Hey Darlin, Do You Gamble? Townes Van Zandt Documentary "Be Here to Love Me" Available Online

If you haven't yet paid a visit, you must head over and explore the Snagfilms site. It has a plethora of great indie films from all different genres that you can watch online for free, including Dig!, the documentary about the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols, and Black, White and Gray,a history of the relationship between photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and his benefactor lover Sam Wagstaff.

One of its absolutely stellar adds though has to be Be Here to Love Me, a documentary on the great singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Van Zandt is one of those cult figures whose name not everyone knows but whose musical influence is felt and generated by musicians far and wide, everyone from Lucero to Sonic Youth to Willie Nelson.

I got to thinking about this documentary again this weekend after hearing a gorgeous acoustic version of "Hey Darlin Do You Gamble" by Lucero's Ben Nichols and Rick Steff (a full band version of the track will be on their forthcoming release,1372 Overton Park this October). The title of "Hey Darlin" comes from the line Van Zandt actually used to pick up his third wife and kudos to Nichols for using it. Van Zandt's music and lyrics are those you just feel and have a way of getting in your blood; given the Van Zandt's life story, I think it's because you know the man wrote what he lived. Like a good biography, those are the stories that always resonate the deepest.

Give a Listen: Hey Darlin Do You Gamble (acoustic)-Ben Nichols and Rick Steff of Lucero