Ponderosa "Never Come Back"

Shall we talk today about one of the still cool things in the music biz, the indie record store? In this day of file sharing and music discovery being done on one’s own, having an outpost with informed clerks and a community culture that takes out the virtual and makes it real is so important. If you consider yourself a music junkie, here is hoping you have a store near you dedicated to ferreting out the good stuff. One of the great ones is Grimey’s New & Preloved Music in Nashville. There you will find limited editions only available at indie music stores, and a grand march of fabulous in store performances. The band Ponderosa will be there today in Nashville at 6pm.

Ponderosa has been hard at work, crafting a new album and refining and building on their sound. Pool Party comes out today, and it represents an amazing growth spurt for the band from Atlanta, Georgia. This is the follow up to 2011’s Moonlight Revival. Kalen Nash on lead vocal and guitar, JT Hall playing bass and singing, John Dance on keys and vocals, Kris Sampson on guitar, and Darren Dodd on drums, came en masse to our Spring Music Fog Marathon in March at Threadgill’s WHQ in Austin. They brought us some powerful stuff. Here is one of the new songs, recorded Music Fog style. “Never Come Back.”

-Jessie Scott

Kenny Vaughan "Carolee"

So are you watching the Olympics? I hope so. Does it make you want to run and jump and swim and dive? Do the gymnastics give you a sense of the wonder of the artistry and a desire to chase perfection? The games are a reminder of that most basic striving, to conquer what you do. Practice, practice, practice. The stories of these contenders are amazing as well, for they put ‘normal’ life on hold to chase their dreams.

Obviously the particulars are different, but if there were a contest for guitar players, I would want Kenny Vaughan on that team. I am quite sure he put his 10,000 hours in for that impeccable guitar playing of his. I love me some quality guitar playing. You know, that seems to be so much more underground when you think about how guitars ruled in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. It is hard to be a household name now. Of course Kenny shines as a member of Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives, and has many credits with folks like Rodney Crowell, Billy Burnette, Jim Lauderdale, Mike Farris, and Will Hoge. The list goes on and on. You can check it out here. Last year, Kenny put out his long awaited solo album debut, V. Kenny came to see us during the Fall Music Fog Marathon at Marathon Recorders in Nashville. Here is “Carolee,” with Rich Brinsfield on bass, and John Radford on drums.

-Jessie Scott

The Milk Carton Kids "I Still Want A Little More"

What to do when you hit 5,000 friends on Facebook? Well, I have to say, I am not interested in folks that post hateful political sentiment. I have taken to unfriending them. I don’t particularly want to see that crap, where nothing is accomplished, except to generate more hatred, and who needs that. Though I don’t get to spend nearly as much time with Facebook as I used to, I am digging the Facebook posts with a bit of philosophy. And since it is the weekend, and it is time to kick up your heels.

Here is a perfect sentiment, courtesy of National Dance week, which was actually the last week of April. Heck, I think it’s appropriate every week. So this weekend, do something joyous. “I Still Want A Little More” is today’s tune from the Milk Carton Kids.

Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan have been doing festivals and dates with k.d. lang and Old Crow Medicine Show this summer. The Milk Carton Kids are also writing and recording their second studio album. BYW, the album Prologue is being offered for free download, if you want. The song we feature today is from that album. And if you want more, that is after you download the music, you can go see them live. Here are the tour dates.  Here are Milk Carton Kids, with “I Still Want A Little More.” 

- Jessie Scott