Somebody's Darling "Another Two Step"

San Francisco is such a tangle of influences, both sacred and profane. The air is damp and chilly, the beauty of the landscape unmistakable, the buildings are majestic. With the ever present thought of earthquakes, it seems to drive home the concept of living every day - because you just never know, coloring existence with an unspoken immediacy. I am hanging in S.F. with my friend Carren Sheldon, who is a sister really, as we think alike and even look alike. We worked together on the radio in Orlando at WMMO in the 90's. We were driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, when we discovered neither of us had ever walked it. We pulled the car off on the Marin side and parked. Sweatshirts pulled close, hoods up. We took off alongside a bunch of hearty souls who had embarked from Daly City, CA on a 3-Day for the Cure walk, a Susan B. Komen fundraiser. There were monitoring cops from San Jose with their regular uniforms adorned with the addition of pink sequins, pink tutus, and pink head wraps. They rode their bicycles on the bridge checking that their minions were safe. Somewhere halfway across, I felt very blessed to be watching the weather consume the bridge, seeing the churning water below, feeling the nip as the wind whipped. Alive. Man, but that weather really takes it out of you. And doing 20 miles a day to raise money, we Music Foggers commend you 3-Day walkers for the marathon pace, towards a cause that has touched so many families.

Photo Credit: Will Pearson

I want to take you back a couple of weeks now to the Americana Music Festival in Nashville, where we still haven't brought you everything we filmed. One of the bands we recorded on the last day was Dallas' Somebody's Darling. They create a well oiled groove, and feature a honey-voiced yet tough presence in lead singer Amber Farris. The new album was produced in Nashville by Georgia Satellite Dan Baird, and that's a real good fit for their sound and intensity, cause they roll...but in a country meets rock kind of way. And they were nominated for two 2010 Dallas Observer Music Awards, “Best Female Vocalist” and “Best Country Act.” We predict big things! This song's energy would have been a helpful accompaniment to our Golden Gate Bridge trek, "Another Two Step."

- Jessie Scott

Grab a Jug!

Jug band music. The words alone bring a smile to your face. In the history of music in America, how string band music morphed is a study in itself. Like ragtime, there is something inherently joyous written into the DNA of the jug band. Maybe it starts with the instruments being played, whatever is handy, to make the noises, whatever they might be. Then there is the cadence, the syncopation. It's just a little bit "off" somehow, but that is for sure part of its allure. When I was growing up, there was a particular time in the 60's in New York, where this was one of the forms bands were messing around with: Even Dozen Jug Band, Lovin' Spoonful, The Youngbloods, Jim Kweskin Jug Band with Geoff Muldaur. And here they are coming around again, yes indeed.

Geoff Muldaur and Jim Kweskin are teaming up for a rare co-headlining tour this fall. The two reconnected during the filming of the acclaimed 2009 documentary Chasin' Gus' Ghost, which explores the music of Gus Cannon and Cannon's Jug Stompers, with interviews, live performances, archival footage, and photography. It sets up the foundation for what was to come to be; the folk and rock movements of the 1960's. The film features Muldaur and Kweskin, and the Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian, and includes footage from the 2006 concert in Tokyo, Japan, honoring the late Fritz Richmond. Chasin' Gus' Ghost is now out on DVD. Plus, Jug Band Extravaganza is available, too. It's a live concert album featuring Jim Kweskin, Geoff Muldaur, John Sebastian, David Grisman, Maria Muldaur, and The Barbecue Orchestra, recorded at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. A wonderful era to start digging into!

- Jessie Scott

Rhythm Angels "If I Had A Gun"

You know, a lot of times when I explain to people what Music Fog is, I tell them that we provide the perfect accompaniment to one's morning beverage of choice. Kick back with a cup and a video. A great way to start your day. And we thank you in advance for talking to your friends, whether you tell them about our website here, our Facebook page, you re-tweet us, email articles, or send people to our YouTube channel. If you know someone else who would benefit from an infusion of real music, share us with them! As this Americana thing is the underdog movement to the pop music that gets all the attention, it is up to all of us to grow it by word of mouth to create our own tribe. It is the counterpoint to what we are being spoon fed. The funny thing is, that in any given week, there are several Americana music CDs that can be found on the sales charts. But the fact that there are so few radio stations around the country playing a roots music mix is a crime. So if you want that kind of access to your music some day, lift your voice, share the wealth of the music and let's see if we can't make a loud enough noise that the big radio corporations stop and listen. If there is a large enough audience, they WILL pay attention! Someday!!

We have some Saturday morning music for you now. These women make music of beautiful craft. They are the Rhythm Angels, pairing North Dakota's Celeste Krenz and Colorado's Rebecca Folsom. Word is they are working on a new CD, with John Magnie of the subdudes producing. On this song, from our Folk Alliance 2010 Music Fog Bus sessions, they bring an Ingmar Bergman-like Norse sensibility to the lyric; one of bleakness, despair, and steely determination. And what a deceptive delivery for such a dark sentiment. One sees the immoveable core to the female, executed by gentle and eerily dispassionate voices. They are joined here by David Glasar and Dirje Smith on "If I Had a Gun," from their release Girls Like Us.

- Jessie Scott