Neither Snow, Nor Rain

What was the Post Office's unofficial credo? "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." It was actually said about 2500 years ago by the Greek historian, Herodotus.

I sit in Austin, where it is unusually damn cold, and we just had a bout of very noisy sleet...but that pales in comparison to what my Music Fog compadres, as well as you if you are in the North East corridor, are experiencing. STAY HOME! Do not drive in this! From what Beans says, it is even hard to let the dog out, what with the snow piled beyond the bottom of the door, making it impossible to open. What's worse, watching the Weather Channel, there are more storms coming across the nation. But by late this weekend, it looks like the temperature might moderate, though. I am praying for 40s and 50s, and melting. Why? Because next week is Folk Alliance in Memphis, and I am wondering if we will even be able to leave our respective houses! Will The Fog roll? That is the question!!!!!

-Jessie

Adieu Steamboat

It is so hard to say goodbye. This whole past week was like stepping onto a magic carpet. Jason Strange (of the legendary Steaknite in Waring, TX) picked me up and we drove to Dallas to meet the Celebrity Coach, with Blake and Angie Olson and the intrepid Music Foggers who drove to meet the bus from DC to Tupelo. Eddie was the steadying hand on the wheel.

We were whisked off through the flatlands to start the climb up the Rocky Mountains. Pit stopping in Denver overnight gave us all a chance to catch our breath. Next stop Steamboat, and the bus was put in position as the green room for the MusicFest tent. We got a shuttle to our condo, and dug in.

The first night, we attended the Musician Welcome party, and saw lots of friends, promoter John Dickson among them. The rest of the time was both a blur, and somewhat well documented, thank goodness. We tried to overcome altitude sickness with the recommended water, but switched to the somewhat more effective booze...or at least, we didn't seem to care that much about it after the alcohol content was ramped up. Artists came and went, we cooked, we drank, we wrote, we went on forays. And we had an amazing time.

We met the bus right after filming the Gondola Concert Series™ with Brandon Jenkins, and we pulled out for the overnight drive to Dallas, where Jason and I drove south to Austin, after noting that it was exactly a week to the hour.

Thanks to all: John and Robin Dickson and the great crew of folks they assemble for MusicFest at Steamboat Springs. Thanks to the Steamboat Resort people. A huge thanks to the artists, and a heartfelt thanks to Blake Olson and Celebrity Coaches for letting us tag along, hijack the back suite for our production, and especially for believing in us.

-Jessie

East Bound & Down

After an amazing week at The MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, we're headed down the mountain, in route to the east coast via Dallas and Tupelo. A lone hanky tire seems to be giving us problems up the mountain and down. Cold weather...hell on batteries and tires.

Amazingly, the Gondola Concert Series™ did happen before we made a sooner than expected departure from Steamboat. Brandon Jenkins played a three song set; one up, two down. It was -3 degrees, but sunny, when we recorded...Brandon is a madman!

We have just over "forty-two" videos to bring you in the coming weeks, and will continue to attempt uploading new ones during our bus ride eastward. Man, do we ever endorse the iPhone! Just a modern technological piece of wizardry.

More to come!

-The Foggers