Jimmy LaFave "How It Must Remain"

It’s hard to say goodbye to a friend. Jimmy LaFave is gone, after a difficult bout with cancer. I can’t imagine the pain he has been in, and note that he is not in pain any longer. His walk through these last months was filled with steel and grace. He performed as long as he could. He didn’t want the story out there, though people whispered. That he could keep it as quiet as he did, almost to the end, and that he played shows until he couldn’t, showed us his incredible strength of character.

Jimmy factored heavily into Music Fog’s early days. We filmed him in Memphis and Austin. He brought us to Cherokee Creek Music Festival. We came to WoodyFest in Okemah, Oklahoma at his request. He believed in us, and we believed in him. It is all the more precious to have this film, as he is gone. There were miles and smiles and songs together, but this was one of our most intimate moments. Just Jimmy and Rad on the Music Fog bus, parked backstage during 2010's Cherokee Creek Music Festival in Texas.

Generous, kind, and oh so talented. Jimmy, we will miss you forever.

- Jessie Scott

David Jacobs-Strain "Halfway To The Coast"

There is so much music coming out right now, I simply don't see how it is possible to process it all. So you know, I am fielding requests to play the stages in both Hill Country Barbecue Market locations; in New York and in DC. Then there is the radio station that I curate in Austin, Texas, KDRP, and that provides another river of local and national artists looking for air play. For those of you still mourning the loss of my channel, X Country on XM, KDRP is something to explore. I wouldn't say it is exactly the same, because at XM, we all had to define our channels more narrowly to fit into the neighborhood we lived in. X Country was considered part of the Country cluster, while KDRP incorporates some R&B, Blues, and lots of early R&R. Check it out at KDRPlive.org, or download the App for Android, Blackberry, and iPhone.

So it goes, right? I don't want to even bring up how many requests I get in a day to do interviews, post videos, and do giveaways right here on the pages of Music Fog! And it is hard for us to even post one of our OWN videos every couple of weeks! You see, we all now have other responsibilities! But every once in a while, we dig into the archives for something that has yet to see light of day, like this video from David Jacobs-Strain. Ya know he has a new album out, right? Geneseo just hit the street a couple of weeks ago. David is a pure performer, masterful at everything he does, from his songwriting, through the vocal and instrumental skills he brings. We had a magic moment with him on the Music Fog bus, at Cherokee Creek Music Fest 3 years ago. Bob Beach joined on harp, on a song that can be found on the Terraplane Angel album. Here is the Music Fog version of "Halfway To The Coast."

-Jessie Scott

Michael Fracasso "Saint Monday"

Before there were ‘weekends’ it was a common practice for working class folks in the Industrial Revolution to take off on Monday. Saturday was often half a day and it was pay day at that, so with money in one’s pocket, the time of leisure got extended, often due to overindulgence at the tavern. Michael Fracasso captures the melancholy, extending the moment into this century as he ascribes that behavior to hookers and musicians in the song “Saint Monday.” It is the title track from his latest album, which came out last year. Michael came to see Music Fog during the Cherokee Music Festival outside of Llano, Texas in 2011. His voice is a thing of beauty, jewel-toned, gentle, haunting. That he draws the parallel to musicians is a sad commentary on how hard it is for our artists to make a living these days. There are some Texas tour dates coming up for you to see him.

-Jessie Scott