The Black Lillies "Two Hearts Down"

Not to be dour as our thoughts quickly turn to Thanksgiving next week, but there is nothing quite like a good ol’ murder ballad to quicken the blood flow. Today we bring you the celebrated Knoxville, Tennessee band, The Black Lillies. They were formed just two years ago, by ex-Robinella & the CC String Band leader, Cruz Contreras. The Black Lillies take their name from a song on their first record, Whiskey Angel. Their influences are age old; traditional country with a potent Appalachian infusion of heart, soul, and subject matter. And these are timeless tales, ones that have touched everybody, every family, if you dig back far enough.

The latest album is 100 Miles of Wreckage, and that is where you will find the song "Two Hearts Down." Trisha Gene Brady, Jamie Cook, Tom Pryor, and Robert Richards trooped into our space, along with Cruz Contreras, and electrified us during the Music Fog Fall shindig at Marathon Recorders. Those chops, those harmonies, that pathos. This is the real deal.

You might know we recorded 32 artists in Nashville while the Americana Fest was going on. For the last month we have been brining you the first offering from all these artists, with more to follow from each of them. Hope you have been digging it!

- Jessie Scott

New Country Rehab "Angel of Death"

A word about how out of whack I think things are right now. I watched Wheel of Fortune in awe as the studio has been transformed into a wonderland of materialism and unattainable dreams, at least for most people. The show that followed it specialized in gyrating, overwrought singing, all overt sex, everything all the time. I watch women go to parties in the least fabric possible, with the highest heels. The Presidential debates seem like an excuse to sell books and procure television commentator contracts. Why is the world yelling louder all the time? Sometimes whispering works.

New Country Rehab is the band’s name. I would like to have rehab (or maybe just respite) from all of the above, and all the mainstream new country music, too, as over glitzy as it is. I like my music raw, real and moving. New Country Rehab fits the bill. We filmed them in October during the Americana Music Festival. They attended all the way from Canada, where they are tearing it up. They were just nominated for the CFMA “Pushing the Boundaries” award. That’s the Canadian Folk Music Awards for the uninitiated. John Showman, James Robertson, Roman Tome’ and Ben Whiteley, craft the band’s unique sound. Their self-titled album was released in Canada back in January. We’d been hearing about them for a while, and we were so glad to get to know them a bit at our temporary studio in Nashville, Marathon Recorders. Here is the Music Fog recording of “Angel Of Death,” the original song of which you can find on their debut album.

- Jessie Scott

Connie Smith "Blue Heartaches"

How about a peek behind the curtain of booking for one of our events? When I was putting the schedule together for the Music Fog Fall Marathon, I scoured the roster of performers that had been invited to play the Americana Music Festival in Nashville, which was the reason we were headed there. I made a list from that, especially wanting to bring artists in front of our cameras that we hadn’t had the pleasure of filming before. One of those artists was the legendary Connie Smith. Pure country, pure class, with perfect diction, perfect phrasing, and 53 albums to her credit in her well-respected career. Wow!

As we got closer to the gig, I reached back out to see what the configuration would be for each artist. In Connie’s case, it was conveyed that she’d be performing as a duo, and would just be bringing a guitarist. Now I knew this would be a world class accompanist no matter what, but I hoped against hope that it would be her husband, Marty Stuart. It was confirmed on the day before the performance that indeed, Marty was coming along with Connie. Woot! Marty produced her latest CD, Long Line of Heartaches. It is her first recording since 1996 and only her second since 1978. They produced it at the historic Nashville RCA Studio B, which is a comfortable place for sure. When Connie first came to Nashville in the 60s, her first nine years of albums for the RCA Victor label were recorded nearly in their entirety in the same celebrated location.

We brought Connie to our studio for her Music Fog session, at Marathon Recorders in Nashville's Marathon Village. What can I say? It was an honor to have Connie Smith and Marty Stuart record with us.

- Jessie Scott