Ashley McCue can't prove it, but she has a strong feeling that Black Betty, a 1974 Dodge Charger, knew exactly what it was doing when it died about halfway between Austin and Marfa, Texas.
McCue and Texas-based musician Mike Flanigan were on their way to Marfa to shoot photographs for his upcoming debut solo album, "The Drifter." Marfa, she says, is the perfect place to take pictures because of the vastness surrounding it and the natural light. So perfect, in fact, that the movies "Giant," "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" were filmed there. It's a town of about 2,000 people surrounded by huge cattle ranches and mountains.
"Marfa is just this magical place to shoot," McCue says.
The unscheduled stop halfway to Marfa, however, triggered a string of unexpected occurrences that made the three-day shoot more than magical, almost mystical, McCue says.
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Ashley McCue’s website, www.thetranspecosponyshow.com.
A filmmaker/photographer/artist from Signal Mountain, McCue, who looks like a movie star herself, immediately recognized an opportunity when Flanigan began working on the car in the hot Texas sun and captured several images of him covered in tattoos and motor oil under the hood and resting his arms on top of the car, looking off into the distance.
"He's just a cool cat," the 1994 Baylor School graduate says.
The two have known each other for years, she says, and she has taken photos of him a couple of times in the past.
Flanigan says he finally figured out that the radiator which he'd replaced was leaking, so he managed to get the car running and was able to drive it the remaining 3 1/2 hours to Marfa, where they found a mechanic, a guy named Bill Parrott. After they mentioned that they were in town to shoot pictures, Parrott told them that he knew the owner, Clay Evans, up at Ryan Ranch, where the 1956 classic "Giant," with James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudsonc, was filmed. While the family doesn't allow anybody on the property, Evans might make an exception for Parrott.
"He called Mr. Evans, who said we could come up for five minutes and we had to stay on the road because they were worried the car might catch the brush - which was really dry - on fire," Flanigan says.
McCue and Flanigan drove on over. All that remains of the "Giant " set is the telephone pole frame that was used to hold up the facade of the house, called Riata in the film. Once there, Flanigan says he couldn't resist the desire to get the car, and himself, closer to the structure for some pictures.
"We were there about an hour when pretty soon we saw this little dot on the horizon coming towards us and I realized it was a truck and we were in trouble," Flanigan says.
Up drove Evans, not only riding shotgun but carrying one.
"I told him who we were and that Bill Parrott had talked to him about us," Flanigan says. "The whole time he's looking straight ahead at the car. He said, 'That your car down there?' I said, 'Yes sir,' and the whole time I'm quaking in my boots.
"He finally said, 'I like that car, Y'all have a nice time.' Black Betty saved us."
McCue spent hours shooting Flanigan in front of the remains of the home's facade. The mostly black-and-white photographs, with the house/set frame silhouetted against the harsh Texas sky and the Charger and Flanigan in front, perfectly reflect the album's theme.
"It's what the whole thing is about this broken home," McCue says.
"Everything lined up for us," Flanigan says. "The whole album was kind of like that. The pictures have that same kind of magic. I love 'Giant.' It's my favorite movie, and it's this epic Texas tale and this record is my little epic Texas tale."
"The Drifter" releases on Friday, and it is already getting positive reviews. Rolling Stone named it as one of The 30 Great Country Albums of 2015 That You Probably Didn't Hear. Part of the reason it's drawing so much attention, besides the quality itself, is that Flanigan had some pretty special special guests on it. Guitarist Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Gary Clark Jr. and Alejandro Escovedo all play on it.
Gibbons, in fact, helped choose the cover art.
"That was pretty special," McCue says. "Sitting at a cafe on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles with Mike and Billy looking at my photographs. Yeah, kinda special."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.