By Courtney Grimes
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Gibson man Arlo Guthrie is on the road again, celebrating the 40th Anniversary of “The Alice's Restaurant Massacree,” and promoting his latest album Arlo Guthrie: Live in Sydney. Over the last 40 years, Arlo has gained a loyal following around the world, including fans in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
With the release of Alice’s Restaurant in 1967, Arlo was put on the musical map, and the 1969 film version of Alice’s Restaurant introduced Arlo to Hollywood. Under the musical influences of Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott , Sonny Terry, and many others, Arlo performed his first show when he was only 13 years old.
In addition to his music career, Arlo also launched Rising Son Records (1983), and secured acting roles on several television series including "Byrds of Paradise" (ABC), and "Renegade" (USA). For almost 20 years, Arlo has been writing and publishing the popular newsletter, “The Rolling Blunder Review,” and is the author of the award-winning children's book, “Mooses Come Walking.” |
Arlo also purchased the Trinity Church (1991) where he developed The Guthrie Center, which now offers the church as a place to meditate. The non-profit, interfaith foundation provides numerous outreach programs, and raises money for Huntington's Disease research as well.
He has recently released the Arlo Guthrie: Live in Sydney album, recorded at his Australian performance (June 12, 2004). Currently on a nationwide tour along with son Abe (keyboards) and Gordon Titcomb (steel, mandolin, and banjo), Arlo took some time to chat about “Zena: Warrior Princess,” befriending an African village, and wanting to live in the woods alone.
CG: Tell me about your Live in Sydney album.
AG: The Live In Sydney album was recorded in June of ‘04. It was me, my son Abe and my good friend Gordon. We did about a dozen shows in Australia and then recorded the show in Sydney.
CG: What was the best part of that Australia tour?
AG: Unlike previous tours of Australia, we built in some time to take it easy and just relax and go places. On these tours it’s so expensive to bring a crew, and this time I said, ‘to hell with it.’ The only disappointment was that we didn’t get to go to New Zealand. We had actually scheduled this same tour a year previous, but the war in Iraq was a big disaster. They were still filming “Zena” (television series “Zena: Warrior Princess”) in New Zealand, and we had built in a role for me as a bad guy but it all got scrapped at the last moment. We had a great time and we have a lot of friends there, and it was a terrific tour. We’re looking forward to doing it again.
CG: Why did you decide to tape the Sydney show?
AG: The reason it was taped, oddly enough, was because Haxell Wesler, a famous cinematographer, was working on a piece here in the sates about an Australian guy named Henry Bridges. He wanted us to sing a song that my dad wrote with Pete Seeger, and he wanted us to sing it in Australia so he could use it in the film. So he funded all of it.
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CG: Tell me about your Gibsons.
AG: I’ve got some wonderful guitars from Gibson over the years. I started out years and years ago. I got an old SG when I was a kid. I still have it and gave it to my son Abe at some point. I bought a Les Paul in the ‘70s and we were playing some electric music on stage and it was like carrying around a car! So I still have those and one of these days we’re going to pull ‘em out on the road again.
CG: What do you think about your Gibson Signature guitar?
AG: Gibson began a series of Signature guitars, and they wanted to do a guitar based on the one my dad frequently played. It was an old Southern Jumbo style guitar. I went out to Montana to talk to ‘em about it. And then they also decided they were going to make one like the one my dad had given me for my fifth birthday. It was a ¾ sized, and sure enough, they reproduced that guitar, too! They decided they were going to make them available as a pair like a father/son. And I thought, ‘man, that was sweet!’
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CG: Tell me about that visit to the Montana plant.
AG: While I was there, we played every guitar in the factory, we spent a few days, and we just had a helluva great time. And they ended up giving me a beautiful Classic Western and I took it home, and then they sent me the Woody Guthrie model. And then about a year ago, we were playing in Bozeman and we had sold out a show, and I said, ‘let’s do another show and invite everybody in the factory!’ We filled up the house and they presented me with a beautiful J-200 which is an amazing guitar. My friend Gordon said if you just looked at it you would think this is an amazing guitar, and if you heard it and didn’t see it you would think it was an amazing guitar. But the combination of both seeing it and hearing it… it’s just stunning. Beautiful! And it ended up being on the poster for the 40th Anniversary tour for Alice’s Restaurant.
CG: Tell me about The Guthrie Center.
AG: This was the church that my friends were living in, and around 1991 we were doing one of those “Whatever Happened to Him” TV shows, and we were rolling around the church with those cameras. And while we were filming, these people came out and said, “That’s Arlo Guthrie! Let’s get him to buy it!” So I formed two not-for-profit organizations and with the help of thousands of people everywhere we were able to put a down payment on it. We (The Guthrie Center) offer interdenominational services, every day services, and we’re an educational foundation which provides for musical entertainment. We try to keep up the spirit of the folk’s musical lives by having people come perform all summer long. Baldwin also gave us a beautiful grand piano which is wearing itself in wonderfully.
CG: You have been performing for over four decades. What inspires you?
AG: Well if you look at the old guys, Pete Seeger and Earl Scruggs and Cash went forever. And Willy Nelson is still goin’. I mean there’s a whole lot of people for whom the road has become home. We think of [the country] as a big house, so you can’t see it all at the same time. So you have to tour to see it all and it takes all year to visit everybody. It’s not like I planned on doing this, I didn’t even want to be an entertainer.
CG: What did you want to be?
AG: I wanted to be a Forrest Ranger, that’s why I went to college in Billings. I don’t like large crowds. I wanted to live out in the woods by myself. [Music] ended up being the path of least resistance. I tried other things, I didn’t want to be the ‘me’ that I am, but you end up doing it, and then it takes a couple of decades to get used to it. And now I’m finally settling in and I’m realizing the likelihood of me not doing anything else.
CG: What is one of the craziest moments of your career?
AG: I remember one time in the early ‘70s when City of New Orleans was at the top of the charts. And in those days that kind of music was getting a lot of airplay. We were playing big places and I remember one time there was a bunch of women who were being held back by about three big, state copes. And I was walking by and they broke through the cops. Well I took off running, jumped off a loading dock and I just jumped in somebody’s car - I didn’t know whose, and just said, ‘DRIVE!’ And the driver of that car ended up being my road manager for the next ten years!
CG: What would be your advice to any up and coming guitarists?
AG: I would say that the chance of doing this for a living are slim to none. But I would highly recommend it to anyone who’s about 18. And if you can get away with it, then more power to you, and if you can’t - you can have a great time tryin’.
I grew up in a time when people weren’t making a living playing this kind of stuff. Folk music was the kind of stuff you played when you got home from doing a regular job, not what you did for your job. Folk music wasn’t categorized like it is today. If you’re a folk singer today you’re usually whining about something, if you’re jazz you’re chillin’, and so on. We didn’t have all that, back then it was all one thing. I played with some of the great bluegrass guys. I was invited to the Johnny Cash show long before any of the other guys, when we were all in it together. Music was something you did with friends, not to make a living or be somebody.
And music ended up being a great friend. I’ve been to places around the world - to places where I didn’t even speak the language. But you pull out a guitar and start playing, and you automatically have friends. I was in this little village in Africa, and I started playing music and before long everybody was dancing and singing and having a great time! You can do music with anybody. It’s a transcending language.