Uncle Lucius "No Time Flat"

It is one week out from our Music Fog Marathon, presented by Neustar. Yes, we welcome a brand new sponsor to this event and into the Music Fog family. We are so happy to be working with them. They’re the guys who make it possible for you to keep your own phone number when you change carriers, like from AT&T to Verizon, or from Sprint to T-Mobile. They also are the folks who are making digital downloads of movies work through something called UltraViolet (think one giant leap from Blu-ray). And they pretty much make our phones and the Internet work, but for the most part no-one’s ever heard of them because they keep a pretty low profile. We’re glad they chose to raise it a little bit by helping us out during SXSW® Music week.

It is so hard to believe another episode is just about upon us. I am not ready. What’s more, the MF crew in DC is scrambling to make the necessary prep to head to Texas again. Aaron, Beans and Chris are traveling in the BBC (Big Blue Crew), which we suspect knows the way all by itself by now. Ah, but it would be great to have a smart car that you could set to take you to your destination and just go. One that would just deliver you like a magic carpet. You could sleep, eat, have animated discussions, hell, you could even produce videos during the trip. I like that! Oh yeah, and can we make it a hover craft? A girl can dream after all. At the end of the day, it is all about using the time wisely. All I know is that everything seems to be speeding by, passing quickly as our music marathon will be here, and then we will be done and the guys gone in the blink of an eye. Uncle Lucius, who we will be catching up with again next week, comments in song. From our Music Fog Steamboat sessions in January at The MusicFest, we bring you another unreleased song, “No Time Flat.”

- Jessie Scott

Jo-El Sonnier "Tear Stained Letter"

I needed to get a Mardi Gras fix, so I set out on I-10 eastbound, and hit the Isle of Capri Casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana this past Saturday night. Jo-El Sonnier and The Louisiana Dream Team were playing as part of their Mardi Gras Madness celebration. I drove for five hours, crossing the border of Texas, passing towns like Port Arthur, Beaumont, and then Vidor, which has a billboard pronouncing it was “Where The Music Began.” Evidently, they have had an inordinate amount of nationally known musicians for a town that size.

When I got to Lake Charles, I walked through the lavender doors of the casino into a neon world, with the dinging of the machines with that faintly metallic hum that all betting establishments have. Mardi Gras beads were in profusion, some of them were flashing like the pagers you get when on line at your favorite restaurant. (They made me hungry...Pavlov’s Dog at work?) Mardi Gras means gaiety is everywhere. Tomorrow comes Lent. What are you giving up? Heavens, I could give up just about everything but not music, not ever.

Jo-El Sonnier, The Ragin' Cajun, is a revelation, his music spans the flavors from Cajun to Zydeco, to traditional country, to well-chosen and sometimes unexpected covers. It is all soulful stuff, and his band smokes. He has a brand new album out called Where’s That Music Comin’ From? I was looking for video on Jo-El, and came upon something from a very eclectic TV show from way back when. Night Music only lasted for two seasons, and was hosted by David Sanborn. It amassed an amazingly diverse list of virtuosos artists creating a musically bold show.

Here is Jo-El with Richard Thompson and David Sanborn doing “Tear Stained Letter.”

- Jessie Scott

PS: I was on the phone talking to someone during my drive, who said that there were tornadoes in Louisiana, and to be careful. Had I gone further east, I would have driven through Rayne, LA, where they touched down. Our hearts go out to them.

Will Kimbrough "It Ain't Cool"

Man, I cannot believe that it is just a week before SXSW®! The Film and Interactive portions of the Conference start this Friday, with the Music side of things starting on Tuesday, March 15th. The city of Austin is getting gussied up for the onslaught. There are billboards all over town that reference the party that is about to happen. It is interesting watching it unfold, as a resident here, instead of just parachuting in when it is full steam. At the same time, the trees are greening up, there is spring in the air, the days are getting longer, and damn it, it is time! We have a short winter here in Texas, but you know we pay for it in the summertime. But right now, it is just about perfect. Sunshiny days, and cool nights. But if you are heading here, check the weather, because it could be cold, or rainy, or unseasonably warm. You never know. But right now, the 10-day looks just about perfect.

Music Fog is excited to be bringing our Marathon to Threadgill’s WHQ again. (44 bands in 4 days---free shows, no badges! See schedule here.) We will have a lot of new faces playing for our cameras this time. Actually, we have not evr filmed about 75% of our line up this year.

Will Kimbrough is not listed, but we think he will appear anyway, as we expect him to accompany Brigitte DeMeyer on Friday, March 18th, at 7:20 pm. And so he continues as a Music Fog MVP. We have recorded him in lots of configurations; he has been solo, with Tommy Womack as Daddy, and with an ace band at Nashville's Americana Fest back in September. In Will’s latest blog post, you can find out who all he has been in the studio with this winter. And now he gets ready for the touring season to come. Of course for me that starts here in Austin next week. While we wait, let’s bring you “It Ain’t Cool,” from his album Wings. It's an anti-gossip song he wrote with Todd Snider. Todd is everywhere these days, too! Here is Will, with Lisa Oliver-Gray, Tim Mark and Fred Eltringham.

- Jessie Scott