of my gift this lifetime. It took me a long
time to come around to that and feel okay
about it, because if you think of it as too big,
it’s overwhelming. So I just keep it small and
fun and light, and that makes it wonderful
to be a part of Woody’s world. It’s a big old
family. But I don’t see myself differently than
anyone else carrying on his legacy.”
There’s also new original music on the
way.
“I’ve been writing a lot, almost two
years’ worth of songs toward a new Sarah
Lee Guthrie record,” she said. “I’m still
figuring it out. I know I’m going to do
music, even if it’s only with the family for
us. But a big part of me really wants to sing
folk songs and be out there in a big way.”
Guthrie has booked some solo shows
but also re-upped for another tour with
Arlo for 2017-18, so she knows she’ll have
to put any big plans for the solo record – or
another Sarah Lee & Johnny album and tour
– on the back burner at least for now. “I’m
over the idea of trying to make it happen
overnight,” she said. “For me, the quality of
life is enjoying it and making great music.”
Meanwhile, for the summer at least,
the family is back East in Becket, near the
Guthrie compound in the Berkshires in
Massachusetts, where Sarah Lee was raised.
There are some plans to record a follow-up
to the children’s album
Go Wag a Loo
that
the family recorded for Smithsonian Records
a few years ago, with new songs that Olivia
and Sophia helped write.
Come the fall, however, they’ll likely
continue their journey, both musical and as a
family, back here in Montecito.
“I love it out here,” Irion said, “My
musical connections are here, and the music
industry in Los Angeles is just down the
road. (The Berkshires) are great, but if you
want to pitch a song, maybe all you can find
is a bear who will listen.”
“To be honest, it took me a while to
get the feel of it,” Guthrie admitted. “I’m
such a small-town country girl, so the
pace was a bit much at first. I’m a poet
and love to just sit on my balcony doing
nothing, which is great for reflection
and songwriting. But we found a great
community through the schools, so many
like-minded people who care about the
same things that I do – it’s amazing. And in
Montecito, we get a sense of progress and
things moving, uplifted and motivated by
people on a daily basis.”
So the couple is “ninety-five percent
sure” they’re returning, Guthrie said. “Olivia
has one more year at Santa Barbara Middle
School, and Johnny’s got U.S. Elevator
happening and really wants to keep it going.
So I think we’re going to give it another
shot. Finding a new place to live is the stress
of it. But I have faith it will work out.”
As for the children, who have often
sung with their parents and handled the
merchandise tables, at local shows at least,
apparently the family traditions of music –
and rebelling about it – live on.
“Olivia was playing her ukulele the
other day singing a song she made up about
Sophia’s tooth coming out,” Irion said, with
a laugh. “I heard some of the words about
the tooth, and then, ‘I’m turning into my
dad and I don’t want to.’”
PROFILES
summer
|
fall
77
(photo by Trent McGinn)
