HAPPY 80th TOWNES VAN ZANDT

TVZ 80th birthday

To Live’s to Fly

March 7, 2024, Townes Van Zandt would have turned 80
On Townes’ Birthday we are doing something Special.

If you are in Ft. Worth or Austin, Texas on Thursday March 7 or in the event of
thunderstorms Saturday March 9… be on the lookout for Townes.

LOOK UP!

Ft. Worth was Special to Townes. He was born there on March 7, 1944.
Townes was proud of the Van Zandt’s significant role in the Founding of the town.
Townes was a great-great-great-grandson of Isaac Van Zandt (a prominent leader of the
Republic of Texas) and a great-great-grandnephew of Khleber Miller Van Zandt (one of the founders of Fort Worth)

The Cultural District sits on a 600-acre farm that belonged to the Van Zandt family &
he is buried with his ancestors at Dido Cemetery, just outside of Ft. Worth, on a family farm donated to that town.

We will be doing an Honor flyover at his grave site at 9:00 in the morning & will be over
Ft. Worth till noon. A second flight will take place from 3:30 – 6:30 finishing with a sunset flyover at the cemetery.

In the meantime, in Austin, Texas, we will be flying a Celebratory banner in honor of his
birthday with old friends… you! He will be waving to you, so wave back!
The flight times will be March 7th at 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon & 4:00 PM to 6:00
Again, in case of thunderstorms, these flights will take place on Saturday March 9

I’m in Tennessee, so I won’t get to see them. Anyone who can get pics and video, I would really appreciate you sharing with me so I can share with others!

Jeanene Van Zandt: jlvz@townesvanzandt.com

Townes Van Zandt A Far Cry From Dead Releasing on TVZ Records & Distributed by Fat Possum Records April 21st

TVZ A Far Cry From Dead

For the first time ever, Townes Van Zandt’s Grammy-nominated posthumous 1999 release
A Far Cry From Dead will see a vinyl release. Van Zandt recorded the vocal and guitar takes for the album from the late 80s through the early 90s at Texhoma Music Group Studio, the late singer’s next door neighbor’s home studio in Nashville, and Jack Clement’s Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa. Townes left the tapes to his widow, Jeanene Van Zandt, who worked with producer Eric Paul to bring the songs to life with a full band including keyboard player Larry Knechtel ( The Beach Boys, Ray Charles, the Doors, The Birds, Elvis Presley), percussionist Kenny Malone (Ray Charles, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, etc.), and Charlie McCoy (Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings) among others.

A Far Cry From Dead was the first of Townes’ records to be released on a major label, though the sordid story of its rise and fall is one of many music industry fumbles in the meeting of the CD and early internet era at the turn of the century. That story is outlined by Jeanene Van Zandt below. What was lauded by many critics at the time as some of Townes’ finest vocal work recorded will finally see a new release in the hands of the legendary songwriters’ family. A Far Cry From Dead will be re-issued on vinyl by TVZ Records, the label owned and operated by the Van Zandt family, and distributed by Fat Possum Records on April 21st.

I don’t think that I’m going to benefit from anything on this earth.
If you have love on the earth, that seems to be number one.
You know, there’s food, water, air & love.
And love is just basically heartbreak.
Humans can’t live in the present, like animals do. Humans are always thinking about the future or the past. So, it’s a veil of tears, man. I don’t know of anything that’s going to benefit me except more love. I just need an overwhelming amount of love. And a nap. Mostly, a nap.”

– Townes Van Zandt

When we were making Far Cry, we worked mostly on weekends and Holidays to get the studio cheaper. We kept the doors locked and worked in secret from the public. So, it didn’t take long for a buzz to start around Music Row and the new subdivision at Arista, Arista Austin, was just getting off the ground and they heard that Eric Paul was working with me on something Townes. 

The day we put the finishing touches on the record and were done, Eric asked me, what are you going to do with it, who are you going to pitch it to?

“I said, “Townes will send me the right people… let’s go to lunch.”

As we were walking into the restaurant Eric’s flip phone rang and it was Scott Robinson from Arista Austin asking about the project and asking that he bring it to them first, so he took it to them the next day, a Friday. Early Monday Scott called and said they wanted it.

Townes and I had a pact that his records would never be sold outright ever again, and we had been putting them out under limited licenses. So, I told them it would have to be a license and I would get it back. We settled on 20 years, when we usually did 3 to 5 years.

The record came out and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Folk Album of the Year. We lost to Bob Dylan, again.

The first single “Ain’t Leavin’ Your Love” was the first song Townes wrote for me. It was shooting up the Americana Charts and was #13 with a bullet. It was playing in my car, it was playing when I went into my convenience store… it was so exciting. Townes had never gotten airplay like this!

Arista was ready to release a second single, “To Live’s to Fly,” and I went down to their office to celebrate and help pack up CDs to send out when the phone rang in Scott’s office. When he came out almost in tears, everything changed. He said Germany called (the owners) and said they were shutting down his division and to close up shop immediately. 

People were crying, and I was confused. What just happened!?!

It’s over they said and gave me all the promo materials and put it on a cart and loaded it into my car.

The record had a 3 month life, only on CD. SONY took it over and put it in their record club division (in the basement). After many years I finally convinced them to put it up for download, shortly afterward we got the opening track with “Dollar Bill Blues” for the movie “Hell or High Water”. Shortly thereafter the license ran out and it was returned to me.”

Townes Van Zandt
A Far Cry From Dead
Release Date: April 21, 2023

Side A: 

1. Dollar Bill Blues
2. To Live’s To Fly
3. Rex’s Blues
4. Sanitarium Blues
5. Ain’t Leavin’ Your Love
6. Greensboro Woman

Side B

1. Snake Mountain Blues
2. Pancho and Lefty
3. For The Sake of the Song
4. Waitin’ ‘Round To Die
5. Many A Fine Lady
6. Tower Song
7. Squash

“REAR VIEW MIRROR” Double Album now Available on Vinyl. First 500 copies in HOT PINK!

rearviewmirrordlp
Released September 24, 2017 for the first time on Vinyl “Rear View Mirror” was recorded at the Blue Onion Café in Norman Oklahoma in 1978. Truly one of the greatest live recordings of Townes Van Zandt with his renowned band members Danny “Ruester” Rowland (lead acoustic guitar) from Waylon Jennings band the Waylors, and Owen Cody (violin/fiddle) from Billy Joe Shaver’s band. This album was Tower Records Store magazine “PULSE” #1 Folk Album of the Year 1997.

Welcome

We are Happy to announce that Martin Guitars has done a Townes Van Zandt Signature Series of a Beautiful, Sweet sounding D35 Guitar in Townes’ Honor. There are only 30 being made. Those of you that knew Townes know about his LOGO. As Townes Fans, if you were lucky and got a Logo Signature from him at a gig, it meant he really liked you! We, the family uses it as our Logo for TVZ Records.

My Favorite Guitars
11633 C R 108
Oxford, FL 34484…

jon@myfavoriteguitars.com
888-CFM-1833 239-530-PICK (7425)
Certified Martin OnLine Dealer
SPECIALIZING IN MARTIN CUSTOM SHOP GUITARS
Official Martin Site. https://www.myfavoriteguitars.com/Martin-MFG-D-35-Townes-Van-Zandt-Custom.html

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