Music Fog Album

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Sons of Bill "Santa Ana Winds"

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I have been working weekends for quite a while now, and am happy that this was the first weekend in a while to do normal stuff; laundry, shopping, cleaning, and of course, a bit of Cinco De Mayo bar hopping. Hope you had your fill of Dos Equis, Tecates, and Margaritas. Hope you don’t have a clanging head this Sunday. While we are talking about housekeeping, I wanted to remind you of our first every compilation album, Who’s First?, available for download as single tracks or the whole album.  Revisiting this collection of tunes, it is really gratifying to be in on the beginning of the creative process for so many of the folks that we get to film. Honestly, it amazes me how many times artists want to play as yet unrecorded and unreleased song for us. Quite a trip, when we see the songs finally come out on albums.

It was a long time coming for the Sons Of Bill new CD Sirens to see light of day. It took time to raise the money to produce it and for the other things that have to be put in place around the release. It is an arduous task, as well as a labor of love to keep a career going these days. Sons of Bill keep a busy dance card, and do a cooking show. They are in Nashville at the Mercy Lounge on May 8th, and they just keep rolling all through the spring and summer.  There are a couple of especially cool dates coming up, as they head to Circus Mexicus with Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers in early June and then in August, they take part in the Braun Brothers Reunion in Challis, Idaho. We have had the pleasure of filming them a few times. They first played the song "Santa Ana Winds” for us in January of 2011 at MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, and that version is available on our album. Here is the official video for “Santa Ana Winds,” from their new album Sirens.

- Jessie Scott

Sirens - Sons of Bill

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This Is Indian Land: A Songwriter's Journey

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Today we welcome a contribution from Josh Crutchmer, whose day gig is for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. You might recall that a year ago, he wrote a piece for Music Fog about the last Cross Canadian Ragweed show. For this entry, Josh has interviewed the songwriters on the new Cody Canada & The Departed album, This Is Indian Land. Josh puts comments from the songwriter next to Cody Canada’s comments about each song.

An editor's note, Cody & Seth's version of one of the songs from the album, is included on our first ever compilation album of our own unique recordings, Who's First? Music Fog Sessions Vol. 1. Here is the video of that, filmed back in January at MusicFest in Steamboat Springs

-Jessie Scott

This is Indian Land: A Songwriter’s Journey

The people behind the music weigh in on Cody Canada and The Departed’s first album

By Josh Crutchmer

Cody Canada and The Departed have been together as a band since December 2010. The five-piece features four members from Oklahoma, and one from Texas, and their first album is a tribute to a cross section of the state’s music. This is Indian Land centers around the Red Dirt scene which sprung up around Stillwater, Okla., in the 1970s and has been a constant since.

The 16 songs (15 on the CD, a bonus track on iTunes) branch out from Red Dirt like spokes on a wheel, touching on the Tulsa Sound, country, rock and folk. It often reflects “The Farm,” a patch of land near Stillwater where Red Dirt artists used to live, write and play music around campfires and oak trees.

What follows is a journey through the album’s songwriting. Half is from the perspective of Cody Canada, Departed guitar player and vocalist and former front man for Cross Canadian Ragweed. He’s joined in the band by Jeremy Plato (bass and vocals), Seth James (guitar and vocals), Steve Littleton (keys) and David Bowen (drums). Of the five, only James — who is from Texas — does not hail, musically, from the state.

The rest comes from the songwriters, artists, family members or Oklahoma music experts the album was written to honor.

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Band Of Heathens "Nine Steps Down"

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Man, it is such a whirlwind when "The Fog" blows through. I am just catching my breath from last week’s Americana Fest. Today I popped in to the website to watch several of the sets we posted from our Fall Marathon last week at Marathon Recorders. Elephant Revival, Billy Burnette, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, The Bottle Rockets...there are way more there, and I intend to watch a few every day until I have seen them all.

Right before we took off for our excursion to Nashville, we announced the arrival of our first ever compilation album, Who’s First? Music Fog Sessions Vol. 1. Audio ace Aaron Lee spent months prepping the songs, and getting the necessary behind the scenes prep work done. We especially thank the artists that participated. It has been one of our dreams for a long while, to deliver the audio to you as an album. We have even gotten some requests from DJs to play these tracks on their radio stations. On a personal note, I downloaded the 12 tracks into my iPod, and have been digging listening to them on my travels.

The twelve are Cody Canada and Seth James (AKA The Departed), The Trishas, Elliot Randall & The Deadmen, Kasey Anderson, Uncle Lucius, Chris Knight, David Jacobs-Strain, Morgan O’kane, Deadman, Sons of Bill, Paul Thorn, and of course The Band of Heathens with "Hanging Tree." I must say, it is an in-the-pocket vibey, cool collection, as so much of the music we get to capture is. Like today’s song, which is another from the soulful and earthy Band of Heathens, and was recorded during the same session as the song on our album.

“Nine Steps Down” is one of the songs you will find on their 2007 self-titled album. The New Orleans reference in it predates the motif of their most recent album Top Hat Crown & The Clapmaster’s Son, which is steeped in the gumbo of the mighty Mississippi. Here is the Music Fog recording of “Nine Steps Down,” from our sessions during MusicFest at Steamboat Springs in January.

-Jessie Scott

PS: Let us know what songs you would like us to consider for the Music Fog Sessions Volume Two. Leave your suggestions in the comment box below and we will reach out to the artists and try to get them cleared for the next one!