The Black Lillies "Catherine"

I am reading a really cool book called The Mojo Triangle, which talks about the geography between Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans, the area that spawned the great American genres of Country, Blues, Bluegrass, Rock and Roll, and Jazz. It was the confluence of five national traditions: African American, Native American, British, Spanish and French. It was a potent mix to throw into the pot, and is one that keeps giving, as it drinks from the deepest possible well. And it is one that continues to manifest it’s gumbo in the music of today.

The Black Lillies are proponents of the echoes of the past brought forth with today’s freewheeling energy. They keep the spirit fresh in the tale of “Catherine,” done in the story song tradition of the British Isles. Cruz Contreras, Tom Pryor, Jamie Cook, Trisha Gene Brady and Robert Richards continue rolling down the highway on the heels of their most recent release, 100 Miles Of Wreckage. Tomorrow night finds them in Whitesburg, KY.  If they come to your town, promise me you will go to see them for a rousing evening’s rave up.

- Jessie Scott

Dave Alvin & The Guilty Ones "Black Rose of Texas"

I had the great pleasure of seeing Dave Alvin play again at Sam’s Burger Joint in San Antonio just before Christmas, and was once again struck by his humility, his soulfulness and his sheer talent. And by the way, that extends past his music, and includes the breaks in between the songs - erudite or heartfelt stories that he delivers with pinpoint accuracy, painting pictures with his words that take you there. You cheer him, learn music history from him, and sometimes mourn with him. Today’s song is one of those. After Dave’s best friend and band mate Chris Gaffney died in 2008, Dave put a project together in 2009 in which he was backed by the Guilty Women, instead of his Guilty Men.

Dave Alvin with Lisa Pankratz & Amy Farris.Today’s song is an homage by Dave Alvin to yet another band mate, Amy Farris, who was an amazing singer and fiddler, who was one of the Guilty Women.  She sadly, passed in 2009.  The song is called “Black Rose of Texas.”  I cried when Dave played it in San Antonio a month ago, both for his preamble to it and for the song itself. You can find it on Dave’s latest album Eleven Eleven.   And a note on that, there is an expanded version of the album coming in April, with nearly three hours of music and two previously unreleased bonus tracks, “Signal Hill” and “Never Trust A Woman.” Also there will be a live performance DVD, and a repackaging of the original full-length album. Today, the Music Fog version of “Black Rose Of Texas,” recorded during our Spring Marathon at Threadgill’s in Austin last year.

 - Jessie Scott

P.S. Dave is getting some love from the FX series Justified, as his song “Every Night About This Time” was featured last Tuesday on the season premiere. 

The White Buffalo "Love Song #1"

Lately, I have been getting into conversations about the philosophy of mass communication. Heady stuff, I know, but there are so many people who come to me asking why their music can’t be ubiquitous, the way music was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I would posit that the media delivery system started breaking apart in the late 90s, and the last people to ride it to become ‘household names’ were the likes of Matchbox20, Sister Hazel, Sheryl Crow, all who saw first light of day in that era. Not to say that no one has broken through since then, but back then, there was a system which could be relied on, which has now disappeared from the media landscape.

Photo Credit: Cheyenne EllisToday, there are lots of alternative paths to finding your audience. Each artist is tasked with finding his own way. There are no rules. You do it however you can. And yes, it can lead to a satisfying decades-long career. I am heartened by the artists that ply the festival stages to become known. There are TV shows that feature new music in their soundtracks, from which the artists can ascend to carve out a place for themselves in the pantheon. The White Buffalo is one, having exposure on the TV show Sons of Anarchy. His EP The Lost & Found came out in December, and come February there will be a full length album out called Once Upon A Time In The West.

Here is a tasty morsel.

- Jessie Scott