Sam Baker called me early in the morning yesterday from Charlotte, NC. There was occasional dinging in the background, as if he were riding on an elevator. He is on the road with John Fullbright and Natalia Zuckerman through July 2. They are sharing the stage together, playing on each other's songs. He speaks of a generosity of spirit, and of the give and take of this, quoting Kevin Welch's song "…that makes me a millionaire." These folks do music for those of us that need that kind of energy. It transcends the voice and music to become a more intimate connection. It speaks to your soul.

I asked Sam how he crafted the recording process. He told me he likes to do it all at one time, in the studio. "My voice has different textures. I generally like to get a sonically consistent sound. I do that in a short period of time. Kind of a dream-like fog, which can color how we all hear that body of work. It adds a certain narrative, a sonic sequential. I am able to work with some beautiful players, but it takes some time to relax into each other's lives. The entity that comes can be both on the conscious and subconscious levels. I think you get a little broader bandwidth in the subconscious." Throughout our conversation, he mentioned other artists he is impressed with, calling them "the new players." Artists like Carrie Elkin, Danny Schmidt, Band Of Heathens, Grace Pettis, and Dustin Welch. "So many wonderful young writers and players. They are great people to tour with. Special guest Kevin Welch got up with us in Norfolk, and we just seem to roll together."

We hope you get to catch this limited run, and we trust that there will be more trio dates scheduled in the future. Sam Baker is on his way to teach at a three day retreat leading up to the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Then he heads to WoodyFest in Okemah, OK and then onto the Telluride Americana Weekend. Music Fog will be at both of the latter festivals. See you there? C'mon!!!!

-- Jessie Scott