MusicFest

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The Trishas "Clockwork"

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I stopped by the Victory Grill on Tuesday evening for a blues jam, in a spot that has been, as they say, “nourishing the soul since 1945.” It was part of the Chitlin’ Circuit during the day, a place where African Americans could play. It was a home away from home in the 50s to the likes of Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, W. C. Clark. It is a juke joint listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  It is vibey and cool inside. The blues jam had lots of ebb and flow, black and white and soul and shuffle. If you are visiting Austin, you might stop by; it is on the East Side across I-35.

What is it about east side of many towns? They seem to be the rundown side, maybe it’s because that’s the way the wind blows.  The Trishas have headed east from Austin, and there is a tantalizing quiz of sorts on their Facebook page.  I can’t put the clues together, maybe you can. Could it be a new album or a tour? Well I guess we will know soon enough. In the meantime, let’s revisit MusicFest at Steamboat Springs 2011, as the Trishas came to our studio, and played the song “Clockwork” for us.

- Jessie Scott

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Roger Creager "Turn It Up"

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Turn it up. Your life, your energy, your enjoyment. I'm sitting in Austin where the usually mild weather has been replaced by a cold snap, and our first freeze. Coming off the heat of this past summer, it seems impossible to believe that the temps have dropped so low. This summer it was way too hot to drive with the radio cranked and the windows open, and now it is just too cold to do it. That doesn’t take away from that great American tradition of driving down the highway listening to the tunes, even if it is in your mind’s eye for now.

I have to laugh, 32 degrees isn’t really that cold. I talked to a friend of mine in Montana a couple of nights ago and it was 12 and snowing in the mountains there. Now we are talking winter!

Photo Credit: Jack NewtonWe revisit last year’s snowy MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, Colorado for today’s video. I secretly watched MusicFest videos this summer, in the hope that I could remember what cold felt like when it was 105 here in Austin, but I digress. Today, we have a sweater-swathed Roger Creager for you. His new album Surrender comes out next month, and you can preorder if you like directly from his website. “Turn It Up” is the first single from the new album, in advance of its street date of January 17th. Roger’s shows are joyous celebrations. Catch him tonight at the National Rodeo Finals in Vegas, baby! Here is a tantalizing taste.

- Jessie Scott

Turn It Up - Turn It Up - Single

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This Is Indian Land: A Songwriter's Journey

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Today we welcome a contribution from Josh Crutchmer, whose day gig is for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. You might recall that a year ago, he wrote a piece for Music Fog about the last Cross Canadian Ragweed show. For this entry, Josh has interviewed the songwriters on the new Cody Canada & The Departed album, This Is Indian Land. Josh puts comments from the songwriter next to Cody Canada’s comments about each song.

An editor's note, Cody & Seth's version of one of the songs from the album, is included on our first ever compilation album of our own unique recordings, Who's First? Music Fog Sessions Vol. 1. Here is the video of that, filmed back in January at MusicFest in Steamboat Springs

-Jessie Scott

This is Indian Land: A Songwriter’s Journey

The people behind the music weigh in on Cody Canada and The Departed’s first album

By Josh Crutchmer

Cody Canada and The Departed have been together as a band since December 2010. The five-piece features four members from Oklahoma, and one from Texas, and their first album is a tribute to a cross section of the state’s music. This is Indian Land centers around the Red Dirt scene which sprung up around Stillwater, Okla., in the 1970s and has been a constant since.

The 16 songs (15 on the CD, a bonus track on iTunes) branch out from Red Dirt like spokes on a wheel, touching on the Tulsa Sound, country, rock and folk. It often reflects “The Farm,” a patch of land near Stillwater where Red Dirt artists used to live, write and play music around campfires and oak trees.

What follows is a journey through the album’s songwriting. Half is from the perspective of Cody Canada, Departed guitar player and vocalist and former front man for Cross Canadian Ragweed. He’s joined in the band by Jeremy Plato (bass and vocals), Seth James (guitar and vocals), Steve Littleton (keys) and David Bowen (drums). Of the five, only James — who is from Texas — does not hail, musically, from the state.

The rest comes from the songwriters, artists, family members or Oklahoma music experts the album was written to honor.