John and his incredible band scheduled a Christmas Show in Vienna, Virginia, so we jumped at our first chance to film them, and work with the fine folks at Jammin' Java again. What started off as an innocent Music Fog filming session turned into a whirlwind of craziness just before and after the cameras rolled. The house audio engineer, Anthony, did a great job of getting the band comfy on-stage during soundcheck, and preparing everything for both our performance, and the evening's show for the public. But moments later both of us were knee deep into the back of two mixing consoles, trying to get digital and analog worlds to collide. The band is ready. The crowd behind the ropes, waiting for their show, is getting larger---many of them eye-balling their potential course through the sea of chairs to gain the optimum front row seat. The mob is getting restless. It's go time. A couple of patch switches, cable runs, and confirmation nods later we're up and running, and the band is simply tearing it up on stage! Afterwards, though, like a scene from Beatle-mania, the mob dashes in and dumps one of our lights in a rush for the stage. Mind you, these were 40 and 50 year olds at a Christmas show! That is the craziness of John Cowan. The man can play, and sing, like there's no tomorrow.

Here's one from his new Christmas project Comfort & Joy, which is out now. We'll also bring you some wicked non-Christmas videos from the band in the weeks to come. There are just five more east coast dates for this tour, then the band will spend some time with their families. Here's to hoping that you'll be home for Christmas, too.

-Aaron

My poor little car has begun to shimmy and shake, groan and click. Have you ever looked under your car? I mean up on a lift with a super steroidal flashlight? Kinda scary, I must say. You know, I drove my car down to Austin from DC, so it has been categorized as a "northern car." Rust abounds. So, I Googled service stations and came up with a local place today, and brought it in and we took it for a test drive. The place is called C&M, and right next door there is a C&M Liquor, which has a sign on the wall that lists all kinds of food items for the quick pit stop, or for camping out while you car is being repaired. I am loving the idea of a car shop with liquor and food. Kinda like the place where we shot the Paul Burch interview when he played Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA. We did it in the old school hardware store next door, Stalcup, with fresh Amish produce imported daily! Love Love Love.

And love Paul Burch and the WPA Ballclub, who calls his website Home Plate. I picked this up there: SPECIAL GUESTS FOR 8 NIGHTS OF ROCK! Starting sundown on Friday, December 11th, the first night of Hanukkah, PB & WPA Ballclub will stream a new song for 8 consecutive nights featuring special guests, with a free downloadable EP of all 8 nights available for 24 hours only on 12/18. Confirmed guests include Laura Cantrell, the Waco Brothers, the Mekons, and members of Superchunk, Lambchop, and Calexico. Here is "Please Send For Me" from the stage of Jammin' Java this past summer.

-Jessie