, I am on the mend at last, and can't wait to resume what has been my natural ebb and flow for decades, that of going to see music. Through this year, I have wondered if I would ever be able to make the scene at yearly festivals, let alone just being able to attend events at clubs, arenas and theaters again.

One of those events I've been missing is MusicFest at Steamboat Springs, held in January, where the Texas Red Dirt music family vacations together for a blissful week. I am happy to have attended for a decade of memories, starting with my time at XM, and continuing into the Music Fog years. Artists that come are guys like Cody Canada. We got to hang with him through the Cross Canadian Ragweed years, into The Departed taking shape and solidifying. There was always Cody, burning bright no matter what the configuration. When we caught up with him most recently, it was at Threadgill's during SXSW in 2012. The most recent album delivery for Cody Canada was this past winter, his solo acoustic Some Old, Some New, Maybe a Cover or Two. Coming full circle, and going forward, Cody claims his birthright in the revisiting of Ragweed songs. One of my favorite songs, originally found on the album Happiness and All The Other Things, and also on the new album, is "51 Pieces." Here is the Music Fog recording, including the back story for the song being written. Well, actually here's the LONG back story, with a short bonus performance of the song! (You can also see an early Music Fog recording of the song here, performed by CCR on our tour bus.)

- Jessie Scott

Cory Branan "Yesterday (Circa Summer 80 Somethin')"

I take the train every day now, past river rocks and greenery, great old outcroppings of stately building and ones that didn't fare so well over the span of time. I could be anywhere in the country where there is a railroad and a river, but it is NYC, and it is home. I show friends that come to visit pictures of where I live and they are incredulous that that vista portrayed is that of  the big bad city. My first summer back up north has been thankfully temperate, easy on the skin, and lush to look at. We have been blessed this year. I feel for you if you live in a part of the country that has had the challenges of wild fires, floods and drought. I have lived those topsy-turvy, scary seasons too, and I, and the rest of the Music Fog crew, wish you a return to normalcy as fast as possible.

Of course being home, the landscape is ripe with the ghosts of seasons past. They bombard me at their own pace, and you never know what sight or smell might uncover a lurking memory. Of coming of age, of loves and job changes and of all the people who have come and gone. It’s time for your recollections to come forth, as today’s song captures the essence of young summer love. It is “Yesterday (Circa Summer 80 Somethin’)” from Cory Branan, a scintillating  performer who has the capability to capture the moment and to hold you fixed in his gaze. This is a tune that can be found on his Mutt album, but here is the Music Fog recording of it from the 2012 Music Fog Marathon during SXSW in Austin. BTW, that was the last time Music Fog ventured out for a session.

-Jessie Scott