Kevin Welch "Answer Me That"

Kevin Welch's brand new CD A Patch of Blue Sky dropped yesterday. That's industry talk for it now being available to purchase. From his announcing press release, "Songwriter & Traveler Kevin Welch Releases First Solo CD In Eight Years." The main reason I copied and pasted is for the word 'traveler.' Recently I sat over beers with someone who articulately illustrated the difference between being a tourist and a traveler. It is a philosophy of life. We all know what the tourist piece is, I think, primarily an unwillingness to engage, at an arm's length 'just passing through' the circumstances. But when a person is a traveler, it imparts a full drinking in of the places one visits. An ability to be home anywhere in the world. A meeting of people on their own terms, and an appreciation of what's put in front of them. Kevin Welch is all that, moreover, because then he articulates it. Such beauty to his craft. The ability to dig down deep and bring you a mood, a portrait; to focus you on something special, something to hold dear.

This latest CD is a painful travel through love and loss. Ever questioning, ever fine tuning the words and music...and traveling too! Kevin is on the road in the US, popping over to Sardinia, Italy for the first weekend in July. He makes it all feel effortless. "Answer Me That." Indeed!

- Jessie Scott

[To see a wonderful video featuring the making of the record, visit the album's page on Kevin's website by clicking here.]

Lynn Miles "Black Flowers"

Lynn Miles.

A voice that is a force of nature
One part bell tone, two parts ache
Chills, a tingling in your nerve endings
Tides rising, reeds bending in the breeze
A song on the wind
Raw emotion, elegantly delivered.

"Black Flowers" is not just the song we are bringing you here, Black Flowers is also a series of CDs. Lynn Miles has plans to record all 600 of the songs she has written with just vocals and guitar. The first album was released summer of 2008, but actually didn't include the tune "Black Flowers," which was on Vol. 2 from November of the same year. There is a new CD in the works that is not part of this series, the title is Fall For Beauty. Expect it to be released this September. And yes, there will be a Vol. 3 of Black Flowers shortly thereafter.

Lynn's career has taken her from Ottawa to live in Nashville, then to LA, and back to Ottawa, where she is a cherished Canadian songstress. She has been composing since she was 10 years old. Some of her music was first demo-ed in 1987. Since then, she has created an impressive, expressive body of work. Lynn Miles. Let the magic wash over you.

- Jessie Scott

Nudie and the Turks "You Try to Be Right"

You have to do what you love. It is a mantra I am hearing everywhere these days, for in the shifting sands of our times there is nothing to tuck back into. So you might as well chase your dream. Why the hell not, or as we at Music Fog say, "How hard can it be?"

Enter Nudie and the Turks, who started life as a band just five short years ago. There was busking involved. Take it to the streets, that seems to be a good place to start! Nudie and company parked themselves at Willie Nelson shows, playing for the entering audience. They got the idea from doing it at a George Jones show, where they met George backstage (glory day!). The advice given was "do what's in your heart and good things will happen to you." And so they have, with two CDs under their belt, and countless nights on the road. Nudie and the Turks are living it.

They spent two weeks in a Halifax studio, working on their new project, after their trip to Folk Alliance in Memphis back in February, and the new recording is due to be released this fall. We wonder if this track might not be forthcoming! "You Try to Be Right." Let us sing the praises of art and technique. Let us start by celebrating the rumble, tone and drive of the guitar. And let us bow our heads at the joy of harmony, the realization of being able to hear the lyrics, let alone share in the timelessness of the sadly all too recognizable situation. Nudie Turk on vox and acoustic guitar, Roger Carter on snare, Dean Dunsford on vox and upright bass, and Aaron Currie on mighty electric. Then let's admire the wardrobe choice, the handy work of the multi-hued Western shirts with beautiful detailing. Ya know, I'll bet their boots were cool, too!

- Jessie Scott