1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: Podcast playground. I'm Buzznight, the host of the Taking a 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: Walk podcast. I appreciate if you follow us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also subscribe 4 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: to our newsletters so you can keep up to date 5 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: with episodes at takin a Walk dot com. And if 6 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: you have any suggestions about potential guests for Taking a Walk, 7 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: whether it be you or someone else, you can also 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: leave it at taken a Walk dot com. We love 9 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: exploring music history on foot and today our guest, albeit virtually, 10 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: is Bob Murco, a filmmaker photographer specializing in documentary films, 11 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: and he's the creator of a wonderful documentary, Junk Blues 12 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: and Collared Greens, The lovely story of the life and 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: times of the late blues Man Willy Houston. Welcome Bob 14 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,760 Speaker 1: Murco to take it a Walk. Well, Bob, congrats on 15 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,639 Speaker 1: your documentary. Can you tell us how you first met 16 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: the blues man Willie Houston? Oh, I guess seventeen years ago, 17 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: give or take I read an article in a local 18 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: weekly newspaper called The West Westward. I forgot the guy's name, 19 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: but it was entitled the Junk Man. Comments will Houston 20 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: was a scrap flash junk dealer, had a little scrap 21 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: yard behind his house. Anyway, the article you told all 22 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: about him, but never really gave where he lived except 23 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: for a neighborhood. I was not a filmmaker, well I 24 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: don't know if I still am, but being a still 25 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 1: photographer since I was sixteen, and I had dabbled in 26 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:19,399 Speaker 1: super eight eight millimeter that kind of thing. Anyway, I did, 27 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: you know, why not? I had a super VHS camera. 28 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 1: So I headed out and took about a week, went 29 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: to a few places, asked about him. Nobody knew what 30 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: I was talking about. But finally went to a scrap yard. 31 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: And why I didn't go there in the beginning I 32 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: don't know. But oh yeah, the junk man Willie Houston. 33 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: And they narrowed it down to a couple of blocks 34 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 1: and I went there. And now I got through the 35 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: junkyard dog he had and knocked on the door, introduced 36 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: myself and he was nice as can be, and I said, 37 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: you know, I want to do a documentary. I'm not Hollywood. 38 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,399 Speaker 1: You know, it could either win an oscar or going 39 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: down plus it down the toilet, So yeah, you know, 40 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: why not come on in at the time, he was 41 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: cooking collar greens, and I knew right off the bat 42 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: what they were because I born in New York, were 43 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: wound up in Miami, Florida, and so I knew exactly 44 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: what they were. And that's how the title got started, 45 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: you know, junk blues and collared greens, and we hit 46 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: it right off and that started it. It's beautiful. So 47 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: you were immediately encouraged to document his story right as 48 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: soon as you met him. You asked for the order immediately, Bob, 49 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: didn't you. Yeah, I'm an impulse. And like I said, 50 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: I had made a few little music videos before, and 51 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: so I figured that the super VHS wasn't going to 52 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: cut it. I went out and bought a you know, 53 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 1: a state of the art at the time, a couple 54 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: thousand dollars mini digital DV, which is probably worth about 55 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: two hundred dollars now if I could sell it, but 56 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 1: you know how that goes. And we started filming within 57 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: a week. But before that, before I even started filming, 58 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: I said, you know, I need to take some pictures 59 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: of them. And I was on my way somewhere one 60 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 1: day and I passed a little Mexican restaurant, and if 61 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: you noticed the Cadillac on the cover of the DVD, 62 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:58,159 Speaker 1: I think it's maybe a sixty something Cadillac big, I 63 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: mean a boat just about fit through his gate. But 64 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: I passed the Mexican restaurant and that was sitting in 65 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: the parking lot. So I went in. There was two 66 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: people eating. Did anybody own that Cadillac out front? And 67 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: immediately this guy you didn't hit it, did you? And 68 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: I said no, no, I you know, I just want 69 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: to talk to you and told him what I was doing. 70 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,840 Speaker 1: He said, well, where do I show up? Until the 71 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: next day he showed up with the Cadillac. He shined 72 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,720 Speaker 1: it and polished it, and he was so proud of that, 73 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: and that's how we got the cover picture. So you 74 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: knew immediately that you had something. You bonded with him. 75 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,719 Speaker 1: You saw the story from reading it obviously in the paper, 76 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: and then when you connected with mister Houston, you were like, 77 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 1: I've got something here, right. Yeah, I knew what it 78 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: was and figured it was, you know, more or less 79 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: a local type level from the story. He had came 80 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: to Denver and during the fifty fifty nine I think 81 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 1: somewhere around there and he was, you know, he had 82 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: been in the Korean War and he wound up in 83 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: what we call Five Points a neighborhood and there was 84 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: jazz clubs and it was he started out. He played, 85 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: oh just different gigs and stuff for not much money 86 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: and always relying on the scrap business to supplement his 87 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 1: income between jobs. And I guess that went out for 88 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: a lot of years. And then right off the beginning 89 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: when we started filming, he didn't have a band. A 90 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 1: couple of guys that would come over his house and 91 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: they would, you know, rehearse and jam. And it wasn't 92 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: until Hubert blues Lawhorn, who narrated the film, got with 93 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: him and they started the Blues Prowlers, and that's became 94 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: his thing that he did for oh several years, because 95 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 1: I followed him for almost two years, you know, at 96 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: his house and then you see all that in the film. 97 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: Went to his concerts and went to bars and that 98 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: kind of thing, and put it all together on a 99 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: little old Gateway computer and people said, you know, are 100 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: you crazy? How can you? How can you make an 101 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: hour whatever long documentary on that thing? That's all I got. 102 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: So it was Gorilla, Gorilla home making from the start. 103 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: Did you ever reach a point where you weren't sure 104 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: if you could see it from start to finish at 105 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: any point in time. I had told him right off 106 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: the bat that he didn't have to pay me, he 107 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: didn't have to incur any expense. Would I would do everything, 108 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: you know, and if it worked, it worked. If it didn't, well, 109 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: you know, we had a good time. No. I didn't 110 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:35,439 Speaker 1: encounter any problems that I remember. I encountered some problems 111 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: afterward after I completed it, and I found out that, 112 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: you know, I had model releases and all of that 113 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: stuff that I knew about and knew I had to 114 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 1: cover his songs, you know, the copyrights and all of that. 115 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: And while I was making it, his lawyer called me, 116 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: and I almost wanted to stop it. And it wasn't 117 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:10,679 Speaker 1: through him. Willie was just as natural and comfortable as 118 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: can be. But you know, I hate to say lawyers, 119 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: but he addressed the situation and said, you know what 120 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: if Steven Spielberg comes to town and wants to make 121 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,440 Speaker 1: a movie of him, you know, with the rights and 122 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: all this. Then I said, come on, Steven Spielberg is 123 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: not coming to town to film The junk Man okay, 124 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,959 Speaker 1: And so he went away, and that was really all 125 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: I want. I just kept going and going and finally 126 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: came together. So mister Houston passed away. When did he die? 127 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: I think about two a little over two years ago 128 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: he passed. And when I met him, he was like 129 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:59,560 Speaker 1: seventy nine or eighty, and you know, sharp as attack 130 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,319 Speaker 1: and just down home. And you know where he came from. 131 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: Grand Came, Louisiana, you know, pick cotton. And so yeah, 132 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: he passed away, I think two years ago, so he 133 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: got to see the final product, right, Oh yeah, yeah, 134 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: he I made him a deal back then, you know, 135 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,439 Speaker 1: and I gave him and I didn't make many of them. 136 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: I you know, made maybe seven year radium and I 137 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: made those on the gateway one at a time, and 138 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: one a pain in the you know, And and I 139 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: really didn't know if I should continue it because, like 140 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: I said, making him one at a time, and once 141 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: in a while somebody would say, you know, it plays 142 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: on my laptop, but it doesn't play on my TV. 143 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 1: It stopped, and so I didn't really know the way 144 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: around that. And so but didn't run into too much 145 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: much trouble, and so I said, well, here, I gave 146 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: him fifteen or twenty of them, and then there was 147 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: a lot of places after that. I couldn't attend his 148 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: gigs and stuff like that. They might have been out 149 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: of town, and so he would take him, you know, 150 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: and sell them and keep whatever he God, he had 151 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: a CD excuse me out at the same time, and 152 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: so he would sell them. But otherwise I would take 153 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 1: them to his concerts and bars, and I sold a 154 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 1: few and gave him, you know, a couple of bucks 155 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: for each one, and he was just happy as a Jaybirds. 156 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: It's a sweet story. It's so beautifully done. Junk blues 157 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,200 Speaker 1: and collared greens, Bob, How can somebody get a hold 158 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: of it other than you making these individual copies on 159 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: your gateway. I did a little advertising on Facebook, and 160 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: you know, got some response there for all that I 161 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 1: hadn't made professionally, you know, from a DVD duplication place, 162 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,559 Speaker 1: and so I know they would play and all of that, 163 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: and I did all the printing and stuff like that, 164 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: and then within a month, if not less, I'm going 165 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 1: to take an ad out and they're working on it now. 166 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,440 Speaker 1: In the Colorado Blues Society, which he was a member, 167 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: and the band was, and most of those guys, especially 168 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:34,319 Speaker 1: the only old timers of that old time, but seventeen 169 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:39,959 Speaker 1: years ago they knew him, knew of him, played on 170 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,760 Speaker 1: some of his gigs, so that that will, you know, 171 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:46,679 Speaker 1: be an opening there. But for the general public, I 172 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: have it on under super Mark eighty one at Comcast 173 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: dot net on PayPal and that's how you would, you know, 174 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 1: order it. It's beautifully and congratulations on a real Oh 175 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,319 Speaker 1: that would probably if I did it again, I probably 176 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:09,319 Speaker 1: would have did twenty things different. You know the deal. 177 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,160 Speaker 1: I'm sure you know you were in broadcasting and stuff 178 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: like that, and you know how things like that goes, 179 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: and you know, well I should have did this, I 180 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: should have did that. But like I said, you know, 181 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:24,600 Speaker 1: it ain't Hollywood. Will he so well, the Great will 182 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: of Houston. It's a great story. And thank you Bob 183 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: Murco for being on taking a walk and telling this 184 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:36,080 Speaker 1: story which is certainly music history, unsung hero music history. 185 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: Thank you. Yeah, yeah, with local and you know, with 186 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,960 Speaker 1: he Bb King. No, but he enjoyed the crap out 187 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,680 Speaker 1: of it and he just looked forward. You can see 188 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: the way he would dress for the gigs, and he 189 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: was the elder statesman of the Blues in Colorado. Thank 190 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: you Bob, Thank you sir for having me. Taking a 191 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: walk with last Night is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, 192 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:06,679 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.