Ben Prestage "2:19"

It's the six degrees of separation thing at work here. While the Music Fog crew was doing our thing in Nashville, at the Americana Music Festival, the bombardment of press releases from PR agents, label promotion people, artists, and managers didn't stop coming in to my email inbox. I average one an hour during the 40 hour work week, adjusted of course for east and west coast time zones, which bumps it way past 40 a week. And there are those that straggle in at all hours of the night, so there is always some new bit of music being released, or announcement of a tour or festival for me to ponder. But what I love best is getting one that is totally out of the blue. Here is an email from this fellow named Jim from Coral Gables, Florida:

"I just discovered your site and think it's terrific. I just linked to your Facebook page. Do you take artist suggestions? I recently got turned onto this musician by the name of BEN PRESTAGE, out of Vero Beach, FL by a local folk musician friend, Bob Ingram from Coconut Grove, FL. I've been to see Ben play several times. He is truly a one man band, and I think your viewers would really appreciate his music."

Ben Prestage distills Mississippi Country with Florida Swamp Blues - muddy water meets black water - and he was hailed as "one of the three best unsigned performers in the world” at the 2006 International Blues Challenge. He plays many cigar box guitars (made by John Lowe, also a one man band from Memphis), one of which has guitar and bass strings that are played independently. Ben also plays foot pedals on a drum kit by the heels and toes of both feet. It makes me dizzy to think of all those functions at the same time, but it sure is fascinating to watch. So, thanks to Jim from Coral Gables for the head's up! Here's a version of the song "2:19," recorded in the Netherlands last year, taken from his album Down-Home & Home-Made.

- Jessie Scott

The Wronglers "Hurricane Creek"

The weekend. Ahhhh! Saturday. The word alone makes me happy. Pro football on Sunday, and all is right with the world. Even though the summer season has yet to turn in Texas, I am watching the weather maps for the impending changes, with the inexorable march of fronts dipping ever southerly, starting to cool things off elsewhere in the country. Yes, the slant of the sun already feels different, a harbinger of cooling in the south one of these weeks, or months. And lest we forget, it's hurricane season; Hermine, Karl, Igor, Julia. They come from the pea shooter of the Atlantic and the warm water of the Caribbean. Those of us that are in the path hold our collective breath, actually until December 1st, when "the season" is over for the year, and we can exhale. I lived on the beach in Florida, and felt the mark of the "X" on our backs. It was a major reason for moving out of the clime, though I love that lifestyle. Hearing the ocean, tasting salty air, or as they say, "having sand between your toes." Irresistible.

But on to today's video. Though it's been calling my name for years, I have not yet attended the also irresistible Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival! This year is the 10th anniversary of the magical three-day event in Speedway Meadow, at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. This is an absolutely free, non-ticketed event, a gift to the citizens of San Francisco and beyond. Its musical lineup is a shrine built to salute Americana music. Just reading who all will be performing makes me giddy. It is where I am hoping to be October 1st, 2nd, and 3rd! We invited the gracious benefactor of HS, Warren Hellman, and his band The Wronglers, to visit us on the stage of the back room at Threadgill's during SXSW 2010. The song here is an instrumental called, "Hurricane Creek." Batten down the hatches. Stay out of those gullies. Be prepared not to drive into standing water. Seek shelter when you must. Plan ahead. See you at Hardly Strictly!

- Jessie Scott

Ray Wylie Hubbard "Screw You, We're from Texas"

How many times have you heard an artist on stage, stating misgivings for having written a song? Announcing that discomfort, especially if the song has traction with the audience; knowing that there was expectation for them to perform it. This is especially true if there is irony involved in the song. (It's like sarcasm in email---it's hard to know what the sender is REALLY saying!) "Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood." That is indeed what happened with the song "Screw You, We're from Texas," from Ray Wylie Hubbard. At its heart, it is a celebration of Texas music legends, and the music that grows organically out of this soil. The thumbing one's nose, swaggering part makes for a discomfort for Ray now, and when I asked him to play it for us, he really didn’t want to. But when he wrote and released it, on the CD Growl, I watched the phones light up at XM's X Country in support of it, and the sentiment of it, from all over the country. It is after all, an anthem with a rocking groove. Me, I think RWH should have nothing to feel bad about. Texas has yielded and nurtured an amazing crop of musicians of every stripe through the years.

Austin musicians, in particular, share a strong bond of brother and sisterhood, sometimes even above the broader Texas music pride. HAAM is the Austin Health Collective that takes care of its own, offering health solutions to those artists that don't have insurance, and let's face it, most of them just don't. This Tuesday, September 21st, is HAAM Benefit Day. It is a city wide effort to raise money, with businesses all around town donating 5% of the day's proceeds to HAAM to support musicians' health. Musicians, most of whom are HAAM members, are performing throughout the day at retail stores, outside stages, City Hall and more. And we do mean ALL DAY, as it will start at 6am and run well past midnight. If you are visiting Austin, or live here, you are invited to shop, eat out, listen to great live music, and know you are supporting a most necessary cause! Ray Wylie Hubbard is one of over 130 artists participating, and his set is at 1 pm this Tuesday, at the Sixth St & Lamar Whole Foods Market in Austin. Hell yeah, We're From TEXAS.

- Jessie Scott