They were born on the same July day in 1945, became fast friends nearly 20 years later and have managed to follow each other, sometimes unwittingly, from town to town, career milestone to career milestone.
Now in their early 60s, singer-songwriter John Coinman and screenwriter/novelist Michael Blake find themselves living across town from each other in the Tucson area.
Their common denominator? Music.
On Saturday, the pair will use that bond to spread the gospel of another of their shared loves: wild horses.
Blake and Coinman will present a multimedia concert event to raise awareness and money for endangered wild horses, which Blake says are on the verge of becoming extinct.
"There are less than 15,000 wild horses running free, and the government is determined to get rid of them," the celebrated author and screenwriter of "Dances With Wolves" said as Coinman, sitting next to him, nodded in agreement. "It's about the balance of life in the West. . . . Capitalism has removed us deeply from the rest of life on Earth. If we can maintain wild horses in the West, that's one more key in the ecological (chain)."
People are also reading…
Blake's tone becomes excited and impassioned as he speaks of the wild horses that have taken up residence in his heart and at his sprawling ranch in Vail, at the foot of the Rincon Mountains. One in particular, a lead stallion named "Twelve" that he bought from the Bureau of Land Management in Reno in 1990, is the subject of his latest book, "Twelve: The King," which came out this summer. Twelve died in 2005; he was nearly 40 years old.
"When I saw him, I realized life was much bigger than what I was living," said the father of three, who still has a pair of wild horses roaming free on about eight fenced acres on his land and who has "1202" tattooed on his forearm. It's the same number that was branded into Twelve's rump.
Blake will talk about the book — which reads like a cross between a memoir and a love poem — during Saturday's event. He and Coinman also will be joined by longtime mutual friend John Densmore, former drummer for The Doors.
The concert will be the first full-band Tucson show in four years for Coinman, who these days has been touring the country with actor/country singer Kevin Costner. Coinman is the chief songwriter and band leader for Costner's Modern West band, which includes Tucson players who are part of Coinman's band.
The music for Saturday's concert will come from Coinman's extensive catalog, including a couple songs that Costner included on the band's nearly year-old debut country album. Coinman, who has been writing songs since he was a kid growing up in New Mexico, likes to call his music "desert noir." There are strong nods to twangy country, liberally spiked with Western sensibilities and the muted energy of desert rock. There's a commitment in his lyrics to the Western way of life — where the best joys come in the simplest moments.
Coinman was a young and struggling musician when he met Blake in New Mexico. Blake was studying journalism and was enamored of music.
A few years after college, the pair hitchhiked together from New Mexico to California, intent on pursuing their artistic endeavors.
"We both, from our mid-20s on, became really dedicated artists," Coinman said, explaining how their friendship has endured the years, the ups and downs and the distances they've traveled to get to this point. "When you're younger, someone always caves in. That never happened to us. We became each other's advocates. Michael always listened to all of my songs. Everything Michael wrote, I read."
Their resolve has had sweet rewards:
• Coinman, who has lived in Tucson since the mid-1990s, has recorded five albums, including two on Europe's leading Americana label, Corazong, and served as music supervisor for Blake's Academy Award-winning film, "Dances With Wolves."
• Blake, who moved to Tucson 17 years ago, brought home nearly every major film award in 1990 for "Dances," including the Oscar, Golden Globe and British Academy Award. He has written several novels and has recorded two CDs.
This is the pair's second Tucson appearance together since they shared the Fox Theatre stage last fall to celebrate Blake's new documentary, "The American West: On the Road With Michael Blake."
"This gives us an opportunity to work together again," Coinman said.
If you Go
Michael Blake with The John Coinman Band
• Featuring: Appearance by poet and musician John Densmore of The Doors.
• Presented: In conjunction with Rhythm & Roots.
• What: A concert and multimedia presentation to raise awareness and money for endangered wild horses.
• When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Berger Center for the Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway.
• Tickets: $22 in advance at Antigone Books, Plaza Liquors, Enchanted Earthworks or online at rhythmandroots.org. It's $25 at the door. Proceeds benefit the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (www.ispmb.org).
• Details: 319-9966.
• Kevin Costner trivia: Blake met Costner on the set of the movie "Stacy's Knights" — the first for both of them (Blake wrote it). Coinman met Costner at a Los Angeles acting class when both were unknowns.
