T. Hardy Morris / Places in Peril Series

Over the past few months, musician T. Hardy Morris (best known as front man for Dead Confederate ) and filmmaker / photographer Jason Thrasher traveled to 10 “Places in Peril” sites throughout Georgia to film live performance takeaway videos of each song on Morris’ debut album Audition Tapes, released by Dangerbird Records in July. The videos, masterminded by Morris’ brother and manager, Dawson Morris, drew national attention to the Trust’s “Places in Peril” program, appearing in articles in USA Today, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Garden & Gun magazine, and featured on numerous websites including American Songwriter, CMT Edge and R.E.M. HQ.

On August 16th, the films were screened in entirety at Ciné in downtown Athens, GA, to benefit The Georgia Trust. The films will also be on view as part of the Westobou Festival in Augusta, throughout October.

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from Jason Thrasher’s interview with the Athens Banner Herald for their feature story on the project:

How did you come to be involved with the project? Were you aware to these places in peril before you began filming?

Dawson Morris, Hardy’s brother first approached me with the idea about a year ago. He and Hardy have been supporters of the Georgia Trust for some time.

I was not aware of the Places In Peril list until we started this project. I did visit Paradise Garden and met Howard Finster in 1993, before I moved to Athens. I’ve been there a few times over the years.

How did you go about deciding how each location would be featured in the videos?

Most of the locations were chosen because we liked the idea or because there were a few close to each other that we could visit on the same day. A few like the Ritz Theatre in Thomaston GA, Capricorn Studios in Macon, and Central State Hospital were all very exciting for us to visit. Paradise Garden and Pasaquan worked out late in the project. They were both farther away and shot with full bands so we had more logistics involved. Plus both locations are open to visitors so we had to time those shoots with their local board of directors.

How familiar were you with Hardy’s new songs before embarking on this project and how, if at all, did the process change your feelings about the material?

I love Hardy and his brother Dawson. I first saw Hardy perform this material at AthFest a few years ago. Every time I saw Hardy, Pistol or Thayer, I’d ask them when I’d finally get to hear the recordings. I finally got to hear the record a few days before we did the first videos and knew right away that it was a special record. Everyone in our office fell in love with the songs right away.

I discovered things about each song as we filmed them. The most recent video was shot at Pasaquan in south Georgia last week. The song Quit Diggin‘ didn’t really jump out at me on the record but now it’s my favorite song and my favorite video.

Do you see the spaces differently after adding a different life to them? How so?

Yes. I not only see these places differently but I see the whole state differently. What I love is that this state not only has these beautiful locations but these beautiful artist and visionaries. People like Howard Finster, Eddie Owens Martin (St EOM at Pasaquan) and Duane Allman at Capricorn Studios. These artist all made amazing art and music in Georgia. It deserves to be protected and preserved.

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