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An amazing thing happened this week. I made a trip to the video store and actually remembered to rent a movie that was recommended to me. (That NEVER happens.) I was standing in front of the wall of music-related DVDs at That's Rentertainment, and lo and behold a light bulb flickered on above my head. A long time ago my friend Zac, knowing my love for Townes Van Zandt, recommended a documentary called Heartworn Highways. Sure enough, Rentertainment had it. So, I tacked it onto this weekend's viewing.


That's Townes on the cover with Uncle Seymour in the background.

Man, am I glad I did. Filmed in the mid-'70s by director James Szalapski, Heartworn Highways documents the burgeoning Americana movement that took country music by storm--okay, more like a light drizzle--in the 1970s. Thanks to the efforts of Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons and Willie Nelson, "outlaw" country artists all of 'em, the established music scenesters of Nashville at least temporarily entertained the notion of country music that wasn't based upon too-tall tales, glitzy costumes and cosmetic transformations. A good deal of this movement was sparked by songsmiths from Texas, specifically the city of Austin, which was home to the late Townes Van Zandt for a while.

The original movie--which was a bit of a cult film due partly to the fact that it was hard to find--is now available on DVD. It's hard not to find the documentary entertaining, as it has a down-home feel and is full of earnest dialogue and insightful cameos. The entertainers--from David Allan Coe and Charlie Daniels to Guy Clark, John Hiatt, and Van Zandt--are presented in a personal, behind-the-scenes fashion. Take a ride on Coe's tour bus, a greyhound with his name painted prominently along the side, or sit in on a recording session with Larry Jon Wilson or Barefoot Jerry. There's really no attempt on the director's behalf to provide the film with a wrote, narrative structure. Instead, he lets the performers' personalities speak for themselves, and simply cuts from one scene to the next. It's a bit hard to follow at times, as there are no text overlays to let you know who in the hell you're listening to. And, for the uninitiated, it's a bit puzzling to figure out that Guy Clark is the dude singing "That Old Time Feeling".

I could do without seeing the Charlie Daniels Band play a high school gymnasium. But, admittedly, they were a big part of the authentic roots movement in the '70s. As was David Allan Coe, aka the Rhinestone Cowboy. Watching Coe play the prison circuit a la Johnny Cash, induced a healthy does of pity. Coe's attempts to speak on the same level as the prison crowd went over like a sinking ship. JC did a much better job of relatin'. I suppose it's a bit difficult to appeal to the prison folk when you're wearing a tight black suit done up in Rhinestones, truly the definition of obnoxious and proof (as M pointed out) that bling wasn't invented by hip-hop. I would've suggested a white v-neck t-shirt--to show off Coe's tattoos--and a pair of Wrangler jeans. But, then again, I also would have recommended not performing a second time in the same prison that housed inmates who had once threatened your life. (A great anecdote, no doubt. Just watch the film.)


Mr. Van Zandt

When we first meet Townes, he's holding a BB gun, an open bottle of whiskey and a can of coke, with a cowboy hat on his head and a fleece-collared tan coat over his denim shirt. His sense of humor is evident as he takes us on a tour of his yard, which includes: a collection of loose dogs (that like to play fetch with rocks); an red Dodge truck from the '40s; and an old oak tree (complete with tree stand); his "champion buff chickens", Smith and Wesson; and the bunnies that he raises.

His old black neighbor, "Uncle Seymour Washington from Austin, Texas" stops by for a visit. Townes interviews "Unc" and we hear the story of "a walking blacksmith" born in 1896. Then, Seymour tells us his secret to putting on a horseshoe--in wonderful, descriptive language--and later his secret to life.

"Always keep doing something. If it ain't much, do a little," Seymour says. "Don't never forget to get down on your knees and pray to god and thank him for the time that he's given you on earth. And from there go on and talk to the lord just like you talk to us humans on earth. Live careful and eat three times a day. And eat common food--soul food--like beans, turnip greens, corn bread. Drink the best of bourbon whiskey. People condemn whiskey, but they have no right to. When god created the heaven and earth ... he also created barley, rye. And if he didn't think that was good for man, he wouldn't let those thing grow."

This particular tangent garners a healthy "AMEN!" from the small crowd in Townes' home.

The camera angle stays fixed on Townes and his neighbor as Townes breaks into a rendition of "Waiting Around to Die" (posted on the sidebar). Seymour is sitting there in his cowboy hat and jean jacket, legs crossed, hands clasped around his knees, as water begins to fill his lids. His lips pucker, he nods his head. Tears stream down his worn, hound dog face. As the camera tightens on Seymour, he wipes the tears from his eyes. To say the least, it's a powerful, unexpected moment which reminds of the cliche, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

The hour-and-a-half-long film itself is great, having been worked over thoroughly from the original 1975 version to make improvements to both the picture and the sound. But the bonus material is really where it's at. Who's that jamming at the table after a Christmas Eve dinner with Guy Clark, Richard Dobson, Rodney Crowell and Steve Young? Why, that's none other than a baby-faced Steve Earle. In the film we're treated to two songs from this eve, but the bonus material indulges us with six additional tunes, including Earle doing "Mercenary Song", which he wouldn't officially lay to tape until 1995.

Better yet is the bonus Townes footage. Not only are we treated to a version of "Poncho and Lefty" in his living room, but we also get more interview footage with the Texan. It's easy to see why the footage ended up on the cutting room floor; from a content standpoint, it was a bit out there for the times. Townes' friend, Rex, makes an impressionable appearance in the bonus footage. Rex is a bassist who has each of his fingernails painted different colors. According to Rex, he learned how to play bass as a youngster from a book that he picked up. The book recommended that he paint colored dots on his fingernails to remember which one was supposed to go where--and, it just stuck through the years. Rex has a half-eaten sandwich in one hand and a BB gun in the other. Throughout the interview with Townes, he's firing the gun in the background.

Townes is sitting on the front steps of his unflattering home, petting his eager dog, Geraldine, as he begins to share a couple of anecdotes.

"I had this interview in North Carolina," Townes says, "with this guy who went to high school and worked part time for the local radio station. He was real nervous and didn't know how to work his cassette (recorder) and was running out of tape. I told him, 'I tell you what. I'll tell you a question to ask me, and you ask me that question. And right before you ask I'll flip on the cassette, and then you ask the question and as soon as I'm through answering you flip it off and we'll save tape.' He says, 'Okay, that's a good idea.' So he had it all ready, and I said 'Ask me if I have any interest in botany.' He says, 'Botany?' and I said, 'Yeah, botany. Ready, go!'

"And he says, 'Mr. Van Zandt, are you interested in botany?' And I said, 'Nope' and he flipped it off. I said, 'Ask me if I'm interested in aviation. Go!' 'Are you interested in aviation Mr. Van Zandt?' 'Nah.' It went on like that until the Baptist preacher whose office that was--we were using it as a dressing room--came and made me clean up all the wine bottles."

Then, the mailman delivers a registered letter--Townes' royalty statement. He opens the letter and remarks, "I made 9 cents outta Austria" as everyone laughs. "Huh. Look, it says, total income and then it says overpayment."

His girlfriend, a cute blond country girl named Cindy, is obviously embarrassed. "Ya'll quit filming this shit, man," she says. "This is personal shit."

In a remark that encapsulates Townes' personality to T, he says with a smile on his face, "This is not personal," and winks at the camera.

The interview cuts forward and Rex is still shooting the BB gun with the sandwich in his other hand. (He's a slow eater.) Townes continues with another anecdote.

"I had OD'd sniffin' airplane glue. First thing I remember when I came to, the guy asked me if I was hooked on airplane glue and I said, 'No, I'm stuffed.' (laughs) I had three tubes of airplane glue wedged in my mouth, so I could sniff and sleep at the same time. Course, my mouth was all stuck shut from the airplane glue. He took a ball peen hammer and said 'this is gonna hurt'. And then they charged me for it."


TVZ--all smiles!

I could go on, but you get the point. It's amazing to see footage of Townes from this era, and even more impressive to see this man who has humbled thousands of songwriters with his talent turn out to be such a down-to-earth fella. (Of course, I wouldn't expect anything else from listening to his music.) So, in honor of TVZ, here's a few songs from his earlier albums. "Waiting Around to Die" was originally released on his 1968 debut record, For the Sake of the Song, but this version is a re-recorded take from his 1969 self-titled record. "Colorado Girl" is from that album, too, and was selected with a nod to my fellow blogger, Jon, who spent his weekend driving from Denver to Peoria, Illinois. I've also selected a pair of tracks from Townes' fifth and sixth records, both released in 1972. "Highway Kind" is from High, Low and In Between; "Poncho & Lefty" is taken from The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. Most don't recognize that it was Townes who penned "Poncho & Lefty", which as a song should be a prerequisite cover for any country & western star worth their weight in gold records.

Read more about TVZ here. Purchase Heartworn Highways here.