Amy LaVere "Damn Love Song"

A plea for honesty. Watching Real Time with Bill Maher this week made me laugh out loud for the ACTUAL things that were expressed, not even being clothed in the usual euphemisms. And because it is HBO, there is that healthy sprinkling of obscenity that serves to further drive the emphasis. It’s actually very refreshing, delivered in this no holds barred way. I wish politicians could be so overt, and put it out there for all to see. But that ain’t gonna ever happen.

There can, however, be honesty in songs thank goodness. Amy LaVere’s new album comes out today, and you can count on her to lay the emotions bare. Through the years she has explored the underside, and I know there were lots of life changes in the ramp up to this album. Jim Dickinson was scheduled to return to the producer’s chair, but his passing in 2009 set Amy to finding another to fill his shoes. That he was mentor and a huge supporter, made the grieving especially tough. And the breakup of her 6 year relationship to drummer Paul Taylor left another hole. She missed his collaboration, and wound up asking for him to play drums to complete the record. Amy’s third CD is called Stranger Me, and here is our live version of one of the tunes, “Damn Love Song,” filmed at the Music Fog Marathon in March at Threadgill’s.

- Jessie Scott

Rodney Crowell "Moving Work of Art"

Monday morning.  Carmageddon fizzled like the Y2K scare.  Over the weekend on Facebook, my friend Peter Rodman posted a rewrite sung to the tune of “Carmelita,” with apologies to the late, great Warren Zevon.

"I hear demolition noises on the radio/and my cell phone glows, in the dark, This GPS says "Encinada"/but I haven't gone around the block! Carmageddon! (didn't happen)/I think it fizzled out...'cause everybody listened to the cable news/Now, nobody's goin' out..." 

I LOVE that.  It is actually amazing what we can do when we are paying attention.  And since our attention is focused out west, and we were holding on to this tune, here goes.  We taped Rodney Crowell, the multi-talented and eminently thoughtful and thought provoking singwriter (you heard me) at the Americana Fest in September of 2010.

By the way, this year’s Americana event has been pushed back a month, to October 12 through 15 in Nashville. They've started announcing who will be iplaying: The Civil Wars, Robert Plant & Band Of Joy, Foster & Lloyd, Gregg Allman, Justin Townes Earle, The Jayhawks and the North Mississippi All Stars, just to name a few.  Ticket prices are going up soon, so if you want to be there, here is the skinny for registration and wristbands.

But I digress....today Music Fog brings you a sweet, solo version of one of Rodney’s songs from the Sex & Gasoline album. “Moving Work Of Art.”  Catch him on The Chinaberry Sidewalks Tour named after his recently released memoir.

- Jessie Scott

Colin Gilmore "Goodnight Lane"

Do you remember how you felt when you got a new pair of sneakers as a kid. Like you could bounce all the way up to touch the net of the basket. Like you could trampoline to the sky, like you could run fast enough to fly. I used to have dreams that I could run so fast that it would launch me into the air. What precipitated this riff? I got some new Chuck’s, and boy do they feel good. I don’t recall that sensation sticking around long when I was a kid, but I have had my Converse's for a month now and they still delight. Just looking at them, they make me happy.

Photo Credit: Kim MaguireI feel the same way about Colin Gilmore’s music. I first met him leaning against a now long gone cigarette machine at Antone’s several years ago, during SXSW®. Wow, how long ago was it when there still were cigarette machines? He gave me a copy of the 4 of No Kind EP that day. I brought it into XM and put “The You That I Knew” and “Winds Of Heaven” on the air immediately. He came to visit in DC when I booked his dad, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, at XM for a performance segment, and Colin got to play with him and sing a song or two. His music has made me happy for years, even when he is singing about sorrow. I was delighted he was able to come play for us at Threadgill’s this past March during the Music Fog Marathon. His most recent album came out last year, his first after about five years, and here is the Music Fog version of the title track, “Goodnight Lane.” Dancing to this in my Chucks!

- Jessie Scott