Phil Lee "Let Your Mind Roll On"

Last Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest after the slow burning nitro insanity of the Music Fog Marathon. After a sumptuous brunch at La Reyna on South 1st Street, whereupon the Foggers all indulged in Mexican bounty, we then parted, all scattering to the winds and the four corners of the earth. My brother Mitch and I intended to go to San Antonio for the day. BTW that is ‘SA’ for the uninitiated in the initials we assign to Texas locales; There is also ‘NB,’ ‘SM’ and ‘ATX.’ But I digress. Mitch wanted to do some shopping, so we hit the outdoor market for some tasty tie dyed items on South Congress Avenue, where food carts also reign supreme, though we weren’t even hungry for a cupcake, let along the other offerings. And because there were still plenty of things going on in the music department, we crafted a plan, and wound up seeing Jon Dee Graham, Dustin Welch, and Susan Cowsill at Olivia. That led to the G&S Lounge for Mitch Jacobs, Freddie Steady Krc, and who should waft over our way but Tom Mason.

Where there’s Tom, sometimes there is Phil Lee. He emerged from his vehicle resplendent in black from head to toe, announcing that his clothing had been created by Leprechauns. He was as effervescent as ever; a total character, funny, irreverent…aw, you know Phil. So today, we bring you the Mighty King of Love, along with master accompanist Tom Mason, taped a year ago at Folk Alliance in Memphis. “Let Your Mind Roll On” is the song Phil claims he wrote in the hotel elevator on the way to the Music Fog bus.

-Jessie Scott

Cindy Bullens "In a Perfect World"

I had an interesting conversation with a couple of old friends recently. It was about regrets, about the paths not taken. I said that I had made peace with most of my choices, but you know that isn’t entirely true.  There is always the “what if” game that we play, that of the parallel universe, the other life that could have been. But we soldier on, and one foot goes in front of another, always looking forward.

I am inspired by our video subject today.  It is Cindy Bullens, who came to our studio in Nashville during the Americana Fest in Nashville in September.  Her very first album from 1979, Desire Wire, has been rereleased and is available on CD Baby. Cindy Bullens Live, recorded during a 2006 European tour, is out on the German label Blue Rose. And Cindy contributed music to the documentary, Space Between Breaths, which tells the tales of families dealing with the loss of children, a subject that Cindy herself had to work through after the loss of her daughter Jessie.  Her 1999 album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth is the aftermath of that soul searching.

Today’s song comes from her latest album, Howling Trains and Barking Dogs, a collection of Cindy’s 1990’s Nashville collaborations with Radney Foster, Bill Lloyd, Matraca Berg, Kye Fleming, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Al Anderson.  She co-wrote the song, “In A Perfect World,” with Bill Lloyd, and our performance features George Marinelli on electric guitar, Michael Kelsh on guitar and dobro, and Chris Donahue on bass.

- Jessie Scott

Danny Barnes "Get It While You Can"

On Monday night, tired from the Music Fog Marathon and the craziness of 200,000 people descending on Austin to attend SXSW, Denise and I found ourselves out on the town to see “The Italians,” at the invitation of Joe and Sharon Ely.

Earlier that day we heard that Pinetop Perkins had passed, at 97 years young.  Pinetop performed regularly, and was known to hold court at a card table at Antone’s, just in front of the shoeshine stand in back. He would sign his CDs upon purchase, whether he was playing that night or not. I bought several. His was a remarkable spirit, he was a force of nature. Missing you already Pinetop!

The Italians, comprised of Andrea Parodi and Fulvio Renzi, played transcendently at Halcyon, mixing Americana with Italian flourishes and touching your heart.  I encourage you to explore!  The evening’s music ended with a heartbreakingly beautiful version of Townes Van Zandt’s ”If You Needed Me,” with Sam Baker, BettySoo, Gurf Morlix , The Burns Sisters, Andrew Hardin, and Ray Bonneville all gathered around the microphone.  This is the community, the shared love of music, and the artistic embrace that Austin is known for.

We are bringing you a video today from another Austin denizen, Danny Barnes.  We captured “Get It While You Can,” during our sessions in September at the Americana Fest.  The studio version can be found on his 2003 album, Dirt On The Angel.  Although I know he’s talking about sex, with thinly veiled food references in the grand blues tradition, I choose to look at it from an even broader perspective. To me, it is a song written about making every day count. Danny is playing tomorrow night at the Suwanee Springfest in Live Oak, Fl. See him in these upcoming cities.  Get it while you can, indeed!

- Jessie Scott