Interview: Gary Fortin,
director, "Road to Austin"
Austin’s music community lost one of its most beloved and influential musicians when Stephen Bruton died May 9, 2009 of complications of throat cancer. The Fort Worth-born musician, songwriter and producer worked with everyone from Bonnie Raitt to Elvis Costello to Carly Simon to Delbert McClinton. His collaborations with Kris Kristofferson spanned 40 years, ending with Kristofferson’s acclaimed 2009 album Starlight and Stone. He died two weeks after completing work on the Crazy Heart soundtrack with his lifelong friend T-Bone Burnett. Written and directed by Bruton’s friend and FORMAX Group collaborator Gary Fortin, the concert film Road to Austin features 38 performances from the 2007 concert of the same name that Bruton organized. Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Ely, Malford Milligan, Bob Schneider, and opera singer Kara Johnson are among the featured acts. Fortin also provides insights into Burton’s life and career while offering a brief history of how Austin became the live music capital of the world. An abbreviated version of Road to Austin received its world premiere during this year’s SXSW Film Festival. The 3-and-a-half hour version of Road to Austin is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD at (http://www.rtafilm.com/), and the film supports the Artist Wellness Program. Named in honor of Stephen Bruton, the Artist Wellness Program’s mission is to prevent and detect life-threatening diseases in program participants. Singer/musician Malford Milligan, who appears in Road to Austin performing “Against My Will” and “Bigger Wheel” with Stephen Bruton, joins writer/director director Gary Fortin during this interview.
Aired: Dec. 11, 2014 Web sites: http://www.rtafilm.com/ and http://www.artistwp.org |
|