Denise is road tripping, driving to the West Coast with Sharon Ely on a Holy Posole run. Sharon’s Holy Posole is taking off, from initially being something she prepared as a Christmas gift for friends, and is now starting to appear in HEB stores in Texas. It is available on Amazon, too. It is magical soup, good for what ails you.

Denise texted me from Lubbock a couple of days ago, a place where I spent a bit of time in the mid-80s. When I was there, it seemed like time had been standing still for decades. The town felt as if it was in black and white, and hadn’t gotten to Technicolor yet. An old fashioned soda fountain in a pharmacy was even still in business back then. I haven’t returned to Lubbock since I moved to Texas. One of these days, I just have to get back there.

It might be a perfect time to do just that, as the band Shurman heads to The Blue Light in Lubbock this Saturday night. More Texas dates are in store, as they are still celebrating the February release of their new album, Inspiration, which came out on their own label, Teletone Records. Cool, too, that there is even limited edition 180-gram vinyl. Aaron Beavers, Mike Therieau, Harley Husbands, and Craig Bagby were in fine form when they came to visit us during the Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s WHQ in Austin a few weeks ago. The release of this album is the culmination of some pretty radical twists and turns through the last few years. I am proud of their perseverance, and on top of that, congratulate the Shurman guys for just how good this CD is. Here is the Music Fog version of one of the songs on the new album, “Back To Texas.”

- Jessie Scott