Greetings,

I started playing harmonica (harp) recently and I belong to two e-mail
list groups that have discussions on it. On a weekly basis they e-mail
out a calendar of people to see playing harmonica, but Arlo wasn't listed.

So I thought to myself, "Arlo should be listed here too!", because at
every one of his concerts I've seen him wearing his harp around
his neck and playing it.

So I visited Arlo.net, and copied the 2004 schedule, and e-mailed it off
to all the members of two harp list groups and a Harp web site that lists gigs.

I've been out here spreading the word that Arlo plays harp and telling
people where they can see him perform. Here's a list of three places
I advertised Arlo's gigs and his web site:

The Harpers' International Gig List - Sponsored by SPAH Inc
(The Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica)
http://www.bassharp.com/bh_itin.htm

Harp Talk - list group at Yahoo Groups (1063 members)
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/harptalk/

Harp-L E-mail List Group - Sponsored by SPAH Inc.
http://www.harp-l.com/

If you are into harps, you might enjoy belonging to these list groups too.

I wish Arlo would come out with some more songs with Harp in them,
so that I can try to learn them and play along with them.

I've been one of Arlo's fans since the 60's, I've seen him play dozens
of times. I also talked with him when he played in Lowell last year.

That was a G R E A T S H O W he and his family put on!

And what a thrill it was for me to shake his hand and get to talk with
him a couple of minutes. You're the best man!!!

I heard Mooses like playing harmonica too!

Your Fan Today and Tomorrow,

Richard Axtman
I'm Livin' and Playin' in Massachusetts Too!!!
My e-mail: harp_newengland@yahoo.com

Guthrie still has lots of stories to tell
http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/music/apr04/221723.asp

Great Barrington, Maine ???
.... no wonder I couldn't find the church last year!

Woodstock wonder boy continues family tradition

http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/052104/LOCguthrie.shtml

You dance too, Mr. Guthrie ????

"You don't want to see me dance," Guthrie quipped.

Arlo Guthrie: the era of the oohs

http://www.abc.net.au/goldcoast/stories/s1142233.htm

"Credited with influencing artists as important as Bob Dylan, Guthrie is best known from bringing us the song, 'Alice's Restaurant' in the late '60s."

I make it a point to learn something new everyday. Friends of mine have said of Arlo, "hey, he sounds just like Dylan." Now we all know it's really the other way around. And Arlo can do any Dylan song better than Dylan anyway

Timeless troubadour revisits Woodstock

http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1169&dept_id=17776&newsid=12169641&PAG=461&rfi=9

August Benefit to star Arlo Guthrie

http://www.masslive.com/hampfrank/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1088842944195191.xml

Folk singer's words and guitar become his family's way of life
Arlo, other descendants of Woody Guthrie to play at music and arts festival
By Mary Gail Hare
Baltimore Sun Staff
Originally published July 9, 2004

The American Music and Arts Festival in Westminster tomorrow will be a
tuneful reunion for one family that has spawned legends in the folk
movement and still reaches into the roots of Americana for its songs.

Arlo Guthrie, famed folk musician and son of folk legend Woody Guthrie,
will strum his guitar, trill his harmonica and intone storied lyrics. He will
indulge the audience with a few father-daughter duets and be feted with a
birthday cake, baked in the shape of Alice's Restaurant.

"He may forget it's his birthday, but we will remind him," said son-in-law
Johnny Irion.

Guthrie, who turns 57 tomorrow, headlines an evening of music that runs
the gamut from American folk and bluegrass to international rhythms with
Celtic pipes or African drums. He will play his popular songs, maybe
even "Alice's Restaurant," as well as tunes made famous more than a
half-century ago by his father.

Sarah Lee Guthrie and her husband, Irion, will join her father on stage.

"Not many families can run through this whole generational thing," said
Irion. "It really opens up a whole new side of music."

Irion, 35, savors the relaxed atmosphere while performing with his
father-in-law, whom he has found tolerant of musical miscues.

"Arlo can't really fire us," Irion said. "If I do make a mistake, he will
usually take me out for a beer after and tell me not to worry about it."

Sarah Lee Guthrie, 25, remembers the gentle invitation from her father to
"come out and sing with me on stage." She was 18 and had hardly
mastered basic guitar.

"I was just getting to know guitar chords," she said. "I learned the rest
really fast on stage in front of thousands of people. My dad was not afraid to let me make my own
mistakes. If I was out of tune, it didn't ruin his show."

Her first recording preceded that initial stage appearance. When she was 12, the entire Guthrie
family -- "all the descendants of Woody" -- recorded an album of children's songs written by her
grandfather, who died in 1967, she said.

"We had some of his old recordings and he sang right along with us," she said. "We called it
'Woody's 20 Grow Big Songs' and it is still selling great."

Her older brother, Abe Guthrie, stepped on stage with his dad at 16 and has provided keyboard
and vocals for more than 15 years.

"He learned quickly, too," Sarah Lee Guthrie said.

Abe's 7-year-old daughter and Arlo share the same birthday and will share cake tomorrow, too.
Two other daughters also dabble in music while running the business for their family.

"My dad always embraced the idea of having his kids play music with him," said Sarah Lee Guthrie.
"I know that came from Woody. I didn't know Woody, but my dad brings those traditions to the
table. That is how folk music is passed on through the generations."

The stage opportunities with her father have waned as the young couple forges their own musical
careers. They have been traveling for performances and have recorded a new CD, Exploration,
which comes out in the fall.

"This is a really big step for us," she said. "We are the next generation and we want to play for our
peers. Americana is what we do. This is great music that tells a story and relates to real people."

The two-day festival at the Carroll County Farm Museum is the culmination of the 10th annual
Common Ground on the Hill, an event that works to build community by celebrating the diversity
among artists and musicians.

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Irion were both teachers and students at Common Ground last week. She
taught songwriting for families, often relying on her grandfather's tunes for background, and studied
weaving and basketry. He stuck with music.

"I got into blues piano, teaching and taking classes and playing," said Irion, who taught at Common
Ground two years ago and encouraged his wife to join him this year.

"The great thing about Common Ground is that it interfaces with lots of different music cultures and
it also has art and a great community," she said. "The first day here I was running around with no
idea of where my classes were and another teacher made me sit down for a foot massage."

Her class finished the week writing a catchy children's song inspired by her daughter's reaction to
the long car ride from their South Carolina home to Westminster in the family "Vannie Mae."

The tune sparkled with improvisation, simplicity and repetition -- the nonsensical way to capture a
child's attention, she said. The refrain of the untitled ditty goes: "I wanna be doot-doot-dooting
down the street. That's what I would do if I was out of my car seat."

"You can make up words and make them sound funny and you will have a great song for kids," she
said. "It is kind of Guthriesque to do it this way."

The extended Guthrie family gets together frequently but they don't automatically slip into song, she
said.

"We need instigators," she said. "I think we will have plenty of them at the festival."

Irion needs no such encouragement.

"We will be performing with Arlo on Saturday and doing our own set on Sunday," he said. "The
whole thing will be challenging and great fun."

The two-day American Music and Arts Festival will spread across four stages and offer songs,
dance, crafts, storytelling and ethnic foods.

The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Carroll
County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St., Westminster. Tickets, available at the gate, are $38 for
both days; $24 for tomorrow (Arlo Guthrie's only show) and $18 for Sunday. Admission is $10 per
day for teens, age 13 to 18; $5 per day for children, age 6 to 12; and free for younger children.
"Camping in the rough" spots are available for $10 per person per night. Information:
410-857-2771.

Janet, thanks for sharing that article in its entirety. Many years ago (20 of them), I made a Care Bear T-shirt for Sarah Lee. This year, I have a little stuffed Care Bear for Olivia, along with a coloring book. Reading the article, I noted tthat tomorrow is also Serena's birthday and it would have been really sad for her had I not brought something along for her birthday. So I ran out, got a coloring book and a box of crayons and pretty bows for the gift bag. Arlo gets a helium balloon and a toy "hawaiian" ukulele. I'm baking brownies, but not in the shape of Alice's Restaurant. How DO you bake a cake in the shape of a restaurant? It's a rectangle! I do, however, have an old cake pan in the shape of a guitar. Wish someone'd told me about the cake, I would have given then the cakepan!

He is gonna love the presents!

New interview with Arlo published in Port Folio Weekly, the alternative magazine of the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. It's online at http://www.jimnewsom.com/PFW-ArloGuthrie.html

His show at the American Theatre in Hampton, VA, was superb.

Hey great site folkie69! Good to read a recent Arlo interview. And it's always good to find somewhere to read alternative stuff. Thanks!

Louise.

Folkie69, thanks for a good read! Johnny may be surprise to learn his name's been changed to Jeremy, though. The best part was the hints from Arlo about next year.

Thanks for sharing the article. I had seen that guy at the show but had no idea he was a writer/reviewer...

Arlo, let us know if Terrie's brownies kicked in about 20 minutes after you ate them. We may ask her to bake at future blunder-events.