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_
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So far in this series,
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we've focused on the
country music outlaws,
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00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:32,429
artists who refuse to follow
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00:00:32,430 --> 00:00:34,219
the rules of the record business
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00:00:34,220 --> 00:00:38,019
or the rules of polite
society, for that matter.
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These have all been pretty big names,
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00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:41,059
but we're gonna end this season
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with a guy who was every
bit the outlaw artist
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in his own way,
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but who never quite achieved
that same level of fame.
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00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:50,059
And to be honest, it just seems wrong
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that hardly anybody knows his name.
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Willie Nelson
recorded one of his songs
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alongside Merle Haggard.
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In fact, Merle called it
the best country song
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he'd heard in 15 years.
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Lucinda Williams wrote
a song about the guy,
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and Townes Van Zandt
called him a brother.
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Blaze Foley.
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_ _
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He was the nicest asshole
you'd ever meet.
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00:02:07,890 --> 00:02:09,519
And that's something, with his looks,
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you'd never guess.
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He was a very scary-looking guy.
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Scary-looking guy, yeah.
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Hank Sinatra and Chuck Lamb
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witnessed the magic of Blaze Foley
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more times than either
of them can count.
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00:02:21,060 --> 00:02:25,219
They remember Blaze as an intimidating
presence on first impression.
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Blaze walked with a big limp,
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and that even made him more scary,
more pirate-like, you know.
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He even scared some of the bikers.
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He was just a big 'ol goon.
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And when he started singing,
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you just completely lost
all thoughts of...
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what you thought
when you first saw the guy.
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Blaze had a bet with somebody,
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a hundred dollar bet with somebody
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that he could get
kicked out of every bar
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that had live music in Austin.
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Yeah, he literally got thrown
out of every bar in town.
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The Outhouse was the last place.
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I was not gonna help
Blaze win that bet.
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So we managed to put up with him.
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Met this character, Blaze Foley,
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back in 1977,
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and, uh, he had this guitar
in this case
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that he wanted to show me.
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Actually, he wanted to sell it to me.
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Singer-songwriter Gurf Morlix,
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maybe the greatest name
in country music history,
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was playing a gig when Blaze Foley
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approached him with a proposition.
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I was in the middle of a set,
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and he came up to me
and wanted to talk to me,
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like, in between songs.
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And he's, like, six-three,
six-four maybe,
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long hair, cowboy hat,
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just looked like a weirdo.
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And I said, well, you know,
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"When I take a break,
can we talk then?"
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And a little later on, he showed me
this guitar that he wanted to sell me.
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It was an old acoustic guitar
from the early 1900s,
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and, uh, I found out later
it wasn't his guitar.
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He always had to borrow
somebody's guitar
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to play most of the time.
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Yeah, I don't know if he
ever actually owned one.
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00:04:05,180 --> 00:04:08,139
I guess he sold that guitar
to about four different people.
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00:04:08,140 --> 00:04:10,599
And none of 'em ever got it.
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A few days later,
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Blaze played his first-ever
performance in Austin,
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the city where he would
build his legend.
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He got a gig in a...
it was in a disco,
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just a ridiculous place for him to be,
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and we kind of sat around,
and he had a valise
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with a bunch of stuff in it,
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and he would pull out pictures
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and say, "Well, here's the
person from this song,"
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and he'd play the song while the
picture was being passed around.
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One of the
pictures he pulled out
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was of himself as a kid,
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for a little number
he called, "Fat Boy."
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He used to tell me
about when he'd be at home as a kid
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that he'd sit down and
eat a stick of butter.
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He'd just sit down for a snack
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and he'd just eat a stick of butter.
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And of course,
you do things like that,
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it's gonna pack some weight on you.
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I first met Blaze
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when I was working the Sears store,
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when I was in high school.
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Lindsey Horton
was in automotive.
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00:05:02,060 --> 00:05:05,309
Blaze, or Michael Fuller,
as he was known then,
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worked in paint and hardware.
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00:05:07,140 --> 00:05:10,269
He was a big kid
from Malvern, Arkansas,
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who had a thing about his weight
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and his name, apparently.
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He started introducing
himself on stage
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as Deputy Dawg, like the cartoon.
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Deputy Dawg, of course, was destitute,
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00:05:21,430 --> 00:05:24,519
so I went with him a few places
around trying to sell the guitar.
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Someone said, well, you know,
Kinky Friedman buys guitars.
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He might be interested in that.
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Kinky was playing down at the
Armadillo World Headquarters,
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so, uh, we sent word in
that we'd like to talk to him,
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00:05:34,220 --> 00:05:36,849
and sure enough, he came
out and sat down with us.
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00:05:36,850 --> 00:05:39,099
And Blaze showed him his guitar,
and Kinky played it a while,
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played a few little, little runs of
this and that and whatever on it.
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And, uh, said,
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"Well, thank you very much
for showing me your guitar."
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And got up and went back inside.
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I don't remember precisely
meeting anybody.
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I'm sure it was on the gangplank
of Noah's Ark, you know,
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00:05:51,730 --> 00:05:54,269
but, uh, you'd have to tell me
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00:05:54,270 --> 00:05:56,599
and then it comes
back to the Kinkster.
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There was one night when we went to a,
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00:05:59,390 --> 00:06:01,809
a Willie Nelson concert,
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00:06:01,810 --> 00:06:03,269
and somehow we ended up
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00:06:03,270 --> 00:06:06,139
right in front of the stage
with this guitar.
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00:06:06,140 --> 00:06:09,099
At some point, Willie Nelson,
you know, sort of leaned down
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00:06:09,100 --> 00:06:10,429
and Deputy said to him,
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00:06:10,430 --> 00:06:13,729
"Would you like to buy
this guitar?" you know.
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Nobody would buy it.
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In 1974,
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Michael met Sybil Rosen
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while performing
at an artists' commune
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45 miles west of Atlanta.
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It was during that time
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that he was working on the name,
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Blaze Foley.
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00:06:28,220 --> 00:06:31,179
It was just like, you know,
watching someone being born.
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He called himself
the illegitimate son
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00:06:33,770 --> 00:06:35,019
of Red Foley,
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00:06:35,020 --> 00:06:37,599
a country music legend
who was an inveterate drunk,
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00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,599
and Blaze Starr,
a stripper whose specialty
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was a stage effect that produced smoke
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from between her legs.
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We was in love.
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00:06:45,850 --> 00:06:49,019
At some point, I thought
that it was probably time
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to introduce him to the folks.
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Here's my middle-aged,
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middle-class Jewish
parents from Brooklyn.
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You know, they sweated blood
to send me to college.
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And I come in with this big cowboy
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00:07:02,390 --> 00:07:04,309
with boots and a hat,
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00:07:04,310 --> 00:07:06,179
this big handlebar mustache,
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00:07:06,180 --> 00:07:09,019
and he has my IUD in his ear.
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00:07:10,470 --> 00:07:12,889
I'd gone to, you know, Planned
Parenthood and asked for an IUD,
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00:07:12,890 --> 00:07:15,639
and my body couldn't tolerate
it, so they removed it
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00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,849
and they gave it to Blaze, and
he put it in his ear, you know.
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And my mother, God bless her,
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she takes one look at Blaze,
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turns around, goes into the bedroom,
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starts crying.
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00:07:28,350 --> 00:07:30,929
But Blaze starts singing these songs,
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and, um, once he sang,
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they really couldn't resist him.
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Blaze was with Sybil
when he first visited Austin,
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home of sorts to another
singer-songwriter,
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a hard-living crooner who
would become a legend,
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Townes Van Zandt.
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00:07:52,980 --> 00:07:54,809
Blaze was a homeless person, I think,
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you know, intentionally.
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00:07:56,270 --> 00:07:57,599
I always got the impression,
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00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,059
he just slept on people's
couches all the time, you know?
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00:08:00,060 --> 00:08:02,059
And that must have been
a horrible feeling.
168
00:08:02,060 --> 00:08:03,849
But he seemed to be
comfortable with it.
169
00:08:03,850 --> 00:08:07,729
Harold Eggers spent 20
years booking Townes Van Zandt
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00:08:07,730 --> 00:08:09,389
and trying to stay sane.
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00:08:09,390 --> 00:08:12,729
He tried several times to get
a record deal for Blaze.
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00:08:12,730 --> 00:08:14,559
They were gonna put him
on the road with Townes
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00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,309
when Heartland Records,
we made the record deal,
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00:08:16,310 --> 00:08:19,519
they had said well, you know,
"Can you keep a lid on him?"
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00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,599
And you know, I always
say yes to everything.
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It's like, "Sure, man, we can keep a lid
on Townes and the two of 'em," you know.
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00:08:24,770 --> 00:08:26,662
But to be honest with
you, there's no lid for
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00:08:26,663 --> 00:08:28,769
those guys. It was...
They were full tilt.
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If the two of them
weren't bad enough,
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they used to run around with this guy.
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I used to manufacture methamphetamine.
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I used to be a pretty good chemist.
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The reason I learned to
make methamphetamine...
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because I liked it more
than anybody else.
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00:08:41,220 --> 00:08:44,099
Leland Waddell claims
that his side business
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00:08:44,100 --> 00:08:46,929
kept him in skins and
sticks as a drummer.
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00:08:46,930 --> 00:08:49,389
I met this guy, he turned me on to it.
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I said, "Damn. Where'd you get that?
That's good."
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He said, "Oh, I made it."
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00:08:54,100 --> 00:08:55,679
"You what?
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You made it!"
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You know, and I didn't let
that motherfucker leave my sight
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until I learned how to do it.
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00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:05,769
You know, I mean, I said goddamn,
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00:09:05,770 --> 00:09:07,389
this is the best thing...
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00:09:07,390 --> 00:09:09,219
I said, this is the best thing of all.
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00:09:09,220 --> 00:09:12,309
It's like goddamn, why do I
have to worry about money?
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00:09:12,310 --> 00:09:15,389
I can actually make fucking speed.
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00:09:15,390 --> 00:09:18,059
That was Waddell in 2002.
200
00:09:18,060 --> 00:09:19,639
This is him now.
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00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:20,809
He survived,
202
00:09:20,810 --> 00:09:21,979
mostly intact.
203
00:09:21,980 --> 00:09:23,639
Blaze was staying with Townes.
204
00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,599
Townes lived like four blocks
from me at the time.
205
00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,139
And so, um, Townes called me, he said,
"Come on over, Blaze is here, man.
206
00:09:30,140 --> 00:09:33,139
We got some Kamchatka Vodka,
come on over, man."
207
00:09:33,140 --> 00:09:35,979
Kamchatka is the cheapest
vodka that you can buy.
208
00:09:35,980 --> 00:09:39,059
It's like a dollar and 60 cents
for a half-pint.
209
00:09:39,060 --> 00:09:42,019
So I went over there to Townes',
210
00:09:42,020 --> 00:09:45,269
and the minute I showed up,
Jeanene, who's Townes' wife,
211
00:09:45,270 --> 00:09:48,179
you know, she knew
what was about to happen.
212
00:09:48,180 --> 00:09:49,729
Pretty much at that time,
213
00:09:49,730 --> 00:09:51,469
they were pretty much best friends,
214
00:09:51,470 --> 00:09:52,849
running buddies.
215
00:09:52,850 --> 00:09:54,849
So Townes says, "Hey, man,
216
00:09:54,850 --> 00:09:56,599
"I'm gonna die pretty soon.
217
00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:01,019
"I want you and Blaze to go out
and help me find a gravesite.
218
00:10:01,020 --> 00:10:04,349
Let's go today, because I know
I'm gonna die any minute."
219
00:10:04,350 --> 00:10:07,349
So I said, "Sure, man,
let's go take a look."
220
00:10:07,350 --> 00:10:10,099
Well, we went to Texas Cemetery,
221
00:10:10,100 --> 00:10:11,679
where all the senators and...
222
00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:13,809
and all of those were buried,
223
00:10:13,810 --> 00:10:15,519
and way too hifalutin.
224
00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,469
Stopped by the liquor store, got
us a half a pint each or whatever,
225
00:10:19,470 --> 00:10:22,929
spent another 30-45 minutes
looking around.
226
00:10:22,930 --> 00:10:25,769
We were right over here
off the interstate.
227
00:10:25,770 --> 00:10:27,889
Blaze looked over, he said,
228
00:10:27,890 --> 00:10:30,059
"Man, there's a cemetery right there."
229
00:10:30,060 --> 00:10:31,809
So we said, "All right,
let's go take a look."
230
00:10:31,810 --> 00:10:34,269
Well, Blaze stumbled out,
231
00:10:34,270 --> 00:10:36,219
sat down on a gravestone.
232
00:10:36,220 --> 00:10:39,269
Townes couldn't walk,
so Blaze grabbed his feet
233
00:10:39,270 --> 00:10:41,099
and I grabbed his arms,
234
00:10:41,100 --> 00:10:43,559
and we drug him through that cemetery.
235
00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:47,019
And every time we'd get to one
of them old crosses, you know,
236
00:10:47,020 --> 00:10:49,309
"Damn, man, what do you
think about this, man?"
237
00:10:49,310 --> 00:10:52,389
"Ah, yeah, man, I like
that, but let's look."
238
00:10:52,390 --> 00:10:55,559
So we went to the back
of the cemetery,
239
00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:57,349
and as we went over that hill,
240
00:10:57,350 --> 00:10:59,269
there was an encampment
of homeless people
241
00:10:59,270 --> 00:11:02,099
right at the edge of the cemetery.
242
00:11:02,100 --> 00:11:04,559
As we drug him across there, man,
243
00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:08,019
they was headed out of there.
They thought he was dead.
244
00:11:08,020 --> 00:11:10,769
So finally, "We found you
the one we like."
245
00:11:10,770 --> 00:11:12,729
"Um, this is...
What do you think about this?"
246
00:11:12,730 --> 00:11:15,849
Well, that... by that time,
he was totally out,
247
00:11:15,850 --> 00:11:18,269
so I told Blaze, I said,
"Well, let's go back,
248
00:11:18,270 --> 00:11:20,639
get in the car
and go get some more booze,
249
00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:22,309
and we'll come back and get him."
250
00:11:22,310 --> 00:11:26,729
So we left him leaned up against
that headstone in that cemetery,
251
00:11:26,730 --> 00:11:28,219
passed completely out.
252
00:11:28,220 --> 00:11:30,519
He looked as dead
as anybody you ever seen.
253
00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:32,429
Blaze says, "Hey, man,
254
00:11:32,430 --> 00:11:34,559
I think we did all right, don't you?"
255
00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:37,309
Townes went on to live...
256
00:11:37,310 --> 00:11:39,519
another 16 years.
257
00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,179
The first time I remember
actually seeing him
258
00:11:42,180 --> 00:11:43,809
or knowing who he was,
259
00:11:43,810 --> 00:11:45,979
he was asleep under the pool table
260
00:11:45,980 --> 00:11:48,929
at a singer-songwriter
bar here in Austin.
261
00:11:48,930 --> 00:11:53,019
Larry Monroe was a local
DJ who frequented the Outhouse
262
00:11:53,020 --> 00:11:54,889
and became friendly with Blaze.
263
00:11:54,890 --> 00:11:57,679
I remember he had
Mercurochrome on his face,
264
00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:00,559
you know, just... he had
painted his face with it.
265
00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:03,679
And he was sprawled out on his back,
266
00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:05,099
people just playing pool,
267
00:12:05,100 --> 00:12:07,519
and every time somebody
would make a ball
268
00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:11,059
and it would drop down
and then roll across,
269
00:12:11,060 --> 00:12:13,179
it would wake Blaze up
just momentarily.
270
00:12:13,180 --> 00:12:14,809
And he'd kind of rouse up
271
00:12:14,810 --> 00:12:17,929
and hit his head on the
underside of the pool table,
272
00:12:17,930 --> 00:12:19,809
and then he'd just sprawl back out
273
00:12:19,810 --> 00:12:21,389
and go back to sleep.
274
00:12:21,390 --> 00:12:25,639
When I met Townes, I was just kind of
thrown into Townes' world overnight,
275
00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:29,349
and one of the first things
we did was go find Blaze.
276
00:12:29,350 --> 00:12:31,929
And he was sleeping
under that pool table.
277
00:12:31,930 --> 00:12:36,349
It was early in the morning, Blaze comes
crawling out, you know, "Good morning,"
278
00:12:36,350 --> 00:12:38,599
and, you know,
"Who's this little darling?"
279
00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:40,349
And actually, I was quite frightened.
280
00:12:40,350 --> 00:12:42,849
You know? I'm like,
"What in the hell?"
281
00:12:42,850 --> 00:12:46,309
Blaze also had another
kind of bizarre habit:
282
00:12:46,310 --> 00:12:47,519
duct tape.
283
00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:50,099
He used a lot of duct tape.
Duct tape...
284
00:12:50,100 --> 00:12:53,095
He had some outfits
with duct tape lapels...
285
00:12:53,096 --> 00:12:54,091
Yeah.
286
00:12:54,092 --> 00:12:58,769
This craze developed around
the movie Urban Cowboy.
287
00:12:58,770 --> 00:13:00,809
All of the sudden,
people are showing up,
288
00:13:00,810 --> 00:13:03,599
wearing expensive
country and western jewelry,
289
00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,179
and accouterments,
as Blaze would call 'em...
290
00:13:07,180 --> 00:13:10,179
silver collar tips,
and silver boot tips,
291
00:13:10,180 --> 00:13:12,179
and they were going to these bars
292
00:13:12,180 --> 00:13:14,139
and spending all this
money on this stuff.
293
00:13:14,140 --> 00:13:17,059
And Blaze, he would talk
about how ridiculous it was
294
00:13:17,060 --> 00:13:18,679
that these people were spending
295
00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:21,059
hundreds and hundreds of dollars on...
296
00:13:21,060 --> 00:13:22,729
on these pieces of silver,
297
00:13:22,730 --> 00:13:24,559
when duct tape was almost as good.
298
00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:28,059
So he started duct taping his
collar tips and his boot tips,
299
00:13:28,060 --> 00:13:30,469
and then it kind of...
it took off from there.
300
00:13:30,470 --> 00:13:33,219
He started making clothes
out of duct tape.
301
00:13:33,220 --> 00:13:36,979
He made shoes out of duct tape,
made a set of cowboy boots.
302
00:13:36,980 --> 00:13:39,019
Nobody questioned it.
303
00:13:39,020 --> 00:13:41,559
I mean, I never asked him
about the duct tape.
304
00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:43,889
Maybe that duct tape was the
only thing holding him together.
305
00:13:45,180 --> 00:13:47,059
At some point, he stopped living
306
00:13:47,060 --> 00:13:49,599
under pool tables and
other people's couches
307
00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,929
and moved into an actual car.
308
00:13:51,930 --> 00:13:53,429
It was a wood panel,
309
00:13:53,430 --> 00:13:56,929
avocado green Esquire station wagon.
310
00:13:56,930 --> 00:13:59,929
And, um, I remember one time
my car had broken down,
311
00:13:59,930 --> 00:14:03,429
so he, like, generously said,
"Oh, you can use my car."
312
00:14:03,430 --> 00:14:05,929
So, Townes and I and some other girl
313
00:14:05,930 --> 00:14:07,429
were out partying all night,
314
00:14:07,430 --> 00:14:10,769
and we were, like, talking
and stuff, and I look up
315
00:14:10,770 --> 00:14:13,389
and there's another exact car,
316
00:14:13,390 --> 00:14:16,929
avocado green, wood panel,
Esquire station wagon
317
00:14:16,930 --> 00:14:19,099
on the other side of the road
and it jumped the median
318
00:14:19,100 --> 00:14:22,469
right when I looked up.
It was like, boom!
319
00:14:22,470 --> 00:14:23,929
Pretty bad wreck.
320
00:14:23,930 --> 00:14:26,889
And we couldn't figure out which
car was whose afterwards.
321
00:14:26,890 --> 00:14:28,679
But then, one of the first people
322
00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,099
on the street after
the wreck is Blaze.
323
00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:32,429
And I'm standing in the median,
324
00:14:32,430 --> 00:14:34,349
crying, "I'm a home-wrecker!"
325
00:14:34,350 --> 00:14:36,309
'Cause he lived in the car.
326
00:14:36,310 --> 00:14:38,809
"I'm a home-wrecker!
I wrecked your home!"
327
00:14:38,810 --> 00:14:41,019
And so we gave him a key to the house
328
00:14:41,020 --> 00:14:44,469
and gave him permanent
couch privileges.
329
00:14:44,470 --> 00:14:46,809
By 1978, Townes Van Zandt
330
00:14:46,810 --> 00:14:49,429
was working on his
seventh studio album.
331
00:14:49,430 --> 00:14:51,729
Blaze couldn't get arrested.
332
00:14:51,730 --> 00:14:54,099
Well, in the figurative
sense, at least.
333
00:14:54,100 --> 00:14:55,889
Harold Eggers had been trying
334
00:14:55,890 --> 00:14:58,389
to get Blaze to do an album,
335
00:14:58,390 --> 00:15:01,179
and Blaze was...
336
00:15:01,180 --> 00:15:04,309
not happy about contracts.
337
00:15:04,310 --> 00:15:06,179
So him and Harold had gone around
338
00:15:06,180 --> 00:15:07,679
and around and around
339
00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,309
about selling his soul
to the devil, you know.
340
00:15:11,310 --> 00:15:14,889
Yeah, I would say, "Now, look.
If Townes is willing to sign it,
341
00:15:14,890 --> 00:15:17,679
come on, you can't be that
paranoid," I said, you know.
342
00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:19,979
Then finally he signed it, and
threw it on the floor, and said,
343
00:15:19,980 --> 00:15:23,519
"There it is, man! Now you
own me like everybody else."
344
00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:25,019
So Harold, one night says,
345
00:15:25,020 --> 00:15:28,519
"Okay, I want to do a video
on the front porch with Blaze."
346
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,889
I was like, "You bet, man,
no problem."
347
00:15:30,890 --> 00:15:34,679
So here they came,
and I started videotaping.
348
00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,809
Well, Blaze is shit-faced,
totally smashed.
349
00:15:37,810 --> 00:15:39,599
And he's got that album cover
350
00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:41,729
sitting here beside him on the chair,
351
00:15:41,730 --> 00:15:44,469
and Harold says, "Well, hold up the
album and talk about it, you know."
352
00:15:44,470 --> 00:15:47,809
And, "You got to straighten up. Come
on, this is serious, you know."
353
00:15:47,810 --> 00:15:51,349
Blaze just reaches down there
and picks up that album cover,
354
00:15:51,350 --> 00:15:55,389
"Screw your album. Screw your contract.
Screw you."
355
00:15:55,390 --> 00:15:57,769
And... Poom! Like a Frisbee.
356
00:15:57,770 --> 00:16:01,139
Knocked his hat off. It
was that close... Schoomp!
357
00:16:01,140 --> 00:16:03,929
I told him, I said, "Blaze, you do that
one more time, I'm gonna kill you."
358
00:16:03,930 --> 00:16:05,849
And he laughed, you know, and, uh...
359
00:16:05,850 --> 00:16:07,889
Well, he could've been a
Vaudeville character, you know.
360
00:16:07,890 --> 00:16:10,519
At the height of
Houston's oil boom,
361
00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,559
Gurf Morlix remembers that
Blaze found some money guys
362
00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:15,849
to back his first real studio session.
363
00:16:15,850 --> 00:16:19,219
It was an oil trading company
named Zephyr Records,
364
00:16:19,220 --> 00:16:23,349
who were looking to, uh,
lose some money, I think,
365
00:16:23,350 --> 00:16:27,469
and so they formed this record
company and signed Blaze.
366
00:16:27,470 --> 00:16:30,219
He had met Kinky Friedman somewhere,
367
00:16:30,220 --> 00:16:34,429
and Kinky invited Blaze to come to
New York City and open for him.
368
00:16:34,430 --> 00:16:37,929
And so Blaze talked Zephyr Records
into buying him a ticket,
369
00:16:37,930 --> 00:16:39,559
and of course, it was a disaster.
370
00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,469
As we say in New York,
"Never 'hoid of him!"
371
00:16:42,470 --> 00:16:45,349
Fuck, I don't know. I have forgotten
the first half of my life.
372
00:16:45,350 --> 00:16:48,639
By the time that I got up to New
York to play these shows with Blaze,
373
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,979
he was ensconced
in the Gramercy Park Hotel
374
00:16:51,980 --> 00:16:53,769
and up to no good.
375
00:16:53,770 --> 00:16:56,849
Amphetamines and binge drinking.
376
00:16:56,850 --> 00:17:00,429
He just had this amazing
ability to fuck it up.
377
00:17:00,430 --> 00:17:03,599
Zephyr Records went bust
with the energy crisis,
378
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,889
but not before pressing some 45s
379
00:17:05,890 --> 00:17:08,849
of the best song
Blaze had in his repertoire.
380
00:17:08,850 --> 00:17:13,179
I remember him playing, "If I Could
Only Fly" for the first time,
381
00:17:13,180 --> 00:17:16,809
and both of us crying,
and, you know...
382
00:17:16,810 --> 00:17:19,559
I see that song as, um,
383
00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,269
sort of a lament about...
384
00:17:22,270 --> 00:17:24,929
the consequences of rootlessness.
385
00:17:24,930 --> 00:17:26,849
You know, he was saying,
386
00:17:26,850 --> 00:17:28,139
"This is who I am."
387
00:17:52,270 --> 00:17:54,559
Blaze got singles pressed
388
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:57,019
and so we had,
we had thousands of 'em,
389
00:17:57,020 --> 00:18:00,639
and Blaze, of course, was trading
them for drinks in bars.
390
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,599
I never knew him to have a job.
391
00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:06,389
He said, "I have vowed
never to have a day job,
392
00:18:06,390 --> 00:18:08,269
because it would interfere
393
00:18:08,270 --> 00:18:10,349
with my artistic pursuits."
394
00:18:14,930 --> 00:18:18,469
His best friend had made this
hard-living lifestyle work for him,
395
00:18:18,470 --> 00:18:20,219
to a certain extent.
396
00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:32,639
He was making decent bucks
at the time, Townes was.
397
00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:34,729
He had entrée into a lot of circles
398
00:18:34,730 --> 00:18:36,059
that Blaze didn't have,
399
00:18:36,060 --> 00:18:38,389
like the Kerrville
Folk Festival.
400
00:18:38,390 --> 00:18:40,019
The Kerrville Folk Festival
401
00:18:40,020 --> 00:18:41,929
had hosted artists like Townes,
402
00:18:41,930 --> 00:18:44,519
Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams,
403
00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,929
and Peter, Paul & Mary, since 1972.
404
00:18:47,930 --> 00:18:51,099
It's a big event around here,
especially for us songwriters.
405
00:18:51,100 --> 00:18:53,179
You got on the campground,
people jamming,
406
00:18:53,180 --> 00:18:55,309
everybody's singing their own songs.
407
00:18:55,310 --> 00:18:57,559
Singer-songwriter Ky Hote
408
00:18:57,560 --> 00:18:59,809
hosts the Underground
Kerrville Review,
409
00:18:59,810 --> 00:19:02,139
and has been playing
the festival for decades.
410
00:19:02,140 --> 00:19:05,019
Rod Kennedy runs
the Kerrville Folk Festival,
411
00:19:05,020 --> 00:19:07,889
and Rod's kind of a...
He can be a little...
412
00:19:07,890 --> 00:19:09,559
reactionary.
413
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:11,559
A few people have been
kicked out of there
414
00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:13,809
for swearing on-stage, you know,
415
00:19:13,810 --> 00:19:16,349
banned for years, you know, just for,
416
00:19:16,350 --> 00:19:18,389
for saying "fuck"
or something, you know,
417
00:19:18,390 --> 00:19:20,559
and Blaze wasn't gonna
shy away from any of that.
418
00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:22,889
He had these songs and he
was just gonna play them.
419
00:19:22,890 --> 00:19:25,809
Townes got him
a guest spot at Kerrville,
420
00:19:25,810 --> 00:19:28,059
and he sang the song about Idi Amin.
421
00:19:28,060 --> 00:19:31,769
Idi Amin was the dictator
of Uganda at the time.
422
00:19:31,770 --> 00:19:34,219
He was all over the news
with rumors of having killed
423
00:19:34,220 --> 00:19:36,599
hundreds of thousands
of his own people
424
00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,179
and engaging in cannibalistic rituals.
425
00:19:57,220 --> 00:20:01,469
Rod Kennedy told him, "You're
banned from here for life.
426
00:20:01,470 --> 00:20:03,519
You cannot ever come back here."
427
00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:06,059
That was his response to...
428
00:20:06,060 --> 00:20:08,559
the "Springtime in Uganda" thing.
429
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:10,639
Rod got the hook
and got him off stage.
430
00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,389
Folk singer Carlene
Jones and Ky Hote
431
00:20:13,390 --> 00:20:16,469
were both there when Blaze tried
to come back to Kerrville.
432
00:20:16,470 --> 00:20:19,929
It was the middle of the night,
we're all camping out there.
433
00:20:19,930 --> 00:20:21,809
So I wake up early in the morning
434
00:20:21,810 --> 00:20:23,559
and I'd been up late,
435
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:25,349
and I'm tired, I haven't had coffee.
436
00:20:25,350 --> 00:20:28,349
I walk over to this campfire,
I sit down.
437
00:20:28,350 --> 00:20:30,559
I look to the left of me
438
00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,809
and here's this big woman,
439
00:20:33,810 --> 00:20:35,849
I think.
440
00:20:35,850 --> 00:20:37,809
Ugly, ugly.
441
00:20:37,810 --> 00:20:38,929
I just look away.
442
00:20:38,930 --> 00:20:42,219
He decided to put on
a disguise, and, uh,
443
00:20:42,220 --> 00:20:45,389
he painted his fingernails
this god-awful color of maroon,
444
00:20:45,390 --> 00:20:47,929
and he had this batik skirt,
and a frilly white blouse,
445
00:20:47,930 --> 00:20:50,769
a bandana around his head,
you know, lipstick.
446
00:20:50,770 --> 00:20:53,469
And then I hear this voice, "Ky...
447
00:20:53,470 --> 00:20:55,179
"It's me, Blaze.
448
00:20:55,180 --> 00:20:56,979
I'm incognito."
449
00:20:56,980 --> 00:20:59,469
Rod Kennedy threw him out again.
450
00:20:59,470 --> 00:21:01,769
But as the man himself remembers,
451
00:21:01,770 --> 00:21:03,519
that wasn't nearly the end of it.
452
00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,139
I think it was probably
two or three months later,
453
00:21:06,140 --> 00:21:08,639
we were in Emma Joe's, and he spat
454
00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:10,429
across the room
and hit me in the face.
455
00:21:10,430 --> 00:21:11,849
He just spit on him.
456
00:21:11,850 --> 00:21:13,389
Blaze had a bad habit of,
457
00:21:13,390 --> 00:21:16,309
when he'd get really wasted,
spitting on people.
458
00:21:16,310 --> 00:21:19,179
He never did it to me.
459
00:21:19,180 --> 00:21:21,269
I would have vomited on him.
460
00:21:21,270 --> 00:21:23,179
Rod Kennedy was a badass,
461
00:21:23,180 --> 00:21:25,849
- and Blaze took a beating on that one.
- Yeah.
462
00:21:25,850 --> 00:21:28,429
I'd been out of the Marine
Corps too short a time
463
00:21:28,430 --> 00:21:30,769
to control what was an instantaneous,
464
00:21:30,770 --> 00:21:32,639
almost involuntary reaction.
465
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,559
And I think I flew through the air
and hit him about chest high.
466
00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,179
He was sitting at a table,
and grabbed him by the ears
467
00:21:38,180 --> 00:21:39,429
and slammed his head on the floor
468
00:21:39,430 --> 00:21:41,469
until somebody pulled me off of him.
469
00:21:41,470 --> 00:21:43,309
I'd heard that he had spent
470
00:21:43,310 --> 00:21:48,639
the Christmas holidays
of 1988 in jail,
471
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,639
that he had beat up somebody.
472
00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,099
And it sounded out of character to me.
473
00:21:53,100 --> 00:21:57,309
He was always really sweet
to children and older people,
474
00:21:57,310 --> 00:22:00,099
and anybody he thought
had soul and was cool.
475
00:22:00,100 --> 00:22:01,519
He liked this older man,
476
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:05,099
an elderly African-American gentleman
477
00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:06,769
named Concho January.
478
00:22:06,770 --> 00:22:10,019
I said, "I heard you just
got out of jail. What happened?"
479
00:22:10,020 --> 00:22:13,389
And he said, "Well, I know
this old guy named Concho,
480
00:22:13,390 --> 00:22:15,429
"and his son beats him up
481
00:22:15,430 --> 00:22:19,429
"and takes his Social Security
money and spends it on heroin.
482
00:22:19,430 --> 00:22:21,929
"And I just won't let him do that.
483
00:22:21,930 --> 00:22:25,059
And we got in a fight
and I kicked his ass."
484
00:22:25,060 --> 00:22:27,389
And I said, "Well, Blaze,
you got to be careful."
485
00:22:27,390 --> 00:22:30,019
He said, "Well, this kid may kill me,
486
00:22:30,020 --> 00:22:32,429
but I'm not gonna let
him beat up his dad."
487
00:22:32,430 --> 00:22:34,599
Apparently, there had been
several confrontations,
488
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,269
and the reason I know it,
it happened more than once,
489
00:22:37,270 --> 00:22:39,019
was that Mr. January's son
490
00:22:39,020 --> 00:22:41,599
actually took out a restraining
order against Blaze.
491
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:45,269
He was supposedly not even
supposed to be over there anymore.
492
00:22:45,270 --> 00:22:48,019
Concho, he loved Blaze, he really did.
493
00:22:48,020 --> 00:22:50,769
Blaze was the person
who cared about him,
494
00:22:50,770 --> 00:22:53,059
and who was trying
to take care of him,
495
00:22:53,060 --> 00:22:54,519
trying to protect him.
496
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:55,929
It was his character.
497
00:22:55,930 --> 00:22:57,889
That's the way he was
right up to the time
498
00:22:57,890 --> 00:22:59,599
that he was shot.
499
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,139
You know, he was
defending another guy.
500
00:23:02,140 --> 00:23:05,679
On the first day
of February, 1989,
501
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,059
the day the government checks arrive,
502
00:23:08,060 --> 00:23:10,729
Concho January's son
came to the house.
503
00:23:10,730 --> 00:23:13,309
By the time he left, Blaze Foley had a
504
00:23:13,310 --> 00:23:16,309
bullet wound in his
liver from a .22 rifle.
505
00:23:16,310 --> 00:23:18,059
He was dead within hours.
506
00:23:18,060 --> 00:23:19,809
The day of the funeral,
507
00:23:19,810 --> 00:23:21,639
once some songs got sung,
508
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,309
people decorated the casket
with the duct tape,
509
00:23:24,310 --> 00:23:28,769
and I remember as it was
being lowered down that...
510
00:23:28,770 --> 00:23:32,429
that Blaze probably would have got
a kick out of seeing that happen.
511
00:23:32,430 --> 00:23:35,469
They labeled him
the Duct Tape Messiah.
512
00:23:35,470 --> 00:23:38,269
Seven months later,
Concho's son was acquitted
513
00:23:38,270 --> 00:23:40,679
of first-degree premeditated murder.
514
00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,599
Even though the old man could not have
been more clear in his deposition,
515
00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,429
the jury found that Concho's son
516
00:23:46,430 --> 00:23:48,729
shot Blaze in self-defense.
517
00:23:48,730 --> 00:23:52,559
The spookiest thing about it
was before Blaze got killed,
518
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,889
he finally got a song
covered by Merle Haggard.
519
00:23:55,890 --> 00:23:59,269
He recorded, "If I Could Only Fly."
520
00:24:20,470 --> 00:24:22,179
Blaze was just so proud
521
00:24:22,180 --> 00:24:24,469
that he was actually
gonna have some success,
522
00:24:24,470 --> 00:24:27,830
and this was gonna open
a lot of doors for him.
523
00:24:47,390 --> 00:24:50,679
I think he got one royalty check,
524
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:52,559
and actually for the first time,
525
00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,469
he rented a room in a
house in South Austin.
526
00:24:55,470 --> 00:24:58,849
And I came back from LA,
where I was living,
527
00:24:58,850 --> 00:25:02,099
and he took me into his room,
and he showed me his room,
528
00:25:02,100 --> 00:25:03,849
and he was so proud of it.
529
00:25:03,850 --> 00:25:06,019
And then, a couple of weeks...
two or three weeks later,
530
00:25:06,020 --> 00:25:07,769
he was dead.
531
00:25:33,180 --> 00:25:40,562
_ _
532
00:26:15,890 --> 00:26:17,179
In the '70s,
533
00:26:17,180 --> 00:26:19,349
I was fucking 25 fat girls
534
00:26:19,350 --> 00:26:21,219
to get 'em to go get diet pills.
535
00:26:21,220 --> 00:26:24,139
All the fat girls in town
was over at my house.
536
00:26:24,140 --> 00:26:25,809
I'd say, "Baby, go on over there
537
00:26:25,810 --> 00:26:28,729
and get them pills, now,
and come on back over here."
538
00:26:28,730 --> 00:26:31,059
And, I mean, I had all
the fat women in town
539
00:26:31,060 --> 00:26:32,519
bringing me speed in the '70s,
540
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,809
till they cut that out,
you know, in about '73.
541
00:26:35,810 --> 00:26:37,389
No one, no one.
542
00:26:37,390 --> 00:26:39,019
You couldn't get no diet pills.
42601