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“The Guthries are the first family of American folk. They practice what Woody preached.” Vanity Fair “The biggest treat was the encore, one of Woody’s last lyrics, written when he was in the hospital in the early ’60s, with the music added later by Arlo, a little-known but beautiful, spiritual song called ‘My Peace.’ And the audience left in peace, knowing that Guthrie music is alive and well, and that the legacy is in good hands.” Robert Price, New Jersey Herald In October 2009, folk music icon Arlo Guthrie began his trek across North America with three generations of Guthries for Guthrie Family Rides Again. Arlo Guthrie carries on the Guthrie family legacy as he travels to communities far and wide sharing timeless stories and unforgettable classic tunes. A celebrated artist in American music, his artistic ventures help bridge an oftendivided world through his powerful spirit of song. Guthrie Family Rides Again brings his singular voice as both a singer-songwriter and social commentator to the stage alongside his beloved children and grandkids. Guthrie Family Rides Again spotlights three generations of Guthries including Arlo’s son Abe, who has contributed keyboards and backing vocals to his father’s live shows since the 1980s. His daughters Cathy, Annie, and Sarah Lee Guthrie, all of whom have their own bustling music careers, will support by singing songs and accompanying on acoustic guitars. Sarah Lee’s musical partner and husband Johnny Irion will lead songs and lend his stalwart guitar playing. The youngest generation of Guthrie kids will join in the fun on select songs. The concerts feature Arlo’s standards as well as a selection of unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics recently put to music by such distinguished artists as Billy Bragg, Wilco, Eliza Gilkyson, Janis Ian, Wenzel, the Klezmatics, and others. With many notable musicians from around the world contributing to keep the work of Woody Guthrie alive and well, the Guthrie Family will pay tribute to these artists as they perform some of the newly composed tunes. gUthrIe FaMIly BIograPhIes arlo guthrie Folk music icon Arlo Guthrie is a legendary artist who shares timeless stories and unforgettable classic songs as he carries on the Guthrie family legacy. With his singular voice as both a singersongwriter and social commentator, he has maintained a dedicated fan base that spans the globe. A celebrated figure in American music, Arlo connects with communities far and wide, leaving a lasting impression of hope and inspiration. His artistic ventures help bridge an often-divided world through his powerful spirit of song, and his inimitable musical ingenuity soars to new creative heights as he perseveres through the times. Arlo Guthrie left the major record label system in 1983 to fully embrace life as an independent artist, bringing his thriving career into the hands of a family-run business with the launch of his own label, Rising Son Records. Currently operated by his daughters Annie and Cathy Guthrie, Rising Son debuted with the release of Arlo’s Someday (1986). Since its inception, Rising Son has served as a family label housing Arlo’s complete catalog as well as albums by Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, Abe Guthrie and his band Xavier, and Folk Uke (Cathy Guthrie and Amy Nelson, daughter of Willie Nelson), plus the soundtrack to Woody Guthrie Hard Travelin’ and a tribute CD to the influential banjo player Derroll Adams. In Times Like These (2007), one of Rising Son’s most recent releases, features Arlo alongside the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. The album marks the culmination of his work with 27 different symphony orchestras and more than 40 live concerts. His show at Boston Symphony Hall, conducted by Keith Lockhart, was recorded and aired on PBS’s Evening at the Pops. In 2001, the Fourth of July celebration with the Pops was broadcast live by A&E. A compelling collection of original songs and select American classics performed by Arlo and the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, In Times Like These was released on vinyl in 2009. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, Rising Son released Arlo Guthrie: Tales of ’69 (2009). Recorded just prior to Woodstock, the recently discovered lost tape highlights Arlo live in concert on Long Island and features nine tracks including an epic 28-minute talking blues tale as well as three previously unrecorded songs. When not at home in Washington, Massachusetts, hanging out with family and friends, Arlo tours the world. Guthrie Family Rides Again marks the second North American tour featuring Arlo on stage with his children and grandkids; in 2006, they traveled together in the Guthrie Family Legacy Tour. Arlo comments, “It’s really fun and an adventure to hit the road as a family. We get to travel together to all these wonderful cities. My parents always had a dream of doing this, but they never had the chance to pursue it. We’ve always been family oriented, and it’s a great excuse to get everybody out of the house.” In 2005, as part of a Guthrie Foundation-sponsored tour, the family rode the Amtrak City of New Orleans train from Chicago to New Orleans, stopping along the way to perform benefit concerts. Arlo Guthrie & Friends’ Ridin’ on the City of New Orleans has raised more than $140,000 and garnered hundreds of replacement instruments for musicians suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Arlo’s ambitions have always included various community projects in addition to his artistic pursuits. In 1991, he purchased the old Trinity Church near Stockbridge, Massachusetts, which is now home to the Guthrie Center, named for his parents, and the Guthrie Foundation. The Guthrie Center is a not-for-profit interfaith church foundation dedicated to providing a wide range of local and international services. The Guthrie Foundation is a separate not-for-profit educational organization that addresses issues such as the environment, health care, cultural preservation, and educational exchange. Printed on recycled paper. Please recycle this playbill for reuse. MONDAVI CENTER PROGRAM Issue 11: Apr-May 2010 | 9 ARlO GuThRIE
noW on DIsPlay IN OuR lOBBy C.n. gorMan MUseUM The Mondavi Center display will preview pieces from: niu Pasifik: Urban art from the Pacific rim ThROuGh JuNE 13, 2010 artworks by more than 40 artists from Aotearoa (New Zealand), the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. The exhibition features multi-media work including graph art, painting, drawing, animation, hip-hop music video, sculpture, photography, tattoo, installation, embroidery/textile, and street fashion. At the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, we are deeply interested in the visual arts and the ways in which painting, photography, and other forms may enhance the experience of the performing artists we present. Located at the north end of the Rumsey Rancheria Grand Lobby just behind the Ticket Office, the art display case is a collaboration among the Mondavi Center, the Design Museum, the C. N. Gorman Museum, and the Richard L. Nelson Gallery & Fine Arts Collection. 10 | MONDAVIARTs.ORG FUrther lIstenIng arlo gUthrIe by JeFF hUDson In 2000, I witnessed musician/rabble-rouser Utah Phillips make a valiant effort to convert 120 academically achieving students from Advanced Placement history classes at Davis High School. Phillips knew he was facing a tough audience. He introduced the kids to old labor movement anthems, trying to get them to sing along. He pulled out his membership card from the International Workers of the World. He praised “the people (in the 1930s) who organized and bled and died for the eight-hour day, and child labor laws” and reminded the kids that “Adidas are being made in Thailand sweatshops…the reason is that Americans organized and got rid of the sweatshops here!” Alas, few of those Davis teens really grasped what Phillips said that day. Mostly, those kids were accustomed to kicking soccer balls in sunny Davis parks, surfing the Internet on a high-speed connection, and other material comforts. They frankly had difficulty getting into songs about dirt-poor miners and factory workers, risking life and limb (and unemployment) on the picket lines. So much for the old canard about “The People’s Republic of Davis.” I couldn’t help but recall Utah Phillips (who passed in 2008) when I recently introduced my own nerdy 20-year-old sons to “Alice’s Restaurant,” Arlo Guthrie’s famous 18-minute opus with massive socio-political implications. (Actually, the full title is “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree.”) The song weaves a delightfully meandering spoken narrative through the framework of an acoustic guitar part, closing with a jolly sing-along. “Alice’s Restaurant” soared to popularity in an era when there were roughly 500,000 American servicemen in Vietnam—many shipped out from Travis Air Force Base, down the road from where the Mondavi Center stands today. There was also this thing called the draft. As a high school student in 1970, I knew guys a bit older than myself who were called up. I knew others who became conscientious objectors, or got a “college deferment,” or moved to Canada. It was a big deal. (Ultimately, I never faced the draft myself—an all-volunteer military was announced in 1973, I turned 18 in 1974.) Currently, the American military is active in Iraq and Afghanistan—something like 200,000 troops as of January. But college guys nowadays lose no sleep worrying that the Selective Service might summon them into uniform. In fact, many students today are surprised to learn that 40 years ago, young men were inducted and sent to war (whether or not they wanted to go). Anyway...“Alice’s Restaurant” launched Arlo Guthrie’s career. The album came out in 1967 (in mono and stereo!), followed by director Arthur Penn’s movie starring Guthrie. Guthrie also sang “Coming into Los Angeles” (banned by some radio stations due to drug references) at Woodstock in 1969, which was featured in the Woodstock film the following year. The album Washington County (1970) included the lovely track “I Could Be Singing.” Arlo’s cover version of “City of New Orleans” (1972) is still heard on the radio. In the late 1970s, I saw Arlo Guthrie at the Santa Barbara County Bowl (a venerable outdoor venue built by the WPA in 1938—his dad Woody Guthrie’s era). Arlo was promoting his Amigo album, which featured some “fun” songs (“Guabi Guabi”)—but also a heartfelt memorial to Victor Jara, the Chilean singer/guitarist/activist who was tortured (Jara’s fingers were smashed) and executed by the military junta in 1973. (I still recall Guthrie singing the refrain: “His hands were gentle, his hands were strong.”) As the music industry “went disco,” Arlo Guthrie kept recording folk-oriented albums for major labels (which unfortunately became increasingly disinterested) up through Precious Friend (1982) with Pete Seeger. Then he launched his own label, Rising Son Records, obtained the rights to his old material, and kept on going. Recent albums include 32¢/ Postage Due (with the Dillards, 2008) and the retrospective Tales of ’69 (2009). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention at least one Woody Guthrie disc, in recognition of family heritage. Try Struggle, a CD of songs about working people, recorded in the 1940s and released by Smithsonian/Folkways, including songs like “Buffalo Skinners” and “1913 Massacre.” Jeff Hudson contributes coverage of the performing arts to Capital Public Radio, the Davis Enterprise, and Sacramento News and Review.
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