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The first part of filmmaker Ken Burns’ newest documentary, “The American Buffalo,” premieres on PBS stations in Las Cruces and nationwide Monday, Oct. 16, including six songs written by Las Cruces musician Randy Granger.
“His contribution was very valuable to the film,” the film’s editor, Craig Mellish, said of Granger’s music, which Mellish discovered while surfing the internet. “It’s essential to our storytelling,” Mellish said.
Part one of the two-part documentary begins at 7 p.m., and re-broadcast at 9 p.m., Monday, Oct. 16 on KRWG-TV, the PBS station based at New Mexico State University. Part two will follow Tuesday, Oct. 17, on PBS, also at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Mellish said he began an online search for music for the film because nothing he had access to “had the weight I thought it should. The film is about the murder of 30,000 animals. It’s about everything that went with it,” Mellish said.
“They really speak to me,” Mellish said about Granger’s songs. “Some of Randy’s stuff had tension to it.”
He found “a wealth of music that I could dip into.”
“Whatever song I’m going to use, I have to love it,” Mellish said.
Mellish said “The Dog Star” was the first piece of Granger’s music he found online. He also chose Granger’s “Apache Tears,” “Crane Dance Song,” “Ghost Dancers,” “Comanche Riding Song” and “Full Moon Insomnia.”
“My own Native American ancestry and my music in this film means I am honoring their sacrifices and perseverance and only hope I make them all proud,” Granger said. “I remember driving from Hobbs to Carlsbad weekends to visit relatives. We would see herds of buffalo along the way. I never knew what happened to them. What an amazing story of despair and hope is ‘American Buffalo.’ Maybe our descendants will again see these majestic creatures who have been in North America over 200,000 years roaming free.”
Visit kenburns.com/films/the-american-buffalo/ and www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/new-ken-burns-film-explores-history-of-the-american-buffalo. Also visit www.randygranger.net.
