Frazey Ford "Mimi Song"

I was reminiscing a few days ago about the Nancy Drew mystery books, the formative fiction of many a girl’s childhood. Nancy could do it all, and do it all well. She solved mysteries with her friends, her home life with her father and a housekeeper seemed somehow rarified. Oh yeah, there was her trusty Roadster, too. Back in those days, there were only a few pictures accompanying, so one’s imagination was engaged to fill in the gaps. The self-sufficiency and glamour was something to aspire to as we grow toward fulfilling our destinies.

Such strength among women. Me, I am ever intrigued by the girls in the band who have carved their own path. Today is the day The Be Good Tanyas album A Collection (2000-2012) comes out. It is a 16-song career retrospective, including some favs, along with two brand new tracks, "Little Black Bear" and "Gospel Song."  The trio Sam Parton, Frazey Ford, and Trish Klein deliver a sweet throwback to the Jimmie Rodgers/Carter Family era. The band is on the road to support the new album. Though we have not had the pleasure of filming The Be Good Tanyas, we did have Frazey Ford come visit us during the 2010 American Fest in Nashville. Today’s tune is of a life well lived, “Mimi Song.”

-Jessie Scott

the V-Roys "Cold Beer Hello"

Today let’s drink to beer. Especially this time of year when we are all hot, it is everywhere. The snap of the pop top, the uncapping of the bottle, the Ahhh of satisfaction after the first swig. Cold beer is written into the American DNA. Cold beer is a rallying point for musicians everywhere. Where the beer flows, the music cranks. Threadgill’s got the first beer license in Austin,TX which is why the musicians started hanging round there. It was one of the seeds planted early on for Austin’s music scene to grow.

There is evidence of beer being made and consumed as far back as 7000 years ago. The history on WIKI is a good place to start. Last year, while we were recording our Fall Music Fog Marathon in Nashville at Marathon Recorders, we had Mic Harrison and Scott Miller come by to play together as they were issuing a V-Roys reunion album called Sooner Or Later and doing a select amount of shows. There is a brand new Mic Harrison & the High Score album, Still Wanna Fight which just came out, and Scott is working on a new one too. Let us revisit a song from their collective history, that was originally released on Just Add Ice. “Cold Beer Hello.” It’s beer thirty people!

-Jessie Scott

Jimmy LaFave & Friends "Deportee - Plane Wreck at Los Gatos"

Woody Guthrie would have turned 100 today, if he had lived. Instead he was cut down by ALS in 1967. The year was a cultural turning point in any case, the summer of love. Woody Guthrie planted seeds: He was an artist, a songwriter, a raconteur, a rambler, and an activist. He left an indelible legacy on the American landscape, and this year is filled with salutes to his incredible life.

Woody was a rural renaissance man, capturing moments, people, and places with the clarity of a documentarian. He pioneered a path for the folk music movement which then paved the way for today’s Americana Music. He wrote almost 3,000 song lyrics, authored numerous manuscripts, poems, prose, and news articles which can be found in the Woody Guthrie Archives in New York. Music Fog had the honor of attending Woody Fest in his hometown, Okemah, Oklahoma a couple of years ago in 2010.

We wish we could have been there for this year’s festivities, too, which are going on this weekend. We captured some amazing music there! Here is Jimmy LaFave leading an all-star band; Joel Rafael. John Inmon, Andrew Hardin, David Amran, and Glenn Schuetz doing “Deportee,” AKA “Plane Wreck at Los Gatos.” Woody, we hardly knew ya.

- Jessie Scott