Track Notes for the Complete Outhouse Sessions

Blaze’s Outhouse shows on December 27 and 28 1988 were recorded on a 4 track Yamaha cassette deck directly from the mixing board I was using to provide the house sound. Blaze previously listened to a cassette demo tape I had made a few months before and commented that it didn’t have the usual hiss that accompanied most cassette recordings (I used a Dbx noise reduction unit that helped reduce hiss.) He was hoping to procure a record deal with Heartland Records, a London-based distributor who released two of Townes Van Zandt’s records in 1987 and wanted to catalogue as many of his original songs as possible. We scheduled two consecutive nights at the Outhouse between Christmas and New Years to make the live recording. Blaze was not satisfied with the live recordings of two of the songs we recorded at the Outhouse and wanted to re-record them in my garage studio. We also over-dubbed some tracks in the studio with Blaze and his friend Sarah Elizabeth Campbell adding harmony vocals, Ed Bradfield adding harmonica, David Waddell adding bass, and me adding keyboards. The majority of the songs were left just as they were recorded at the Outhouse with no overdubs. The finished recording was mixed using Larry Monroe’s reel to reel recorder and sent to the cassette duplicators the last week of January 1989. We scheduled the Tape Release Party at the Outhouse for Sunday February 26 with a long list performers, all friends and supporters of Blaze. Blaze was murdered on February 1, helping his friend Concho January. His friends, including his lawyer Peggy Underwood, were all in agreement that the Tape Release should go on as scheduled as a tribute to Blaze and to help defray funeral expenses.

Several songs from the live recording at the Outhouse were not included on the 120 minute cassette due to time constraints. Twelve songs from the original cassette along with three tracks of Blaze interacting with the crowd or telling jokes constituted the Live at the Austin Outhouse CD, released by Lost Art Records in 1999. When the Outhouse CD was released, it was the only commercially available recording of Blaze. Seventeen songs recorded at the Outhouse were subsequently released on the Oval Room CD, produced by Gurf Morlix and myself in 2004, with additional instrumentation and harmony tracks added to the original Outhouse recording. All of the folks who added instrumental and vocal tracks were friends of Blaze who had played with played and recorded with Blaze. Every original Blaze song recorded at the Outhouse those two nights appeared on either the Live at the Austin House or the Oval Room CD, although, as noted, Blaze re-recorded two of the songs for the original “Live at the Austin Outhouse (… and not there)” cassette. The following notes are intended to clarify which tracks ended up on the cassette and/or one of the two CDs, and if any additional recording was subsequently added in January of 1989 in my garage or in 2004 at Gurf’s studio for the Oval Room CD.

Night One (Tuesday 12/27/1988)

1. Our Little Town - Includes Blaze’s intro for the evening and re-starting the song after the folding chair he was sitting on squeaked. Blaze says “hi” to his friend Rudy and raps a little before starting again. This song was also recorded the next night and the Wednesday night track used for the original “Live At The Austin Outhouse (… and not there)” cassette and the “Live at the Austin Outhouse” CD on Lost Art Records released in1999.

2. Blaze Gets Some Career Advice – Blaze says “hi to his friend Rich Minus and an unknown fellow in the crowd starts giving Blaze advice on how he should be speaking into the microphone. Blaze teases the gentleman in a mostly friendly kind of way and gently moves on.

3. Clay Pigeons – Before the song, Blaze talks about a friend in Georgia who made his dog eat a reel-to-reel tape recording of Blaze because he was angry with Blaze. Blaze also recorded this song the following night, which was the track included in the original cassette and the Outhouse CD.

4. Blaze Talks About Concho and the Reagans – Concho January was a neighbor and friend of Blaze whose son shot and killed Blaze at Concho’s house on February 1, 1989.

5. My Reasons Why - This version was included on the Oval Room CD released in 2004 with no additional instrumentation, just Blaze and his guitar. This track was not included on the original cassette due to time constraints.

6. Officer Norris – Blaze tells the story of getting arrested in Georgia and spending the night in jail, then sings his ode to the arresting officer. After finishing the song, Blaze recounts to the audience about his release from jail the following day. This cut was included on the original cassette in February 1989 and the subsequent “Outhouse” CD on Lost Art Records in 1999.

7. Anything Less – Just Blaze and his guitar, included on the cassette and the Oval Room CD. After the song, he gives some advice on gun safety and self-defense.

8. Oh Darlin’ – This version is just Blaze, guitar and vocals, with an interesting lead break by Blaze. After the song, he tells the story about getting arrested with Townes Van Zandt in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Then he talks with Peggy Underwood, his lawyer who got Blaze and Townes out of jail so Blaze could finish the album he was working on in Muscle Shoals. Blaze was not happy with his guitar playing on this take and we re-recorded the song in my garage studio with Sarah Elizabeth Campbell adding harmony vocals. Blaze played my 1960’s Gibson ES-125 electric guitar on the re-recording. The re-recorded version was included on the cassette and the “Live At The Outhouse” CD.

9. WW III – Just Blaze and his guitar. The track from the following night was the track used on the cassette and the “Oval Room” CD.

10. Blaze Jokes About Goin’ To The City – Blaze negotiates a free beer and tells a joke about a fellow going to the big city for the first time.

11. Someday – The original track is just Blaze and his guitar. Before beginning the song, Blaze comments on the noise coming from behind the bar as Ed (the bar tender and harmonica player) pours ice over a bucket of beers. This track was included on the “Oval Room” CD with the Texana Dames (Charlotte Hancock, Traci Lamar, and Charlene Hancock) adding beautiful harmony. The Dames were alumni of Tommy Hancock’s Supernatural Family Band and were frequent collaborators and friends with Blaze.

12. Wouldn’t That Be Nice – Satirical piece about people being afraid of other people for no reason, just because they’re different. On the original cassette and the Oval Room CD, with just Blaze and his guitar, as recorded at the Outhouse.

13. Oval Room – Blaze’s anthem about Ronnie “Raygun.” The version from the next night was embellished in 2004 with bass, drums, piano, and several of Blaze’s friends singing along. The augmented version became the title track for the Oval Room CD.

14. Oooh Love – Like “Oh Darlin’”, Blaze was not happy with his performance, and we re-recorded the song in my garage studio with Blaze playing my Gibson ES-125, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell adding harmony, and Ed Bradfield playing a harmonica solo. The re-recorded studio version was used for the original cassette and the “Outhouse CD” (1999).

15. Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries – This cut was embellished in 2004 with Gurf adding harmony vocals, guitar and bass and John Hill adding drums for the “Oval Room” CD.

16. Rainbows and Ridges – Blaze and his guitar. Included on the “Oval Room” CD, as recorded at the Outhouse. Not included in the original cassette due to time constraints.

17. Small Town Hero – Included, as recorded at the Outhouse with Blaze and his guitar, on the “Live at the Outhouse… and not there” cassette and “Live at the Austin Outhouse” CD.

18. Christian Lady Talkin’ On A Bus – Blaze performed this song both nights. The version from the following night was used on the “Live…and not there” cassette and the “Outhouse” CD.

19. Blaze Rappin’ with Maggie – Blaze conversing with his friend Maggie Montgomery (mother of guitar player and singer Monte Montgomery).

20. Springtime In Uganda – Included as originally recorded on both the “Live” cassette and the “Oval Room” CD. This is the song that got Blaze 86’d from the Kerrville Folk Festival by Rod Kennedy, as Blaze mentions in the introduction to the song. Parody using the melody from “Sweet Betsy From Pike” about his thoughts regarding the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

21. Blaze Rappin’ and Ramblin’ – Blaze riffs on cannabis, Kermit the Frog, his childhood, and coloring his boots with magic markers. He starts and stops “Baby Can I Crawl Back To You” and invites Ed, who was tending bar, to come up on stage and play harmonica on the next song.

22. If I Could Only Fly (Take 1) – This song was recorded both nights with Ed Bradfield playing harmonica. The version from the following night was used on the “Live… and not the there” cassette and the “Live” CD.

23. New Slow Boat To China – A song from Blaze’s “Blues Period.” I added piano to this track in my garage studio for the Live… and not the there” cassette and the “Live at the Outhouse” CD.

24. Picture Cards Can’t Picture You – Also recorded both nights. The version from the following night was used on the “Live” cassette and CD with Ed Bradfield adding harmonica and David Waddell adding bass in January of 1989 at my garage studio.

25. Blaze Asks About Peter, Paul and Mary - And rambles on with the audience.

26. Cold Cold World – Recorded with Pat Mears singing harmony. Included on the “Live” cassette and on the “Oval Room” CD. Pat re-recorded her harmony in 2004 at Gurf’s studio for the “Oval Room” CD.

27. The Late John Garfield Blues (written by John Prine) – This is the only cover Blaze played during the 2 nights. He played it for Howie (James Howard), one of the bartenders, who was a big Prine fan. Blaze lost the thread a couple of times, but it is interesting to compare and note the similarities between Prine’s and Blaze’s finger picking style, chord progressions, and lyrical content, particularly in light of Prine later recording Blaze’s Clay Pigeons. You can hear Blaze’s pal, Maggie Montgomery singing harmony from the audience.

28. If I Could Only Fly (Take 2) – This was the track used for the cassette and “Live” CD with Ed Bradfield playing harmonica, just as it happened on stage. During the intro, Blaze talks about his mom, Kermit the Frog, Lawrence Welk, and Roadhog (Lester Moran and the Cadillac Cowboys, a fictitious band used in a humorous skit by the Statler Brothers). Merle Haggard asked me several times if Ed Bradfield was still in Austin and talked about wanting to record a live album of Blaze songs at the Outhouse, including Ed and other musicians who played with Blaze.

29. Long Gone – Another song from Blaze’s “Blues Period” recorded with Ed Bradfield playing harmonica. This was the last song from Night One and Blaze invited everyone back for the following night. I added piano in January of 1989 and this track with the piano appeared on the original cassette. Gurf Morlix added bass and John Hill added drums to the track at Gurf’s studio in 2004 for the “Oval Room” CD.

Night Two (Wednesday 12/28/1988)

1. Our Little Town – Like the night before, Blaze begins the show with this tune saying he intends to send it to Merle Haggard. In January of 1989, Blaze added 2 harmony tracks in my garage. The augmented track was on the original cassette, “Live … and not there” and the “Live at the Austin Outhouse” CD.

2. Blaze on Ma & Pa Kettle and Kermit the Frog & Miss Piggy – Blaze rappin’ about a couple of his favorite subjects.

3. Blaze Foley’s 113th Wet Dream (Take One) – Blaze lost the thread and re-started. Blaze apologized that he hadn’t played that song in a while and then asks the audience not to let the Austin music critics know he forgot the words and had to start over. He eventually re-starts after some more rappin’ and ramblin’. However, he lost track of the lyrics again and had to stop, saying he’d have to try the song again later. The re-take near the end of the show was included in the original cassette and later on the “Oval Room” CD augmented by Gurf adding bass and John Hill adding a drum track.

4. Blaze Discusses Court Mandated Urinalysis – Blaze riffs on court required AA meetings, urinalysis, and his experience with the criminal justice system.

5. Christian Lady Talking On A Bus – In January of 1989, David Waddell added electric bass and Blaze added a harmony track. Included on the cassette and the “Outhouse” CD.

6. Blaze Declines A Request – Blaze rambles on about politics and the justice system and declines a request to play the first song he ever wrote. While explaining why he is not going to play the song, he takes some artistic liberties with the actual story of Blaze and his former lover, Sybil. As the Ethan Hawke biopic portrays, Blaze and Sybil lived for a while in a treehouse in Georgia.

7. Picture Cards Can’t Picture You – Recorded at the Outhouse with just Blaze and his guitar. Ed Bradfield added harmonica later in my garage. This track, with Ed’s added harmonica appeared on the original cassette and the “Outhouse” CD.

8. Blaze Tells Townes’ Penguin Joke – Blaze tells Townes Van Zandt’s joke and rambles on about smoking and being stuck in Utah while hitchhiking.

9. Clay Pigeons – The original track was just Blaze and his guitar. The following week in my garage studio, Blaze added a harmony track and David Waddell added bass. The augmented track was included on the cassette and the “Outhouse” CD. While Blaze was getting ready to add the harmony in the studio, David asked him how he was going to title the album, now that it included harmony and music tracks added later. Blaze replied, “Live at the Austin Outhouse... and not there.” He said this just as I was punching in his mic to add his harmony part. The live mic picked up “and not there,” now embedded into his harmony track at the beginning of “Clay Pigeons.” We decided to leave it in as an inside joke, wondering if the mysterious stray line might have people asking later about its hidden meaning. Given that the cassette was released three weeks after his murder, it also added an unintended level of bittersweet irony. After Sarah Elizabeth Campbell gave her friend John Prine a copy of the “Outhouse” CD, he recorded “Clay Pigeons” for his 2005 album “Fair And Square.” In an Austin City Limits interview, Prine states that when he first heard Blaze’s song, “it sounded like a song I might have written.”

10. Election Day – Blaze talks about pot and politics, then sings Election Day. This song, with just Blaze and his guitar was included on the cassette and “Outhouse” CD. Lyle Lovett recorded “Election Day” in 2003 for his “My Baby Don’t Tolerate” record.

11. WW III – This track, with just Blaze and his guitar was included on the cassette and on the “Oval Room” CD. Before the song, Blaze tells a couple of jokes about John Tower, who had been nominated by President George H. Bush for Secretary of Defense.

12. Down Here Where I Am – Blaze gets Chuck Lamb to introduce him and then teases Chuck about Chuck’s lack of enthusiasm in his introduction. Someone in the audience requested this song and Blaze responded, “Oh, I forgot about that song, I forgot I wrote it.” In 2004, Gurf added electric guitar and bass and John Hill added drums and the augmented track appeared on the “Oval Room” CD.

13. Long Gone – Another song from Blaze’s Blues Period. Recorded with his friend Tony DiRoadie (Roadie) playing Ed’s harmonica. As noted, the version from the previous night with my piano added at the garage studio in January of 1989 was included on the original cassette. The Tuesday night version was augmented again in 2004 with Gurf adding bass and John Hill adding drums for the “Oval Room” CD.

14. Ain’t Got No Sweet Thing – Also a song from his Blues Period. Recorded with Tony DiRoadie on harmonica. Like “Long Gone”, Piano added later and included on the cassette with Gurf adding bass and John Hill adding drums at Gurf’s studio in 2004 for the “Oval Room” CD.

15. Faded Loves And Memories – Recorded on stage with Champ Hood playing fiddle. Included on the cassette and “Outhouse” CD.

16. Lovin’ You – Also recorded live with Champ on fiddle. In the intro to the song, Blaze says this song was on his first album “recorded under duress and the FBI has the master tapes.” Included on the original cassette with Champ. Gurf added bass in 2004 for the Oval Room CD.

17. Oooh Love – Recorded at the Outhouse with Champ on the fiddle and with Ed Bradfield coming in toward the end of the song on harmonica. In the leadup, Blaze is asking where Ed is and tells several jokes. In the middle of the song, Blaze says this is a little out of tune, but that’s all right, so are we. As previously noted, we re-recorded this song in my garage studio with Blaze playing my Gibson ES-125, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell adding harmony, and Ed Bradfield playing harmonica. The re-recorded studio version was used both for the original cassette and the “Outhouse” CD (1999).

18. Oval Room – Blaze’s classic song to Ronald Reagan with lots of audience participation at the Outhouse. In January of 1989, Aaron and Travis Casner (both age 3 yrs at the time) and Blaze’s good friend Darryl Harris added call and answer harmonies for the Outhouse cassette. In 2004, at Gurf’s studio, Gurf added bass, John Hill added drums, and I added piano. Several of Blaze’s friends including George Ensle, Beth Galiger, Darryl Harris, Craig McDonald, Mandy Mercier, Gurf, and the Texana Dames (Charlene Hancock, Connie Hancock, and Traci Lamar) reconstituted the Oval Room Choir to add call and answer harmony and help Blaze whistle. This augmented track appeared on the “Oval Room” CD.

19. Blaze Teases Chuck, Thanks John, and Reads the Outhouse News – more rappin’ and ramblin’.

20. Blaze Foley’s 113th Wet Dream (Take 2) – Includes a long intro about how the song came about and Blaze’s old girlfriend from River Oaks, a very affluent suburb of Houston. Blaze tells the audience that his girlfriend became angry after he wrote this song and accused him of engaging in all the activities he included in his hyperbolic caricature. Recorded at the Outhouse with just Blaze and his guitar. Blaze tried to say goodnight at the end of this song, but was coaxed into playing one more. Included on the original “Live… and not there” cassette as recorded at the Outhouse. At Gurf’s studio in 2004, Gurf added bass, as well as harmony on the last verse, and John Hill added drums for the “Oval Room” CD.

21. No Goodwill Stores in Waikiki- Again, recorded at the Outhouse with just Blaze and his guitar. Additional recording in 2004 at Gurf’s studio in 2004 for the “Oval Room” CD added Gurf on electric guitar, bass, and harmony with Blaze’s longtime buddy Lelend Waddell on drums.

Between the “Live at the Austin Outhouse” and “Oval Room” CDs, every song Blaze sang during the 2 nights at the Outhouse, except the John Prine song, was included on the two Lost Art Records CDs generated by the Outhouse recordings. As noted, several songs were recorded twice during the two nights and two songs were re-recorded from scratch in my garage studio in January of 1989. Musical and harmony parts were added in January of 1989 for the original cassette and “Outhouse” CD with Blaze’s participation and input. In 2004, 15 years after Blaze’s death, additional musical and harmony tracks were added by friends and musical colleagues for the “Oval Room” CD. The additional recording in 2004 was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Gurf Morlix, Blaze’s long time musical partner and collaborator who Blaze respected and trusted more than any musician he’d ever worked with. I know this because several of Blaze’s closest friends have told me that’s what Blaze told them.