News
Sarah Lee and Family talk about GO WAGGALOO! Check out the VIDEO.
A New CD by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Family
Go Waggaloo
Release: October 27, 2009
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings On October 27, 2009 Smithsonian Folkways will release Go Waggaloo a 13-track disk from Sarah Lee Guthrie featuring her husband Johnny Irion, their two daughters, and a host of other family and friends, including Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Tao Rodriguez Seeger.
A gifted singer-songwriter from a legendary family, Sarah Lee Guthrie brings charm, freshness, and feeling to this debut family music release. Go Waggaloo features thoughtful yet playful recordings of traditional songs and new compositions, including three songs with Woody Guthrie lyrics never before put to music and seven original songs written by Sarah Lee and family. Go Waggaloo continues the Guthrie family chain of song making forged by Sarah’s grandfather, Woody Guthrie. The cover art is a painting created by Woody himself.
The arrangements blend traditional folk music with contemporary lyrics and instrumentation. Among the surprises on Go Waggaloo are a scratching drum machine, songs about Xboxes and DVDs, and a spur-of-the-moment song recorded on a cell phone by the Guthrie family on a road trip.
"Go Waggaloo... epitomizes the gift of sharing music between parents and children, a longstanding tradition in the Guthrie family. Each member of the family participates in the creative process by singing on tracks, inspiring lyrics and contributing musical accompaniment." Sarah Lee Guthrie, Sheryl Crow and Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys sing Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" during the final jam at "This Land Is Your Land: A Tribute to John Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie and the American Spirit" in San Francisco on September 20 - On WV PBS
Host Larry Groce welcomes Arlo Guthrie and The Guthrie Family Legacy
Tour to the Mountain Stage- America’s first family of folk music takes the stage to deliver old and
new
original songs as well as many of Woody Guthrie’s best loved classics.
Arlo Guthrie is joined by his son, Abe, daughter, Sarah Lee, and
son-in-law,
Johnny Irion. The program features extended candid interview segments with
Arlo, who speaks his mind about his father’s legacy, the value of music
and
the music business.
*Check local listings in your area for channel designation. These
programs are also being distributed nationwide in high definition. More
information is available at [ http://www.mountainstage.org
]www.mountainstage.org or 304 556 4900. “As I listen to the new album by Johnny Irion I say, “Boy, you better get to work ‘cause this guy is kicking you in the behind!” Ambitious is the word that comes to mind. Genre –bending material with mind-blowing arrangements that twist and turn into unexpected musical alleyways … but never a dead end. A must-have for lovers of pop, roots and all-around great music. Count me a fan for life” – Gary Louris (The Jayhawks)
Some records are made out of obligation; others are motivated by sheer desire. Ex Tempore (Rte. Eight/RCAM, Aug. 7, 2007, the new album from writer/artist Johnny Irion, falls into the latter category. Half of the duo Sarah Lee and Johnny with wife Sarah Lee Guthrie, Irion conceived the album during a fertile writing stint in summer 2006 at the Guthrie compound in rural Massachusetts. As the title implies, this is an album made with a sense of spontaneity – a pace that undoubtedly contributed to the immediacy of this song cycle, a varied yet cohesive collection intermingling piano balladry, Americana, chamber pop and folk-style fingerpicking with a sophisticated ear for arrangements.
Irion brought together musicians/friends from throughout his career, people who he knew would have a feel for the songs and be able to jump in and intuitively get it right: engineer/co-producer Ryan Pickett (longtime live soundman for My Morning Jacket), Tift Merritt and her rhythm section of Zeke Hutchins and Jay Brown, and Greg Readling and John Teer of Chatham County Line. Additionally, bassist Bryan Howard and drummer Dave Johnson (aka Athens, GA duo Corner Pockets), who toured with Johnny and Sarah Lee behind their 2004 album Exploration, played on two of the tracks.
While Irion’s high lilt occasionally recalls Neil Young, the songs are inspired by the canon of rock/cosmic American music of the late ’60s/early ‘70s. Add to that an appreciation of classic pop songwriting – Irion can craft an instantly memorable chorus and knows how to build a narrative – and you’ve got an album that’s timeless and true.
Ex Tempore resonates with all the highway miles, stages and life lessons that make up the journey of a career musician. Add being a family man to that – their daughter Olivia, now 5, joined them on the road as a newborn – and you’ve got an album that celebrates the everyday in a way that’s instantly identifiable and immediately engaging. Irion has proved that he’s in this line of work for the long haul – expect to be hearing from him for many years to come.
For more info, contact Angie Carlson @ Press Darling PR: 919-370-3045; angie@pressdarlingpr.com or Ethan Stewart @ RCAM: 404-377-9900 or ethan.rcam@gmail.com
Happy New Year Everybody!
We have had most of January off to recoupe and get ready for the 2nd half of the "Guthrie Family Legacy Tour" that starts back up on Febuary 2nd at the Newberry Opera House. It's been a great tour. We've been playing lotsa new songs and many that have not been done for a while.
Many people have asked us "will there be a family record?"
We are planning on a plan right now! In the meantime...
Johnny's new record is being mixed and mastered next week.
The album titled "EX TEMPORE" will be released in early June.
It features 10 new songs that were recorded mostly by Ryan Pickett @ Pic's Gym. Zeke Hutchins and Jay Brown AKA "The Mattress" play on 8 songs and we were lucky enough to have Bryan Howard and Dave Johnson AKA "The Corner Pockets" on the other two tracks that were recorded by Greg Humphreys. Members of Chatham County Line appear on the album as well.
We will post some the new tracks on our site soon.
Thanks for stoping by to see us!
See you at the shows!
Johnny and Sarah Lee Amazon.com voted Exploration #1 Best of 2005: Editors' Picks in Country and #16 in their Top 100 Editors' Picks. Buy it HERE. Sarah Lee and Johnny's Debut Album "Exploration" "Entirely Live" a 7 song EP
___________________________________________________________________
September 2008
Mountain Stage HD
Tuesday April 15 at 10:00pm*
JOHNNY IRION
EX TEMPORE
NEW SOLO ALBUM OUT AUGUST 7, 2007
ON ROUTE 8/RCAM RECORDS
NEW WEST RECORDS SIGNS
SARAH LEE GUTHRIE & JOHNNY IRION
LABEL DEBUT DUE MARCH 2005
LOS ANGELES, CA New West Records is thrilled to announce the signing of Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion. Their first full-length album and label debut, Exploration, is due out on March 8, 2005. ³We are thrilled to be working with Sarah Lee and Johnny. They write great songs that combine elements of rock, country and folk, they play and sing beautifully together. The album is absolutely stunning,² said Cameron Strang, president of New West.
Sarah Lee and Johnny make an exhilarating kind of modern folk-rock music that is timeless and natural. The musical richness and psychological depth of their initial collaboration, the fittingly titled Exploration, is irrefutable proof that the disarming granddaughter of Woody/daughter of Arlo and the prodigious South Carolinian quite naturally bring out the best in each other.
Exploration was produced by Gary Louris (of the Jayhawks) and Ed Ackerson. It features, among others, Gary and his bandmate Marc Perlman, Son Volt veterans Dave Boquist and Eric Heywood, Johnny¹s childhood friend Zeke Hutchins (who also drums for Tift Merritt) and Tao Rodriguez Seeger, who guests on his grandfather Pete¹s ³Dr. King.² Tom Rothrock (Beck, Elliott Smith, R.L. Burnside) mixed the album and programmed the drum machine that crashes the hillbilly party of ³Gotta Prove.²
Sarah Lee & Johnny are managed by Russell Carter Artist Management and booked by Val Denn. Extensive touring will begin in February with a tour of Europe.
New West Records LLC is an eight year old, wholly independent record label distributed in North America by RED Distribution. With fifty-seven releases to date, the roster includes Delbert McClinton, John Hiatt, The Flatlanders, Tim Easton, Vic Chesnutt, Drive-By Truckers, Randall Bramblett, Chuck Prophet, Slobberbone, Stephen Bruton, Jon Dee Graham, the Old 97's, Dwight Yoakam, Buddy & Julie Miller, Ben Lee and Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion. With offices in Los Angeles and Austin TX, the company is staffed by a unique blend of music and business specialists. New West Records also exclusively represents PBS Television program Austin City Limits.
For more information contact Director of Media Relations, Traci Thomas traci@newwestrecords.com
To Be Released on New West Records
March 8th, 2005
Since simultaneously releasing solo albums in 2001, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion have been busy traveling back and forth across America and overseas, too, winning new fans and earning raves for their heartfelt acoustic music. Lately, however, the duo has cranked it up a notch and brought some electricity to the mix. The spine-tingling vocal harmonies are still there, but now they’re backed by a driving rhythm section and Johnny’s scintillating lead and slide guitar work. Call it a Carter Family-meets-Crazy Horse kind of thing.
The forthcoming album, “Exploration,” captures Sarah Lee and Johnny’s new attitude on 12 tracks of energetic country rock and down-home, back-porch ballads. Produced by Gary Louris of The Jayhawks and featuring performances by Louris, his Jayhawk band mate Marc Perlman and Dave Boquist of Son Volt, “Exploration” is traditional American music for a new generation.
Now Available
Down in the Deep South, pine trees grow tall and skinny and almost touch the sky. When you’re “high as a Georgia pine,” you’re flying.
When you hear Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion sing those words on their seven-song EP, “Entirely Live,” you’ll be flying, too. Not since Gram and Emmylou, Nicolette Larson and Neil Young or even Carly and Sweet Baby James have two voices blended together so smoothly and sweetly.
Sarah Lee and Johnny’s music is rich in tradition yet fresh, poignant and up-to-date with our turbulent times. It’s honest and unadorned American roots music, and that’s what makes “Entirely Live” so special. “Georgia Pine” is two voices, two guitars and a wailing harmonica. “Gervais” is a song inspired by the duo’s adopted state of South Carolina’s continuing struggles with the ghost of racism, and it’s delivered with heartfelt emotion.
Johnny displays his dazzling slide guitar skills and evocative high-tenor voice on an old coal miner’s song called “Thirty Inch Coal.” Sarah Lee is mesmerizing on the beautiful meditation, “River,” a song inspired by her days at an ashram.
The final three cuts on the disc become a Guthrie family affair, with Sarah Lee’s dad, the legendary Arlo Guthrie, and her brother Abe pitching in with some vocals, harmonica and keyboards. “In a Young Girl’s Mind” is a Hoyt Axton tune taken from Sarah Lee’s self-titled 2001 solo album. “DC Niner” is an old-time country tune Johnny wrote for his 2001 solo album “Unity Lodge.”
But the final track might be the most special. “There’ll Be No Church Tonight” features long-lost Woody Guthrie lyrics that Johnny and Sarah Lee set to music. It’s a rousing set closer, a song steeped in nostalgia and love that would certainly make Sarah Lee’s granddad proud.
“Entirely Live” is like being front and center at a back porch concert, underneath some of those tall southern pines. Also, look for the upcoming release of “Exploration,” Sarah Lee and Johnny’s first full-length studio recording as a duo, set for release in early 2005.
Releases written by Micheal Miller