The Winchester Twin "Good Old Days"

On the back of our Music Fog business cards, Beans came up with something of a signature slogan for us...the flip side says "Hazy Details," under which there are some lines for you to write on, that hopefully will be a directive when you get home after a night at the bar, to tell you about who you talked to and what you talked about. That's if you even remember to write something. Otherwise all bets are off. Today we are posting a video from The Winchester Twin. I know almost nothing about them. But they've been playing around Austin, in some form or another, for a few years. We're friends with their drummer, Steven Anderson, and I think he describes the band as this:

"If a lost Okie, a type-writer-pipe organ inventor, and an Eagle Scout met Buddy Holly's ghost and simmered some grits, there in the haze of the steam you might begin to see the secret TheTwin has been keeping hidden in the cornmeal. Broken hearts, broken dreams, and broken bottles is our story, but a great love song is our curse. So, grab a bowl and a scoop of 'dem grits. As they say...music is the food of the soul."

I have not turned up an official bio. I don't know where the name 'The Winchester Twin' comes from. Are they named after the former movie theater in Lubbock, TX? How about a bed set, or linens? There is a young Canadian author that has written a series on "The Winchester Twin." I am sure there is a damn good back-story, we just don't know what it is. Hazy details indeed!

What we do know is that there's an EP on the way very soon. So, meanwhile, grab a bowl of grits, some red-eye gravy if you please, and listen to the tune "Good Old Days" from the stage at Threadgill's this past March.

- Jessie Scott

P.S. You can appropriate our 'Hazy Details' line on the back of your business card if you like. Just give Beans credit if you do!

Randy Weeks "Sugar Lee"

The L.A. Times called him a "2009 Artist to Watch." He was already transitioning to Austin, and has been a welcome addition to the artist community for the last three years. Let me tell you about just one of the scenes that is alive and well here in ATX, there are many, you know...but this cadre of folks from SoCal includes Stonehoney, Ruby James, Danny B. Harvey, Shurman, Deadman, Jesse Dayton, The Mother Truckers, and the man we're featuring here today, Randy Weeks! There is a sharing of time on stage and off. This scene spins around my bosom buddy and fellow flaming redhead Shilah Morrow, and her Sin City Social Club. Mama Shi came here from L.A. three years ago, too. She is an inveterate scene builder, and there have been a host of other L.A. artists that have migrated to Austin in these last three years, also. Selfishly, I am happy to be able to watch Randy on stage in the multitude of clubs he visits around town.

We recorded Randy at Folk Alliance 2009, when he was besieged by laryngitis. We were delighted to have the opportunity for a second meeting on the bus, with a few of his friends, as we returned to Memphis for Folk Alliance 2010 this past February. "Sugar Lee" is an as yet unreleased tune. You can watch it here, and watch Randy in person as he cruises the Mid West this summer.

- Jessie Scott

Doug Moreland "Hunting Bear"

Doug Moreland is a funny boy. No, not like that, really! He has done standup comedy, and has acted as Master of Ceremonies for various illustrious occasions. But we especially love it when he marries humor and song. I think he embodies almost a childlike wonder in the antcipation of the hunt, in this song we bring you today. Now I ain't getting into the whole rap about guns, or sport hunting, or the food chain or even the sustainability of life, for that matter. Suffice it to say that Doug twists a phrase on this one, and recalls an earlier time in America, when this was just the way it was.

The other thing that Doug does really well is chainsaw art. Wood does not stand a chance around him. Then there are the funky costumes he snow skis in. Afro wigs, Elvis suits. A mighty TALL man! Hmmmmm, it just occurred to me, the world needs a series of DOUG MORELAND ACTION FIGURES! Dougie, let's go partners on this venture. I can see the line now, and we can come up with an endless list of situations and costuming to put you in. Collect them all! Heck, I can see them as characters in YouTube videos. Have your peeps call my peeps and let's go viral! While we are doing that, here is a Music Fog video from MusicFest at Steamboat Springs back in January. The tune is "Hunting Bear," Doug Moreland with Randy Roberts on upright, originally released on the 2009 CD Barnstormer.

- Jessie Scott