Midnight River Choir "My Friend"

They call New Braunfels, Texas home. They also call it the 'heart' of the Lone Star State; a vortex of cool that might just be the center of the universe. Considering its size, New Braunfels is an especially happening place. It is the home of one of America's great radio stations in KNBT. There are several wonderful venues, including Whitewater Amphitheater, Gruene Hall, The Phoenix, River Road Ice House, Tavern In The Gruene, just to name some. There is also a community of talented artists living there that call one another brother (and sister). Another thing that NB is known for are float trips, and Midnight River Choir became a band from a 27 person, 6 raft excursion on the Guadalupe River. This a meandering affair, where you can trail your beer in the water to keep it cool. Fun, frolic, nirvana. Oh, and did I mention that this fateful event took place at night, under a full moon? And so the Midnight River Choir was born.

Just up I-35 a few miles, in San Marcos, the Cheatham Street Warehouse is yet another cool venue. It is Kent Finlay's place, and he has been a mentor to countless neophyte musicians since he opened the doors of this legendary honky tonk in 1974. Cheatham Street has been the Tuesday night home of the Midnight River Choir since November of 2008. The four principal members play a myriad of instruments. They are apt to change positions on stage multiple times a night. For our Music Fog session, lead singer Eric Middleton was on rhythm acoustic guitar; Justin Nelson played lead acoustic guitar; Mitchell Pyeatt was on drums, and Jeromie Yager played bass. And they all sang backup vocals. MRC released their first CD in November of 2009, Freedom Wine. They are working on album number two. They might have even been working on it when they came to our studio at the Steamboat Grand during MusicFest. They laid down a track that they had just worked up a couple of days prior, and it even got named in our presence, a song written by Mitchell, called "My Friend." So, here is the first ever recording of that tune, on Midnight River Choir's Music Fog debut!

- Jessie Scott

Randy Rogers "I Met Lonely Tonight"

Bonnie Bishop was back in Texas briefly last week as she was invited to play the Inaugural Ball for the Governor of Texas, on the bill along with the Eli Young Band, Clay Walker, and Pat Green. So I found myself at the Palmer Center in Austin a week ago Tuesday. Bonnie and the band rocked it hard to open the night's entertainment. Yeah! And you just never know who you are going to run into backstage at one of these gala events. There was Kevin Fowler, and then Randy Rogers. I watched both of them and their beautiful wives pose for the photo op with Governor Rick Perry. Then Randy and I were chatting. Said he, "Hey are you ever going to put my video up? Did you even record it?" "Yeah," I said, "It is coming this week." And then I told him about how many hits the Cody Canada & The Departed (with Seth James) video had gotten already. He said, "Oh yeah??" in such a way, that I knew it was a throw down for Texas-Red Dirt fans everywhere. So here we are with a friendly competition! Which video will grow faster? Now you have to realize that the CC&TD went up on Music Fog on January 7th, so it has an unfair head start. But Randy and band just played the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 14th, and when something like that happens, we Music Foggers have watched our video views go crazy from the Google and YouTube searches that follow. That's big time stuff.

None of that surprises me at all. Randy Rogers and the band just keep doing remarkable things. The new album Burning the Day (GREAT title!) came out in August of 2010, and is their 6th studio album. Randy told us about a magical afternoon with Bruce Springsteen they recently had---talking music with The Boss for an hour during soundcheck. If their latest single "Steal You Away" sounds familiar, that's because there is a version of it on the new Country Strong soundtrack, by the songwriters The Mulch Brothers and Jeff Middleton. There is another song that lives on the compilation When They Come Back, an album to benefit our troops. Who says good guys have to finish last. I had a chat with Randy a year ago Labor Day, at the Red Dirt Roundup in Ft. Worth. He said, "You have to believe in yourself." And in that is a lesson to us all, that everything really is possible. We are so proud of you guys!

- Jessie Scott

Reckless Kelly "I Never Liked St. Valentine"

It is cold! I am under the blankets with my boots on, swaddled in sweatshirts. Winter - it is an acquired taste. We were just in the Rocky Mountains a couple of weeks ago, but you EXPECT it to be cold there. It is chilly in Texas as I write this. I am having to drip the faucets tonight to keep the pipes from freezing. It is just wrong. As I am from the Northeast, I have no right to complain. But I do wonder if it is an old wives' tale that our blood thins out upon moving south?

I should ask Idahoans Cody and Willy Braun of Reckless Kelly for the definitive answer to that question. Not that they are old wives, but because Idaho is massively cold, and they never seem to complain about the weather in Austin. Last time I saw them, they were preparing to be 'roasted' (now that's an interesting way to stay warm) during MusicFest at Steamboat. We hear it was brutal, tongue firmly planted in cheek but with love, sort of, you know how those thing are. Earlier that evening, we wrested Cody and Willy away from serving a lasagna dinner to a roomful of guests to record a few songs for our cameras.

During MusicFest I was reminded of a really cool event that Reckless Kelly is headlining in early June, Fest Out West in Lajitas, TX with Cody Canada & The Departed, Wade Bowen & Randy Rogers, Micky & The Motorcars, Butch Hancock, The Trishas, John Evans, and Hayes Carll. What a great lineup! Get in on it early, because it will sell out! The other event I wanted to shine a light on is Reckless Kelly's 3rd Annual Celebrity Softball Jam, which happens on May 1st at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX. I went last year and it was a blast of a day, from the game, which left multiple people sore from playing, to the wonderful array of artists that played afterwards.

Back at Steamboat now, we were honored to once again have Cody and Willy stop by for a 2011 MusicFest appearance in the Music Fog studio at the Steamboat Grand. Since Valentine's Day is just a couple of weks away, we'll lead things off with an unreleased tune they recorded with us, written by Willy Braun and Todd Snider, "I Never Liked St. Valentine."

- Jessie Scott