View from our studio at the Steamboat Grand HotelThe 2011 MusicFest at Steamboat is getting to be a rear view mirror memory, as we savor the sweetness of the snow, the serenity of Steamboat and the magic of the music, with everyone just having the best of all possible times. We are breaking down the set and packing up our equipment. We filmed 27 artists in all on this trip, and we offer huge hugs and kisses to the Steamboat Grand staff, the Steamboat Resort people, all the managers, crew and artists.
We can't tell you how much this means to us to share in the community that John and Robin and the rest of the Dickson Productions folks have created. We are eternally grateful for the opportunity to advance our mission. Music Fog was formed just before the MusicFest 2009, when Beans, Aaron, Ben, Chris, and I lost our jobs due the merger of XM and Sirius satellite radio. We took our severance money and invested in ourselves, and in the concept of being able to go direct to you on the web with no gatekeepers. The goal was twofold: to continue to showcase the kind of music I was programming on my channel, X Country on XM, as well as to showcase the production skills of Aaron and Beans. For two years we have criss crossed the country attending events where many musicians congregate. We set an impossibly packed schedule for ourselves on site. We are lucky if we sleep for four hours a night, but as archivists, we know we are capturing these once in a lifetime moments in the same way that John and Alan Lomax captured their era. Only we are including the pictures. We are a for hire production company, and we love getting out on the road and proving we can make it look good and sound good, with a little ingenuity, wherever we set up our studio. So we thank YOU for watching our videos, reading our articles, and sharing us with your friends that love this real deal music too. The faster we grow, the better we serve to be a megaphone for the music which deserves to find a larger audience. Because it is just that good.
Whenever we have a kitchen on premises, we feed the artists that come in to play for us. This year, I made Green Chile Stew, Beans did eight pounds of Mystery Brisket, Aaron cooked Pork Chile Verde, and Denise did a Beef Bourguignon. Sheila hit the slopes between takes, and we all ate and drank. As Paul Thorn said on his EPK, "How do we travel? We travel WELL!" Speaking of Paul Thorn, that is our next trip! We will be heading down to Muscle Shoals to produce his live webcast on Saturday January 29th!
So long from Steamboat...'till next year!
- Jessie Scott