The John Henrys "White Linen"

In my post Halloween sugar buzz, I did some time searching the web for stories about John Henry, the folk hero who "died with a hammer in his hand, Oh Lord." Man vs. Machine in melting pot 19th century America. Coming to terms with the Industrial Revolution, with people losing jobs to the changing times, with traditional labor roles being replaced. Kinda like today. You can read about the era and the forces at hand in the book Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend.

The band The John Henrys emerge from rich traditions, but one would have to say they have fared better in their conquering of machines. The four band members work collectively on their songwriting and the storytelling is paramount, but here's the twist; their musicianship veers off from the traditional path one would expect from their namesake. “We picked the The John Henrys for our name because the story is such an inspiration,” says vocalist and guitarist Rey Sabatin Jr. His First Nations and Acadian heritage, along with his day job as a luthier, gives the band its Cajun flavor. Rey, along with Steve Tatone (keyboards) Doug Gouthro (guitar) Daryl Quinlan (bass), and Geoff Ward (drums) have been working together to create music since 2003. They released their eponymous debut album in 2004 and followed up with Sweet As The Grain in 2006. Along the way, they have shared the stage with artists like The Sadies, Cuff the Duke, The Golden Dogs, Elliott BROOD, and Femme-bots. Their third album White Linen took seven months to record, and they whittled it down from 17 songs to 11 before it saw light of day earlier this year. Here is the title track, from the Music Fog sessions in Nashville during the recent Americana Fest.

- Jessie Scott

Jeremy Messersmith "A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard"

Minnesota based Jeremy Messersmith is methodically (and melodically) dedicated to his song craft, though he notes on MySpace that he is a nerd. His delivery is sweet, Zen gentle; you have to listen close. The musician and storyteller has issued his latest album The Reluctant Graveyard, which is the third and final installation in his trilogy. The others are The Alcatraz Kid from 2006, and last year's The Silver City.

The video we bring you for Halloween is the latest collaboration between Jeremy and Austin based animator Eric Power. It is a return engagement for the two, as Eric's visual art accompanied Jeremy's songs "Tatooine" and "Organ Donor." The new video, "A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard" chronicles a love story, featuring two werewolves, a graveyard or two, spooky birds, a spider, and Frankenstein thrown in for good measure! Wishing you lots of treats, and no tricks...

Happy Halloween from the Foggers!

Marshall Chapman "I Love Everybody"

Marshall Chapman's newsletter is called "The Tall Girl Skinny." She wears pearls, and her drawl recalls a more elegant era, but she was a groundbreaking female in the macho world of making music in the 70's. She is a singer songwriter, and a writer, too, having just put out her second book, They Came To Nashville. You can read a preview passage here, that talks about much of her time with Emmylou Harris. It is the follow up book to her memoir Good Bye Little Rock and Roller which references that her life is "the triumph of rock and roll over good breeding." Marshall was a debutante in Spartanburg, SC, thus the pearls. And she picked up an electric guitar back when the landscape was populated by mostly folkie females with angst. She was a revelation, a balls to the wall tour de force. To wit, check out "Rode Hard and Put Up Wet," which was the song that introduced me to Marshall, on her album Me, I'm Feeling Free in 1977.

Since there is a grand scope to the work of Marshall Chapman, it shouldn't surprise you that there is a new CD out, her twelfth, called Big Lonesome. Marshall comments:

"I recorded this album after my best friend in music, Tim Krekel, died in June 2009. He was 58. We were planning to record a duet album called Sweet Talkin’ and had booked gigs throughout the summer, including a couple in San Miguel, Mexico. I wanted to end the album with a live recording (like Waylon did on Dreaming My Dreams). So we decided on 'I Love Everybody' from the 2003 Belgium Rhythm & Blues Festival. Tim plays lead guitar and harmonica and sings on this track, so it seemed right and good. The only problem was we didn’t have a multi-track. (Our performance had been directly mixed in Belgium Radio 1’s mobile recording unit.) Regardless, the track sounded pretty damn good, so we decided to go with it."

And we think this solo performance from the Music Fog sessions in Nashville, during Americana Fest, sounded damn fine too! Tim, we are missing you.

- Jessie Scott