Steve Poltz "Killin' Myself (To Be With You)"

First off, I think Steve Poltz should be our next 'one name' artist. Poltz. Period. On his website, he announces his west coast tour, with a picture with a boat that looks like it could be made of Lego's. Clever fellow that he is, it's not just called his HOME page, it's his DOWN HOME page. Ahem! While we are on the Steve Poltz website, there are lots of inventively named tabs, and even more inventive text that accompanies them. "Measure of the Man" is where you will find his bio, which starts with the provocative line, "He trick-or-treated at Liberace’s house, planned a two-day stay in Amsterdam that ended a month later with him escaping the city under the cover of darkness, and was Bob Hope’s favorite altar boy." No idea whether any of that is true. But ya know, it just might be! There are still west coast dates, so we encourage you to get out and see this American original.

Poltz' latest album is called Dreamhouse, and it is where you will find the song "Killin' Myself (To Be With You)." That tune, by the way, was a Music Fog debut two weeks after it was written, as we originally recorded it in February of 2009 at Folk Alliance in Memphis. We revisit it just a year later, as Poltz brought it to the Music Fog stage at Threadgill's during SXSW 2010. Sweet.

- Jessie Scott

  Steve Poltz - Killin' Myself (To Be With You)

Madison Violet "Lauralee"

Magic happens when Madison Violet comes around. They make sweet music together, even when the message has a bit of snarl, as it does on the song we are posting for you today that warns "Lauralee" to stay away. Lest you be wondering, in the fine style of "which one's Pink?" there is neither a Madison, nor a Violet, as Madviolet is Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac, and they hail from small Scottish towns in Canada. They've been together a decade or so now, with both of them having absorbed their respective parental units' vintage LP collections growing up, drinking from a well that has yielded a sound called both city-folk and tumbleweed pop.

On July 28th, they were announced winners of the coveted "Maxell Song of the Year," for the song "The Ransom," in the 13th annual John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Get a load of the judges for this thing: Elton John, Tim McGraw, Wyclef Jean, Bacon Brothers, Carlos Santana, Black Eyed Peas, Fergie, Natasha Badingfield, John Legend, Enrique Iglesias, Mary J. Blige; just to name some of them! There is a Music Fog version of "The Ransom," so check that out too, if you haven't seen it already.

We had an interesting occurrence with Madison Violet recently as they were touring Germany. Their audience found some of the Music Fog videos, and their comments are a hoot! We were watching a spike in our numbers, when we dug in to see where it was coming from, we found it was being driven by all guys, all German guys, all in a state of major lust! Many of these new fans discovered them after an amazing performance on the German music TV show Rockaplast. The girls are back in Canada now, in case you want to escape the heat of summer stateside...run on up and see them! And YES, they will be returning to Germany in October. Hubba Hubba! For complete tour dates, visit their website.

Now, "Lauralee" from Madison Violet, accompanied by Adrian Lawryshyn on upright bass and vocals. This was filmed during our Memphis Folk Alliance Sessions on the Music Fog bus!

- Jessie Scott

11 Bones "Losers"

Eleven Bones is on a roll! Since we last checked in with Matt Skinner, Dub Miller, Meagan Jones, John Ross Silva, Brian Beken, and Adam Odor, they put out their first EP, Four Day March. The reviews continue to flow in, the requests for the band to come to play shows have been like the steady beat of a jungle drum. And Eleven Bones just celebrated their one year anniversary on July 19th. That's when the bones began to break. Yes, they really did...literally!

I called Adam Odor to get an update, he checking in with "Giving you the lowdown on the hoedown!" He went on to tell us that things are going great, though they don't have any shows booked for August. They have, however, been in the studio, where they just tracked a couple of new tunes. This time they are working on doing a full length LP, not just an EP. Adam says, "We've been writing alone, and together, playing the songs for each other over the past couple of months. The last couple of shows we've been doing some new tunes on stage." Adam continues, "When part of Eleven Bones was on the John Dickson cruise (thebigmusiccruise.com), we played with Matt King and The Cutters - as the Bone-Cutters." So on July 8th the Bone-Cutters played in conjunction with Tito's Vodka, Gibson Austin and the Grammy Foundation, which was designated a Grammy Foundation benefit, and a kick ass night of music, I might add.

Look for Eleven Bones to hit the road again, as September is starting to book up, and also look for some live tunes for free download to be posted to their website soon, if you sign up on their mailing list. Oh, and look for a cool video right now from their Threadgill's Music Fog showcase during SXSW 2010. "Losers."

- Jessie Scott