Moreland & Arbuckle "Just a Dream"

This is a word about the blues and how cathartic it can be. When you pour yourself into the pure emotion of it, the release approximates crying or even primal screaming. All I know, is that it feels good to get it out of your system, and somehow that magically makes you better. Then there is the form itself, which can be simple but it can be deceptively imaginative, too, as it takes flight in an almost mantra like form. There are so many artists who have added to the language of the blues through the years: Robert Johnson, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Otis Rush, Skip James, Lightning Hopkins, Memphis Slim, Little Willie John, Elmore James, Slim Harpo. It is impossible to list them all. And then there are the British guys who took the guitar parts up a notch and ripped a hole in your heart, The Stones, Zeppelin, Clapton, Beck. The blues. It is a living, breathing thing.

I listened to my first Moreland & Arbuckle album a couple of years ago, and was delighted in the places they transported me to. The Kansas duo has a new album out, Just A Dream, and they have a couple of mighty cool videos spotlighting the tunes. So on this Tuesday, let’s celebrate the blues and Moreland & Arbuckle with something that I guarantee will make you feel better if you are feeling bad. And I promise it will make you dance if you are feeling good. Steve Cropper adds his playing on the album for the title track, “Just A Dream.” Also, M&A are offering a free download of "Purgatory," which is a smokin’ track, featuring Aaron Moreland playing a cigar box guitar, that you can check out in this video. They are on tour, if you want to catch them out in person.

- Jessie Scott

Eilen Jewell "Queen of the Minor Key"

Back a long time ago, when music was shared in a room with everyone listening to the same thing at the same time, we reveled in moving to it or even dancing, whether that meant touching or not. With the advent of personal devices, we now spin in our own orbit, which makes for some awkward moments, like when you come upon someone with his earbuds in, who is unaware of how loudly he is singing. I find it almost impossible to listen to my iPod and not respond to the music. People must think I am possessed, as I am like a jumping jack, bursting with energy as the music pulses through my brain and body. I haven't mastered the modern day skill of being detached. It happens when I attend a show, too. I see no reason to be hipper than thou, and cool, calm, and collected.

I challenge you not to react to Eilen Jewell’s “Queen Of The Minor Key,” which we filmed during the Music Fog Marathon in March, at Threadgill’s in Austin, Texas. This song, which is the title track from her new album, calls for finger snapping, hip swaying, and pounding on whatever is close or jumping up and doing the jitterbug. Eilen and the band make a glorious ruckus. And what a tight band this is. Jerry Miller (electric, acoustic and steel guitars), Johnny Sciascia (upright bass), and Jason Beek (drums, harmony vocals), are absolutely undeniable. You must obey, and then make sure you catch them when they are in your neck of the woods. And as Eilen’s website says...ENTER. Yes Ma’am!

- Jessie Scott

The Trishas "Why"

I want to take a look back at The Trishas, who were founded at the same time as Music Fog was. It was a shiny new year, in 2009, and we were all in the snow at Steamboat, happy to be toasting to a new beginning. There was a flurry of excitement when the girls stepped out to perform that first time. Since then, they have graced stages everywhere and have been the opening act for some heavy hitters. During Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Grit N’ Groove in April, they sang back up for Joe Walsh. The Trishas are headlining tonight in Dallas, and they play with Joe Ely at Floore’s Country Store on Friday. They take to the road, heading West a bit, and then east to destinations in the South.

One thing is for sure, they wow audiences wherever they go. Paul Thorn watched them from the soundboard at Antone’s several months back, and said, “I’m going to be opening for them one day.” The Trishas bring power and grace in their harmonies. It is a wonder to watch how they weave their four distinct personalities and voices into such a cohesive force. It is so effortless that they seem to float. They make you float while watching, which might be the best part. This is cathartic, emotional, transcendent. We Music Foggers feel honored to continue to be their unofficial videographers. We captured this performance at MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, in the Grand Hotel in January. It is another unreleased tune called “Why.”

-Jessie Scott