In the fall of 1995, Dana Colley, who learned to shoot and edit while studying at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, brought a Super 8mm camera on Morphine’s tour in France and Japan. A fan of experimental filmmakers Saul Levine, Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon, he used the camera as a creative outlet to capture snapshots of life on the road.

After Mark’s passing, Dana decided he wanted to do something with the footage as an homage. Filmmaker, photographer and musician Tom Barman, frontman for the band dEUS who toured extensively with Morphine, contributed the black and white concert footage. Both were transferred to beta and edited with Derek Stokes at manager Deb Klein’s offices in Brighton. 

The soundtrack is from an impromptu jam recorded at Hi-n-Dry. During a break from a recording session, Dana picked up a classical guitar and started playing. Billy Conway soon joined in on drums. Mark, who was making coffee in the kitchen, came back and picked-up his trombone, the first instrument he’d played in high school. After everyone else had gone home, he put down a vocal track. Dana realized the song would work well with the slowed-down pace of the footage and Come In Houston was born. 

Thanks for joining our live Q&A with Dana Colley. See you again next time!