Steve Poltz "Dreamhouse"

You know how hard it is for musicians to make a living these days. We watch our road dog friends tour incessantly, and sell their merch off the stage, which allows them to get to the next town and then to the next. So anything the helps to make things more profitable for them is very cool in our book. Enter Tikly, a ticketing website which allows artists, venues and events to keep more of the money for each ticket they sell. So, if a ticket is $10 or less, Tikly charges the buyer an extra $1. Above that, fees are 10 percent of the transaction, up to $7.50. Just to give you a bit of insight on how fair that is, Ticketmaster fees can often add 50% per ticket. And they don’t ask for contracts or upfront fees.

They have a couple of clients we know and love, The Nadas and Steve Poltz. Music Fog got familiar with the Tikly story when they donated to our Kickstarter campaign. Steve Poltz swears by them, so much so, that he is using them for his present Australian tour.

Steve has a new album coming out next month, Noineen Noiny Noin, which was named during one of his previous Aussie jaunts. Steve asked a promoter if he remembered the year when he first came to Australia, “Oi reckon it was noineen noiny noin,” the man said, referring to the year 1999. Voila, an album title is born! Today’s tune comes from Steve's 2010 release, Dreamhouse.  It's the title track and this version was filmed during our Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s WHQ in March.

- Jessie Scott

Sons of Bill "Santa Ana Winds"

I have been working weekends for quite a while now, and am happy that this was the first weekend in a while to do normal stuff; laundry, shopping, cleaning, and of course, a bit of Cinco De Mayo bar hopping. Hope you had your fill of Dos Equis, Tecates, and Margaritas. Hope you don’t have a clanging head this Sunday. While we are talking about housekeeping, I wanted to remind you of our first every compilation album, Who’s First?, available for download as single tracks or the whole album.  Revisiting this collection of tunes, it is really gratifying to be in on the beginning of the creative process for so many of the folks that we get to film. Honestly, it amazes me how many times artists want to play as yet unrecorded and unreleased song for us. Quite a trip, when we see the songs finally come out on albums.

It was a long time coming for the Sons Of Bill new CD Sirens to see light of day. It took time to raise the money to produce it and for the other things that have to be put in place around the release. It is an arduous task, as well as a labor of love to keep a career going these days. Sons of Bill keep a busy dance card, and do a cooking show. They are in Nashville at the Mercy Lounge on May 8th, and they just keep rolling all through the spring and summer.  There are a couple of especially cool dates coming up, as they head to Circus Mexicus with Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers in early June and then in August, they take part in the Braun Brothers Reunion in Challis, Idaho. We have had the pleasure of filming them a few times. They first played the song "Santa Ana Winds” for us in January of 2011 at MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, and that version is available on our album. Here is the official video for “Santa Ana Winds,” from their new album Sirens.

- Jessie Scott

The Mastersons "Birds Fly South"

This is a tale of sticking to it. I first met Chris Masterson a decade or so ago, when he was playing guitar for Jack Ingram. He rocked back then, and I always looked forward to seeing him on stage for his swagger and chops. Of late, he and his wife Eleanor Whitmore have been touring as part of Steve Earle’s Dukes and Duchesses, which is a really special show that I recommend seeing if you get the chance. They are playing New Orleans Jazz and Heritage today at 4:15 CT. Lucky you if you are there! Of course, Steve is one of the amazing folks on the New West Records roster, and happily one thing led to another. New West Records has just released an album last month from The Mastersons called Birds Fly South.

Photo Credit: Paul Robert WrightThe Mastersons are both from Texas, but call New York home now. They recorded the album in Austin and drove down with all that was dear to them in the car. They took a path traced by snowbirds since the highways of America were first built. Just because they are a couple performing together, don’t pigeonhole them as some sort of modern day George and Tammy. Instead, think of them as a band. I gotta hand it to them, both are consummate musicians with mad skills and lots of ideas, and the creativity bubbles over on their new CD. We had them come visit the Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s WHQ, and they brought Pete Coatney on drums and Eleanor’s sister, Bonnie Whitmore on bass. Here is the Music Fog version of the title track, “Birds Fly South.”

- Jessie Scott

PS: You can watch New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, as it is being streamed on YouTube.