Drive-By Truckers "Mercy Buckets"

Congratulations are in order, as Music Fog videos just hit the three million view mark on our YouTube Channel! Thank you, thank you. Of course that number only reflects the videos we have produced ourselves. We put a couple of "outside" videos up every week, and honor people we haven't yet had the pleasure of filming. Enough patting ourselves on the back, or shameless self-pimping, as we like to call it.

Now it's time to pimp someone else. That would be the Drive-By Truckers. Their new CD Go-Go Boots is being hailed as a career achievement. And that is saying something. The Truckers have followed their own muse, carving out a space they call Country Soul, it is a flavor that we spend a good deal of time talking about here at Music Fog. They are hitting it hard, touring the country as they are wont to do. Also they have been busy producing webisodes, The Go-Go Boots Episodes, click the link to see all eight of them.

The immersion for the audience at a show is total. It is the music fog, from whence we get our name. It consumes the senses. You will be rocked. Patterson Hood says about this new CD, that DBT embrace their Muscle Shoals hometown on it, and that it is their 'noir' offering. Read the rest of his comments here.

Today's song is "Mercy Buckets," which is the bastardization play on words for merci beaucoup, French for 'thanks alot.' The version we bring you was recorded in Atlanta...a delicious love song for a slow Sunday.

- Jessie Scott

Marshall Chapman "Call the Lamas!"

She’s lean and tall and multi-talented. It begs again a closer look at the people we bring you here at Music Fog, for many of them are accomplished in more than one artistic pursuit. Take Marshall Chapman, for instance. She has a way with words. It doesn’t matter whether they are ensconced in song, or in books and newsletters. I subscribe to The Tall Girl Skinny to keep up with her travels. She reported a bit of trouble recently---heart flutters, and is now wearing a heart monitor. We wish her a speedy return to full health; and of course wealth, and wisdom. (Well, the wisdom comes easy.) It has been busy for Marshall lately, with visits to Sirius XM, and then she had a close encounter with another of our heroes, Billy Joe Shaver. Read all about it here.

I am so glad we got to sit down with Marshall in the Music Fog suite at the Americana Fest in Nashville this past September. She is classy, effortless, bewitching. This song captures a portrait of a perfect moment, a polaroid snapshot of a face in the supermarket. I have seen this kid too, haven’t you? It’s Marshall Chapman with a solo acoustic version of “Call The Lamas!” from her Mellowicious! album back in 2006.

- Jessie Scott

Paul Thorn "Ray Ann's Shoes"

Paul Thorn continues his relentless march across the United States. I can't believe there are so many dates on his dance card. He aims to have a busy spring and then a busy summer, that is for sure. Take a look for yourself. I was talking to a friend about Paul a couple of days ago. We were agreeing if people would just go to see him, they would become fans for life. This is where the juice is, where the music is real. Just one taste of the fruit is all you need to 'get' him. Music Fog was honored to be with him in Muscle Shoals this past January for a DVD shoot and webcast, and once again, I have to stress the ease of working with the whole team. It is just amazing how nice, how welcoming the Paul Thorn crew is. And that is how they greet the day with everyone; family, friends, fans. You know Paul and the band love it, love being on the road, love performing, want to grow it and build it and never stop.

Then there are the lyrics he writes. They can get inside your head, you can feel like Paul is simply reading your mind. They are that relatable. Even if you haven't experienced the exact thing the song is about, there is still that glimmer of acknowledgement, the silent nod of understanding. You know this woman, she might have lived next door, and she up and left, inexplicably. This is one of those songs that you can't believe is new, as it feels like you have known it forever. "Ray Ann's Shoes," comes from Paul's most recent album Pimps & Preachers. We filmed this version over a year ago in Memphis during Folk Alliance, captured on the magical Music Fog bus. And if you are around Dayton, Ohio tonight, I encourage you to go to see Paul solo acoustic live at the Canal Street Tavern.

- Jessie Scott