Why would I pay $15 to see a film that I intend to buy on DVD anyway? Because Pete Seeger is about community. Because being part of an audience, and having the panelists there were so much a part of the experience. Pete talks in the film about spreading seeds. The dozens of people who were in the audience at the film, and the thousands of people I see at the Clearwater festival, are all his seeds. There’s a sense that we all share the same dreams and values, and that we got those dreams and values from him. In my every-day life, I’m often around people whose values are at odds with mine, and I’m often working to achieve things that don’t really mean a whole lot. It’s good to have the Pete Seeger experience to remind my of what I believe in and remind me that there are others who share my values, to make me feel like I’m part of a movement instead of feeling like some inconsequential oddball.
A few other notes about the event:
- During the discussion, one of the audience members spoke about using music for peace-making, in which case, music is a "weapon of mass construction."
- Arlo Guthrie was funny in the film.
- In the discussion, the director, Jim Brown, talked about how Pete always preferred to have the audience participate, rather than to sing alone while others listened, and in making the film, he presented it that way. In some cases, when recordings just pick up the what’s sung at the mic, the film would supplement it by creating a recording of people singing as the audience would have been singing. Also, the film includes other musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Paul Robeson, and Elizabeth Cotten.
- Jim Brown said that Pete didn’t want the film to be all about singing his praises, so at Pete’s urging, Jim went around asking everyone, "Do you know anyone who hates Pete Seeger?"
- One of the panelists was Ed Renehan, a historian. Pete asked him back in the 70’s to help him with an album about Hudson River music. Ed obliged by collecting research on Hudson River songs. He brought it to Pete’s house, and Pete said, "Where’s your guitar?" To Ed’s surprise, Ed was going to play on the album. Also to Ed’s surprise, he was given equal billing with Pete on the album. This story was much funnier when Ed told it. He is a good storyteller.
- Clearwater director Jeff Rumpf said Pete believes in experiential education, whether it’s singing with the kids, or taking them out on the Clearwater to learn about the environment.
- Jeff also said that after reading Pete Seeger’s biography, Jeff’s teenage son decided to start the Say Something Cafe, and now the cafe has standing room only, and is a place where teenagers feel they can express themselves.
- As at many folk events, most of the audience had gray or white hair. The first question was from one such person, who asked how we can bring back the spirit of the 60’s, and who commented that today’s music doesn’t move him as much as the music of that era did. Jeff’s story about the Say Something Cafe was a response to that question. My thought in response to the question was too undiplomatic to share. It was "Just because you don’t like the music of today’s youth doesn’t mean that they don’t have it." Many hours later, I formulated a more positive reply: Today we have many young folk bands such as The Mammals, The Duhks, Crooked Still, Uncle Earl, Ollabelle, The Greencards, The Cottars, The Wailin’ Jennies, and Red Molly, and these bands have many fans of their own generation. I found that the slide show on Kristin Andreassen’s myspace page showed something of what a baby boomer might call the spirit of the 60’s, although today’s young people might call it the spirit of today.
- There was to be the film, then the discussion, then the singalong. Before the discussion was over, it was past my bedtime and I wanted to go home. The presenters wrapped up the discussion and talked amongst themselves (away from the mics) about what to play. I was sitting in front so I could hear parts of the conversation. Ed said, "Good Night Irene," and Artie replied, "We’ll do a few songs." That made sense, because everyone knows "Good Night Irene" is always done as the last song. That’s what I like about being in the folk community. I know the stuff that everyone knows. Most of the time I’m out in the mainstream world, and I have no idea what’s going on.
- Before "Good Night Irene," they had us do first "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" and "If I Had a Hammer." The song leader for "If I Had a Hammer did not know the words as well as the audience did. We indulged him by singing the "bell" verse twice because he forgot the "song" verse.
- In the film, there was a story of how Pete would neglect household chores to show a banjo lick to someone who just happened to stop by. Two of the panelists told similar stories. This tendency to neglect chores was frustrating for Pete’s wife. What we forget is that people who have a gift to inspire are still people, and are not perfect in all respects. There’s a tendency for people to be appalled when religious or political leaders turn out to be fallible. I think that we should just appreciate the gifts that people have, while understanding that we are all just people, and that just because someone has a particular gift does not mean they should be expected to be perfect in all respects.
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