Randy Rogers "I Met Lonely Tonight"

Bonnie Bishop was back in Texas briefly last week as she was invited to play the Inaugural Ball for the Governor of Texas, on the bill along with the Eli Young Band, Clay Walker, and Pat Green. So I found myself at the Palmer Center in Austin a week ago Tuesday. Bonnie and the band rocked it hard to open the night's entertainment. Yeah! And you just never know who you are going to run into backstage at one of these gala events. There was Kevin Fowler, and then Randy Rogers. I watched both of them and their beautiful wives pose for the photo op with Governor Rick Perry. Then Randy and I were chatting. Said he, "Hey are you ever going to put my video up? Did you even record it?" "Yeah," I said, "It is coming this week." And then I told him about how many hits the Cody Canada & The Departed (with Seth James) video had gotten already. He said, "Oh yeah??" in such a way, that I knew it was a throw down for Texas-Red Dirt fans everywhere. So here we are with a friendly competition! Which video will grow faster? Now you have to realize that the CC&TD went up on Music Fog on January 7th, so it has an unfair head start. But Randy and band just played the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 14th, and when something like that happens, we Music Foggers have watched our video views go crazy from the Google and YouTube searches that follow. That's big time stuff.

None of that surprises me at all. Randy Rogers and the band just keep doing remarkable things. The new album Burning the Day (GREAT title!) came out in August of 2010, and is their 6th studio album. Randy told us about a magical afternoon with Bruce Springsteen they recently had---talking music with The Boss for an hour during soundcheck. If their latest single "Steal You Away" sounds familiar, that's because there is a version of it on the new Country Strong soundtrack, by the songwriters The Mulch Brothers and Jeff Middleton. There is another song that lives on the compilation When They Come Back, an album to benefit our troops. Who says good guys have to finish last. I had a chat with Randy a year ago Labor Day, at the Red Dirt Roundup in Ft. Worth. He said, "You have to believe in yourself." And in that is a lesson to us all, that everything really is possible. We are so proud of you guys!

- Jessie Scott

Reckless Kelly "I Never Liked St. Valentine"

It is cold! I am under the blankets with my boots on, swaddled in sweatshirts. Winter - it is an acquired taste. We were just in the Rocky Mountains a couple of weeks ago, but you EXPECT it to be cold there. It is chilly in Texas as I write this. I am having to drip the faucets tonight to keep the pipes from freezing. It is just wrong. As I am from the Northeast, I have no right to complain. But I do wonder if it is an old wives' tale that our blood thins out upon moving south?

I should ask Idahoans Cody and Willy Braun of Reckless Kelly for the definitive answer to that question. Not that they are old wives, but because Idaho is massively cold, and they never seem to complain about the weather in Austin. Last time I saw them, they were preparing to be 'roasted' (now that's an interesting way to stay warm) during MusicFest at Steamboat. We hear it was brutal, tongue firmly planted in cheek but with love, sort of, you know how those thing are. Earlier that evening, we wrested Cody and Willy away from serving a lasagna dinner to a roomful of guests to record a few songs for our cameras.

During MusicFest I was reminded of a really cool event that Reckless Kelly is headlining in early June, Fest Out West in Lajitas, TX with Cody Canada & The Departed, Wade Bowen & Randy Rogers, Micky & The Motorcars, Butch Hancock, The Trishas, John Evans, and Hayes Carll. What a great lineup! Get in on it early, because it will sell out! The other event I wanted to shine a light on is Reckless Kelly's 3rd Annual Celebrity Softball Jam, which happens on May 1st at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX. I went last year and it was a blast of a day, from the game, which left multiple people sore from playing, to the wonderful array of artists that played afterwards.

Back at Steamboat now, we were honored to once again have Cody and Willy stop by for a 2011 MusicFest appearance in the Music Fog studio at the Steamboat Grand. Since Valentine's Day is just a couple of weks away, we'll lead things off with an unreleased tune they recorded with us, written by Willy Braun and Todd Snider, "I Never Liked St. Valentine."

- Jessie Scott

Amos Lee "Windows Are Rolled Down"

Hallelujah, the genre lines are being blurred with so many artists adding rootsy instruments to their sound. They dance dangerously close to 'country,' which had been considered a dirty word in some parts. In fact, there has been a decades old clash between rock and country listeners, a chasm bridged here in Austin by Willie Nelson back in the Armadillo days as he united the hippies and the rednecks. But the fight was deep seated, and the sides continue deep in their respective corners to this day. At WMMO Orlando, in the late 90s, I was playing a Delaney and Bonnie tune one afternoon, it was "Never Ending Song Of Love" I believe, and some irate listener actually called me up to demand I take that "country sh*t" off the air immediately. Not to make it a survey of one, but Americana exists in part thanks to that "too country for rock, and too rock for country" axiom. For whatever reason, so many artists are picking up on the blending now. I think it has a lot to do with removing the shackles, and allowing these creative folks to explore whatever sounds are interesting to them at this moment, or the next moment, for that matter.

Amos Lee has embraced the flavor on his brand new CD Mission Bell, which is out today. Heretofore, his music has embraced folk, soul and incorporated jazz flavor into the mix. And now there is that hint of twang on this, his fourth CD. It was produced by Joey Burns, from the band Calexico, which also provides back-up band services on this set. There are the contributions of a remarkable guest list, as well, including Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), James Gadson, Priscilla Ahn, and Pieta Brown. Amos took his time on this one, allowing a year and a half to write the songs and then let them steep. He feels good about that as he notes the last two projects were somewhat rushed for his being on the road. We bring you a solo performance video of the lead track "Windows Are Rolled Down," from our friends at Farm Aid, on their 25 Anniversary show from this past September.

- Jessie Scott