Ten Cent Howl "Are We Fine"

I gage that Music Fog is on people lips mostly because not an hour goes by during the work week, that I don't get a press release from a band. Well, let me rephrase that. We hear from labels, PR agents, radio promoters, show promoters, managers, attorneys, bands themselves, or fans and relatives of bands! Oh, some are electronica, some are heavy metal, lots are indie, and some actually fit! Here is one that does, Ten Cent Howl has been together for years, being the standard bearer for Americana in Buffalo, New York. "Buffalo?" you say. "Why yes," I reply, the rust belt is rife with Americana. From Chicago through the Great Lakes to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York, there is plenty of cool roots music being made. And why not? Americana is perfectly positioned to reflect the landscape, to address the questions that need to be asked; to comment on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Halloween makes me happy. Trick or treating with no adult supervision, the freedom of dressing weirdly. When I lived in Orlando, it was amazing to get invited to parties, what with the Universal and Disney talent infusion. As you might imagine, the costumes were over the top. Halloween is a great excuse to have a party, and it's a wonderful opportunity for creativity to ooze out of every pore. Bring people together for dandy candy and fun mixtapes, what could be better? And there are seemingly days of parties upon us with the Sunday night placement this year. So let us address the moon together with the band Ten Cent Howl. They bring us a song from their Dreamscape Americana CD, "Are We Fine," which features clips from the 1916 short movie The Mystery of the Leaping Fish. Look for more costume ideas!

- Jessie Scott

Patty Larkin "Hallelujah"

I am back in Austin, where there is endless summer and if only there were an ocean I would go surfing! It is nearly 90 degrees and fairly humid. Flowers are blooming. Grass is growing. Mold and other particulate matter is in the air. Halloween is right around the corner, too. I may have to adjust my costume choice to something more summerly. Don't want that zombie makeup melting off my face. I am deciding between Zombie Andy Warhol (could you tell the difference between the unzombie and zombie of Andy?) and being a Zom-Bee-Gee, with "Stayin' Alive" playing continuously in my gold sequin disco jacket. Maybe we should make it a vote! Let me know which I should go as! Anyway, last week, the weather in New York was about perfect. Autumn leaves just starting to turn. A chill in the air in the wee hours. I feel an excitement with the change of season. The crispness contains forward motion. Tomorrow it is supposed to be ONLY 78 here in Austin, yahoo! Bitch Bitch Bitch...I know that there is already snow on the ground in New England, I shouldn't complain!

Photo Credit: Jana LeonPatty Larkin is a girl of the northern climates, too. She spent her childhood in Milwaukee, WI and moved to New England upon graduation from high school. There, she devoted herself to music, busking on the streets of Cambridge and studying jazz guitar at Berklee College of Music and with Boston area jazz guitarists. After 25 years, she continues to burn bright. And she is wisely avoiding most of the northern tier for her fall touring season! One of the most interesting shows coming up is December 17th at The Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA, as Patty takes the stage with Lucy Kaplansky, Chris Smither, and Jorma Kaukonen. It is a benefit for The Half the Sky Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to providing the love and concern of family for thousands of orphaned children in China who have lost theirs. Their mission is for each to have a caring adult in their life. "Hallelujah" is the song we bring today, from our Music Fog bus sessions during this year's Folk Alliance in Memphis. On Patty's latest album, 25, she duets on this song with the equally magical Shawn Colvin. Here she is solo for this version...let us salute love.

- Jessie Scott

Girl in a Coma "Walkin' After Midnight"

For me there is no more direct route to memories than through songs. There are so many that recall entire scenarios when you listen to them, that they take you right back there. You can smell the air, feel the humidity or the chill in the air. Remember how your coat clung, or how your heels clicked on the pavement. There were songs that nailed what it was like to be in love, in lust really, what with all the teenaged hormones and associated wonder at the world. In those days, it was unrequited. Coming of age. Scary times, those, especially because there were such prohibitions placed on being a bad girl. It was hard to reconcile one's feelings with the dictates of society. So if the songs hinted at it, they rarely were overt. The great culture war - post Woodstock - brought awareness, civil rights, and women proudly declaring themselves feminists, and slipping out of the shackles society placed on them. Ah, but how things have changed. Back in those days, women did not walk after midnight, unless they were 'that' kind of girl. And walking on the highway was just an invitation to be picked up, heaven forbid! "Walking After Midnight" was written by Alan Block and Donn Hecht, and Patsy Cline made it a million seller in 1957.

Girl in a Coma hails from San Antonio, Texas. They formed in Junior High School when Jenn Alva and Phanie Diaz met in art class and discovered a mutual love of the Smiths and Nirvana. They needed a singer, who was to materialize in the form of Nina Diaz, Phanie’s then 12-year old little sister. In 2006, they played for Joan Jett and her longtime producer Kenny Laguna for a cable TV show about unsigned bands. They were signed on the spot by Joan to her label Blackheart Records. The album Adventures In Coverland came out last week. It cuts a broad swath through musical styles from Oldies, Rockabilly, and 90's, to Tejano. The new record includes an update of Buffalo Springfield’s "For What It's Worth," and an original Girl in a Coma song, "Yo Oigo," which was written to be featured in Robert Rodriguez’s new movie Machete. The band also covers Selena with their fuzzed out version of her "Si Una Vez," which they performed at the 2010 Tejano Music Awards. They have toured with Sia, The Pogues, Cyndi Lauper, Tegan and Sara, and even one of their heroes, Morrissey, whose song inspired their name. Check here for GIAC tour dates.

- Jessie Scott