Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival

Subject: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Suffet
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 10:58 AM

Greetings:

Pete Seeger made an unscheduled appearance at the Dissident Folk Festival at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, New York, last night, October 14, 2006. I say "unscheduled" rather than "unannounced" because earlier in the day the MC announced that Pete Seeger would be there that evening as part of a tribute to Woody Guthrie. Pete's name, however, was not in the printed program, nor was it in any of the pre-festival publicity. Beacon, as you may know, is Pete's hometown, and the festival organizer apparently knew there was a good chance Pete would show up but couldn't say anything until his appearance was definite.

After Anna Canoni, Woody's granddaughter, gave a short presentation and showed a 15-minute video on behalf of the Woody Guthrie Foundation, Pete got up and sang three songs, Union Maid, Reuben James, and We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder, all with lots of audience participation. Then came what I consider the highlight of the evening. All the remaining festival performers got up onto the stage with Pete and did a 90-minute round robin jam session of Guthrie songs. I got a chance to lead 66 Highway Blues, a song that Woody and Pete wrote together, with its surviving co-author backing me up on the banjo, along with about a dozen other musicians joining in.

The Dissident Folk Festival continues today, Sunday, beginning at 12 noon and includes a tribute to Paul Robeson. I don't know if Pete will be there again, although I believe there is a very good chance he will be. However, I have another commitment, so I won't be there.

The Howland Cultural Center is located at 477 Main Street near the corner of Tioronda Avenue in Beacon. There is a free municipal parking lot on a parallel street directly behind the center.

-- Steve

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: alanabit
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 11:19 AM

Sounds like you have been spending the weekend in folkie Heaven!

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 11:26 AM

And them Thar No Good Colonials keep telling me they are jealous of the folk scene over here ??

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Big Mick
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 11:43 AM

Steve, what a thrill!! I certainly wish I could have been there to witness that. I hope someone video'ed it for you. I am kelly green with envy. Good on you, but it is no more than you deserve, given your work in preserving and promoting Woody's "other" songs.

All the very best,

Mick

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Amos
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 12:48 PM

DANG!!!!!!!! That's two greenies out here in Mudcatlandia!


Well done, man.



A

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: kendall
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 12:53 PM

Just being in the same room with Pete is a real boost.

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: mack/misophist
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 02:27 PM

My wife asked what, from our point of view, is the most important question. Did anybody record it so we auslanders can get a chance to hear? Details, please.

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Suffet
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 05:57 PM

Greetings:

As far as I know there was no recording made for public release. The festival organizer, John Pietaro, may have had the sound engineer make a recording for archival purposes, but I do not know. People in the audience may have made personal recordings, but if they did it was without authorization.

In any case, the round robin jam session could not be captured well with the available setup. There were only four mics on stage plus some jacks for direct inputs, but there were about a dozen musicians with their instruments. Not everyone was near a mic, and that included Pete, who sat with his banjo towards the back of the stage during the jam.

The hall itself was small, with a seating capacity of just 120, and amplification wasn't entirely necessary. In fact, one or two performers did there individual sets without any sound reinforcement.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: frogprince
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 07:25 PM

Gawd Amighty, would I have loved to have been there!

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Johnhenry'shammer
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 07:37 PM

I guess that's just one of those right place, right time things. You couldn't have planned that. What an awesome chance.

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Mooh
Date: 15 Oct 06 - 09:38 PM

How many ways are there to say "wow"?

WOW!

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 11:33 AM

I agree with "John Henry's Hammer" that this was "just one of those right place, right time things." Just the same you can increase the odds of it happening by knowing the right place and the right time. Pete Seeger lives in Beacon and this was a festival for political dissidents, so it is no real surprise that he showed up. Pete as you might know is an active member of the Sloop Clearwater, the local chapter of the War Resistors League, the Peoples Music Network, and the Beacon Sloop Club. If you start getting involved with those organizations you stand a much better chance of running into him than if you don't get involved.

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Big Mick
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 12:41 PM

I agree, with that, GUEST Chris, but I would add one codicil. Steve Suffit is in the right place because he is absolutely devoted to folk music in general, and songs of protest in particular. I have watched him over several years, and I figure now is as good a time as any to thank him for his efforts. And to say that he deserves this wonderful honor.

Mick

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Suffet
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 06:45 PM

Greetings:

I thank Mick for his kind words, and I also agree with Chris that you can increase your odds of working jointly with Pete if you become active in the same organizations that he is active in.

Until it was announced at 2 o'clock on Saturday, I did not know that Pete would show up at the Dissident Folk Festival. Months ago, when DFF organizer John Pietaro asked my band, MacDougal Street Rent Party, to be part of the festival program, we said "yes" right away. It didn't matter to us who else was performing. Playing the Dissident Folk Festival was the right thing to do, and so we did it. If the festival makes money, the profit will be divided equally among all the performers. Maybe we will make back our gas and tolls, and maybe we won't. But getting the chance to jam with Pete Seeger is payoff enough. For that, all thanks should go to John Pietaro.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 12:30 AM

Wow!

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: GUEST,John Pietaro
Date: 20 Oct 06 - 11:52 PM

Hey folks...

Been a while since I wrote into this, but I was happy to come across a thread on the Dissident Folk Festival. I'll take a second to thank MacDougal Street for making the drive up to Beacon and putting on a great set of their own. In addtion to wonderful music, I loved their "smell the sulfur" placard. My fave song in their set was the wonderful somng "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been Union?", sang by Anne Price. Great tune. Other highlights on Sat Oct 14 included Lach- who offered a great set, Bev Grant with her new group The Dissident Daughters, Bruce Markow's solo set, that of a young singer-songwriter names Holly GoAnarchy-who opened up the whole show, and Graham and Barbara Dean, as well as several excellent poets and speakers. My group, The Flames of Discontent, also performed on Sat night and our percussionist Rafael Figueroa(also a vocalist and poet) took a brief set of his own for which he was backed by me (on percussion) and Flames bassist Laurie Towers. A real treat was having renowned jazz violinist Gwen Laster sitting in with us for his set. Gwen also jumped into that Woody round-robin Steve wrote about; she's a brilliant improvisor.

Pete Seeger was unscheduled only because of a conflict with other dates, though I'd been in touch with him from the start of my organizing of this event. He made some suggestions for performers (such as the incredible bass-baritone Kenneth Anderson who was the featured act for the Robeson tribute on Sun Oct 15). Oddly enough Pete did not agree with me on the title of the event--"Why are you calling it 'dissident' anything? Who knows what 'dissident' means outside of college kids?? Why don't you call it a Labor Festival or maybe call it Protest with a question mark?". Naturally, I held my ground on the title. My intent was for it to be dissident with regards not only to our reactionary, war-profiteering government, but against what can only be described as the frequent trend of complacency in the folk music world. I wanted to break through those bonds as well. Anyhow, on Sat morning, as I was setting up the hall, Pete came in beaming. He told me that he would indeed be able to make it for the Woody tribute, as his prior engagement wold end at 7PM. I was of course absolutely thrilled: Pete has been an idol of mine for decades.

The Woody tribute, as well as the Paul Robeson tribute, were of course the highlights of the Festival for me. Anna Canoni spoke about Woody and showed a film, but Pete was able to offer first-hand info. His description of how Woody wrote classics such as "Union Maid" is always amazing to any of us. And though Pete often recounts some of the same stories you've heard before, he is an icon and so a first-hand account is of great importance. The big jam session was a wonderful expereince for all, though it was a bit hap-hazard (as these things always are).

Sadly, the guy who'd committed to coming down and recording the whole event NEVER SHOWED! There was no recording equipment set up in the sound board (sorry Steve), so we only have memories. I do have some photos, which I will be sending out to all of the performers this weekend. SOme that I took were very grainy (not a digital camera). And the few pics that the Center director took were better but very dark, but I just received lightened versions of those, too. I have some shots on my website - www.flamesofdiscontent.org - for anyone interested. This Dissident Folk Festival was the first one, so I am sure the bugs will be ironed out for the next. If possible, they'll be annual but we may do it only on election years for maximum impact. Hey, its all about the politics...

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Suffet
Date: 22 Oct 06 - 07:33 PM

Greetings:

I have already said "all thanks should go to John Pietaro," but I'll add one more comment. Near the festival stage was a sign that read DON'T WHINE, ORGANIZE! John truly took those words to heart. Other people have been kicking around the idea of an explicitly political folk festival for years. They point to the Raise Your Banners festival in the UK and the similar festival that takes place in Germany. But John went beyond talking about it; he did it!

And it wasn't easy. I am certain that many well meaning people told him that it would cost too much, or that it would never work in a small town like Beacon, or that he needed a large organization behind him, or that he had to book some few "really big names" to draw the audience. But John kept plugging away, and the Dissident Folk Festival was a success.

I know that Pete Seeger's unscheduled appearance is the topic I chose for this thread. Quite honestly, that's what excited me. It was the highlight of my day, and I figured it would be of particular interest to other Mudcatters. But if it were not for John Pietaro's tireless efforts, there would have been no festival for Pete to show up at. So, in addition to thanks, John also deserves our respect for a job well done.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Big Mick
Date: 22 Oct 06 - 07:42 PM

I want to be there next year, Steve. Keep us posted. And congratulations and thanks to John Pietaro for doing this. It is needed at this time in our country's history more than any other.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Suffet
Date: 26 Oct 06 - 09:05 PM

Greetings:

The first performer of the entire Dissident Folk Festival was a woman who goes by the name Holly GoAnarchy. I kid you not. She describes her music as anarcho-feminist-punk-folk, and she is young, enthusiastic, and very talented. I was so impressed that I recommended that the program committee of the Peoples' Voice Cafe in New York City book her to share the bill with me when I have my next CD release concert there on March 10, 2007. They agreed and she accepted, so it will be Holly and me.

I can hardly wait!

Meanwhile, I put five songs from that upcoming CD onto my SoundClick music page where you can listen to them on-line or download them for free. They are the first five songs at the top of the page: John Hardy, John Henry, Three Foot Seam, the title song I've Been Up On the Mountain, and Danville Girl. Here's a clickable link.

Go ahead and enjoy.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Big Mick
Date: 26 Oct 06 - 10:06 PM

Sounds like a great show, Steve. I would dearly love to come to it, but I will be touring with The Conklin Ceili Band, St. Pat's season ya know.

Holly Anderson aka Holly GoAnarchy sounds wonderful. For those interested, here is her website. I love the title of her first CD, "Why Am I Not A Lesbian?". I will be watching for her.

I am going to have to get to The People's Voice Cafe one day soon.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Suffet
Date: 27 Oct 06 - 11:11 AM

Mick et al.,

Holly GoAnarchy's song Why Am I Not a Lesbian? is wonderfully funny. Her question is really why does she keep getting the hots for guys who turn out to be real jerks, and it was one of the songs she sang at the Dissident Folk Festival that convinced me to invite her to share my gig.

If you can't make it to the Peoples' Voice Cafe next March 10, maybe you can make it to the Sunday afternoon Woody Rediscovered house concert that Anne Price and I are giving in Brooklyn, NY, this coming December 17. When I say "seating is limited" I really mean it. Our hosts' living room has space only for sixteen attendees, and four of those places are already reserved. If you want us to hold a seat for you, please call me at 718-786-1533 or Anne at 718-543-4971. We will also tell you the address and give directions. Our hosts asked us not to put their address on the Internet, but we can tell you their apartment is on 8th Avenue between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope. It is only two and a half blocks from the Grand Army Plaza subway station.

All of you other Mudcatters are welcome, on a first-come first-served basis, of course.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 27 Oct 06 - 02:53 PM

If I'm not mistaken, Pete Seeger is something like 85, God bless him! I hope I can carry on as long as that.

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Oct 06 - 05:45 PM

Pete was born in 1919. He turned 87 this past May.

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Suffet
Date: 30 Nov 06 - 07:56 AM

Greetings:

For all those who want to be at the right place at the right time, Pete Seeger will be among the various local Hudson Valley folk musicians appearing this coming Saturday evening, December 2, 2006, in the Pre-Holiday Hoot at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, New York. I believe the show begins at 8:00 PM, but if you want to be certain, you can call the center at 845-831-4988 to verify the time. If you missed the Dissident Folk Festival, here is your second chance.

Musician and activist Chris Ruhe deserves our thanks for organizing this event and getting Pete to participate.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger at Dissident Folk Festival
From: Suffet
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 03:33 PM

Greetings:

Festival organizer John Pietaro informed me that Dissident Folk Festival II will take place on Saturday, October 13, 2007, at the same place as last year, the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, New York. It's too early to say for certain who will be there, but something is telling me this may be the right time and the right place. Enough said!

--- Steve