Eureka musicians Alaina Blake and Dylan Hawf have been chosen to represent the music of the Ozarks in the Ozark Netflix Series based at Ozark Lake in Missouri. Jason Bateman stars in the American crime drama that involves laundering of drug money.
“The day before our wedding, which was May 19, Alaina received an email from a Netflix music marketing professional, Chris Mazur, asking if Alaina would record a cover song, Frank Sinatra’s ‘Summer Wind,’ for the Netflix series Ozark,” Hawf said. “At first, we thought, ‘Oh, right, this is fake.’ But it ended up being the real deal. Netflix had been looking for musicians in the Ozarks and, after researching all the bands active in the Ozark area, found our video by Jamie Seed Photography. They were wanting a musician from the Ozarks with an Ozark blues acoustic style.”
They recorded the song at Homestead Recording in Fayetteville, had the track sent in and are unsure of how or where the tune will be placed in the show.
“We were hired and were happy to do this,” said Hawf, who is adept on fiddle, guitar, mandolin, saxophone and piano.
Season One of Ozark has already aired.
“It is about a family man who gets wrapped up in cleaning up drug money from a Mexican cartel and how that escalates for him,” Hawf said. “We don’t know to what extent our song will be featured, but it will be in the second season of Ozark, which will air this fall. We’re excited to have this opportunity to represent the music of the Ozarks on a global scale.”
Blake is a pharmacy tech at Fred’s in Holiday Island, and Hawf is an outpatient hospice nurse with Washington Regional Medical Center. He moved to Eureka in October 2016.
“I really like the bluegrass and Americana scene down here,” Hawf said. “I wanted to be around more musicians. Alaina is from Lawrence, Kansas, originally, and has a history of fronting Irish bands, indie rock bands, and Branson style shows. We met at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, in 2015.”
Blake started began her musical career when she was 12 after seeing one of her grandpa’s friends singing at her grandfather’s birthday party. While living in Leavenworth, Kan., where she grew up, she started playing Branson style country jubilee shows around the country.
“I had a lot of experience at an early age,” she said. “When I was thirteen, I had my first chance to go to Nashville. I recorded with Kenny Star, who had previously toured with Loretta Lynn. I had a chance to record three songs with him at a studio in Nashville.
“After that, I took a sharp turn from country music and decided I wanted to experience other genres. I played in a pretty successful indie rock band based out of Kansas City and ended up joining an acoustic Irish band, also based out of Kansas City. After high school, I moved to Lawrence, Kansas, and got introduced to the bluegrass sound. I ended up forming a new band called “Red Sky Home.” That was my first fully fronted band with all my original music. Then I made my way to Eureka Springs.”
Blake and Hawf had a long-distance relationship for about a year before she moved to Eureka Springs to join him in September 2017.
Hawf said his wife is an outstanding singer and songwriter and “the brains behind our music.” Their debut six track, extended play album is available at the website, www.abdhmusic.com.
Their next local show will be at Chelsea’s Sept. 1 at 9:30 p.m.