Kevin Welch "Killing Myself"

We were immersed in the moment at Cherokee Creek Music Festival. It was Saturday afternoon. A 50% chance of rain had been predicted off and on for the weekend and during Delbert McClinton's set the night before, it had poured. It rained some that morning, too, but then the skies cleared and a beautiful day was born. We recorded one song on the bus with Kevin Welch, having asked him to do some older songs from his catalog this time, as we had already recorded some new tunes from the forthcoming CD back in February at Folk Alliance in Memphis. We were planning to mix it up, some old, some new, and we had hoped we were about to record a fairly long session. Well, that was our plan! But it was not to be. Or it was not to be as long as we'd hoped!

Kevin's son Dustin burst onto the bus in mid-session, right after Kevin laid down the first song. He shared reports of the possibility of tornadic activity, severe thunderstorms, hail. Yikes. We are on a ranch in the Hill Country of Texas. Not a lot of cover...what to do? We were told it was approaching in 40 minutes. Kevin thought for a second, and then announced that he had decided to play another song and then get some more of that "wonderful brisket" instead of running for cover! As it turned out, we were not in the path of the storm after all, and continued to enjoy a sultry Texas afternoon in Cherokee.

Kevin's new CD, A Patch of Blue Sky, will be out June 15th on Music Road Records, though you can purchase it digitally, right now, on the album's page at Kevin's website. It's his first solo record since 2001's Millionaire, and the album features 10 new songs, all written or co-written by Kevin. We will bring you Music Fog versions of some new songs in the not too distant future, but here is one from the album Millionaire, "Killing Myself" written by Handsome Harry Stinson (as Marty Stuart refers to him) and Kevin Welch, quite the heartthrob himself!

- Jessie Scott

Sam Baker "Slots"

Sam Baker is a man of few words. They are however, always beautifully chosen, and fully wrought. He places them as one would place the plants and objects in a Zen Garden, for maximum consideration. He is complicated. His website, which you must explore, is stark: black, white, and shades of gray. Baker is a man who has had to turn inward, to relearn the use of his body and brain after a Peruvian train bombing that almost killed him in 1986. It took years to heal, to reconnect. The road back was impossible, arduous, but it opened up new vistas for Sam in art, poetry, music. He put his first CD Mercy out in 2004, the first in a trilogy of compelling song paintings with sparse instrumentation and poetic delivery. It was followed by Pretty World in 2007, and Cotton in 2009. All three albums are subtitled, in order of release: "Everyone is at the mercy of another one's dreams," "How Beautiful are these days," and "Talk about forgiveness."

Sam Baker approaches life with an amazingly positive attitude considering what he has been through. From his website, "Everything is a gift at this point," he declares. "I went through the anger and the bitterness—deeply. But that energy didn’t get me anywhere. It’s toxic. And ultimately, I did come to a point where these days are beautiful. Because they are so short and so quick to pass. And that’s all we’ve got—no matter what we hold in our hands, drive around in, put in the bank, or shower ourselves with. All we’ve got is this one breath," he concludes. "And then, if we’re lucky, we have the next breath." We are lucky to have had Sam Baker on the Music Fog bus at Cherokee Creek Music Festival.

- Jessie Scott

Chris Berardo & The DesBerardos "So Good, So Far"

I have been searching on the web for hours trying to find some info on Chris Berardo's early days, but to no avail. It's all hidden in the mist, but what I seem to remember from our barroom conversations over brown liquor is that Chris had a whirl in the major label vortex some years back. He is still carrying on, having left the dinosaur world for the new day of the indie. He comes from a town in Connecticut (Silvermine) that I never heard of before, and I was a neighbor! I promise I will take notes next time we go drinking.

Chris Berardo and The DesBerardos have had road dog fever, headlining shows and opening for some legendary bands along the way. Their music is anchored in the loam of Rock, Roots, Pop, and Country. Hell Yeah! His is a voice that's soars with the wingspan of the eagle. It's all the sensibility of the Pure Prairie League, Poco, New Riders vibe, with a sense of the 'right here, right now.' Sky and earth.

Chris came to visit us at Threadgill's during SXSW this past March. He brought along a stripped down aggregation of backup band The DesBerardos, including his brother Marc Douglas Berardo on acoustic and vocals and Jeremy Simmons on electric guitar. This song, "So Good, So Far," comes from the 2007 release Ignoring All The Warning Signs. It is a bit of philosophy for us all to remember: savor the now; it doesn't take any more energy to be kind; understand that you are all that has come before this moment; and that music can be the magic elixir that helps.

- Jessie Scott