Megan Reilly "Throw It Out"

Megan Reilly is a Memphis-native with a grounding in both the languages of Irish fatalism and Southern Gothic. She has just released her first album in six years. It's  called The Well, connoting both a dark and scary place, and one that is rich with depth and possibilities.

Megan began writing at age sixteen. At twenty-three, she moved to New York City, and was shepherded in her new hometown by Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. He acted as her guide into the New York music scene and introduced her to guitarist Tim Foljahn. That duet was soon to lead to a full band - Steve Goulding on drums, Tony Maimone on bass, and Eric Morrison on piano. The group recorded Megan's first full-length Arc of Tessa, which was hailed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, No Depression and others. Her second album in 2006, Let Your Ghost Go garnered more acclaim. It has been a long time between albums, and though they are luscious to dig into, it's the video that grabbed us. Impossibly well-cast, and utterly impenetrable. It is one of the songs from The Well, vast and deep, "Throw It Out."

-Jessie Scott

 

Otis Gibbs "Detroit Steel"

Yay, driving season is here. It is great to jump into the car and follow your heart to friends and family, or just to explore. I am glad gas prices are coming down a bit. In doing some research, on this day in 1942, gas rationing was put in place, with non-essential vehicles only getting 3 gallons a week. Can you imagine? What does that translate to, around 60 miles a week? Just goes to show how different our living and working pattern is these days. Ah, to be able to walk to work, or take public transportation…but that is another story.

Otis Gibbs has today’s tune from his album Harder Than Hammered Hell, which came out back in February. The import version is available as of today on Amazon. It is Otis’ sixth album, and it’s the fourth release to come out on his own indie label, Wanamaker Recording Company, the East Nashville endeavor he started in 2008 with long-time partner Amy Lashley. The album title comes from a comment about digging in frozen ground, by a seventy-year-old friend and co-worker with whom Otis worked as a tree-planter in Indiana. Otis feels that is also an apt description for the creative process today. In the meantime, it’s time to take a drive! Here is “Detroit Steel,” let’s go!

-Jessie Scott

Lydia Loveless "Can't Change Me"

A good cup of coffee is imperative first thing in the morning. And woe, the grinder on my coffee maker was making this whirring, whimpering noise. Avanti - to the internets for information! The consensus was to unplug it, turn it upside down, and clear it all out with a chop stick, so as not to damage the wheel of the burr grinder. And voila, success! This morning I am a happy camper for two reasons, I don’t have to buy a new machine, and there is a place to do research which actually provides meaningful information. So while I sip my brew this Monday morning, let’s dig in. What can I say, I am a woman of simple pleasures.

I recall being deliriously happy when I took the shrink wrap off the Lydia Loveless album almost a year ago. I love when you hear new music, and ‘get’ it instantly, when that connection is clean and pure and total. Lydia Loveless simply rocks. She was raised on a farm in Coshocton, Ohio, her dad owned a country music bar, which meant there was often a house full of touring musicians. She struck out on her own to Columbus, OH where she immersed herself in the punk scene. I love when the worlds of country and punk collide! We have been trying to get Lydia Loveless in front of the Music Fog cameras since the Indestructible Machine album came out. When we found out she was coming to Austin to play SXSW, we knew we were going to do a session with her at last! She and her band, Ben Lamb - upright bass, Parker Chandler – drums, and Todd May – guitar, brought us a whip smart set. Here is the Music Fog recording off “Can’t Change Me” from the Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s in Austin.

-Jessie Scott