Country
Joe McDonald
in A Tribute to Woody Guthrie
$18/advance,
$20/door, Teens
12-17/$10
Kids under 12 free with paying adult |
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Unitarian Center, 4th and C Streets, Ashland
Saturday, October 27, 2007 • 8PM
In his highly entertaining Tribute to Woody Guthrie, Country
Joe McDonald deftly conveys all the charm, talent, and social
and political consciousness of the legendary folksinger from
Oklahoma.
McDonald, whose father Worden shared Oklahoma's Dust Bowl roots with Guthrie
in the 20s & 30s, opens the tribute with a moving performance of Woody's
best-known tune, "This Land is Your Land," and ultimately sings 13
Woody Guthrie songs, all in a strong clear voice that doesn't mimic Guthrie's
style, but conveys the emotion and energy that defines Guthrie.
Country Joe's natural bond with Woody through music and politics allows
him to read some of the quirky and intimate letters between songwriter Malvina
Reynolds ("Little Boxes") and Woody Guthrie in 1955 when Woody was
hospitalized with Huntington's Chorea in Brooklyn. He died
in 1967. McDonald, who was neighbors with Reynolds in Berkeley,
tells how he found these letters in the obscure folk journal
Little Sandy Review.
A significant body of Guthrie's work resulted from his 30-day song-writing
stint with the WPA in 1941. He was 28 and, while visiting the Grand Coulee Dam
under construction, and traveling along the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington,
he wrote his compelling songs -- anthems, really – "Roll on Columbia," "Ramblin' Round," "Pastures
of Plenty," and "Grand Coulee Dam." Country Joe's performance
includes several of these songs, and audience participation.
In the early sixties, Country Joe moved to Berkeley, ostensibly
to go to school, but actually he wound up playing music in a
number of groups, mostly ones he put together. Country Joe and
the Fish came about as part political device, part necessity,
and part entertainment. . In the Fall of 1965, the remnants of
the FSM (Free Speech Movement) on the Berkeley Campus were organizing
a series of demonstrations against the war in Vietnam at the
Oakland Induction Center. Drawing on the experience of the Civil
Rights Movement, the anti-war organizers always provided entertainment
either before or after the march -- to hold people's attention.
This was the era of the folk revival starting to turn into the
San Francisco rock scene and "bands" were starting
to appear all over the place. The Country Joe and the Fish was
a loose collection of friends and acquaintances, performing mostly
jug band-flavored material, most of it Joe's. After a brief period
of what could be called indecision, Joe and Barry Melton earnestly
put together a rock band, called it Country Joe and the Fish
and started working at music on a rather full-time basis.
Country Joe and the Fish made several albums for Vanguard and
appeared at Woodstock in 1969. When Woodstock, the movie, hit
the theaters, "Fixin' To Die Rag" was in the middle
of the film, with its lyrics spelled out, highlighted with a
bouncing ball, including the "Cheer" and copious remarks
about how many people seemed to be in the audience. So what a
recording, some airplay and countless performance could not do,
the film did instantly. It brought the band's anti-war message
and the "get stuffed," we-don't-like-what-you're-doing-ness
of the "Cheer" into movie theaters all over the world.
In short, all of a sudden 5 years after its debut at a demonstration
in Oakland it became an anthem.
In the 70s, Country Joe began touring solo while still continuing
his political activism. He has recorded numerous albums and written
music and scores for motion pictures.
For more information, visit www.countryjoe.com. |
