That Old Feeling:
Get Along, Little Folkie

Christopher Guest knows folk music. He grew up near Manhattan's Washington Square, the nexus of the urban folk boom. As Guest said in a Time interview whose long version appears here, he loved bluegrass, Bill Monroe style. In a high school band led by his classmate Arlo Guthrie, he played a mandolin owned by Arlo's father Woody. He was surrounded by folksingers: Bob Dylan was a neighbor, Mary Travers had been Chris' babysitter. So four decades later, he was just the fellow to direct and co-author, "A Mighty Wind", the funny and somewhat loving parody of old folkies that opened this week.

http://www.time.com/columnist/corliss/article/0,9565,445267,00.html

"Sarah Lee, husband enjoy limelight"
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2003/03/06/features/feat02.txt

Blue Highways Festival
Vredenburg, Utrecht (The Netherlands)
26th April, 2003
By Marianne Ebertowski
http://www.sarahleeandjohnny.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&filename=news.html

"...That gave me time to see the opening act on the small stage: Sarah Lee Guthrie, Arlo's youngest daughter, and her husband Johnny Irion. Hearts already started to melt before the couple had played the first note. It was endearing to see people that young in a musical landscape that is largely dominated by "old crocodiles." 23-year-old Sarah Lee and 33-year-old Johnny immediately stole all those melting hearts, including that of this crocodile-writer, with their quiet and subtle mixture of folk, rock, country and blues. Sarah's voice is seductive and versatile like a jazz-vocalist. Her singing is elegant and incredibly accurate. Johnny plays a mean slide guitar, sings uncannily high tenor to Sara Lee's lead, and he is a great communicator. The ovation after their first song made them look at each other in surprise, and the big smiles on their faces were there to stay for the rest of the show. What these two play is perhaps "American Cosmic Music" of the 21st century - but that is as far as my Emmylou and Gram comparison will go. Sure,there is this magic about the two of them which has often been described about Parsons and Harris, and sure, they both are gorgious and charismatic, but Irions and Guthrie are simply beyond comparison as were Emmylou and Gram. And, in contrast to the otherwise divine Emmylou, Sarah Lee can enunciate: you can clearly understand every single word she sings. The young duo treated
us to a mixture of their own material, a song based on very "risqué" lyrics by Woody ("No Church Tonight"), and the traditional "Thirty-Inch Coal" where Johnny hollered the words Pete Seeger-style to make the audience sing along. When Guthrie and Irion left after their short 30 minute set, they were sent off with a thunderous applause and smiles all around."

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by janet on Jul 11, 2003 ---</FONT></center>

http://www.oudaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/07/16/3f15e12b3c9ad

Folk festival's spirit lives at
its campgrounds

Marcus Ames - Daily Staff Writer
July 16, 2003

OKEMAH - While the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival attracts world-famous
musicians to its venues, its true spirit is found in the campgrounds.

The festival this year hosted 58 different artists and bands from all over the
nation and abroad, filling the four-day event with hours of music and drawing
record crowds for both the festival and the town of Okemah.

But when the concerts stopped, the music had just begun. The festival
campgrounds, which hosted over 450 campsites and several hundred
overnight visitors, came alive with the sounds of music and merriment that
lasted until sunrise.

Those attending could find music to suit just about any mood while walking
from campsite to campsite and even join in if they had an instrument.
Friends were made instantly and old acquaintances were rekindled.

"Everyone becomes family for the weekend," said OU alumnus Chad Burrow.

"You don't get this grass-roots raw feeling at any other festival," said Cole
Perryman, public relations and English senior.

Many attendees feel that the experience of the festival overrides even the
inconvenience of the scorching July heat.

"We're down with Oklahoma and this festival is the best way to show that."
Perryman said.

The attitude expressed at the campsites is expressed all over town. The
citizens of Okemah put their best faces forward and the headlining artists
blend in and mingle with the masses.

Part of the reason for this is the relaxed security that the festival enjoys.
Many of the artists like the festival because they can sit back and just be
normal people.

During the heat of the day, the festival venues are stretched between two
locations downtown with an open mic at the third.

"One minute you can be in Ace Hardware, the next you can be listening to
Pete Seeger," said folk singer Jimmy LaFave.

Now in its sixth year, is now growing nearly too fast for its planners, the
not-for-profit Woody Guthrie Coalition, to keep up.

"Our advertising budget is you guys," said Coalition president Randy Norman
to a packed house of festival goers at the Crystal Theatre Sunday.
Obviously, the investment paid off.

The festival saw its largest crowd ever last weekend. While an official head
count was not available, Saturday's peak crowd parked nearly 900 vehicles
packed with people at its main event in addition to the hundreds who either
walked or were shuttled.

Past parking problems in the campgrounds prompted a $5 per person fee for
outsiders to access the campgrounds in hopes to deter a part of the crowd.
The plan failed, but the Woody Guthrie Coalition benefited greatly from the
proceeds.

Mellencamp To Receive Guthrie Honor
John Mellencamp will be among the individuals honored at the Huntington's Disease Society of America's (HDSA) seventh annual Guthrie Awards dinner in October. The artist will receive the Woody Guthrie Award "for his embodiment of Woody Guthrie's ideals."

http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1952994

Will they still play the blues in Chicago?
Steve Goodman's dream will come true if the Cubs win the pennant. http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/10/14/news/top_news/5e5bef192d5e2acb86256dbe007b280c.txt

Seems I vaguely recall reading someone saying they were related (cousin) to Jason Mraz. This guy's gettin' around... guest on Jay Leno, jammin' during halftime on ABC's Monday Night Football recently. And now - he can be seen performing on PBS/Austin City Limits on December 20th.
http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/
Check your local tv listing

Now if I can only remember who said they were kin to Mraz....

It was me that was related to him. He's my cousin on my dads side of the family. Yep, I was a Mraz before I married Mike. Thanks for the info! I already saw the Leno & Football things & am awaiting the Austin City Limits. I had no idea cousin Jason would become a famous folk rock singer. I just assumed he'd have a regular job like everyone else. This is so much fun keeping up with him & we are so proud of him. It's really exciting to see his career unfold. His big hit song is THE REMEDY. The nite before Thanksgiving Jason did a show at a club in Norfolk, VA & we went. We had a great time! A dj at a local rock station there that was sponsoring the show fdound out I was there & wanted to interview me on the radio to interview a relative of Jasons. My first radio interview. I was nervous but handled it okay. I only got to see Jason for a sec after the show cuz he had to fly out to perform the National Anthem at the Green Bay Packers/Detroit Lions game. But I was flad I got to see him. He is also gonna be on Dick Clarks Rockin new Yrs Eve & we will be watching.

Folksinging icon Pete Seeger to receive the 7th Annual Mill Street Loft Friend of the Arts Award
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/wednesday/lifeentertainment/stories/li011404s1.shtml

The Mammals' new take on old-time music
http://www.theithacajournal.com/entertainment/stories/20040115/music/231218.html * Scroll halfway down *

http://www.themammals.net

Interesting article/interview with Joan Baez
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/interviews/story.jsp?story=482630

_____________________
"What kind of beer?" - Penny Lane

When I saw Sarah and Johnny at The Bottom Line recently they had a new cd for sale. Titled "Entirely Live", it's a remastered version of their "Live Sampler" cd. I believethere were only about 100 copies of the Live Sampler cd produced, so if you missed that one here's another opportunity.

Track list:

Georgia Pine
Gervais
River
Thirty Inch Coal
In A Young Girl's Mind
DC Niner
There'll Be No Church Tonight

Swing Of Things was included on the Live Sampler disc but does not apear on Entirely Live.

As far as I know so far the cd is ony available at shows.

JohnC disguised as Reg

JonnC (and everyone else too), "Entirely Live" is now available through the mail. Details at http://sarahleeandjohnny.com/ [/u]

Artist, singer share love for the river
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/monday/lifeentertainment/stories/li030804s1.shtml

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