Henry Wagons "King Hit"

I get to do such cool stuff. I am ever appreciative! Here are a few highlights from my last week of music. Last Wednesday in Franklin, TN, the Music City Roots lineup rocked hard. It was a tribute to Sam Phillips of Sun Records, and Peter Cooper hosted. On hand were Billy Burnette and Shawn Camp, Luther Dickinson, Sleepy LaBeef, Colin Linden, and Bobby Rush. It was for sure one of my favorite nights of music in a long time, steeped in the Memphis stew of black meets white and gospel meets bad boy. You know, the stuff out of which Rock & Roll was born in the first place. Then, over the weekend, I got to witness performances from Webb Wilder, The Surreal McCoys, The Supersuckers, Drivin' N Cryin’, Dan Baird, Jesse Dayton, and Girls, Guns & Glory at the Shore Leave Showdown in Miami. It all was badass as can be.

One of Music Fog’s favorite badasses is about to put out a solo album. Henry Wagons hails from Australia, and yes, he channels the spirit of the abovementioned musical legacy. After What I Did Last Night was produced in Nashville under the watchful eye of Skylar Wilson who has worked with Justin Townes Earle, Caitlin Rose, and Andrew Combs. The album abounds in defiant twang. It chronicles Henry Wagons' journey, from misspent youth to road hard troubadour, to new father. It was several years ago, in 2011 that Henry Wagons first came to play for Music Fog at Threadgill’s. From the Fog Bank, here he is with the tune “Willie Nelson.” And here is a tease, an exclusive premiere of one of the songs from his new album, which comes out tomorrow. Rebelliousness abounds! Click above to listen to “King Hit.” Can you hear the Memphis echo?

- Jessie Scott

Eddie Spaghetti "Pretty F'd Up"

A couple of months ago, my soul sister Shilah Morrow sent me a soon-to-be-released album from The Supersuckers, called Holdin' The Bag. As a long time Supersuckers and Eddie Spaghetti fan, I was blown away by the song craft and musicianship. In fact, I think it might be the finest work the Supersuckers have ever done. I signed on to help spread the word. As we were in the planning stages of album release, it was discovered that Eddie Spaghetti had stage 3 throat cancer, and needed immediate surgery. Touring was put on hold and Eddie underwent two successful surgeries. We had planned to have The Supersuckers play at AmericanaFest to launch the album. What to do? A ‘Plan B’ was put in place; an Eddie Spaghetti Stand Up was made! We call him Flat Eddie, and he wound up on stages all over Nashville during AmericanaFest; with Los Lobos, Raul Malo, Nikki Lane. “Flat Eddie” made his way to LA for a benefit show at The Viper Room this past Saturday night, but lo and behold, Eddie Spaghetti himself took the stage!

The album comes out on Friday, October 16th, and what an album it is! The title track "Holdin' The Bag" is a stone contender for song of the year in my book. There are mighty cool contributions from Hayes Carll, Lydia Loveless, Jesse Dayton, and Mickey Raphael. Listen to a few tracks here, on Soundcloud.

In the meantime, here is Eddie Spaghetti with Metal Marty from the 2011 Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s in Austin, Texas. Eddie was on a solo album release tour for the Sundowner album. Today’s song is from The Supersuckers 2003 album Motherf**kers Be Trippin', "Pretty F**ked Up."

You can contribute to the Eddie Spaghetti Beats Cancer fund, and also check out the special pre-release bundles here. The next Eddie Spaghetti benefit show happens this Saturday night in Seattle!

- Jessie Scott

The Damn Quails "So So Long"

The Lone Star Café in New York City was the epicenter of the roots music world for those of us living in NYC, starting in 1976. It drew together musicians, journalists, television folks, and professional athletes to eat some Texas Chili and hear authentic and joyous music. Folk, Blues, Rockabilly, Country; it spanned the genres, and it was a great hang. Mort Cooperman guided the Lone Star, bringing together a glittering array of artists on the stage, a cast of characters on the staff, and a who’s who of attendees in the house. Back then, I was dee-jaying the evening show at New York’s Country station WHN, and we did many a live broadcast from there. FOREVER, I have been wanting to salute this legendary venue. And at last, we are! Lone Star-er Cleve Hattersley from Greezy Wheels and I teamed up to present The Lone Star Reunion at BB King’s in NYC on August 13th, with appearances from Greezy Wheels, Kinky Friedman, Commander Cody, Robert Gordon, Chinga Chavin, Carolyn Wonderland, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Tony Garnier, Corky Laing, the list goes on and on. And you never know who else might stop by!

As we are gathering the members of the tribe, we need some help to find Scotty Palmer. Cleve provides a bit of background:

“Scott ‘Zonker’ Palmer was as much a part of the original Lone Star Cafe as the iguana on the roof or the real Texas chili that oozed out of the kitchen. Scotty’s actual job title was probably ‘bar back’ or ‘porter,’ but we never called him either. We just hollered for Scott, whenever more beer needed to be brought up three flights of stairs from the basement to the second floor bar, or the sewer backed up in that same basement. Scotty, a connoisseur of fine herb (and always willing to share), is/was also a fine poet. In fact, his entire life is a poem. An ode, in effect, to a lifestyle. We last caught up with Scotty at the Wetlands in the early (or was it mid?) nineties, where he had the same gig. There isn’t a person on the bill of the reunion party or an ex-employee or patron who hasn’t asked if Zonker will be at the party. We certainly hope so. Come out, come out wherever you are, Scotty Palmer!”

“So So Long,” indeed! Today’s video comes from The Damn Quails. It won’t be long before we get a new CD from the Quails, as they are readying Out Of The Birdcage for release in early September. That in itself has been a long hard road, and we are so happy they fought the good fight to stay the course, get legal title to their name and make it through it all to record another album. Love this band, suffice it to say, they so would have been part of the Lone Star scene if they had been around back then. Look for them on tour in support of the new album.

Music Fog dug into our session with them during SXSW© 2012 to bring you “So So Long.” Looking forward to it all!

- Jessie Scott