Paul Thorn "I Don't Like Half the Folks I Love"

Get ready, it's coming. Just because you are related doesn't mean you get along. But it might mean you will be seeing them in just a few days for Christmas. I don't have any advice for you. I am not going to tell you to tie one on so you don't care. I won't say to bury your nose in a newspaper, or wear your earbuds whether you are listening to something or just tuning out. Turn the other cheek, keep a low profile, keep your thoughts to yourself...these all might work. But they might not. Just remember as we walk up to the dinner table that nothing is forever, including the meal. Try to have a moment, try to bask in the light of the tree. Or try to deal in the wonder of the absurdity of it, that you ain't going to get along with everyone. My brother Mitch calls it the "Asshole Rule." That is, no matter who you are, no matter how much of a saint you actually might consider yourself, when you walk in the room, one person in there is going to think you are an asshole. What are you going to do? That's life. What do they say, "Butter wouldn't melt...?

Even with our best intentions, sometimes things get out of hand anyway. The general rule has to be 'be true to your heart,' and if your intentions are pure and not spiteful, you at least know you didn't mean to hurt anyone. The golden rule helps too. Does anyone even remember what that is anymore? Do unto others...? Ah, but we have a fine example of the conundrum rendered in song. Paul Thorn nails it down right and tidy with a bit of homespun philosophy to put it in perspective. It is a tune off Paul's most recent album, Pimps and Preachers, which we recorded on the Music Fog bus this past May at the Cherokee Creek Music Festival just north of Llano, TX. "I Don't Like Half the Folks I Love." Ahem, and Amen.

- Jessie Scott

Sons of Bill "Santa Ana Winds"

In the final countdown to Christmas, I have been doing the requisite running around to complete the plan. So much of what we do these days can be accomplished on the web. But sometimes it is good to get out and get person to person. To see who shares our town. To shop locally, to enjoy a latte and the ubiquitous Christmas music that the stores have been playing since before Thanksgiving. There is a wonderful multi-culturalism in Austin, as there is across America. This year has been a flurry of travel for me. Places, each with their own blend of immigrants, customs, and ethos. Each with a different cadence to their speech, echoed in their regional cuisines, micro-beers, wine and the rest. I am a supporter of "Ma and Pa" operations. Not that I don't wind up in the big stores too, but I seek out the unique one-offs when I can. And I love getting into those conversations, slices of real time during which we share our lives in a most compressed way that affirms our commonality. I walk out with a smile. This is America, a giant community, set into hills and dales, by river banks and ocean shores, building up and building out into a sprawl, creeping still, ever further. The Los Angeles-izing of the rest of the country.

When I moved to LA in 1985, it was a brave new world for me as a New York native. There was Valley-Girl speech, Wolfgang Puck cuisine, and Alternative Rock in the air. There were mudslides and earthquakes, and forest fires sometimes fueled by these winds that just made you itchy. The Santa Anas. It was the first time I experienced their oppressive power. I don't know what, if anything, prompted the Sons of Bill to do a song about the Santa Anas. I promise I will ask when we see them at MusicFest in Steamboat Springs in just a couple of weeks. The Sons of Bill are hard at work on their third album, which is being produced by Cracker's David Lowery. Look for it to be out this coming Spring. Here's a swaggering hard rocking video to shake you up this Sunday, a new tune called "Santa Ana Winds." Just accept it as a bit of energy to propel you into the final push for your holiday preparations.

- Jessie Scott

Raul Malo "One More Angel"

Flirting is fun! It is also a healthy indulgence (ahem, that is if you are single,) whether it leads to 'something' or not. It is especially wonderful to be on the receiving end of it. Had a dinner out with the girls at this wonderful Trattoria a couple of nights ago. We were well into the wine and the good times; the savoring of the food, the conversation, and each other's company. Halfway through the meal, this large group of people, eight or ten of them, came in to take the table behind us. One of their ranks danced past us, almost flamenco style, with a twinkle in his eye, making sure we saw him. It was magic, and fun, and we all need to witness that kind of energy up close from time to time. There was just something about him, a joie de vivre so compelling, it told of the mystery, the conjecture of what might be. Attraction, can be so surprising. Sweet. Alive. In the moment.

Raul Malo is a major league chick magnet, he of the flashing eyes, solar smile, and tidal pull. I can't tell you how many women friends I have had this conversation with, who have sighed dreamily when his name is mentioned. He just has something special going on, not to take away any of his other talents - troubadour being an obvious one. The Music Fog crew is a split of equal numbers of men and women, all of us are honored to have Raul come to play for our cameras, though I haven't actually polled Beans, Chris or Aaron as to whether or not they have a man crush on him. I can, however, speak for Denise, Sheila and I, and we are all very much smitten. Now THAT'S a word you don't hear every day.

We filmed Raul at the Americana Music Festival this past September in Nashville, and he sang this incredibly poignant song. "One More Angel" is from his 2009 CD Lucky One. There are a handful of tour dates scheduled for you to bask in his glow, including Delbert McClinton's Sandy Beaches Cruise. Make the most of it all. Live and love, everyday.

- Jessie Scott