Oval Room - Blaze Foley’s Last Known Recording Released
Foley’s Legacy and Legend Grows

(Austin, Texas) The release of Oval Room, a passionate and irreverent collection of 16 Blaze Foley songs never released on CD, marks the final known recordings of Austin’s celebrated and storied songwriter. Produced by Gurf Morlix and John Casner, the CD is available for purchase on October 5 in select record stores and at www.LostArtRecords.com.
“Oval Room includes many of Blaze’s finest songs recorded in the intimate setting of his home club,” said John Casner, Foley’s friend and partner in the recordings. “These songs should fuel Blaze’s growing legacy as a master songwriter.”

Recorded just weeks before his tragic and controversial death in 1989, Oval Room draws from the same live sessions that were represented on “Blaze Foley – Live at the Austin Outhouse,” released to critical acclaim in 1999. Live at the Austin Outhouse sparked interest in Foley’s legend and mystique, earning him folk hero status among fans from Austin to Amsterdam.

Long known to the nation’s top songwriters in the country, Foley’s songs have been recorded by Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and others, exposing his songs to a wider audience. Four Foley tribute CDs have been issued and a documentary and full-length movie of his life are in process. Further, Lucinda Williams’ “Drunken Angel,” and Townes Van Zandt’s “Blaze’s Blues,” personal tributes to Foley, are adding to a legacy that was once nearly forgotten.

“Oval Room includes many of Blaze’s most frequently performed and requested songs, as well as earlier tunes that Blaze wanted to record for posterity,” said Casner. “From in-your-face political commentary to heart-touching, sometimes heart-wrenching love songs, Blaze’s work represents an uncompromising artistic vision about life and what Foley thought was important and worth standing up for.”

Born in Marfa, Texas, in l949, Foley (birth name Michael David Fuller) began performing at an early age in a family gospel act called the Fuller Family. He led a colorful and storied life. Even in Austin, a city of non-conformists, Foley stood out. He slept on friends’ couches or on the pool tables in clubs. Periodically banned (if only temporarily) by many Austin clubs, he made the Austin Outhouse his surrogate home.

Intensely devoted to his craft, Foley never held a “day” job. He wrote hundreds of songs and made several recordings. Unfortunately, most of the master tapes have been lost or stolen. One master is even reported to be in the hands of the FBI, or the DEA, depending on who is telling the story.

Playing a borrowed guitar for these sessions, Foley is supported by some of Austin’s finest musicians. Initially a four-track recording, some songs now include additional instrumentation added by friends who frequently played with Blaze. Additional recording, mixing, and digital mastering were overseen by renowned producer, recording artist and multi-instrumentalist Gurf Morlix. Morlix was Blaze’s bass player in the late seventies and early eighties and one of his closest friends.

Four weeks after making these recordings — while trying to protect an elderly man he had befriended — Foley was shot and killed.