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