Darrell Scott "A Crooked Road"

Darrell Scott is a performer whose talents are of mythic proportions. He writes, he sings, he plays, and it is all effortless, seamless and touched by the divine. He is a revelation. He is one of those rare people that can be totally entertaining all by himself. But now there is a band, too, and what a band it is. When I heard that Darrell was going to join Robert Plant's Band of Joy, I jumped for joy. He takes his place with the other giants in that aggregation, right beside Robert Plant, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Byron House, and Marco Giovino. We got a chance to see the band perform for The Ryman Auditorium audience after the Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville. They did a smoldering set (not for broadcast) after the awards show, ya had to have been there! The tour has gone to Europe, tonight they are in Edinburgh. The question I have is how Plant got wind of Darrell, and how much fun it must be playing with this level of artistry. I wish now I had asked Darrell when he came to see us during Americana Fest.

Kentucky born, East Gary, Indiana bred, with some California thrown in for good measure; Darrell grew up playing with his brothers and father, Wayne, in their family band. He made pit stops in Toronto and Boston, earning a degree in poetry from Tufts University before he made his way to Nashville in 1992. He was initially welcomed for his instrumental prowess. His songwriting was embraced next, with his work being covered by Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks, Alan Jackson, Sam Bush, and Guy Clark, who was his mentor. His latest CD is called A Crooked Road, and it is his 6th studio album of the 9 CDs in his discography. His lyrics are simple, and quite perfect on this song, the title track, "A Crooked Road." We were totally honored to have him, and blessed by this tune.

- Jessie Scott

Exene Cervenka "Someday I'll Forget"

Photo Credit: Ali SmithI don't know that I can do this in our semi-usual just two paragraphs! X, the band, is a page---as lifetime in itself. That Exene Cervenka emerged, as did John Doe, into the Alt. Country world from THAT band, is a remarkable bit of seeming sociological non sequitur. Punk becomes cowpunk becomes Americana. When X was kicking up the dust in LA, it was a breath of saturated air, tainted with the sweat of writhing bodies dancing in nihilistic abandon. For Exene, X's music was accompanied by side projects with The Knitters, Auntie Christ, and The Original Sinners - not to mention solo projects. She has published four books, starting in 1982 with Adulterers Anonymous in collaboration with Lydia Lunch. There have been appearances in movies, poetry readings; and her journals, and mixed media collages became a one woman exhibition. More recently, Exene Cervenka and Modi Frank have released their short western film from the 80's, Bad Day, as a digital download. Some people just can't help it. The creativity oozes out of their pores, colors their aura. And so it is with Exene.

She floated into the Music Fog studio at the Sheraton. She brought with her the angels: Cindy Wasserman of Dead Rock West, and Cheryl Lyndsey from The Breeders. They resonated to the heavens. Exene's first solo CD since 1991 is Somewhere Gone. She came to Americana Fest to celebrate that, and sit on a very cool panel which explored the punk roots of now Americana artists, which also included Peter Case of The Plimsouls, Jon Langford of The Mekons, Sid Griffin from the Long Ryders, and Handsome Warner Hodges who brought the punk to punk-country with Jason and the Scorchers. Interesting watching the morphing, that's for sure! And wonderful to have her in front of the Music Fog cameras. We won't soon forget!

- Jessie Scott

David Jacobs-Strain "Dirt and Wildflowers"

From his Facebook page: "I'm a vegetarian blues singer from Oregon. I play slide guitar, write roots indie outlaw ganstagrass country blues songs and tour nationally." Gangstagrass, huh? I like that! We might have to steal that for a T-Shirt! David Jacobs-Strain has been the opening act on tour with Boz Scaggs, as well as hitting it hard with his band. Tonight they are in Frederick, Maryland, and that is in the relative backyard of the McBean Mansion. I wonder if Beans will take the Rolls out and head over to this evening's show? Nah, Beans works way too hard; that's why we have to take him on the road to have his fun. Otherwise, he is sequestered in a bunker below ground, making his Music Fog magic hour after hour!

Well, it's two days in a row for love songs here at the Fog. Yikes! I don't know what to make of that, either. My earliest music recollections were accompanied by their own 'sort' function. I knew Tennessee Ernie Ford's "16 Tons" was dead serious life stuff. I knew there was something going on below the belt with Jerry Lee Lewis, but I didn't know what it was. And I knew that romance was...well, it was different. To be honest, I didn't have much respect for it as an 8 year old, I just assessed it as silly grown up stuff. A bah humbug, why bother kind of thing. But today, it is a whole different story, isn't it? We yearn to be romanced, for that sweetness, that caring, and that devotion. Rare and wonderful to find. And I think, if I am honest, that so many of those songs back then had a smarmy, inauthentic quality, that in some way they just didn't ring true. But then when delivered by David Jacobs-Strain, there is no suspension of belief necessary. There is for real swooning, but in the best possible way. Here he is, from a month ago at the Americana Fest, in our Sweet Suite at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown, with "Dirt and Wildflowers." This one is both easy and earthy. You can find it on his CD Terraplane Angel, released this past spring, and produced by the legendary Ray Kennedy.

- Jessie Scott