It is St. Patrick’s Day. The Music Fog crew is packing gear and a minimal amount of clothing for the trek to Austin Texas early tomorrow morning.  Every trip is special. Every excursion opens the door to an abundance of talent and a few unexpected surprises.

On this trip we are accompanied by two guys that have the capability to surprise in a big way. Michael Crider is listed on The Fog website as VP Of  Business Development. His Bio goes on to say that he “He has closed multi-million dollar placements agreements for AOL and Dell.”  Bla-bla-bla…you would think that he might of had something to do with getting bibles placed in bedside tables in motels all across this great country. I have no doubt that he wrote the bio himself. But let me bring this whole Crider deal down to earth.  He has offered to pick me up at the Austin Airport wearing a thong.  Does that sound like someone who has Been “an economist for the State of Texas and the United States Congress?” Hell no! And he worries me.  Because I know Michael could show up at the airport with his ass sticking to the pleather seats of the SUV he’s rented for the week.

Then there’s Aaron Lee. This borderline Mongoloid has gracefully offered his audio services to Music Fog in exchange for a place to sleep and a rasher of bacon. His guy loves bacon. He makes no bones about it.  Bacon is king.  There is no other meat on this planet that holds up to the sweet savory taste and texture of bacon.  I know that we ate way too much of the stuff on our last outing in Memphis. Now we are traveling with the Radar O’rielly of smoked swine.

Has there ever been anything reported to authorities akin to a “bacon accident?”  The answer is yes.
Dave Peterson, proprietor of the Corralitos Market & Sausage Company, called in the fire department to save his bacon on September 16th of last year.  One of the four smokehouses behind his Corralitos, CA store caught fire and damaged a portion of his inventory. “The bacon’s shot but all the sausage is good,” Mr. Peterson told reporters.
There is a quote that will make Aaron cry.  He’s a large person.  And to see him cry will do my heart good.
-Jim McBean

[Sheila is the "gopher" (Production Assistant) that will be working with Music Fog at SXSW this week. We told her that she could write a post for this blog about her preparations, and her experiences getting to know the gang here. We think she "gets" what we're trying to do with this site...and she even throws us under the bus! That's what we do. Check it out:]

When it was official that I would be going to Austin for SXSW, I think I had a perma-grin on my face. And living in Idaho, people didn’t quite get it. Trying to explain how I met up with Music Fog and how this ended up happening was a challenge and I’m pretty sure most people think I am a little nuts. I’ve been told numerous times that Austin is my kind of town and I would absolutely love it but this will be my first trip to Austin (heck, it's my first visit to Texas!) and I really hope to prove that everyone was right and this is the place I want to be.

I think I am a little insane for diving in head first, but hey, just testing the waters isn’t going to get me far. Go big or go home, right? The late night texts keep me wondering what the hell I got myself into though. Example: “Yeah…so the bus is going to be a freak show. Thought I would give you the heads up” (from Ben). Seriously, what the hell am I supposed to think? In no way am I worried or stressed about it, I can roll with pretty much anything, but seriously I am so curious as to what the cryptic messages mean! 

I must say that I will miss my crew like no other this week. I have really never been to a music event without them so when I want to giggle about something or make a smart-ass comment, it will be a shock to turn around and not be able to tell one of them. McBean and Ben: could you be the stand-ins?

-Sheila "Music Fog Gopher"