Troy Campbell "Killing Time In Texas"

Troy Campbell is a gentleman and a scholar. He's an imaginative artist in a myriad of ways. No, it's not enough to be a singer/songwriter. Nor a filmmaker and an animator. Nor an ambassador, having set up an artist in residence program with singer/songwriters from Denmark to share music. Nor an incredible event coordinator, booking artists and riding shotgun on the annual Roky Erickson Ice Cream Social at Threadgill's during SXSW. Makes me tired just thinking about all he does!

We tried to get together for a Music Fog session on the bus during Folk Alliance but couldn't, so Troy graciously allowed us to reschedule the following month, during SX in Austin. Troy wrote this song, "Killing Time In Texas," with Gurf Morlix and it was featured on the CD Long In The Sun, which was also produced by Gurf Morlix. Awesome song. Here is Troy with Poul Krebs helping out.

- Jessie Scott

11 Bones "Don't Want To Fall In Love"

I am poolside in the shade this Memorial Day. My air card will not work in the house at the beach, so I had to go outside to get a clear shot at the sky. Come to think of it, I have been in some other non-air card accessible locations with Adam Odor, bassist for Eleven Bones, and who at other times wears the hat of production manager for huge events, and sits behind the console producing other artist's projects. Adam is a whirling dervish of energy. Last year he was the transitional bassist for Reckless Kelly, as he pogo-ed on stage, I saw a side to him that I hadn't really seen before.

Adam, Matt Skinner, and Dub Miller put a band together and played the big tent at MusicFest at Steamboat Springs a few years back, and with the addition of Meagan Jones (now O'Dor), Brad Beken, and John Ross Silva, the new band 11 Bones was born. They formed solely for a European tour in 2009, during which eleven bones were actually broken. They healed, they knitted, they recorded. A powerful entity indeed, with lots of drive, melody and harmonic layers. We had them come to Threadgill's during SXSW, and they rocked the house. A special note, this was only their third show playing these tunes as 11 Bones! You can even see rehearsal videos shot by the band on their YouTube channel, 11BonesBand.

Today, Memorial Day, take a moment to remember what this holiday is about. And a shoutout to Music Fog pioneer Ben Krech for enlisting, and to all the men and women who have come before to defend America, and have put their lives on the line to do so. Especially for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and to their families. Thank you.

- Jessie Scott

Possessed By Paul James "Should Have Known Better"

Should Have Known Better. A guest post from Chris Mosser of The Roadhouse on KVET - The Austin Original Radio Station, which plays damn cool music at 7 pm daily. If you are in the Austin area, we encourage you to tune in, or check The Roadhouse out online. - Jessie

My wife and I stumbled, literally, into the Hole In The Wall after a rare kid-free night on the town a couple of years ago, and rather than the usual rowdy bunch of greasy patrons, we found a bunch of greasy patrons rapt with wonder and attention at this...this wild man. The guy on stage was stomping and flailing and howling and hollering out some of the most beautiful music I had ever heard. Music as much pain as joy, as much sorrow as elation. I found out later that the guy was one Konrad Wert, who calls his stage act Possessed By Paul James, and appropriately so - when he gets going, Konrad is certainly channeling an otherworldly force that is at once soothing and sinister. Your heart might soar, or it might break, sometimes within the same song.

- Chris Mosser