The Guthrie family brings the spirit of song and protest to Kent
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2011739427_arlo30.html
A Q&A with Arlo Guthrie, son of the great American troubadour Woody
Guthrie. Arlo is now touring the country with his wife and musical brood.
By Misha Berson
April 29, 2010
The road can be a cold and lonely place for musicians. But not for
Arlo Guthrie.
Since last fall, the troubadour and his wife, Jackie, their four
adult kids and seven grandkids (about 20 souls all told, counting
roadies) have been touring together. This weekend, they'll perform en
masse at ShoWare Center in Kent on Saturday night and Bellingham's
Mount Baker Theatre on Sunday.
They'll be dipping into the songbook of Arlo's legendary
singer-songwriter dad, Woody making it a four-generation Guthrie jamboree.
At 62, Arlo still has the long curly locks (now snow-white), the
reedy ol' twang, and the raconteur's gift for gab that made him a
hippie icon in the 1960s, when his anti-Vietnam War patter song
"Alice's Restaurant Massacree" became a hit.
Guthrie raised his kids and still lives in rural Massachusetts, near
where that tune is set. The amiable singer-songwriter chatted with us
by phone recently about life on the road with his family.
Q: Why bring the clan on tour?
A: This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. My son Abe has been playing
[keyboards] with me for 20, 30 years now. My daughter Cathy has a
group, Folk Uke, with Willie Nelson's daughter. My daughter Sarah and
her husband Johnny Irion are musicians. But we've never all done
something together at the same time. It's fun there's a certain
spirit in our family that infuses everything.
Q: What's it like logistically?
A: We go in two buses. In California, the police stopped one and
asked if we had illegal immigrants on board. Actually, we're like
gypsies. We come to town, stay a little while and leave before people
get tired of us.
Q: Your grandkids are ages 2 to 18. How are the little ones holding up?
A: It's like herding cats. They mainly need to know when to appear
and disappear.
Q: Did you encourage your kids to become musicians?
A: We gave them piano lessons, but they all quit! That was the end of
structured music. But Abe knew what he wanted at 3. He was riding his
Big Wheels one day and came home with a keyboard. He'd traded his
bike for it. Sarah held out a long time, then she met Johnny. Love
does crazy things.
Q: What songs are performing on this tour?
A: Some of my stuff, Johnny and Sarah's stuff. My dad's songs,
including lyrics he left behind, with music by Wilco, Billy Bragg and
others. I wanted to say thank you to those musicians for doing that.
What better way than to sing the songs?
Q: Woody, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan wrote protest songs that are a big
part of the American songbook. Are there new protest songs you like?
A: Yes. They aren't always valued by the music industry, but you can
find them on YouTube. When times get tough that's reflected in our
music. And we still have the old songs that contain the history of
the people my dad and Pete's stuff, cowboy tunes, gospel songs ...
Q: Who comes to your shows?
A: A cross-generational crowd. My dad's peers still show up, and
mine. And they're bringing their kids and grandkids. Music doesn't
die, it moves through time. It's the spirit of the thing.
.
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