BLAZE: ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING, AVAILABLE ON VINYL, CD, AND DIGITAL SEPTEMBER 21st
FEATURES NEW RECORDINGS OF CLASSIC BLAZE FOLEY COMPOSITIONS AND INCLUDES FOLEY-INSPIRED “DRUNKEN ANGEL” (LUCINDA WILLIAMS)
PERFORMED BY ALYNDA SEGARRA OF HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF PLUS THE ORIGINAL COMPOSITION “BLAZE & SYBIL’S LULLABY” (DICKEY)
PERFORMED BY BEN DICKEY AND ALIA SHAWKAT
DELUXE GATEFOLD LP PACKAGE CONTAINS EXTENSIVE LINER NOTES, INCLUDING ESSAY BY WRITER AND DIRECTOR ETHAN HAWKE AND A CONVERSATION WITH BEN DICKEY AND FOLEY’S LONGTIME COMPANION AND FILM CO-WRITER, SYBIL ROSEN
Click here to watch official lyric video for “Clay Pigeons”
Click here to watch official movie trailer
Los Angeles, CA. – Directed by Ethan Hawke, BLAZE stars newcomer Ben Dickey as Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas outlaw music movement whose unique artistic contributions gave rise to the likes of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson and inspired both John Prine and Lucinda Williams. Loosely guided by the narrative of Foley cohort and co-conspirator, Townes Van Zandt, played by Bob Dylan band guitarist Charlie Sexton, the film weaves together three different periods of time, conflating Blaze‘s past, present and future in a poignant exploration of his love affair with Sybil Rosen, played by Alia Shawkat. Featuring an ensemble cast of inspired performers, the film explores the uniquely American art of storytelling through renditions of the Blaze Foley songbook, and examines the impact of both his art and his untimely death on his fans, friends, and collaborators.
An essential part of the story, the BLAZE: Original Cast Recording shines a light on Foley‘s enduring influence by compiling performances from the film that underscore the unvarnished beauty of its idiosyncratic protagonist. As the cameras rolled, the actors began to sing and the singers began to act, and what’s captured on the record is the spirit of Foley and the film itself, most notably represented by the atmospheric noises of clinking beer bottles, birds, and the cast cheering each other on in the midst of a take. These hallmarks of natural conversation, of ebb and flow, are the makings of any good album – especially one made by a group of artists with a collective vision of creating something eternal, and doing it all, as Townes Van Zandt put it best, “for the sake of the song.“
Featuring new recordings of classic Blaze Foley compositions and including a stirring rendition of the Lucinda Williams-penned tribute to Blaze, “Drunken Angel,” performed by Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff, the Blaze: Original Cast Recording serves not only as a tribute to the power of Blaze‘s writing, but a worthy homage to his spirit as evidenced by Ben Dickey‘s contribution of the original song “Blaze & Sybil’s Lullaby,“ composed byDickey especially for the film and performed alongside co-star Alia Shawkat. Also included in the album’s running order are new versions of some of Foley‘s best-known songs lovingly channeled by Dickey, including “Clay Pigeons,” “Picture Cards,“ and “Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries,” as well as tunes by Blind Willie McTell, Roger Miller, and Townes Van Zandt. Rounding out the deluxe gatefold LP package are extensive liner notes, including an essay by writer/director Ethan Hawke and a conversation with Ben Dickey and Foley‘s longtime companion and the film’s co-writer, Sybil Rosen.
Click here to preorder BLAZE: Original Cast Recording.
TRACKLISTING:
2. Big Cheeseburgers & Good French Fries (Blaze Foley) – Ben Dickey & Original Cast
3. Clay Pigeons (Blaze Foley) – Ben Dickey & Original Cast
4. Blaze & Sybil’s Lullaby (Ben Dickey) – Ben Dickey & Alia Shawkat
5. Sittin’ By The Road (Blaze Foley) – Ben Dickey & Original Cast
6. Oo-De-Lally (Roger Miller) – Ben Dickey & Alia Shawkat
7. Pearly Gates (Blind Willie McTell) – Ben Dickey & Alynda Segarra
8. I Should Have Been Home (Blaze Foley) – Ben Dickey & Original Cast
9. Picture Cards (Blaze Foley) – Ben Dickey & Original Cast
10. Marie (Townes Van Zandt) – Charlie Sexton
11. Cold Cold World (Blaze Foley) – Ben Dickey & Original Cast
12. Drunken Angel (Lucinda Williams) – Alynda Segarra
In an homage to Blaze‘s roots in the Austin, TX music scene, that shaped the trajectory of American popular music, Ethan Hawke and Ben Dickey will be touring the state in support of the film and its soundtrack ahead of its wide release, by Sundance Selects on September 21st. Their tour of personal appearances will include the following stops:
August 12 – Houston, TX – Jack Ingram in concert, plus fireside chat, Rockefeller’s
August 13 – Houston, TX – Screening with Q&A, Landmark River Oaks
August 15 – Ft. Worth, TX -Screening with Q&A, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base
August 15 – Dallas, TX – Screening with Q&A, Landmark Magnolia
August 16 – Austin TX – Austin Premiere, Violet Crown Cinema
August 21 – El Paso, TX – Screening with Q&A, Alamo Drafthouse
August 22 – San Antonio, TX – Ben Dickey live performance, Smoke Shack
August 23 – San Antonio, TX – Screening with Q&A, Santikos Bijou
August 25 – Houston, TX – Screening with Q&A, Landmark Magnolia
August 31 – Nashville, TN – Screening with Q&A, Belcourt Theater
BLAZE premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival where Dickey‘s performance won him the Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting. Dickey stars alongside Alia Shawkat,Charlie Sexton, Josh Hamilton, Richard Linklater, Alynda Segarra, Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn and Kris Kristofferson. The film was co-written by Ethan Hawke and Sybil Rosen and is based on Rosen‘s memoir Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley.
Running Time: 128 minutes
Rating: Not Yet Rated by the MPAA
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