This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 30, 2010 - St. Louis musician Blake Travis passed away on Feb. 26, 2010, and the Beacon noted his passing with an article that focused on his contributions to the St. Louis music scene as a member of bands such as the Road Apples and Dangerous Kitchen - as well as his talents as a storyteller. The article also previewed two musical tributes for Travis at the Sheldon Concert Hall and at the Schafly Tap Room that raised funds for a scholarship for his daughter.
Webster University professor and filmmaker Kathy Corley was in the process of making a documentary about Travis when he died. She filmed both memorial concerts, and edited the footage in time to enter it in the St. Louis International Film Festival. Titled "The Tao of Blake," the approximate hour-long documentary was shown for the first time publically during the Festival at Webster University on Nov. 21.
According to Corley, the version of the documentary seen at the festival is something of a first cut - one she hopes to refine with additional footage and interviews.
"The documentary does have footage from both of those memorial concerts," says Corley. "And I actually edited in some footage that turned up at the last minute just before the showing at the festival that we got from CBGB, a famous club in lower New York City. And I'm sure there's more footage out there of Blake. So it is an ongoing process toward a final version."
Terry Perkins is a freelance writer who, among other topics, writes on music.