Apr 20, 2007

Touring Guthrie clan keeps rollin'

Iconic folk artists keep their legacy alive, family on the bus

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

When it comes to musical legacies, it would be difficult to top that of the Guthries. Woody Guthrie, folk icon and activist, influenced countless artists, including Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

Woody's son Arlo Guthrie made a huge cultural impact in the '60s and '70s, appearing at Woodstock and recording such memorable songs as "Alice's Restaurant," "Motorcycle Song" and "Coming in to Los Angeles."

At the moment, Arlo Guthrie headlines "The Guthrie Family Legacy Tour" with his grown children. His son Abe has accompanied him for 20 years. "He's a fine musician. He's had a number of much better offers than to play with me," Guthrie laughed.

"My daughter Sarah Lee and my son-in-law Johnny Irion are just getting better and better. Johnny's a fine guitar player," Guthrie said. "They're both creating new material that is outstanding."

The unique onstage bond creates a special atmosphere for audiences. "Our audience has always been more like family than fans anyway, starting with my dad's peers who show up at the gigs periodically," Guthrie said. "I've been on the road almost 50 years, so there (are) families that have been coming with their kids and now grandkids. Now there's a lot of younger people who may not even know me, but have heard Sarah Lee and Johnny somewhere. So we have a very diverse audience."

Guthrie helps preserve Woody's musical heritage. "Frankly, it'd be alive and well without me. There's a wealth of songs and material, and, more important," he says, "there's a wealth of ideas and values that still reach people."

The folk scene has always produced politically conscious songs, and folk singers today continue that tradition. "That would be true in any time when there's a lot of social upheaval," Guthrie said. "In an earlier era, with the Beatles or Bob Dylan, those kinds of songs broke through all of the commercial barriers and reached a whole lot of people. That's not as true today.

"Because of the Internet and other avenues open to musicians, there's more of those kinds of singers and songwriters than ever before. They just don't depend on the entertainment industry for their livelihood or to get their work out. It's not going to be reaching out of your TV or radio to grab you, like it did 40 years ago."

As a youngster, Guthrie didn't imagine a performing career. "I didn't want to be a singer. I wanted to be forest ranger. I didn't have any interest in being onstage. I'm not a limelight type of person," he said. "So for me, this life is a karmic disaster. I just ended up realizing at some point that this is the path of least resistance, and I might as well learn to be happy doing it. Of course, I'm much happier when the family's with me and we're all doing it together."

With family a priority, troubadour life can be difficult. "In the early '70s, we bought ourselves an old bus, put our kids in the bunks, took the tutors on the road and tried to do the best of both worlds.

"When they got old enough to be on teams and things like that at school, we couldn't haul them off as much. But all through the summers, they would come out. Now they're bringing their kids. You take the guitar out of beautiful velvet cases, you put the kids in, you go to work," he chuckled. "Now the grandkids are getting old enough to want to sing a few songs. We found a way that works for us. I don't know that it would work for everybody."

Even for the kids who don't choose to pursue performing careers, music becomes vital. "My mom and my dad let me know very early in life that, whether you're professional or not, music is a great friend," Guthrie said. "It's certainly been true for me."

In his father, Guthrie found some things he wanted to emulate, others he would rather handle differently. "It's just like having any parent - there's things about him that you like and things that you wished you could have changed. But at some point, you realize that your life is your own, it's not your parents'.

"There are things about your life that other people will recognize as being a family trait. That's true for everybody, and it's true for us, too. Some of the traits that made my dad stand out in his own time, I think are still valid and they come through me and they come through the kids and grandkids. I love that. That's what family's all about."

The family will celebrate Guthrie's 60th birthday on July 10, the day he releases a new CD backed by a symphony orchestra. But he's not going to let 60 get to him. "It's one of those anti-reflection times," he laughed. "You don't want to think about it."

After a year of heavy touring, he hopes to spend more time in 2008 attending to the Guthrie Center and Foundation, which is dedicated to providing a wide range of services.

Guthrie looks back fondly at San Francisco's flower power days. "We were there at all of the be-ins and love-ins and stuff. Those were great times. And they were powerful times," he said. "A lot of people look back as it being just about getting stoned or wearing funny clothes. The truth was, there were a lot of people who took very seriously the need for a new approach to what it meant to be a human being. A lot of the positive things we see today are a result of that.

"We probably should have done a little more than party so much. But that was part of it, that life was meant to be not only good, but was meant to be fun, also. When you take the fun out of the good, you're left with a Puritan ethic. The Puritans ain't around anymore. Well, maybe they are, but they're not having any fun now either."

Guthrie's sense of humor, like his integrity, hasn't diminished over time.

While some may think baby boomers have lost their sense of '60s idealism, Guthrie doesn't agree. "They probably got into a position where they didn't know what to do with it. So they just sort of set it on the back burner," he said.

"It's sort of like seeing all of the antibacterial soap everywhere now. Everybody's trying to clean up everything, to the point where they're afraid of anything that's just normal and natural. But there's always a few germs that won't die. And I feel like more of a super-germ. The more you try to clean us up, the stronger we get. And the more potential there is for growth in the future."