Utah Phillips

2011-05-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hello, The may course at Westminster College that is based on the works of Bruce "Utah" Phillips begins Tuesday, May 3rd. The college has set up a blog for the class so folks can follow postings over the next four weeks. weekshttp://maylongmemory.blogspot.com/.

2011-04-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

We should finish up transcribing the songs and stories for the new song book by the end of the month. We are still on schedule to have the book out for Christmas 2011.
We have three concerts coming up. The first is on Saturday, April 30th at Ken Sanders Rare Books here in Salt Lake City.Performing will be Doug Wintch, Anke Summerhill and Duncan Phillips. The other two are on the campus of Westminster College, also here in SLC. Mark Ross, Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins will perform a free show in the Atrium, 1840 S. 1300 E. on Thursday, May 12th at 7:00 p.m. The other show is on Tuesday, May 17th at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium, also at 1840 S. 130 E. Performing will be - Rosalie Sorrels, Kate MacLeod, Doug Wintch, Anke Summerhill, Paul Rasmussen, Ken Shaw, Hal Cannon, Carla and Dave Eskelsen and Duncan Phillips. we are still working on booking some gigs for December and January, mainly back east and the west coast. We will try to book some house concerts along the way. Any ideas?

Updates

2011-03-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hello,here is an update on some of the projects that I'm knee deep in. In May Westminster College, here in Salt Lake, is holding a summer course on the songs and stories of "Utah Phillips." The course will run four weeks with classes every Tuesday and Thursday. In conjunction with the class there will also be a concert in the Westminster auditorium. Performing will be some of the folks from our last tribute CD and a very special guest, Rosalie Sorrels. The concert will be on Tuesday, May 17th.

The other big project is the republication of the "Starlight on the Rails" song book. We are going to be adding about forty songs to the original book, so it's a big task. I'm struggling with how to get the songs into simple sheet music. I can convert the songs to MIDI but the editing programs that I've tried don't like finger picking, I mean, they convert it but not in away that most folks, including myself could figure out let alone play. Any suggestions?

Lastly I'm working on booking some CD release gigs for next winter. Thus far I've booked Caffe' Lena and the Peoples Choice Cafe in New York for December and San Luis Obispo with Kate MacLeod and Maybe Rosalie in February. Coast to Coast, thats me.

Lets see, what else, oh ya, after my normal winter off I go back to work next week.

Other highlights, Little sister Morrigan graduates from Boston College this may and little brother Brendan is going to play the Kate Wolf festival this June with his band Fast Rattler.

That's it for now, take care.

Long Gone CD release tour

2011-01-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning we are off to California. Our first CD release is at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA. The tour will rap up on February the 8th in Spokane, Wa.
Faith Petric and Larry Hanks along with Deborah Robins will join us for the show in Berkeley.

Wednesday January 26, - Berkeley, CA.
CD release at the Freight and Salvage Coffee House
Performing: Duncan Phillips, Gigi Love, Anke Summerhill,
Doug Wintch and Paul Rasmussen. With special guests
Faith Petric, Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins.

Saturday January 29, - Morro Bay, CA.
CD release sponsored by SLOFolks
7:00 p.m. at the Coalesce Bookstore 845 Main Street, Morro Bay, Ca.
Performing: Duncan Phillips, Gigi Love, Anke Summerhill,
Doug Wintch and Paul Rasmussen.

Sunday January 30, - Felton, CA.
CD release at Don Quixtoe's
Performing: Duncan Phillips, Gigi Love, Anke Summerhill,
Doug Wintch and Paul Rasmussen.

Wednesday February 2, - Ashland, OR.
7:00 p.m. - Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Rogue Valley
87 4th St, Ashland, OR 97520-2149 - Tickets $15.00 or $10.00 at the door with
a non-perishable food donation for the food pantry.
Performing: Duncan Phillips, Kate MacLeod, Doug Wintch, Gigi Love.

Thursday February 3, - Eugene, OR.
CD release 7:00 p.m.at the Wandering Goat Coffeee Company
Performing: Duncan Phillips, Kate MacLeod, Doug Wintch, Gigi Love.

Saturday February 5, - Portland, OR.
Winterfolk at the Alladin Theater a benefit for Sister of the Road
Performing: Duncan Phillips, Kate MacLeod, Doug Wintch, Gigi Love

Sunday February 6, - Seattle, Wa.
Empty Sea Studios 6300 Phinney Ave.
8:00 p.m. - Tickets, $12. advanced $16. at the door.

Tuesday February 8, - Spokane, WA.
Rick Singer Photography West 415-1/2 Main Avenue Spokane, WA. 99201
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. show starts at 7:30 p.m.Tickets $15.00 - Limited seating www.ricksingerphotograhpy.com/concerts.php
Performing: Duncan Phillips, Kate MacLeod, Doug Wintch, Gigi Love.

Performing: Duncan Phillips, Kate MacLeod, Doug Wintch, Gigi Love

Eureka CD release

2011-01-19T17:24:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we had a Long Gone CD release at The Eureka Opera House in, oddly enough, Eureka Nevada. The weather was as perfect as a January day can be in the heart of Nevada. That is to say it was about fifteen degree's warmer than Salt Lake was when we left in the mid afternoon soup (what other folks call air.) The turn out for the show was good considering we had to compete with a the Vandals (Eureka County High School) home basketball game. All in all there were about fifty folks. Performing in the round, Myself, Gigi Love, Paul Ramussen and Doug Wintch shared the stage told stories and sang a mixture of original material and songs of Utah, both the man and the state.Some of the songs we sang were "The Goodnight Loving Trail", "Ragged Old Man", "Starlight on the Rails" and "I Think of You." Wally Cuchine is the perfect producer and host. He put us up in the motel across the street from the opera house and paid us before the performance! Only in Eureka. I'm so grateful that we got to do a show in the opera house before Wally retires in February. Folks in Eureka are friendly the crowd at the show was great and the Owl has plenty of PBR's, what else can you ask for.

Next gig January 26th at the Freight and salvage in Berkeley, CA.

CD Release

2011-01-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic CD release last Thursday night here in Salt Lake. About 400 folks filled the Jeanne' Wagner Theatre. The night started off with a video from my friends at gasslamp productions about the making of our tribute CD. Then fourteen musicians over the course of two hours played song from our new tribute CD.....Long Gone. Our next CD release pary will be in Eureka, NV. This Friday, January the 14th at the Eureka Opera House.

We start an eight show West coast CD release tour later in January. I will keep folks up to date as we make our way from San Luis Obispo, CA. to Spokane, WA.

Duncan

2010-04-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

We have spent the last couple of weeks in the Roto Sonic Sound studio working on the first few tracks of our new tribute CD. Thus far we have the rough mixes for
" Going Away","Pig Hollow",
" Miner's Lullaby " and
" Scofeild Mine Disaster ". Our plan is to finish the rough mixes by the end of April, take a deep breath, listen to it all and start making plans for overdubs and such. We hope to begin work on the final mix in the fall.
In the meantime we have been doing house concerts and small gigs in the coffee shops around town to raise dough for our little project. It's all very exciting and the studio work has been amazing. I am glad we made the decision to comprise the CD of fresh studio work. And did I mention that all of the artists that are playing guitar on their tracks are using dad's old road worn Guild guitar, it sounds fantastic. To have the opportunity to sit in the studios control room and listen to folks perform dad's songs and playing dad's guitar is very touching. Check out the CD project page for some pictures, song list and a few sound bites.

Howdy

2010-03-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you know that The Long Memory website is down for a day or so while we change over to a new locally owned web hosting service. We be able to offer more audio,photos and stuff in general. If anybody is interested this Wed. at 11:00 am mountain time zone on utahfm.org I am going to introduce the first episode of Loafer's Glory and talk a little bit about the Long Memory project.
Duncan

2010-02-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Hello,I hope all of you have been able to check out the new, The Long Memory website. One of the projects that I have been working on is the task of converting dad's recordings to a digital archive. I have come across all sorts of gems. Everything from live shows, storytelling and labor workshops to audio letters. Kate Macleod gave me an old Teac reel to reel so I could dive into the tape pile, what a find. The first tape I loaded up was dad's first show at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs NY. I have special plans for this show. I will keep you posted.

We have begun the paper work to incorporate The Long Memory int a non profit. It will be a bit of process to acquire a 501c3 status, maybe a year or so but the first step of incorporation should make fundraising a bit easier. I came up with the name The Long Memory for what I hope will be the Utah Phillips foundation because I could not bring myself to incorporate "Utah Phillips". As it is I think I'm pushing the envelope but I feel making Utah's work available to as many people, easily as possible, whats important.

I will make more audio, photographs and memorabilia ( letters and documents ) available as we roll along. If any of you have photos or the like to contribute drop me line.
I have also heard from several radio stations in regards to airing dad's old radio show Loafer's Glory. I will add links to the stations on the loafer's Glory web site a I receive air dates and times.

Thanks
Duncan

Loafer's Glory

2010-02-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

Check out the new Loafer's Glory - website http://loafersglory.org

New web page

2010-02-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

One of the projects from The Long memory is a tribute CD from the folks here in Utah.
here is the letter from the CD's producer Kate MacLeod.

Duncan Phillips, son of the legendary folksinger, social activist, storyteller and all-around lovable character, Utah Phillips, is creating a tribute recording in honor of his father and his father's musical contributions.
Duncan accompanied his father on many tours, and grew well-acquainted with his father's thoughts, wishes and opinions. Duncan has developed a vision of a tribute CD that reflects Utah Phillips, in a personal and authentic manner.
Though the recording has not been titled yet, this project is called The Long Memory Project. Since Utah took his name from and was influenced by the state of Utah, this recording will feature Utah-based musicians who have been influenced and inspired by Utah Phillips' music. They will perform some of Utah's Phillips' songs, there may also be some spoken word and possibly some recording of Utah's own speaking. Duncan has invited songwriter/fiddler/producer Kate MacLeod to produce this recording. We invite the public to donate funds to support this recording project in honor of Utah Phillips' memory. The donated funds will be used for recording studio time and manufacturing costs. The musicians will be donating their time and talent to the project. Sale income from the project will be used for preservation and further development of Utah Phillips' archives and legacy. By request, you can be added to an email mailing list in order to receive updates about the project from the production team. Recording on this project will begin in the latter half of March into the month of April, 2010. The mixing and mastering will follow accordingly, with a projected release for January of 2011.

Donations Made Payable To: Duncan Phillips
Mail Donations To: The Long Memory, P.O. Box 711668, Salt Lake City, UT, 84171
Mailing List for Updates: Request Through - kmacleod@xmission.com

For Information About Utah Phillips' Career: www.utahphillips.com
Blog link for Utah Phillips blog: http://utahphillips.blogspot.com/
The Long Memory Site for Updates About this Project: http://www.thelongmemory.com/

Thank You,
Duncan Phillips: dandbphillips@yahoo.com
Producer: Kate MacLeod: www.katemacleod.com, kmacleod@xmission.com

2010-01-08T15:47:00.000-08:00

Good Evening. Please do check out our new project The Long Memory. We hope it will be the foundation for developing a non-profit to house the Utah Phillips archives.

Howdy

2009-12-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

I just got back from Portland via Spokane, I know it sounds a little odd but I had a lot of folks to see and still didn't have enough time yo visit Brackney in Victoria. I went to Portland Genny's retirement get together at Sister's. Any of you not familiar with Sister's Of The Road please do check out the link to their site. It was a wonderful affair. People filed in all afternoon to spend time with Genny. A few folks sang a tune or two and others spoke about what Genny and Sister's has meant to them over the years.
A couple of days I drove to Spokane to see Sheila. Sheila is Brendan and Morrigan's mother. Sheila found an old journal of dad's from the early seventies that she has been holding onto for me. It has twenty or so songs in it some has went onto record and others not yet finished. My plan is to finish them up and contribute to the journal as time rambles on but leave a few pages blank for my son Brendan not to be confused with my brother Brendan and yes I did name my son after my brother. It was great to see Sheila, I haven't seen her since dad and I road tripped to Spokane in 2001. Back in the late seventies she flew me up to Spokane for a week to visit dad and her before I joined the Marine Core. It was a short week but one I always carry with me. It was probably ten or twelve years before I saw dad again at gig in Dallas. Even though dad and I spent many, many years apart that trip to Spokane burnished us together.
Oh ya did I mention that the last tribute CD "Singing Through The Hard Times" has been nominated for a Grammy. It will be two years in a row that a tribute CD for dad has ha been nominated. My little brother Brendan is going to go to the awards along with the producers, Dan Schatz, Kendall and Jackie Morse. I think you can watch that portion of the awards show on the internet.

I have gathered together a group of folks her in Utah that are going to do a Utah tribute to Utah produced by our good friend Kate Macleod. Kate just finished her own CD " Blooming" that Tim O'Brien in Nashville.
I think we will call it "The Long Memory" I will keep you posted

Check this out

2009-09-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks. I got this pic today and thought you might like it. Nice piece of hobo graffiti wouldn't you say. I am happy to announce that my little brother Brendan and I will be traveling to Washington D.C. for a tribute show for dad. The show will be on Oct. 30, I'm not sure where yet but I will keep you posted as details roll in.
I drove down to see Joanna last weekend she's hanging in there. It's always nice to spend time with her. She has a new dog named Zimmerman. He looks like a pint sized Bo (her last dog). I brought home a lot of pictures of dad and have begun the delightful task of scanning them into my computer. There's a lot of good stuff, I will post some as I go them. I think we are going to use some of them for the song book that we are currently working on. I met with the book designer on Saturday so things are moving along. If any of you know any of the folks that helped put the original "Starlight on the Rails" song book together please do send their info along.

2009-08-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

Howdy,
I apologize for not posting more often. During the summer months my toil is fairly intense. Most nights blogging is the last thing on my mind, hang in there until winter and i will post more often. There are a few things that I am working on. First of I am working on getting Rosalie a gig here in SLC sometime this fall. If it works out Ben, Gigi and I will open for here. How cool will that be? We are also working on a gig at the U of U on Nov. 19, This one will be a labor show with some folks here in SLC Nov. 19, is the day Joe Hill was executed or more accurately, murdered by the State of Utah after he was convicted of shooting a shop keeper and his son. I also plan to make it up to Spokane some time in December to visit Sheila, Brendan and Morrigan's mom. I haven't had the chance to see her since dad's death. We might do a house concert or something, we'll see. If any of you have ideas on places to visit and folks willing to put together a house concert or two along the way please do let me know as I plan to travel a bit in my off months and visit some of dad's old friends and favorite towns. We are still working on re releasing dad's old song book. I haven't talked to Ken about it lately, I think the slow economy has slowed the project down a bit. But not to worry we will get it done sooner than later.
Thanks again for the posts. I may not update the blog that often but I do think about it and all of the wonderfull folks that send comments.
Thanks
Duncan

2009-07-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

Howdy,
I hope that everyone is enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon. The Kate Wolf festival went well. It felt a little rough but I've been told folks enjoyed it. We performed Sat. on the Utahpia stage with dad's old friends Mark Ross And Kuddie. It was a good place to start, besides being named after dad it is a small stage with friendly folks. Come to think of it the festival is full of friendly folks. Everyone camps out and you get a nice community vibe. Sunday Gigi, Ben and I played the Revival tent. The Revival tent is one of the last places that dad played. It was a fitting spot to carry on.
Even though I had gone over the stories and songs hundreds of times over the last six months or so it was far more emotional than I though it would be. Know matter how much you prepare and go over things in your mind some things you never have control of. Sure I could have played and sang better but honesty I wouldn't have had the show go any other way. I will always remember the smile on Rosalie's face as she sat in the audience and sang along, it was amazing. a week later I am left with a mixture of emotions. I have the constant urge to play and sing mixed with the back beat of, what am I thinking can I really do this? But what the hell dad always took pride in the fact that all of his children live somewhere on the outskirts of reality. It must be genetic. I do have plans to get out and about some this winter and I hope to get the chance to see some of you along the way.

Howdy

2009-06-20T16:22:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. It's been awhile I know. Since the last update I have been to Nevada City for the one year deal and traveled to Moab Ut. to rehearse with Ben and Gigi for the Kate Wolf Festival next week. Going back to Nevada City was far more difficult than I thought it would be. Folks say it takes a year after a death to start moving on. That sounds nice but it's really a load of crap. The first place I went upon my arrival was the cemetary to see dad. I just stood there shaking.

A whole year can you belive it, I can't. Joanna is doing well and it was nice to see Brendan and Morrigan. We are scatterd about so,so we don't get a chance to see each other that often. We sat around with a few close friends , told stories and stuffed our faces with barbecued chicken.

I am now focused on Next weekend and the Kate Wolf festival. Bobette and I will drive down on Thursday to see Joanna before heading to Laytonville. Rehearsal went well. It was the first time we had all played together in fact it was the first time Ben had met Gigi. A good friend of ours bought a place in Moab that is void of furniture so it was a great place to jam. All weekend we jammed, hiked around and jammed. It's a bummer that none of us live in the same city let alone the same state.
But things are coming along.
Her is the line up of songs that we are going to do

Daddy What's a Train
Eddie's Song
Going Away
Aces,Straight and Flushes
Carolina Pines - Kate's song
Green Rolling Hills of West Virgina
I Think of You
Long Gone - A song that I wrote for dad
Trumpet Vine _ Kate's song
If I Could Be The Rain - Maybe
and assorted stories and memories

If any of you come please do stop by and say hi.
If there is internet at the site I will post next weekend
Thanks.
Duncan

Howdy

2009-05-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hello, I trust that everybody had a good May Day. Our local May Day event had to postponed due to rain. We worked all week on building a boss pinata for the little ones to take a whack at so we were a little bummed when the rain settled in. We'll give it a go next weekend.

Gigi Love and I did a house concert last night here in Salt Lake. Actually it was mostly Gigi. She did here thing and then we did a few songs together. We sang Aces Straights and Flushes, Daddy What's a Train, The Green Rolling Hills of West Virgina and she closed with Going Away. She of course was perfect, for me it was the first time to play and sing in front of folks. Needles to say I was a little shaky but I got through it and folks were very encouraging. It was a small gathering of thirty or so at our friends John and Tamrika's house. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and Gigi made enough cash to cover her coming up from Durango to rehearse with me for a couple of days and go over things for the Kate wolf Festival in June. Gigi, Ben and I are going to do our Bums on the Plush thing on Sunday at the festival and Dad's old friends Mark Ross, Kuddie and my little brother Brendan are going to do a tribute for dad on Saturday. As far as the music I think it's coming along and with the help of good friends I'm starting to get the hang of it. I will post some pics of the May Day event next week.
Take care.
Duncan

2009-04-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Here are some pics from the Portland show from my brother Nick.
Ben Pearl in on my right, Mark Ross is on my left and my little brother Brendan is next to Mark on the banjo.

I have been busy working and helping with plans for the May Day rally on May 2ND. I am going to build a bosses pinata for the little kids to take a whack at.

Things are going well. My friend Gigi is going to come into town from Durango next weekend to rehearse for the Kate wolf festival in June. I hope to see some of you there.

Ken Sanders and I are still working on republishing the original Starlight on the Rails song book. Hopefully it will be out this summer. I think we are going to print some special edition leather bound copies complete with photos inside. I will keep you posted.

2009-03-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Howdy Folks,
Check out this link Matt sent me from the Examiner.com
My friend Gigi Love came into town for a couple of days to jam and hang out. Gigi is one of the Bums on the Plush on the run to the Kate wolf festival in June. That brings up another subject. I have had a few e-mails about using the name Bums on the Plush. The name comes from a poem dad would recite from time to time, I will post it on the side of the blog page. II gave this name a great deal of thought and kept coming back to the time dad and I were traveling up to the North West.
several years back. We stayed over night at the Ashland Springs Hotel in of course Ashland OR. The hotel is a nice piece of work. It was built in 1925 and has been beautifully restored and much more upscale than most places we would stay. After dinner we sat in the lobby next to the fireplace, cocktail in hand, soaking it all in. Dad went on and on about how nice the hotel was and how he was going to go to High Tea the next day at which point I turned to him and asked "so how does it feel to be a bum on the plush" he smiled and laughed.

Please understand I mean no disrespect. In fact I feel the name is quite the opposite. Please do feel free to post your thoughts I am sincerely interested in the opinion of other folks.

2009-03-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

I received this from Herb's family and thought I would pass it along.

Herbert Morris Schneider, born April 24, 1921, died February 14, 2009 after a short illness.

Herb was a member of the Merchant Marine, starting as a wiper-oiler in World War II and retiring as chief engineer of the SS Coronado, an oil tanker. He maintained a lifetime interest in machinery and engines of all sorts, from tiny models to the Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C, the world’s largest ship engine. His work at sea took him to ports all over the world, from Alaska to Bangla Desh to Brazil to Marseilles. He was always a stalwart union member.

When his children were young, he worked at a variety of machinist jobs ashore for eighteen years. Once he took his family for a year on a kibbutz in Israel.

When he returned to sea in 1968, it took a Supreme Court decision to get him on a ship. He was denied a Coast Guard security pass for political reasons. That decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, which found that the Coast Guard had exceeded its authority in investigating Herb’s or any other seaman’s beliefs and opinions. This action brought to an end almost twenty years of Coast Guard blacklisting.

Herb had a lifelong interest in archaeology. He talked of driving a tractor with an archaeologist in attendance during his year on the kibbutz, turning up potshards as he plowed. In the early 1970s he spent over a year as mechanic in charge at the Ozette archaeological dig on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, maintaining all the pumps and machinery on site. He was the only person there who did not have at least a college degree, but maintained that he was much better paid than any of the graduate students.

He enjoyed traveling with his wife of over 50 years, Shirley McDevitt Schneider. They made numerous trips to Israel and to Europe as well as travels to the Panama Canal and to Asia.

After retirement he worked for many years as a volunteer on Sandy Bradley’s Potluck radio show, forming friendships with Sandy Bradley, the Canote brothers, and Utah Phillips among many others. He helped to organize a retirees’ local in his union, the Marine Engineers Benefit Association (MEBA). He also became active in Volunteers to Outdoor Washington , helping to build and maintain the Iron Goat Trail on Stevens Pass. He led a very active life, hiking and exploring by car up to within days of his death.

Herbert was the son of Felix Schneider and Emma Solomon Schneider Tarshis of Seattle and was predeceased by his wife Shirley. He is survived by his companion, Connie Phelps of Seattle, his sister, Ann Pincus of Sonoma CA, his children Franz Schneider of Hollister CA, Maggie Kadet of Spokane, Wolfe Schneider of Buckley WA, and Reba Schneider of Seattle, as well as seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and many nephews and cousins.

2009-02-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I guess I might ass well let everyone in on a project that has been rattling around in my mind for awhile now. I have been trying to figure out away to keep dad's work and songs going forward and also get the chance to meet so many of dad's old friends that are strewn about the country. So, I have come up with " Bums on the Plush " a kind of one man co-op with the idea that were ever I am I could play some of the small old places dad played with some of his old friends. It would be my own sort of roving tribute to dad. Why Bums on the Plush you may ask. Well in a way we are all bums on the plush in that we benefit everyday from the work and labor of those who went before us. Trust me I know that I get the chance to do the things I do because of who my dad was and I have no grand allusions of storming the world just busking my way around for a few weeks next winter, getting a taste of the road and meeting some of you in person.

But first things first.

Now being green as corn I know that I have a lot of work to do before I am ready for such road trip. If you would like I will keep the blog updated as I go through the next few months getting ready for the Kate Wolf Festival in June. I have to be honest,I have know idea if this is something I can do let alone be good at and I have know idea where this train is headed. But as long as folks are kind enough to give me the opportunity to test the waters I know that it would be regretful not to try. So there you have it. Please do keep in touch along the way. All of the kind words and support from everyone truly are the foundation for my next adventure.

2009-02-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact Anna Kapechuk or Susan Tanner
at Righteous Babe Records – phone 716-852-8020
anna@righteousbabe.com / susan@righteousbabe.com
label website: www.righteousbabe.com
Album release date: February 24, 2009

Folksingers Honor Bruce “Utah” Phillips with New Double CD

In his life, Utah Phillips was many things – soldier, hobo, activist, pacifist, union organizer, storyteller, songwriter. He was an oral historian who documented the events of the working class and turned them into stories and songs. And in the folk tradition, he passed them on to others.

On February 24, Righteous Babe Records continues that tradition with Singing Through The Hard Times, a two-CD set that celebrates the music that Utah sang and loved. Included are performances from Emmylou Harris and Mary Black, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, John McCutcheon, Rosalie Sorrels, Gordon Bok, Ani DiFranco, Magpie, Jean Ritchie and many others – folksingers whose music springs from the same rich vein of the people’s history that Phillips chronicled throughout his life.

Of the thirty-nine songs on the album, all but ten are brand new recordings, and many of the older recordings are rare. While most of the songs were written by Phillips, some, like “Dump The Bosses Off Your Back” (sung by fellow songwriter and labor organizer Si Kahn) are folksongs relevant to Phillips’ life and passions. A few have never been recorded before, including the title track, which Utah wrote in 2003 for his local Peace Center in Grass Valley, California. The song’s lyrics, about facing hard times together, ring strongly in the face of current events:

And when the war clouds gather it’s so easy to get angry
And just as hard not to be afraid
But you know in your own heart no matter what happens,
You just can’t turn your back and walk away.

So hand in hand together we help each other carry
The light of peace within us every day
And if we can learn to live it – to walk and talk and give it
That world of peace won’t be so far away

We are singing through the hard times, singing through the hard times,
Working for the good times to come.

The project itself started as a way to help Utah through his own hard times. Last year, folksinger Dan Schatz spoke with fellow musicians Kendall and Jacqui Morse at a musicians’ gathering about putting together a CD to help Phillips defray medical expenses. Phillips had been ill for some time when the project began, and died in May of 2008. “It was a blow to lose Utah,” said Schatz. “It gave the project a wistful feeling, knowing that he would never hear the final result of so much love, or hold the CDs in his own hands. We do know that he was very pleased and excited about what was going on. It meant a lot to him that his songs would continue to live for years to come.”

All purchases of Singing Through the Hard Times continue the folk tradition of creating community through music. All proceeds from sales of Singing Through the Hard Times directly benefit Utah’s family.

Howdy

2009-02-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the slow updates, as soon as the show was over I could tell that I was no longer going to be able put off getting sick. I spent most of last week on Brendan's sofa sleeping and nursing some sort of chest cold. Finally on Thursday I felt well enough to make a dash for home so I could spend the next three days on my own sofa. Thankfully today I feel much better. I do recall if dad got sick on the road usually it was at Winterfolk.

As for the show and other news.
The show went well. The entire show was a tribute show for dad so it was the perfect place to try something on stage. When I first heard that we were going to close the show so Rosalie could get ready to head of to the Grammies I was a little concerned but in reality it turned out to be the perfect spot for us. The plan was for me to take the stage first, tell a short story about dad and I getting back together and set up the rest of the set. After Tom introduction I took the stage but the sound guys weren't ready yet so instead of just sitting there with dead air I took my camera out of my vest pocket and snapped a picture of the audience. Tom looked a little confused when the flash went off while he was still trying prolong the intro.

It worked out well though it gave me a way to ease in to the set with a quick laugh.
I though best to be honest with the audience so after the opening story I explained that "I am neither a singer nor a musician but that were always two things that dad wanted to see me do. One was to be arrested the other was to perform on stage" The I introduced the rest rest of the guys. My Little brother Brendan(played the Banjo), Mark Ross (played Guitar and Dobro) and my good friend from Davis Ben Pearl also played guitar. We did " Daddy What's a Train " for the first song. I elected to just sing since having only been practicing by myself I am not used to playing with more instruments so it made it easier ( some what )for me to keep time. I know most folks would recommend against closing a show in front 650 plus folks for the first time to sing in public but to me it felt like the right time and place and I think we pulled it off. For me that simply means I remembered all the words and didn't get arrested by the music police although if I had it would have covered the other part of dad's want list all in one night. Next Brendan played and sang " ships Gonna Sail" one of dad's newer songs. It was amazing dad would have been proud. After that I sang a song that I wrote for dad several years ago Called " Long Gone " I was a little rough and not exactly like we rehearsed it but I guess that's why one has to hearse be fore you can rehearse. We close the set with Dad's long time old friend "Smokestack" Mark Ross telling a couple of stories and singing "Hallelujah I'm A Bum" followed by the "Hymn Song". All in all I think it went well and looking back I don't think that I was nervous. After working and thinking about it for so long I was both excited to finally get to do it and glad to get it over with.
So what's next you may ask. Well it looks like Cloud Moss is going to let us come down to the Kate Wolf Festival in June and do a tribute set for dad. I"ll keep you posted.

Headed to Winterfolk

2009-02-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I'm headed to Portland today to meet up with Little Bro. Brendan, Mark Ross and Ben Pearl at Winterfolk. It will be the first time that I've been back in Portland since 2004. Dad and I used to go up there every year for Winterfolk until his heart condition took over the road managing duties. It will be nice to see everyone again. We were originally going to close the first set ( the spot dad always played ) but since Rosalie's new CD " Strangers in Another Country" was nominated for a Grammy she is going to close the first set so she can fly out early and we are going to close the show. Hardly what I was planning on for my first gig but what the hell. As I used to say while hurling my self down the ski slopes, go big or go home. wright?
Please do check out the Sisters web site it is one the many places that held a very special place in dad's heart. when we drove up he always made sure we left early enough to get to the Sisters cafe for lunch. He loved to sit and talk with every and anyone. I gotta hit the road I'm going to Marks place in Eugene for a couple of days to rehearse. I will post more with some pics later in the week.
I have posted some links on the right side of the page for Winterfolk.
Take Care
Duncan

2008-11-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hello, it’s been awhile.

After dad died I spent a lot time trying to figure out what to do next. For awhile I thought I might just carry on my normal life and talk to folks about dad when they asked. But that’s not really me. I also pondered the idea of a book, not about dad and his life but instead about the two of us and getting back together after being apart for so many years but some of those chapters are still being written. Instead I came to the realization that I have to figure out away to keep dad’s work out there and among the people. Not being much of a singer or musician myself I made the decision to break new ground and branch out into the unknown. Over the last few months I have been playing dad’s old road worn Guild and with the help and encouragement of some great friends begun working on a tribute show for dad. My plan, thanks to Tom May is to try it out this February in Portland at Winterfolk. Winterfolk is one out the trips dad and I looked forward to the most every year. It will be nice after a short absence to be back in Portland and hang out with everyone at Sisters. I hope to see some of you there.

We’ll see how it goes I really don’t know what to expect I just know I have to try it.

Now about the song we started a few months back. It’s mostly finished. I say mostly because It’s the first version, no rewrites, I leave up to anyone who wants to change it as they see fit to do so.

The verse about the light being on at the top og the stairs comes from the first few days after dads death. The first day he lay in a state of rest so folks that wanted to could say good bye. There was a small floor lamp by his bedroom door that was on so folks could find their way up the stairs. The next day when the mortuary came and did what they do I saw that the light had been turned off. It’s funny how the smallest of things can be so sad, I mean it’s just a light. I turned it back on because, know matter were we may find ourselves it's always comforting to know that when we need it the most ,some where there's a light on to show us the way back home.

Untitled

Far away on the Western slope

where the golden waters once roared.

On the darkest of nights she lay alone

and softly whispers these few words.

The lights on at the top of the stairs

rest your head my sweet love and linger no more.

Jungle angles sing your refrain.

and I’ll miss like the dry earth misses the rain.

Fire burns at the end of the yard

the stewbum stares Into the flame.

Lonely and cold with no place to go

he softly whispers these few words.

Your life was boom, your life was bust.

Your life was filled with the wanderlust.

You tramped the world with a worn out heart

but now old friend it’s time we part.

High on a hill in a house built by greed

he dusts off a forgotten old friend.

No longer bound by want and lust

he plays up an old gentle tune.

Oh how your songs they sing to me.

Your words set me free.

I’ll pick up my hammer and nail

on your wooden ship I’ll set sail.

Over the plains the Rattler rolls.

With a tug of the chain the whistle it blows.

Through a wide open door Chico sings aboard

shakes out the dust and offer a few words.

We know not what lay over the hill

might be some wobblies or a scissorbill.

But I tell you this my old friend

we’ll be coupling cars at our journeys end.

Down where the black oak

shades your grave from the searing sun.

I wipe away the last few tears and

whisper these few words.

Lord I know, how I know

how hard it is to let go.

You faced your end with courage and grace

and I will forever remember your

tender face.

The lights on at the top of the stairs

rest your head my sweet love and linger no more.

Jungle angles sing your refrain.

and I’ll miss like the dry earth misses the rain.

See ya in Portland

Duncan

2008-11-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

Howdy
A brief note. Keith Bendar if you still check the blog please send me your e-mail address.

I am finishing up on the song we started on the blog a few months ago. I will post it this weekend
along with some updates and pics
Thanks
Duncan

2008-10-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

2008-10-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Mark Ross sent this along. Thought you might enjoy it.

Utah's Speech

Friends and Brothers, for many years now we have all understood that railroads exist solely to carry persons such as ourselves from one place to another. The business of transporting freight simply helps to defray the expense of this noble and much needed endeavor. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly commend the Union Pacific,Burlington-Northern, Denver-Rio Grande and Western and similar charitable organizations for their benign efforts on our behalf and to offer heartfelt thanks for affording us the opportunity to spend so many carefree hours watching the pleasant landscape flow by. Oh, the rich pageantry! The bracing mountain air, sparkling lakes and snow-capped peaks spread out before us like a handful of jewels. Lulled into blissful reverie by the gentle swaying of our noble chariots, we gaze enraptured at the panoramic splendor of America.Exaggeration? Ah no, my friends. I cannot believe that so heady a delight as we have enjoyed for lo these many years could simply be the result of economic necessity. Surely the Almighty has penetrated the hearts of railroad executives, and through them his divine purpose moves: that we homeless vagabonds are permitted to advance that spirit of adventure for which our mothers bore us and which is so firmly rooted in the very heart of our great Republic. Indeed, I affirm without fear of contradiction the belief that God, Motherhood, The Founding Fathers and the Railroad are committed to permitting the hobo his humble existence.I hasten to add, however, that all is not rosy and bright with our Brotherhood of the Road. On every hand villains and assassins assault our way of life, indeed our very persons. High-binders and cut purses sap our meager resources as the necessities of life (wine, a humble crust and a quiet corner in which to enjoy well-earned repose) continue to soar in price. Organized authority (which any sensible person must assume was constituted for our protection) now falls upon us cloaked in the foul disguise of "custodians of law". Where, I ask, will it end'? Will we, in the final extremity, be forced to abandon our historic mission of bringing the divine law of "Freedom in Mobility" to the benighted heathen cringing meekly in factory and barnyard? Will we (oh dire presentiment!) be driven to join them in that abomination against our class and kind- WORK? No, I Say, a thousand times NO! Take heart, noble companions! Share with me a sacrament of our sacred beverage, shoulder your bindles and once more plunge into the fray, secure in the knowledge that we carry with us the future of the Republic, indeed the hopes and dreams of all mankind. Let us sing.(Speech to be delivered at the 1976 bicentennial Hobo Convention in Britt,Iowa, where I intend to be elected King. Campaign staff positions are now being filled and all donations are gratefully accepted and can be forwarded to Philo Records. They are, of course, tax deductible.)

2008-09-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Well it's been a while. The tribute show for dad last night went well. It was a Small but intimate crowd that was primed and ready. I emceed the show and after coming to an understanding with the audience as to my singing ability sang a song or two. I sang " Daddy What's A Train" with Gigi Love who was nice enough to come up from her home in Durango for the show.......she was kind enough to play in the key of "off " because that's the key I sing in.

We all sat in assorted kitchen chairs that gently arced across the stage with dad's stage set up in the middle. It felt both comforting and familiar to sit in dad's chair, surrounded by friends and swap songs and stories with everyone. I opened with a couple of stories and a poem I wrote for dad Anke Summerhill, followed with "Star Light on the Rails" it was beautiful. Mike Iverson sang "Johny Thurmond", Doug Wintch sang " Queen of the Rails" , Kate MacLeod sang " The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia" and Kyle @ Weston Wulle closed the first set with " All Used Up " The second set was more of the same and we closed with Dad's Hymn song. It's hard to say how things went from the stage but judging by the laughter, appropriate somber silence and applause, folks enjoyed the show. I know I did.

After the show and the everyone had fled to the comfort of their homes the auditorium was empty and quiet. I sat on the edge of the stage and soaked it all in. I was filled with an ease and peacefulness and left thinking, what's next?

2008-08-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Some folks have asked about directions to the cemetery where dad is buried so I am posting a link to directions from downtown Nevada City. There are two cemeteries on red dog, Forest View is on the Left or North side of Red Dog. Dad is in the back North East corner towards a blue house that boarders the cemetery.

On to other news. some of the folks here in SLC are planning a tribute concert for Saturday Sept. 27, at the Fine Arts Theatre on the University of Utah campus. Maybe I'll see some of you there.

Ken Sanders and I are still working on republishing dad's old song book. The only thing holding up the project is myself. I can't seem to make my self sit down and write the new forward and pick out some photos to add to the song book. Mostly because I have been spending my spare time learning to play and sing. I know it sounds odd that up until now I haven't played or sang much. I know dad always wanted to see and hear me on stage but it was something I just couldn't make myself do. When I was much younger I never saw the logic in learning something that was one of the things that kept dad and I so far apart ( kids logic) and as I grew older I thought " how can I possibly measure up". But now that I have dad's old Guild I think with it comes a certain obligation. So I must play. Ben Pearl myself and Mark Ross are going to do tribute set at Winterfolk in Portland this winter. Sisters of The Road, Portland and Winterfolk was the road trip dad and I looked forward to most every year. I think 04 was the last time we made it, might have been 05, either way it's been far to long.
It will be nice to see our old friends again. I hope the show doesn't turn out to be a poor mans Gallagher show and I throw up on the first row.

2008-07-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, It's been a long time.
I had a thought, I've had a song rumbling around in my head for the last few weeks and instead of polishing it off myself I thought I would post a verse or two along with the chorus and and let folks contribute their own lyric to the pot and see what we come up with. So here we go.

Untitled

His Life was boom his life was bust.
His life was filled with wanderlust.
He tramped the world with a broken heart.
But now old friend it's time we part.

Chorus
There's a light on at the top of the stairs.
Rest your head weary hobo and linger no more.
The angles of the jungle will sing your sweet refrain
and we'll miss you like the dry earth misses the rain.

Please feel free to add whatever you wish. If you are more comfortable sending some thing by e-mail I will post it for you.

Duncan

2008-07-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

Poetry and music collide in the hands of Kell Robertson.

There is an idea of the Southwest that lives in the collective mind. It is embodied through stoic figures that represent unsympathetic landscapes where little is spoken. Poet and songwriter Kell Robertson was drawn to the Southwest by idealized images of the black-and-white films of his youth. His poems—published in more than 13 books—speak like the ghosts of another time.

Don’t call Kell Robertson a beatnik, just call him a writer.

In his poem “The Old Man Goes Home,” Robertson writes, “All I can see is what we’ve lost.”

It is this sense of longing for his childhood home in Elk City, Kan., that informs the memory of his friend Utah Phillips. Phillips was an enigmatic singer-songwriter, poet and labor organizer cast from Woody Guthrie’s America. Phillips, who died earlier this year, harbored no avarice, no reason to be something he wasn’t. It is an attribute that endeared him to other artists such as Tom Waits and Ani DiFranco, who would eventually cut two records with Phillips, one of which, Fellow Workers, earned a Grammy nomination.

Robertson headlines a celebratory event in memory of Phillips and his friendship. It is a fitting tribute filled with poetry, music and memories.

SFR: How did you first come to poetry?
KR: Probably with Percy Bysshe Shelley. My mother was an avid reader. By the time I went to school—at around the age of 8—I had read Shakespeare. I was lucky. She had the works of Shakespeare and the complete works of Zane Grey, so I had that influence.

That’s quite a reach from Shakespeare to Zane Grey.
Well, yeah…sorta…kinda, maybe, in a way. I went into the military and I got out of it because I hated it; I hated war. I hated the whole thing, so I grabbed my guitar and headed to Mexico and hung out here for a while and eventually hitchhiked across America. Writing became such a natural thing to me. I’ve read all the poets. I know all the stuff. I’ve read all the critics and all the academic jerks.

You’ve been called a beat poet. What do you think about that classification?
Well, you know, it’s very funny. On one of my books Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote a blurb, ‘Kell is one fine cowboy poet.’ I’ve been called a beat poet, a

KELL ROBERTSON WITH JOE WEST, KENDALL MCCOOK, MITCH RAYES, RICHARD MALCOLM, GEORGIE ANGEL AND PATRICK HOULIHAN

7 pm
Monday, July 14
$5

Santa Fe Brewing Company
35 Fire Place 424-9637

New Mexico poet…good God they’ve called me everything. I’m a guy who writes. Sure, I knew some of those people. Lawrence is a good friend. I was not a friend of Kerouac. I was in a skid row bar called the Mars Hotel on Third Street in San Francisco and Kerouac was in there. I went in and sat down. I recognized him and said, ‘Hey man, you’re Jack Kerouac.’ He said, ‘Just shut up and I’ll buy you a beer. Don’t say a goddamn word about it.’ So I didn’t. We just got drunk and that was it.

How did you meet Utah Phillips?
I met Utah in San Francisco years ago with Rosalie Sorrels, his singing partner at the time. He’s a reformed alcoholic, and I’m a perpetual drunk. The two of us walked around each other over the years. He would run into me and say, ‘Hey Kell, you still drinking?’

Utah never diverted from who he was…
No, he was a Wobbly all the way. He clung to those old ideas and I agree with him. He told stories better than anyone I’ve ever seen. He would talk about the old days with the Wobblies, the labor unions, traveling on box cars, about living as a hobo, fighting the cops. It was a time and a place that really happened. He could get really into what he did, which was talking about working people and being poor in America. He was the genuine thing.

You’ve lived in a lot places. Have those regions influenced your writing?
I grew up with poor people. I have an eighth-grade education, that’s it. The rest of it I got on my own, self-taught all the way. I love this country. I’m in the Southwest because I like the people and I love Mexican music. My mother took me to see Hank Williams [Sr.] in Shreveport, La. He dropped the microphone; he was drunk and he just blew everybody away. I looked at him and said, ‘I want to do that.’ And then I heard Dylan Thomas read and I said, ‘I want to do that.’

You think that kind of experience can still be had with young people, with poetry?
I don’t know; I worry about it. I don’t know if it’s possible at all. There’s about a million slam poets and poetry drill teams…I’m not sure if that does it any good. I think it’s something that you have to uncover on your own.

William Faulkner once said about his work, ‘I’m just a farmer who likes to tell stories.’ I’ve read some of your poems and I’m curious if you think people tend to over-think or overanalyze them.
Those stories in the songs and the poems are personal. I did most of those things or at least I knew people who did. Of course, in the back of your head, if you have a sense of language and understand rhetoric, line, meter and all that crap…the poem or the song just comes to you.

July 4, in Nevada City

2008-07-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

I drove from my home in Salt Lake to spend a long relaxing weekend with Joanna, Morrigan and my new adopted home, Nevada City Ca. Normally I drive I80 only because it is faster than US 50. But when I gassed up in Wendover I could not resit the urge to head down 90 to Ely Nevada turn right and drive out US 50. I spent the night in Ely at the Nevada Hotel, thirty five bucks for a room, give me a break what a great deal. I left late Thursday night so when I rolled into Ely at almost midnight a beer some blackjack and a good nights sleep hit the spot. If you have never driven highway 50 put it on your things to do list. It is billed as the loneliest road in America and indeed it is, I passed only a smattering of cars and trucks along the way and because of the lack of traffic the road itself is in great shape and perfect for cruising. I was in a bit of a hurry so I didn't make the usual stop in Eureka for lunch and a visit to the Opera house, maybe next time. I did stop a Shoe Tree. For those of you not familiar with shoe tree it is a huge tree of the North side of the road adorned with shoes hanging form every branch. The story of I heard ( from dad ) was that a young couple ran away to elope and threw their shoes in the tree for good luck. Anybody that knows dad knows t was a much longer story but you get the idea. If any body out there has a different tale please do post it. Highway 50 seems longer than 80 but actually it's only adds 60 miles to the trip which equates to about two hours drive time because the winding nature of the road and the amazing vistas and views along the way.
I got to Nevada City later than normal but in tome to enjoy a tasty bar- b-que chicken dinner With Joanna, my little sister Morrigan, Molly Fisk and Kuddie. We sat around the patio table munched on chicken and of course corn on the cob, after all it was the 4Th, caught up on things and enjoyed the smoke free night. Smoke free nights have become rare in the summer nights of California.
It sure was nice to be back in town with family and friends. Later in the evening we took the shuttle to the fair ground for the fire works show. After the drive it was a long day but one I would have gladly walked to California for.

The next day Ben Pearl and his girl friend Mia drove up from Davis for a visit, Ben sang Sweet Briar at Dad's funeral and has become a good friend since our first meeting in Portland several years back when we were up there for Winterfolk.

The day was topped off with dinner Jordan's house. Joanna and I dined with his wife Susan, daughter Emma and son James and of course Jordan. After a magnificent pasta dinner we sat on the front porch sipped Port and smoked cigars under a faint sliver of moon. It was my first encounter with that end of a cigar but it truly was a special occasion and a fitting tribute.
The night ended and morning came far to quickly. before I knew it I was once again on the road headed for home. The few short days felt like a month and were just what I needed to recharge my batteries.
More later
Duncan

2008-07-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

I'm headed to Nevada City for the weekend and hang out with Joanna and Morrigan. I don't like the idea of shelling out two days pay for the gas but it shore will be nice to them. I will post from the little green house over the weekend. There is a lot of stuff in the works and plenty to catch up on. Mark and Jenny sent some nice pictures from the Rose Tattoo Rendezvous last month that I will pass along.
Duncan

2008-06-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hello

2008-06-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

Over the last several months when folks were putting together benefit shows dad would call in at some point during the show. So when I had to chance to fill in for dad last week and call in for a show Mick Lane was producing.....I'm not sure what the appropriate phrase is but I was looking forward to calling and talking to the crowd. Alas it didn't work out, there were some technical glitches that made a phone call impossible. So I am posting what I had intended to say. I know it's not the same and a day late but what the hell.

Hello.....I know you all were expecting to hear from Phillips Number one but you'll have to settle for Phillips Number two {cheap attempt at comedy}.

Like a master potter Utah's words and deeds were the potters wheel and over time he gently molded pieces of wet clay into a community a community that he knew in the end would not forget and you haven't....thank you.

Dad had had a line when he opened his shows. He would sit in his chair, lift his favorite Fedora from his head and place it on the back of the chair in a notch he carved for just such a thing, slap his hands on his knees and say "I come to in troubled times".
well I do indeed come to you in troubled times. George bush is still in the white house, were enduring a war with no end and on May 23, we lost one of our great elders. I say we because it was not just a loss for my self and my family but a loss for everyone around the world as well as a loss for the people that did not yet know of Utah or his great works.

Some deaths carry with more significance, they hang heavier in our hearts and linger far longer. Utah's death is one of those.

His heart may have worn out but it never failed him and it will forever beat in the homeless and the poor, it will beat in his fellow workers and the working class, it will beat in those who strive to defeat social injustice and his will forever beat in each and every one of us.

In every well planed civil disobedience there are people waiting in the wings to replace the people on the front lines that are taken away.

It will take more than any one person to replace Utah, it will take all of us.

So I say we take this night to mourn, memorialize and celebrate and when the morning comes we go out into the world and push our selves beyond what is normal.

Thank you and goodnight

One more thougth

2008-06-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

After reading the post from Joanie it reminded me of being on the road with dad and walking the lobby before his shows. Dad always, I mean always walked the lobby before shows, mostly to meet and talk but also to size up the crowd and see if the show he had prepared was the right fit. When ever he saw young folks in the crowd he would nudge my elbow and say " those are Ani's people" he was so proud of their friendship. So whenever I am fortunate enough to meet warm and soulfull people like Joanie and her friend Jewls it reminds me of how many hearts and minds he touched and it reminds me of that rye smile and look of gratitude he got whenever Ani's people graced the audience.
Thanks

From A friend and fellow Anarchist

2008-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

For Utah

We talk of him now
in the past tense
the is of a moment ago
has become was
the physical
now is spirit
it is time
the great distiller
reducing and refining
the stuff of lives
into essence
so
into the ether he goes
leaving the now
for the long road
of memory

2008-06-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Yesterday JB Freeman and his lovely wife Juanita came to SLC for a visit. After lounging around the yard we trekked downtown for dinner at Lambs Grill on 2nd and Main in downtown Salt Lake. Whenever dad came to town we shared at least one meal at Lambs, usually the meal of choice was Lamb Chops and water with no ice accompanied by a side salad with lemon. In true fashion JB & Juanita held to tradition. As for me I find it hard to eat anything that I can pet so I ordered dads runner up, Cesar Salad with blackened chicken.

After dinner we walked over to Library Square for the Ani Defranco show. Karla at Fleming's was kind enough to arrange tickets for us. It was the perfect diversion.
The city library has a very nice Amphitheatre for concerts. Made up entirely of grass
that gently slopes towards the stage with the Wasatch Mountains as aback drop. The night was slightly over cast and warm with a gentle breeze, a perfect Solstice night.
The show started a little late because Ani's tour bus had some tire issues in Telluride that set them back a few hours, I don't think they got into town until 4:00 p.m. Her crew did an amazing job getting things set up in such a short period of time.

There is something about out of door shows that perplexes me. I think some folks come to socializes while others come to hear the artist. when you have such power full poets and song writers of social conscience as Martyn and Ani something gets lost in the sea of people chatting to their neighbors. I don't get it. Other than that the show was just what one would expect of two such word smiths, both power full and timely.

We had a chance to chat with Ani for a few minutes after the show. She is so kind and thoughtful. Because of the tire trouble in Telluride the whole tour was sliding further behind schedule. but she still took the time to visit with us. She stood there with her beautiful daughter Petah in her arms obviously tired and a little weary and one of the firs things she said was "hows Joanna". Now there were any number of things she could have said in such a situation but it was obvious that she knew what Joanna is going through. What else would you expect from the woman dad often referred to as "The woman with the most powerful intellect he ever knew"
She is amazing.

Until next time
Duncan

2008-06-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hi Keith,
Well it's been four weeks. To be truth full I don't think I have started the full on mourning process. I am, sad... very sad at times and melancholy but I was always used to going long stretches with out seeing or talking with dad. But as the days and weeks go by I'm starting to get that heavy feeling that no, he's not just on another road trip and will be back at home soon but he is in fact gone.

JB Freeman and his lovely wife Juanita, two of dad's old friend from the Rose Tattoo are arriving in town today for a short visit. Coincidentally Ani is playing a gig in town so were going to catch the show. The great singer song writer Martyn Joseph is opening up for her. We first saw Martyn at the Vancouver festival in 04. He is amazing, him being from Wales I used to refer to him as the Welsh Bruce Springsteen but some how that seems a serious injustice to Martyn and how phenomenal he rally is. If you get a chance to see him perform, do yourself a favor and check him out.

Other news.
We are still working out putting a bench at the cemetery. We are trying to put our own bench at the grave site and not have to but one from the mortuary. It will be far more inexpensive and much more sentimental. If it works out I will build a simple wooden bench to go under the Black Oak dad is buried under.
I am also still working with Ken Sanders on republishing "The Star Light on the Rails" book of songs from the early seventies. For the most part it will be the same book with a couple of added songs and maybe some photos of dad over the years.

Caffe Lena is also working on a tribute show down the road. I am hoping to be able to travel to Saratoga for the show. The last trip I took with dad was to New York. He did a show at Lena's and a couple of days later we drove to Homer were he did a show at an old church that had been converted into a community center.

That's all for now.
Duncan

Kate wolf Festival

2008-06-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

We dedicate this year's festival to
Our Dear Friend, Bruce Utah Phillips, who passed on at home in his sleep Friday night (May 23rd).
We hope you will join us in sending loving thoughts and energy to his wife Joanna and the rest of the family.

And to Utah, may your journey on the rails take you everywhere you want to go,
with the fresh air blowing peacefully across your soul.

We'll miss ya bro'...you were a one-of-a-kind, a real special one-of-a-kind.

We will name the Revival Tent in honor of Utah's memory and call it "Utahpia"
Safe Journey...and in the words of Wavy Gravy, "Good Grief"

2008-06-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 28, at 5:30pm there will be a one hour sing "Remembering Utah Phillips" at the Old Songs Festival in Altamont, NY. Several singers will lead his songs in between some of Utah's own printed words and his life story. When he came to Saratoga, NY in the 1970's we were also there at the Caffe Lena leading a folk community sing called the Pick'n and Sing'n Gather'n. In an interview by J. Arem on Aug. 9, 2005 he remembers his first encounter with organized folk music.

Chicago Benefit

2008-06-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

We are in the homestretch.
It is tomorrow at 9 pm at the Heartland 7000 N. Glenwood, Chicago,IL with Larry Penn, Otis Gibbs, Kathy Greenholdt,Larry O.
Dean,Paul Caporino,
Mike Felten,Joseph Bella, Scott Dekatch, Corky Siegel and Jim Tullio. Silent Auction items from John Prine, Wilco, Myke Adams.

Proceeds to benefit the Phillips family and the Hospitality House shelter in Nevada City, CA
Be There.

2008-06-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

2008-06-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

2008-06-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Memorial Service Last Sunday

2008-06-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

The memorial service for dad was held at the little league baseball field in Nevada City Ca. Dad had a great love for little league baseball, he admired the pure and simple way kids played ball. He attended most every game and even traveled a couple of times with the team to away games, I can only imagine the conversation on the road with the kids. Dad's favorite team growing up was the Cleveland Indians. the Indians is also the name of the little league team in Nevada City.

It was a perfect day for a memorial, bright blue sky, mid seventies and almost no wind.
The ball field in rimed by towering pines with a dirt infield and the typical signs adorn the out filed fence. The memorial had a very distinct baseball flavor. The base lines were freshly chalked the home team Indians dressed in uniform passed out the programs for the memorial and latter when it got warm they passed out water to the crowd that numbered 800 0r more that filled the out filed and bleachers of the ball park, the concession stand was open and the most popular item was the" Utah Special", a chili dog and a warm bottle of water a close second was the Hobo Special, a bowl of chili and a warm bottle of water, dad preferred his beverages warm.

There was a small eight foot riser just behind home plate for the speakers. It was nicely decorated by Amigo Bob with pine tree branches
I had the honor to MC the event which began with the singing of the peoples national anthem. For those who don't know the peoples national anthem is.... everyone sings his or her favorite song at the same time. Then the Indians hurler Zach White threw out the first pitch to his trusted catcher Michael Skerak. It was a perfect pitch, high and tight in the strike zone. Then the announcement was made....play ball!

My little brother Brendan spoke to dads love of base ball. My little sister Morrigan spoke and read a lovely Wendel Beery poem. John Mccutcheon delivered a eloquent tribute and sang so Long It's Been good to know Ya. Some of the other speakers were John cloud, John spoke about dads vast knowledge. Tony Rohrieg from the Salt Lake branch of the I.W.W. and Mark Ross talked about dads union involvement. Dads Dr. Doctor Lang and cardiac Robin wright talked about dads heart condition. Poet molly Fisk read a poem and spoke of dads love of poetry. Joanna's son Ian Durfee read a beautiful passage and talked about Bruce the adventurer. Librarian Mary Ann Trigg spoke about dads love of books and how he used to hide his library card at the library in a book he knew know one would ever check out. Dad's booking agent and long time friend Jim Fleming spoke about Utah the performer and Steve baker and Mikhail Graham spoke about dads involvement in community radio and his radio show , Loafers Glory the Hobo Jungle of the Mind. Dear friends Brack, Bob, and Kuddie from the Rose Tattoo reflected on riding the rails and dads tramping days. Dads sister Deborah Cohen Lead the seventh inning Kvetch, we played take me out to the ball game and launched a model rocket into the summer sky. Actually the first attempt at launching the rocket was not so smooth in fact in didn't launch at all. I think it was one of the little leaguers, with a little prodding from his friends that fixed the problem. The second attempt was a success and the rocket soared into the air and believe int or not when the chute deployed the rocket dropped to the infield next to home plate. After the seventh inning Kvetch Joanna's other son Nicholas Tomb touched on dad's impeccable style. Nory Fussell talked about the towns peace center and dad's hand in it's beginning and sang a song. Janice O'Brien spoke about Hospitality House Shelter . The shelter dad and Joanna along with the help and support from many, many wonderful people in Nevada City and Grass Valley shelters about forty people a night. Dad's dear wife Joanna Robinson reflected on their life together and Brendan closed the show with dad's Hymn song.

I know I am missing some details but the whole thing was and still is kind of a blur. It was sad, touching, funny and beautiful. It was a fitting memorial to a truly remarkable man, a man that I am honored to say was my father.
If some of you read this and have more to contribute about the tribute please do post it or send me an e-mail and I will post if for you.
A pot luck at the Foundry followed the memorial maybe one of you can touch on pot luck. The whole day was overwhelming to say the least. I am still trying to process the whole thing.
Thank you, everyone , for the help and support it was an amazing event that could not have happened with out you, it was a real community effort and dad would have been proud of his home town Nevada City.

Duncan

2008-06-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

I first saw Utah with Rosalie Sorels at the Cherry Tree Music Coop
in Philadelphia. Second date with my singin' partner of 35 years in 1973.
We looked forward to all the times we saw him again.

The first time we spoke together was between two terrific sets at the Old Towne Crier
in Beekman, NY. (I think it was in 1981.) Utah was trying to interest the little ones in the crowd about the yo-yo he had carved. They weren't interested, but I was.

When he went out to take the night air on the front porch, I started up a conversation, which eventually centered on exactly why writing is so hard. It's the beginning, he said. It's always been that way. I felt the same, that after the train started leaving the station, chugging faster and faster, the words came out of the pen so much easier.

Why was it so hard to begin? Was it the teachers who put all those red marks on the page to "correct" us? Was it fear that it wouldn't be so good? Were we just plumb lazy? We concluded nothing, but it was a fruitful thing for me -- I wrote songs more consistently after that discussion than I had before.

When I met him again at the Bear Mt. Festival in 1982, he looked like a tanned slimmed-down version of himself. I hoped he remembered me, and he did. He looked at me and my 2-year old daughter riding in a backpack, and said, "Hi, good to see you. But what's that horrible growth on your back?" Talked about how he was trying to eat right and get healthy. He sure did look like he was trying really hard!

My daughter Sara (soon to be 28) barely remembers the night she inadvertently got him back for the gibe at her. We took her to the Towne Crier to see Utah. She was dancing in the center aisle with her arms raised, interacting with the grownups; we were trying to get her to sit down. Utah was tuned, seated on the stage and ready to begin, and the li'l upstart was stealing his thunder. I could see steam coming from his ears like a freight train engine's stack as it roars into the station. He leaned forward in his seat with an imperious look on his face, and addressed the little squirt: "Hey! ... Are you a kid, or are you standin' in a hole?"
Sara didn't understand him, so she turned around towards the crowd, cocked her head, and drew a gale of laughter, which stole even more thunder! He laughed, waited for us to grab her, and gave all he could give to the crowd. Great show.

This Friday night, we'll sing a passel of Utah's tunes, and we'll continue to all our lives. He's touched us in ways no other person ever did. I'm gonna sing "Daddy, What's a Train." It's Utah's song, so by way of introduction,
I'll start with these lines:

"He sat down on a stool, a guitar in his land
He told us of the characters he's met throughout this land,
He sang a song he'd written a dozen years before,
About the trains he knew so well that rode the tracks no more.

Spoken: Y’see he used to ride the rails ...in the windy rain and hail

A drifter spinnin’ tales along his way.

His son is now all grown, has a family of his own,

But when he was small, old Utah heard him say.

"Daddy what's a train?....."

Fair Winds,
Steve Kaplan

2008-06-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Thank you all for the letters and phone calls. I have just returned to our home in Salt Lake. I will update the blog over the next few days. Dad would want me to describe the service and memorial for his many friends that could not attend, it was beautiful.
Duncan

A working class farewell for working class royalty

2008-05-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

At 11 p.m. Thursday May 29, we returned my father Bruce "Utah" Phillips to the earth.
I truly wish each and every one of you could have been there. It was the most beautiful and yet endlessly sad event that I ever have seen.

Our family gathered at Pioneer Park in Nevada City were a team of strong, Chestnut hued white footed Pusher horses hitched to a simple black Cassion wagon patiently waited for the arrival of it's cargo.

Dad's wish was to be buried in a simple hand made pine box and thanks to master craftsman Stephen Goodfield he was. The coffin was perfect, unfinished, slightly tapered, six rope handles and sealed by 42 square head nails.

The team of horses flanked by the pallbearers exited the park and paced themselves up the hill for the twenty minute walk to Pine View cemetery . We laid dad to rest in the far North, East corner of the cemetery under a native Black Oak.

The service was short and beautiful. Meghan Cefalu, The minister from dads church the Unitarian Universalist Community Of The Mountains Blessed the site and I followed with this prose from Wendel Berry's Jayber Crow.

Back there at the beginning, as I see now, my life was all time and almost no memory. Tough I knew early on of death, it seems to be something that happened only to other people, and I stood in an unending river of time that would go on making the same changes and the same returns forever.
and now, nearing the end, I see that my life is almost entirely memory and very little time.... I began to understand that whenever death happened it to me. That is knowledge that takes a long time to wear in. Finally it wears in. Finally I realized and fully accepted that one day I would belong entirely to memory, and it would then not be my memory that I belonged to, and I went.

Our good friend, Ben Pearl then followed with an amazing rendition of Sweet Briar.

Sweet Briar

The sweet briar and the aurum brush
With blossoms purple gold and red
Are flames that bloom within the bush
And sacred seems the ground I tread.
The golden bees, the golden bees
Mock Memnon's sweetest melodies,
The golden bees, the golden bees
Mock Memnon's sweetest melodies.

In shadow of the wood I lie
Un-waked by dreams of noisy mart,
Where dust and soot soil not the sky
Nor hammers beat on human heart,
Nor shuttles fleet, not shuttles fleet
Weave life into a winding sheet,
Nor shuttles fleet, nor shuttles fleet
Weave life into a winding sheet.

When the pale axman strikes his stroke
And takes the warm life from my breast,
Plant by my grave a sapling oak
And violets of azure crest.
The oaken staff, the oaken staff
My shaft, the flowers my epitaph,
The oaken staff, the oaken staff
My shaft, the flowers my epitaph.

Utah was then lowered into the earth by the cemetery workers, (I only mention this part because one of the fellow workers was aptly named Harpo), and then we took turns casting hand fulls of dirt into dads grave and saying goodbye each in our own way.

Thank you again for all of the love and well wishes, they are deeply appreciated.

I will post something about the rest of the events tomorrow.
Thanks
Duncan

Memorial Service

2008-05-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hello,

First, thank you. Each and every e-mail, phone call and letter carries with it the same weight and heart felt significance. We do read and forward on each and every communication.

We will have the funeral service on Thursday May 29, The service will be a small private farewell (family only) followed by a very unprivate memorial on Sunday June 1st. at Pioneer Park in Nevada City Ca. The memorial will begin at 10 a.m and last a couple of hours. Because of my dads love of little league baseball the memorial will be held on home plate at the little league field in Pioneer Park and have a very distinct baseball flavor.

I know that I should write more but .... I can't , I just can't. I hope you understand.
Thank You
Duncan

2008-05-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

My heart goes out to you and your family.

My connection to Utah is through my good old buddy, the late Fred Holstein. I was blessed to play bass with Fred for several years. During that time, I got to meet many writers, performers, actors, singers, etc, among them. Bruce Phillips. It was always a pleasure to see him, especially since he remembered me by name. Months could go by without seeing each other, but when he was in town, he always recognized me by name.

One Saturday afternoon, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, I asked Utah: "What is it about Fred that makes him so dear a friend to you? He doesn't create his own songs but presents the work of others." Bruce replied: "Norm, there are a lot of songwriters out there who, due to some circumstances, never get heard. People like Fred almost always find these people. They may never write but one song that reaches a certain point in people's consciousness that connects. As a writer myself, I believe that for every songwriter out there, there should be at least 100 interpreters."

These words have inspired me through almost 40 years to soldier on and find those songs that reach me and try and share them with others. It is amazing how many writers there are that are never heard but for the serendipitous efforts of interpreters like Fred Holstein, and hopefully, me as well.

The world is, again, an emptier place with the passing of Bruce Phillips, who joins the likes of Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Huddie Ledbetter and Chicago locals Win Stracke, Steve Goodman, Bob Gibson, Fred Holstein, WFMT's Midnight Special host, Ray Nordstrand, one of Utah's big fans, and Tom Dundee, to mention a few. Thanks to recordings and those of us who know the work of these people, their memories will live on for a long time to come.

God bless Bruce "Utah" Phillips.

Peace

Norm Siegel

"Those that were seen dancing were thought
to be insane by those who could not hear the music."

Friedrich Nietzsche

2008-05-26T17:29:00.001-07:00

2008-05-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Good morning from Nevada City.
Thank you everyone for your heartfelt , kind words of support and love

The house is filled with family and friends, the deep sense of family and community washes over like a varnish forever binding us together. We spent the day telling stories weeping, telling more stories and weep again.

Dad remains in his bed in a state of rest so family and friends have the opportunity to say goodbye. Myself, I choose not to view him in such a state. The last time I saw and spoke with him in his home before I left to go back to Salt Lake was perfect.

Utah's wish was to not be embalmed and laid to rest in a plain, hand made wooden coffin to expedite his return to the earth, which we will honor. He will be laid to rest in the cemetery down the road from his home in Nevada City .

The tentative date for the funeral is Thursday May 29 with a memorial service on the following Sunday . I will keep you posted when the arrangements are finalized.
Thanks
Duncan

2008-05-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

A rumination on the passing of U. Utah Phillips, anarchist, wobbly,
hobo, railroader, folksinger, activist, great iconoclast, husband,
father and and all around amazing human being.
>
> By Ken Sanders, a friend.
> The golden voice of the great southwest, U. Utah Phillips, will sing
and story tell no more. Bruce Phillips passed away at his Nevada City,
California home, last evening, May 23rd, 2008 from heart failure, at
age 73. After a lifetime spent on the road and speaking and singing out
against injustice wherever he found it, one of America's great
iconoclasts is dead. After a lifetime spent helping others, Utah
Phillips had little of wordly goods left over for himself. Eschewing
monetary wealth his entire life, he made a conscious choice not to seek
out a heart transplant that might have prolonged his life; not simply
because he couldn't afford it and had no health insurance, but in part
because of quality of life issues.
>
> U. Utah Phillips was born in Cleveland, Ohio, May 15th, 1935 during
the great depression and later served his country during the Korean War
in the 1950s, where his political views and anti-establishment stance
were formed. Musically influenced by Woody Guthrie and the emerging
folk protest movements of the 1930s & 40s, he styled his moniker, U.
Utah Phillips, after his musical hero, T. Texas Tyler. He grew up in
Salt Lake City, Utah, and spent many years of his life here and always
had a love/hate affair with his adopted state. It was in Salt Lake
that he met Ammon Hennacy, a Catholic anarchist and fellow wobbly, who
founded the Joe Hill House, which Phillips and Hennacy ran for many
years. A card carrying member of the IWW for most of his life, Utah
Phillips spent his life defending the rights of the working man, the
homeless and the indigent and also had a lifelong passion for trains
and hobos.
>
> Around this time he first met fellow singer songwriter folksinger
Rosalie Sorrels, who was the first to popularize and record songs by
Phillips. Sorrels and Phillips became lifelong friends and performed
dozens of concerts together over the decades. He ran for the U.S.
Senate from Utah in 1968 on the Peace and Freedom Ticket, garnering
over 2,000 votes in a defeat to long term U.S. Senator, Wallace F.
Bennett. father of current long term Utah Republican senator, Robert F.
Bennett. His first recorded album was Good Though, followed by We Have
Fed You For a Thousand Years, and he gained a whole new audience
through his joint album with Ani DiFranco, Fellow Workers. Many other
musicians (Tom Waits, Emmylou Harris, Ian Tyson, Rosalie Sorrels, Ani
DiFranco & many others) have recorded Utah Phillips songs over the
years, including such classics as "Moose Turd Pie," "Rock Salt & Nails,"
"Green Rolling Hills," " Daddy, What's A Train," and "Goodnight-Loving
Train."
>
> For many years Utah Phillips hosted his own radio show in Nevada
City called "Loafer's Glory: The Hobo Jungle of the Mind" and was a
well known community activist there. His story telling abilities were
legendary and any Utah Phillips performance was likely at least three
quarters stories with a few tunes thrown in. He was an ardent student
of history and had a lifelong passion for trains and hoboes His
passing has rent a huge whole in the fabric of the universe which can't
be mended. He will be missed. Rave On Utah Phillips! RAVE ON!
>
>
> POSTSCRIPT
> I first became aware of Utah Phillips as a youth in the 60s in Salt
Lake through the old Cosmic Aeroplane, back when he was running for the
U. S. Senate. I believe Bruce was also involved in the then campaign to
get the national anthem changed to Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your
Land." Through the Cosmic Aeroplane in the 1970s , I had the honor and
privilege of getting to know Bruce as a friend and was involved in
several concerts back in that day, including an environmental fundraiser
concert with Phillips and the late Edward Abbey, who although they had
never previously met, became friendly after that concert. Abbey tried to
track Utah down the next day to get Bruce to show Ed the exact spot in
the old prison grounds where they shot Joe Hill. Later we sponsored a
concert with Phillips and Rosalie Sorrels at East High through the
Cosmic Aeroplane. Bruce hadn't been back to Utah in a few years, and
prior to the concert, the police dusted off an old outstanding warrant
for his arrest and threw him in jail. We had to bail him out of jail
in order for the concert to proceed that evening. Several years ago,
after losing track of him over the years, our paths crossed at the Gold
Rush Book Fair in Nevada City California where he was the guest of honor
and we renewed our decades old friendship. I last saw Bruce and his
wife Joanne exactly a year ago, at the same Gold Rush Book Fair, where
Utah regaled my daughter Melissa with stories throughout that evening.
Rock salt and nails, amigo, rock salt and nails.
--
Ken Sanders
Ken Sanders Rare Books, ABAA
268 South 200 East
Salt Lake City UT 84111
(801) 521-3819
Fax: (801) 521-2606
http://www.kensandersbooks.com
ken@dreamgarden.co

2008-05-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hello,
This may be late news for some but for rest i must tell you that shortly before midnight, in his sleep wife his loving wife Joanna by his side my father Bruce "Utah "Phillips passed away.

It should be of great comfort that dad was able to spend his last months at home with friends, family and a community that he deeply loved.

There have been no arrangements made as of yet and as i can I will keep you posted.

I feel a deep loss not just for myself and my family but for the global community as a whole.
Dad meant and represented something different to each of us.
Not much more I can say at this point.
Thank You All
Duncan

Saturday Benefit

2008-05-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

A Benefit for U. Utah Phillips "The Golden Voice of the Great Southwest"
Saturday May 24th, 4-7 PM at Paonia Town Park Stage

Sponsored by Starr's Guitars and Co-Sponsored by KVNF
FREE Live Music Featuring, Bill Powers and the Silvertone Devils, Russ Chapman, Hard Pressed and Bob and Diana Sukiel (members of The Rose Tattoo--which is the extended family of fellow friends and musicians associated with Utah)

Join us in Celebration of an American treasure-a true eclectic, archivist, historian, activist, musician, songwriter, philosopher, hobo, tramp, member of the IWW and just about everything in between.
Utah Phillips is struggling with health costs associated with his heart condition. All money raised will go to a fund set up to help with his medical expenses.

The music is Free! Donations are encouraged and greatly appreciated. Starr's Guitars has donated a guitar to be auctioned. The Guitar will travel with Larry and Gail Davidson to Nevada City to be signed by Utah and members of The Rose Tatoo at the big "Rendevous" there the following week. The guitar will then be returned to the highest bidder. There will be various other pieces of memorabilia and art to be auctioned as well as a bunch of Utah's CDs available for purchase.

Bring a picnic and enjoy some local roots based music in the shade of Paonia's
beautiful Town Park while you show your support for this Great American living legend. Paonia is on Colorado's western slope--and hour or so from Grand Junction

Also, on Tuesday May 20^th, The "Just Us Folks" show on KVNF will feature all things Utah Phillips. We will have a call in from Utah himself and possibly have some live music and interviews in the studio as well. Tune in with Gail from 9:30-12 noon Tuesday, April 20^th on KVNF or listen online at www.kvnf.org

For more info on Utah www.utahphillips.org

For more info on the benefit call 970-527-5112

Happy B-Day

2008-05-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

Today is the day, Dad's 73 rd birthday, what a journey.
I think dad's recent letter said everything that need be said for now. His birthday does remind me of our first few road trips together.

Five or so years ago we reunited after many , many years apart. I would sit in the audience or off the wings of the stage and watch dad's shows. He had the usual stories of Big Bill, Mother Jones, little brother Brendan and Morraigan but then he would say " I traveled here with my oldest son Duncan, he's 43 and lives in Salt Lake" I used to say " what , that's all I get?" But the reality was that although we are father and son at that point in our lives we really didn't know that much about each other. Obviously a lot of water has passed under the trestle. It truly has been an amazing journey and I wouldn't change a thing.
Happy Birthday dad.

A Note From Utah

2008-05-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Utah here, with a rambling missive pandect and organon regarding my current reality. At no time should you suspect me of complaining (kvetching); I am simply grepsing (Yiddish word for describing the condition of that reality).

First, medical: My heart, which is enlarged and very weak, can’t pump enough blood to keep my body plunging forward at its usual 100 percent. It allows me about 25 to 30 percent, which means I don’t get around very much or very easily anymore. I’m sustained (i.e., kept alive) by a medication called Milrinone, which is contained in a pump that I carry around with me in a shoulder bag. The pump, which runs 24 hours a day, moves the medication through a long tube running into an implanted Groshong catheter that in turn runs directly into my heart. I’ll be keeping this pump for the rest of my life. I also take an extraordinary number of oral medications, of which many are electrolytes.

My body is weak but my will is strong, and I keep my disposition as sunny and humorous as I’m able. It’s hard enough being disabled without being cranky as well. Though I’m eating well, my weight has gone from 175 to 155 pounds. I look like a geriatric Fred Astaire.

We manage to get out a good bit, visiting the Ananda (a local spiritual village and retreat center) flower garden up on the San Juan Ridge and occasionally going to lunch at various places around town. The bag is always with me. Believe me, none of this would be possible without my wife Joanna. She has the deepest, most loving and caring heart one could ever imagine. She’s taken charge of all my medications and makes sure that I’m well fed and don’t fall into the slovenly ways of a derelict. She also has enormous physical beauty—I have never seen a more beautiful woman in my life. She is endowed with intelligence, deep insight, compassion, and a capacity for love that passes all understanding.

Heart disease aside, I find that I have a hernia that needs to be repaired. Someday I suppose I’ll become like Ernie Bierwagen, the old man who owned the orchards outside town. He said to me once, “I know that God wants me to say something, because the only thing I have left that works is my mouth.” But for now, I’m enjoying my life and can think of no good reason not to. Joanna and I both know that the chemical regimen I’m on can’t go on indefinitely. We take things a day at a time, deriving joy and solace from a solid, loving relationship.

I want to share with you something about where we live. If you’re reading this on the Internet, I’ve sent Duncan some photos to show you what it looks like. Our house is on a country lane right off Red Dog Road, about a mile from downtown Nevada City. Nevada City is an old gold-mining town in the Sierra foothills with a population of about 2,800. The old buildings are all still here, including the National Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in the West that’s still doing business. The town is a quirky, mystical sort of place, populated by poets, writers, artists, misfits, and just regular folks. When you drive down Berggren Lane where we live, you come to a brown house with green trim, lap-strake siding, a steel roof, and a high green fence around the front. The steel roof is there because we live in an ancient oak and cedar grove, which includes in the front yard a couple of towering poplar trees. Sometimes the wind coming down from the high Sierra breaks off tree limbs, and if it weren’t for the steel roof, we could well be eating our salad by the roots.

When we first moved in here, the house was tiny. Using her remarkable ingenuity and the prodigious skills of our friend Steven Goodfield, a fine independent carpenter, Joanna has added a hallway and two rooms going up the hill, which gives us a bedroom and bathroom, and me a study. The French doors in our bedroom open out onto a dappled hillside with hawthorns, cedars, pines, wild cherries, and oaks. The lot itself is quite narrow, the result of a bad survey many years ago. The old part of the house was built in 1912. When we bought it, there was a greenhouse along the southern wall. It was rotting out, so we replaced it with a new, insulated and thermo paned greenhouse so that we could remove the interior wall and make it almost part of the living room. Our house is a beautiful, comfortable place to live, absolutely surrounded by greenery.

Looking out the greenhouse windows now, I can see the huge poplars in front, already in full leaf. The front yard is Joanna’s flower garden, a great splash of color amid the green. As I look over my shoulder out the greenhouse door, which is also the front door to the house, I can see the hawthorn trees covered with cascades of white blossoms, as though their limbs were burdened with new snow. There’s a brick patio just outside the greenhouse with a fireplace and a small pond crowned with a bronze frog who emits a stream of water into the pond, which, when the weather is warm, we can hear from the bedroom when we’re going to sleep.

Opposite the greenhouse is the kitchen, with a wonderful early 1930s gas range, one of those with a two-lid firebox on one end. Outside the kitchen window is a railed porch built by our friend Kuddie, which overlooks another flower garden and an old apple tree, still bearing, that was probably planted when the house was built. The lot itself, narrow though it is, goes up the hill quite a way, where it levels off through the cedars and ends at a large open space that was a vegetable garden when I was still able to do that sort of thing.

The cedars are gigantic and quite an anomaly, a patch of forest that was never logged, probably because of the bad survey. It simply got missed. Walking in it now is like walking in the quiet of a much larger forest.

Walking up the hill, you pass three small outbuildings. One, called Marmlebog Hall (Joanna’s children call her Marmle), is where Kuddie ordered and maintained the CDs I used to travel with. It also contains a small labor library. The second building is a small barn on uneven stilts because of the hill. It’s there for storage. Don’t ask me what all is in it, but I do know it would drive an archaeologist mad. Among other things, it houses about 15 collapsing cardboard boxes that contain what academics have characterized as my personal archives, but are in fact a jumble of papers and objects, the detritus of over half a century. The University of California at Davis once said they wanted to accession my archives. I said, okay, if you hire somebody to come and plough through those boxes, because I’m not going to. They never called back.

The third building up there is an old shed, tiny, drafty, but a place where I spent many happy hours making things when I wasn’t traveling: wooden swords, bird feeders, and such. For the past few years the workshop has been a henhouse with a chicken-wire enclosure. Nothing fancy: five hens and a large rooster named Ralph (Rooster-Dooster). Ralph enjoys the good life. You could poke three holes in Ralph and go bowling with him. The hens all have names, but I forget what they are. They give us eggs, which I think was the idea to begin with.

Last winter a bear broke into the chicken yard and tore the door off the henhouse. The hens and Ralph managed to escape by hiding behind an old chest of drawers. The first hen to reappear showed up in our dog Bo’s mouth; she was uninjured, but that condition would not have lasted much longer. The others came out of hiding one at a time. Before our friend Che Greenwood could come over to fix the door, we feared the bear would return, plus a great storm was kicking up. So we set up a round of chicken wire in the greenhouse, which, as I say, is part of the living room, and installed the chickens there. Eventually, the smell was overpowering. How can chickens live with themselves? It was Friday evening and I’d turned on my small portable radio, as at this time the power was out, to listen to a station in Sacramento that broadcasts opera from 8:00 p.m. till midnight. That Friday one of the opera excerpts featured was an aria from Puccini’s Tosca sung by Maria Callas. That’s when Ralph decided he liked opera. As she sang, he began to crow along, so I got Tosca as a duet between Callas and Ralph. That’s when I said, these chickens have got to go back up the hill. I mean, it was Puccini, for God’s sake.

So. That’s domestic life here at our place.

A few words about me and the trade before I wind this up. When I hit a blacklist in Utah in 1969, I realized I had to leave Utah if I was going to make a living at all. I didn’t know anything abut this enormous folk music family spread out all over North America. All I had was an old VW bus, my guitar, $75, and a head full of songs, old- and new-made. Fortunately, at the behest of my old friend Rosalie Sorrels, I landed at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, New York. That seemed to be ground zero for folk music at the time. Lena Spencer, as she did with so many, took me in and taught me the ropes. It took me a solid two years to realize I was no longer an unemployed organizer, but a traveling folk singer and storyteller—which, in Utah at the time, would probably have been regarded as a criminal activity.

I spent a long time finding my way—couches, floors, big towns, small towns, marginal pay (folk wages). But I found that people seemed to like what I was doing. The folk music family took me in, carried me along, and taught me the value of song far beyond making a living. It taught me that I don’t need wealth, I don’t need power, and I don’t need fame. What I need is friends, and that’s what I found—everywhere—and not just among those on the stage, but among those in front of the stage as well.

Now I can no longer travel and perform; overnight our income vanished. But all of those I had sung for, sung with, or boarded with, hearing about my condition, stepped in and rescued us. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be part of this great caring community that, for the most part, functions close to the ground at a sub-media level, a community that has always cared for its own. We will be forever grateful for your help during this hard time.

The future? I don’t know. But I have songs in a folder I’ve never paid attention to, and songs inside me waiting for me to bring them out. Through all of it, up and down, it’s the song. It’s always been the song.

Love and solidarity,

Utah

A note from Aurora Fox

2008-05-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone !
Thanks so much for helping to make this "healing blanket" for Utah Phillips!

I finished it last night and today we drove up to Nevada City (with
some friends) and gave the blanket toUtah. He was in good spirits,
talkative (as always) but seemed frail and easily tired. We stayed
quite awhile --he told stories, and Larry and Ray Bierl played and
sang a few songs. Utah also talked about some old songs and even sang
us a few. We all had a good time! and he loved the blanket and
admired it....

thanks are due to all the knitters:
Ceci Marker
Ceci's friend Laura (please pass this e-mail on to her Mike)
Kate Brislin
Kerry Parker
Debra Kalmon
Sharon Noel
Susan Weiss
Katie Hambly
Lisa Hubbell
Irene Herrmann
Marnie Potter

Many hugs to you all!
Aurora

Michigan Benefit

2008-05-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

Brad up in Saugatuck MI. is interested in planing a benefit for Utah sometime in June at the Boathouse. If thee is anybody body in the area and you are interested in helping maybe you can contact Brad.

Brad Raffenaud
www.myspace.com/boathousebar

I know that I have not posted much lately, the truth is my dad and I have been playing phone tag the last couple of weeks. After seeing dad in the hospital during the month of Feb. I know first hand how quickly his health can turn and every time my phone rings my heart skips a beat. So when I don't talk to him for awhile I'm sure he is marching along, it's the old no news is good news thing.

When I do talk with dad on the phone it's some how different now. Our conversations are more meaningful, not in some deep philosophical way it's much more generic than that. In the past we always talked about our next road trip or some song one of the two of us was working. But now we talk at length about everyday boring stuff you know like getting your hair cut, mowing the lawn or the weather, it's odd we talk about stuff we never talked or even cared about before. It dawned on me the other day when I was driving around, we talk just to talk, just to hear each others voice. The truth is if we said nothing at all we would probably still sit there with the phone to our ear, it's the connection between two friends we enjoy. The reality is we linger on for so long because neither of us wants to say goodbye.
Duncan

May 6, Benefit

2008-04-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Tues. May 6
U Utah Phillips Benefit and Celebration
with
Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum
Kate Brislin & Jody Stecher
Larry Hanks
Ray Bierl
Faith Petric
Eric & Suzy Thompson
at
Freight & Salvage
1111 Addison (near San Pablo)
Berkeley CA
Freight website: www.freightandsalvage.org

If anyone has more info on the show please send it to my e-mail or post it on the blog
Thanks
Duncan

May 3, Benefit

2008-04-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Sing Out for Utah!

Benefit Concert for Folk Legend Utah Phillips

May 3, 2008, 7:30 pm (Doors open at 6:45)

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1708 "I" Street

Seating limited to the first 200! Please order advance ticket.

Bruce "U. Utah" Phillips, legendary folksinger and storyteller won't be able to travel to Bellingham again. The concert in Bellingham's is the second such event Washington State.

A stage filled with professional musicians & entertainers will take part in this benefit. Please join us these friends of Utah's come to the aid of one of their own. Celebrate with us the life of Utah Phillips. Raise your voice with us. Attend and help raise funds for Utah's medical bills. Utah has always given so much. It's time to give something back. Join us. Come, celebrate, sing.

Performers in alphabetical order: Linda Allen, Artis the Spoonman, Marie Eaton & Janet Peterson, Joules Graves, Mike Marker, Tim McHugh, Geof Morgan, Mark Ross, Anna Schaad, Kevin Murphy (Emcee)

Advance Tickets $12 ($10 for seniors) / At the door $15 ($12 for seniors)

Ticket Outlets (all in Bellingham, WA)

Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro 360-647-5593, FAX 671-5897or info@bbaybrewery.com

Community Food Co-Op (360) 734-8158

Everyday Music (360) 676-1404

Stuart’s at the Market 360-714--800

Village Books (360) 661-2626, FAX 734-2573 or orders@villagebooks.com

For info, email Steve (thoreau@serv.net) or phone him at 360-671-2111.

To donate directly to our concert-affiliated bank account, please deposit directly in ANY Washington state "Whidbey Island Bank" to this account: "Steve Tornblom - Utah Phillips Benefit." If you wish to be credited in the evening's program, please Steve or send check to Steve Tornblom -- Utah Phillips Benefit, 1001 22nd St. #3 Bellinghan, WA. 98225. (Please write checks to "Steve Tornblom - Utah Phillips Benefit" for easier handling.

We ask that if you can't make this benefit in Bellingham or contribute to Utah's bank account here, please attend a Utah Phillips benefit in your area.

Chicago Benefit

2008-04-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

UTAH PHILLIPS BENEFIT.  STAND UP CHICAGO.

We are having a benefit for Utah Phillips on Saturday June 14th at the
Heartland Café  9:00 – 1:00 pm.

A fellow named Sparrow who is one of my My Space friends said it best,
"Utah was there for us, let's be there for him now".

For the last several decades Utah has traveled the country with a
guitar, a story and a desire to leave our lives a little bit better
for knowing him, I don't know who sang it Steve Goodman or Jim Post or
Fred Holstein, but I got hooked on "Larimer Street". I found that Utah
had written the song, It took me a little while to find a vinyl copy
of  "El Capitan" . For a while I played it every day before I went to
work and every night when I got home. It took a while before I finally
saw the man in person the first time at Holsteins. We talked after the
show and as those of you who are lucky enough to have spoke a word or
two with him know, he is always more interested in what you had to say
rather than feed a performer's ego. He has an inspiring curiosity
about darn near everything. He became the closest thing to a mentor
that I've ever had. I've been learning from him for thirty years.
Now a bum ticker has left him home bound. I hear tell that he is
writing his memoirs but that isn't paying the bills yet. He can't show
up on our doorstep so we can't pay to be entertained for an evening.
We can still buy the CD,s and Utah wishes you would. It is tough
transforming yourself at this stage of the game. As with any other
friend, it is time for us to step up and help him make it through.

I'm not an impresario of any sort. I just see a need and when no one
steps up, I do. I've bugged most performers that I know and a lot of
people who know other people to put together a show. HEARTLAND CAFÉ
and MICHAEL JAMES were there from the start.
They turned over a Saturday night to us. I can inflict my MIKE FELTEN
caterwauling on you for a bit, but I wanted this to be a collective
effort in the spirit of what Utah preaches. We are working on a lot of
promises and maybes and hope they all bear fruit.
So far we have KATHY GREENHOLDT and the EDSELS and we have some
incarnation of M.O.T.O. confirmed. Brandy over at TONY MARGHERITA
MANAGEMENT got JEFF TWEEDY boys from WILCO to donate several
autographed photos and posters to raffle off. Talked to some of the
folks at the I.W.W. and they are behind it. MIKE  MATIKA (pardon my
phonetic spelling) from the Laborers Union is behind this effort too.
It always amazes me when people step up like this.
There are a lot of great things and people unconfirmed. It's not my
intent to put anyone on the spot here. I've asked before for other
causes and frankly, I'm tired of doing benefits for musicians too. We
just have to do these things when there is no other  way.

Anyway you can help would be appreciated. Anything that you can do for Utah
 he'd appreciate. It is time to STAND UP CHICAGO .  Mike Felten
mike@recordemporium.com

Roesendale Update

2008-04-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail from Sarah Underhill it sounds like the Rosendale benefit was a huge success, Utah phoned in just as Pete Seegar was taking the stage. I tried to get a hold of dad to give him the news and get a medical update to post be he wasn't home.
So instead I will tell you a quick story about a budding magician.

Last Sunday morning I was driving to moms house for our weekly trip to the grocery store. My normal rout takes me down, for anyone familiar with Salt Lake, Thirteenth East towards the North end of the valley. Where Thirteenth intersects 39 th I missed the signal light as I normally do. Luckily for me and everyone that had the good fortune to miss the signal light that morning the duplex on the corner has a back yard that faces the street. On this day in that back yard was a young man, ten or so, dressed in a over sized black cape, matching top hat, red bow tie and long white gloves holding a long thin silver wand with which he was doing magic tricks for the temporarily parked cars. Idly I sat as the young magician pulled off the multiplying ball trick. First he presented one bright red ball to his car bound audience then deftly he stuffed his had under his arm pit waved his wand and sharply pulled his hand out. To my amazement he now held in his hand two red balls were before there had only been one.
I applauded, the young magician did what all great magicians do, bowed to his audience and prepared for the next show that was only a red light away. Every time I stop at that light I hope for a show but have yet to see magician. I'm sure he has since moved on to New York, L.A. or maybe Paris

Benefit Tonight

2008-04-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

The benefit tonight in Rosendale, New York has been moved to the rec. center on Route 32.

Featuring: Pete Seager, Dar Williams, Redwood Moose, Sarah Underhill with the High Meadow Larks, the Flames of Discontent, and Norm Wennet. Join this community of musicians for an inspiring afternoon of support for Utah Phillips. The Folk world's beloved songwriter, historian, humorist, raconteur and agitator will be celebrated with story and song.

At the Rosendale Cafe:

434 Main St.

Rosendale, NY 12472
845 - 658 - 9048

http://www.rosendalecafe.com/

Canadian Donations

2008-04-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

A note from Bruce Brackney.
In January I opened a trust account in Utah's name
at our credit union and have used it to

convert benefit proceeds and Canadian checks

into U.S. funds and sent the $ down.

Feel free to post my particulars on the blog

for Canadians who wish to send Cndn checks

made out to me, and I'll continue to convert

the funds into U.S.

Bruce Brackney

1201 Colville Road
Victoria B.C. V9A 4R2

Also, you might want to mention that I do

keep an accounting of who sent how much and send it

along with the money orders. I think this would help

with folks being aware that Utah will know who the donors

are rather than their donations being namelessly converted

into a larger lump sum.

Thanks

2008-04-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

A quick note to all.
To everyone that has planned and produced benefits, to the folks that have mailed dad a check and to the friends, fans and family that have taken the time to e-mail me pictures and stories I am forever gratefull. As a child I was always able to reconcile the time dad spent on the road and out of my life by believing he was changing the world, one town at a time, one song at a time and one person at a time. Receiving the multitudes of comments and support has reaffirmed what I have always known.
Thank You
Duncan

United States and beyond

2008-04-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you out side the confines of the U.S. I will try to set up a way to send Utah donations. Thanks for the question, it was one of those things that I totally over looked.
If anybody out there has any suggestions, fire away.
Duncan

hello

2008-04-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

I spoke with dad earlier in the day, he had just returned home from church were he had given a short talk. His health is o.k. he sounds a little tired but good. I can only imagine after so many years on the road that being home and not planning for the next gig might be as hard or harder to get used to than dealing with his medical condition. I know he always looked forward to being able to come off the road but I'm sure he thought it would be on his terms. I guess in a way it was , his heart and body did what his mind couldn't make itself do.

He has a hernia that he will have to have removed in the near future. It shouldn't be any big deal but anytime Utah has to go under the knife even for the simplest of procedures, it can turn serious in a hurry. He also has a bit of gout but the new medication he takes works well and has eased his discomfort a great deal.

Utah had his first unchaperoned trip out and about in town yesterday. He said it feel very liberating to be on his own and free to do what ever he wanted, it must have felt similar to when he left Utah in the late 60's.
There are a number of benefits in the works I am waiting for a complete list to update the blog. Dad did want me to ask if anyone has any info on the benefit Harry Tuft is putting together in Denver.

Hello

2008-04-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for the response. I got some e-mails from the folks up in Maine. It sounds like the show was a great success. Many thanks to Jay and everyone for putting together the show, if anyone has any pics from the show please e-mail me some for the blog.

I am both pleased and reassured by the comments in regards to the the blog, the kind words folks have posted are what I was hoping for.

I don't remember if I mentioned that there is a new pod cast on my dads website http://www.utahphillips.org/ check it out.

My little brother Brendan headed home last week after staying with dad for the last few weeks. Besides his band Fast Rattler he works for the Washington State governor in Seattle and I think he needed to get back to work.
My sister Morrigan will travel to Nevada City from her home in D.C to spend a couple of weeks with dad. I know dad was hoping to get us all together at the same time but with our family spread out like a shot gun blast it's hard to get everyone together at the same time, on the flip side we can spread out our trips so dad has one of us there to help out.
The folks in Nevada City have been great, the support group has been delivering two meals a week to the house and are always there to help with whatever dad and Joanna may need.
I will try to get a hold of dad tonight and give you an update tomorrow.
Thanks
Duncan

Hello

2008-04-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

For anyone still reading the blog and lives anywhere near Blue Hill Maine there is a benefit show tonight at the Blue Hill Congregational Church for Utah.

I spoke with dad a couple of days ago and he was on his way to the library. He has set aside some time every week to work on a long over due book detailing his great walk about. After forty plus years and two million miles on the road it should be a very interesting and enlightening read.

Dad has been home now for a little over a month and he continues to do better than any of us expected. Last week he went to the Cesar Chavez memorial , spoke a few words and had a wonder full day. Like all of us he has his good days and bad days but now his good days are out numbering the bad ones. He continues to try and gain back some of the weight he lost last month and is hopefull he may be able to restart is cardiac rehab classes in the near future. He really enjoys the cardiac classes, besides the work out for his heart he loves the socialization with the other members of the class, over the years they have all become good friends and as good friends do, look out for each other.

I know I haven't updated the blog as regularly as I should but I do check it every day for other posts. To be honest aside from the ocatinoall e-mail I'm not sure if anybody reads it any more. The good thing about checking the e-mail is that everyday I find out that I've won several lotteries cured my impotence found an old girl friend and can now at long last retire, isn't spam mail great...?
I am continuing to work on my new web site that will host Utah Phillips Museum of sorts. I will let you know when it is up and running.
Thanks again for the e- mails and posts it always was and will continue to be nice to hear from all of you.
Duncan

Chicago Benefit

2008-03-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

The folks in Chicago are planning a benefit on June 14, at the Heartland Cafe. Anyone who would like to participate in the planning or might be interested in performing can give Mike Felten a call. I will post his info on the side of the blog.

It's been amazing to hear from folks around the country planning benefits for Utah. Last fall when dad's health forced him to retire I remember sitting in the living room with him and Joanna trying to figure out ways to generate income with out touring. Dad wasn't as concerned as the rest of us, he knew he could count on the folks around the country to see him through the hard times.

Thanks
Duncan

Easter 2008

2008-03-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

I just got off the phone with dad, he's rolling along nicely. He spent most of the day with friends and family. After a nice brunch everyone decorated Easter baskets with things growing in the yard and that of course led to coloring eggs. Easter has always been one of dads favorite days. As a child I remember many Easter egg hunts at grandmas house, dads mom always had a way of making family days kid friendly and forever memorable. And since dad is still, in some ways very much a child, any day he can dress up, build stuff and be in the company of friends and family is a favorite day. I know Easter may have a more significant meaning but for me, any day that brings family together for what ever reason is significant.

Utah's weight is stable and he has started a light work out routine to try and regain some strength. The daily routine that at once seemed so daunting now glides by with few problems and has in it's self become routine.

I know a lot of folks have had some difficulty getting in touch with Utah in regards to benefit concerts and the like. To help out dad and Joanna he suggested that people contact me ( Duncan) as well. I don't feel comfortable posting our phone numbers so if you have any questions or can't get a hold of dad send me an e-mail with your phone # and I will give you a call.
Thank You
Duncan

April 6, Benefit Concert

2008-03-16T15:20:00.001-07:00

BENEFIT CONCERT FOR
U. UTAH PHILLIPS
A gathering of Maine and New England Performers
in support oh Utah. form ore than forty years his
songs have been sung by thousands of people
from hobo camp - fires to the Grand Old Opry,
from the Kremlin to the Washington Monument.
Join us in support of this good man who has given so much to so many for so long.

Featuring: Gordon Bok, Micheal Cooney, Kendall & Jackie Morse, Scott Alarik, Becky & Rob McCall, Allison Dibble, Sean Mercer, Jay Peterson, And Others

Blue Hill Congregational Church - Sunday, April 6, 3 - 6 P.M. Suggested Donation $10 - Information 207-359-5559

rmation

Sunday March 16,

2008-03-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

I just got off the phone with dad. He was getting ready to go to church.

A good portion of the concerts "Utah " has done over the years have taken place in Unitarian churches. As a child I remember going to the Unitarian Church in Salt Lake to see him perform.
Where ever the road has taken "Utah" Unitarian churches have been a big part of his life. Normally he changes the medication bag on his pump at 11:30 a.m. everyday, everyday except Sunday. On Sunday he changes the medication early so he get to church on time. The Community of the Mountains in Grass Valley has become very important in Utah's life and I know the connection he made with the congregation played an important role in his recovery and every week he looks forward to seeing the congregation and listening to Rev. Meghan speak.

Brendan, my little brother arrived in Nevada City last night and plans to spend a couple of weeks at dads house. He brought with him dads old Gibson guitar. Now days dad prefers the Gibson to his road weary Guild because the Gibson's wider neck makes it easier for him to play, so I imagine Brendan will spend a lot of time coaxing lost songs from dads long memory. Brendan also plans to undertake the enormous task of going through dads cardboard clad archive that's stored in a shed in his back yard, it's hard to believe , forty plus years of work and travel haphazardly stored in unmarked old moving boxes. It should be interesting to see what he dusts off.

Star Light on the Rails
I have started working with Ken Sanders her in Salt Lake on re publishing Utah's Song book Star light on the Rails. The book containing forty plus songs was originally published in 1973, about five years after dad fled Utah. Some of you might remember Ken from the old Cosmic Airplane days her in SLC. Ken now owns and operates a rare book store in Salt Lake City and has generously offered to underwrite the project. The book will basically remain the same with just a few updates. Profit from the book will of course go towards dads living expenses.

March 13, Hello

2008-03-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

I spoke with dad last night, he sounds good. For the first time that I can remember he is actually changing his diet to help him gain weight. The doctors have also reduced daily dosage of Lasix, that in it's self is a very good sign and it should help him gain some weight.

His days are a bit of a roller coaster ride. One minute he raring to go and the next he is taking a nap, he truly does take each day as it comes but all in all it sounds like he has adjusted well to his new routine.

He has started to do a little work from home, you know things like making phone calls to benefit producers, short phone interviews and he is committed to play his guitar every day. There were a few stretches last month in the hospital that I wasn't sure if he would make it home, so even the smallest chores and pleasures he works in to each day are huge to me.

I spoke with dad about the on-line archive that I propose to develop, he thinks it's a great idea and is very curious to see some of the things people have collected over the years. I am currently building the web page and should have it up and running by the end of April.

Here in the U.S folks had gotten use to seeing the GVGSW roll through their town every couple of years but there are many, many fellow workers and fans around the world that have never seen may father perform live. It will be very exciting to share the bulk of dads work with the world. I know that the internet may not be the most traditional format for an archive but it is effective.
Click on the play button to watch the video.

Thanks Duncan

March 9,

2008-03-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

I spoke with dad yesterday, he plans to send me an e-mail message to post in a day or two so stay tuned. His health is steady, his first week at home has gone by and he has settled into his new routine nicely. The trick now will be to pace himself, I'm sure now that he has become a bit stronger his temptation will be to over do it, who wouldn't.

Thanks again to everyone for the continued love and support, it has made a huge difference to all of us. The cards and letters of support dad has received from all over the world is a testament to the great work he has done over the many years.

As for myself, I am going back to work tomorrow. Don't fret, I will continue to maintain and update the blog with some frequency. There are a number of benefits and projects planned for the upcoming year so please do check in once in awhile. I am also working on a Internet based Utah Phillips archive. I know there are lot of folks out there with stuff they have collected over the years in association with my dad. My hope is that it will become a project everyone will want to participate in. Please do send me am e-mail if you have any questions.
Thanks
Duncan

March 30, Benefit Concert

2008-03-05T15:55:00.001-08:00

Benefit Concert for

Utah Phillips

http://www.utahphillips.org/index.html

A beacon of truth and light for our times,

Utah has been battling serious heart problems

and the medical bills that go with them.

Aromas Grange Hall Sunday, March 30^th

Concert starting at 3:00 pm-donation$15

Food and beverages will be available, Moose Turd Pie Anyone?

Sherry Austin http://www.sherry-austin.com/index.html

Jimmy Chickenpants http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=282610848

Harmony Grits http://www.harmonygrits.com/

Rick Barnes http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=232347036

And thought provoking commentary by Wallace Baine http://www.wallacebaine.com/

Pre-concert open mike with Eric Burman and “Common Cents”,
Chris McDougal and other local favorites 9:00am-2:30pm  
Sponsors, Aromas Grange, Aromas Eagles
the N.C.B.S (Northern California Bluegrass Assn.)
Contact Bill Hunter at bill@highhatbill.com

March 5, 2008

2008-03-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hello
None of us knew what to expect when Utah returned home. I don't know about Joanna but for myself, I think dad is doing much better than I expected, which is what we all were hoping for. Normally towards evening he tends to feel a little run down and tired, I spoke with him on the phone last night and he sounds great. He's been getting out of he house some and gets a little stronger everyday.

The last procedure Joanna had to do, for the first time at home was to change the dressing around the Groshong port in dads chest. It sounds easy enough but in fact second only to changing the daily medication bag it it the most important and precise procedure she has to master. The Groshong port is surgically implanted so the area around the tubing exiting the chest must be cleaned once a week to prevent infection. Dad said it went smoothly.

It's been a week since Utah's return home and all in all I'd have to say it was a very encouraging one.
Thanks
Duncan

Concert Mon. March 10, 2008

2008-03-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

DON Quixote's Music Hall

Presented With Snazzy Productions

Mon. March 10, at 7:30pm $25 adv./$25 door seated <21>

Keith Greeninger & Friends

Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum

Alisa Fineman & Kimball Hurd

plus special guests

Friends of Utah Phillips are performing a benefit for the legendary story telling genius, UTAH PHILLIPS, who has performed for us all over so many years and now needs our help.

100% of all ticket sales will go to defray medical expenses
For more info -http://www.donquixotesmusic.info/

Thank you everyone. We have had a tremendous response to this blog, the pictures and information are pouring in, so much so in fact I am working on a the project of building a web page to archive all of the pictures, concert posters and live recordings that I have amassed over the last five years of traveling with dad.
I know most the stories I tell are pre 1968 or post 2000 but as most of you know there were great expanses of time that my dad and I had very little contact, I think there was a fifteen year stretch we only spoke once. So I rely on a lot of you to help me fill in some of the blanks. That's not to say dad didn't talk about me. I have met people all over the country that I have never seen before but they know things about me I don't even know about my self.

One time dad and I traveled to Vancouver B.C for a concert. Dad and I were in the lobby milling around before the show when an older gentleman introduced himself and told me that he remembered the story of when as a child I had had the Measles . I was curious because I have never had the Measles. The story went that one day dad came home from a road trip to see spots all over my face. Worried he asked mom " Does Duncan have the Measls" no she said " He's just learning to eat with a fork".

I will be talking with dad later today and update the blog this evening.
Thanks
Duncan

MARCH 5, CONCERT

2008-03-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks for maintaining the blog – wanted to let you know that we will be presenting a benefit/tribute to Utah on Wednesday March 5, at Club Passim in Cambridge MA www.passimcenter.org

The evening is hosted by Scott Alarik and the performers include Geoff Bartley, Vance Gilbert, Don White, Antje Duvekot, Danielle Miraglia, Tom Bianchi, Brendan Hogan, Two for The Show and Timothy Mason.

The evening is being presented as “In the Spirit of Utah”, we are celebrating the artistry of Utah Phillips and his contributions to maintaining a place for traditional material and the valuing of the songwriter/performer as a craftsman.

For more information go to the Passim Center web site.

Sunday March 2,

2008-03-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone with dad. He sounds a little tired but he is doing well. I am pleased to report that over the last few days he has gained no weight. It may sound strange but the best indicator as to dads health is his weight. The first thing he does every morning is weigh himself. If his kidneys function properly and the diuretics work like they should he won't gain any weight but if he gains a few pounds in a day or two then he is retaining water, not good. People with congestive heart failure rarely suffer from dehydration normally the opposite is true and their bodies can drown themselves in water. The fluid retention problem is the primary reason Utah spent the last month in the hospital and monitoring his weight is a very reliable way to monitor his fluid level.

Dad is resting at home alone for a couple of hours while Joanna is out walking the dog and running a few errands. I didn't think to ask him if it was the first time he has been alone and on his own since coming home, if so it must feel a little awkward, I know it does for me. He has been cleared by the doctors to be alone so that's not an issue but after almost four weeks of being hooked up to machines and nurses coming in and out of his room every hour oh the day, in an odd way he must feel a little lonely. With that being said please put down your car keys, I think his being alone for a few hours a day is healthy fand it gives him some quiet time to sort things out.

On my train ride home I was thinking about our first road trip Portland. It was about five years ago dad and I were traveling to Portland for Wintrefolk ( Winterfolk is a annual concert to benefit the Sisters Of The Road Cafe ) because of the great friends we have made over the years, ( you know who you are, to mention them all would fill pages ) Portland quickly became a yearly stop that we both look forward to the minute we drive out of town.

We got into town as we usually do, a few days early so we went down to the Red and Black for lunch. During lunch dad told me a few stories about a tramp he used to ride the trains with. His moniker is Portland Gray. Dad had heard Gray was now living in Portland and he planned to ask the the folks at the union hall next door, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech after lunch, if anybody knew what had happened to his old tramping friend.

Well after dads thirty minute oration, and while everybody sat shell shocked on the edge their chairs he asked the silent audience " Does anybody know what became of Portland Gray". A voice sitting not twenty feet from dad pipped up " Yeah I know what happened to him, it's me, I'm sitting right here". While everyone burst into laughter dad went over and gave his old friend a hug. It was quite amazing.
Thanks
Duncan

March 1, U. Utah Cyborg and the Blog

2008-03-01T15:15:00.001-08:00

Hello,
Just before I left for home I gave dad a very basic tutorial on how to go through the blog and read the comments. As a result of his being home more often and for longer periods of time he plans on keeping up with the blog, so dad wanted me to encourage everyone to keep reading and posting on the blog and sending pictures and the like to the e-mail address. In addition to speaking with him on the phone dad will have Joanna send me - e-mail messages to post for him. If any of you have any questions please feel free to post them. Now that dad is plugged into the world via the internet I think it will be a good way to make sure everybody recieves accurate and timely information on dads ongoing health condition. I do read all of the e-mails and I did read them to dad but now that I am home the blog will be the best way for folks to communicate with Utah, I don't see him reading e-mails in addition to the blog. The fact that he will sit in front of the computer at all is big news.
Thank You All
Duncan

CONCERT FOR UTAH

2008-03-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

A benefit concert for Utah Phillips will take place at the
Congregational Church in Blue Hill , Maine at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 6, 2008
featuring a host of Maine and New England artists including
GORDON BOK
JAY PETERSON
MICHAEL COONEY
ALLISON DIBBLE
REX BLAZER
SEAN MERCER
THE FREE RADICALS
KENDALL AND JACKIE MORSE
Maine IWW's and Maine Labor Council
WERU Radio Programmers

For more information call 207-359-5559

Feb. 29,

2008-02-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

I talked with dad this afternoon and I am pleased to report that he doing well. He went for a short trip to the store, more to just get out of the house than to buy anything important and he sounds great. The "high noon" portable pump medication swap is becoming less stressful as Joanna and Utah continue to fine tune their daily routine.

After nearly a month in San Francisco and the long hours sitting in dads hospital room being home again is a little strange. Although there are many things I need to do I find myself sitting around doing nothing. There are many extraordinarily difficult things we do in life, some we are forced into still others we force ourselves into but leaving dads house, something I do every spring, was the most difficult that thing I've had to do. We say good bye to people every day but when you say good bye to somebody that you might never see again the words good carry with them a heavier feeling. I remember sitting in his living and asking him if there is anything he needed to talk about his reply "no" mine was the same, we had both cashed in our markers long ago. But I am lucky, I'm lucky, not only because I had the chance to spend the last month with dad and Joanna during this difficult time but that I have - after being apart for long expanses of time - had the good fortune to spend the last several winters on the road with Bruce? Utah?......no Dad. It made saying good bye as simple as saying I'll see you later. I'll see you later, four such simple words yet words because of our recent past say so much and carried with them so much significance. It was beautiful moment.
I am truly lucky and ever time we do see each other in the future will just be mustard on the hot dog...... I don't like cake.
Duncan

Poem From Christine

2008-02-29T15:59:00.000-08:00

UTAH in the Hospital

There was flapping in the hallway
screeching in the lab
plastic cock-a-roach a’ crawling
amongst the food so drab.
Utah was a’ wailing
strummin’ on the lines
of IV tubes and catheters
in hospital ragtime.
He’s carrying his rubber nose,
a bit like Doctor Patch,
organizing patients
with laughter and dispatch.
He isn’t wasting any time
he’s using every second
to learn and live and glorify
because he’s always reckoned:
Whatever mystery unfolds
be it hell or heaven
roll the dice and shout aloud,
“Seven Come Eleven!”

UP COMING CONCERT

2008-02-29T15:29:00.001-08:00

The Seattle Labor Chorus, Seattle Folklore Society, KBCS Community Radio, RiseUp! Productions present:

A Benefit Concert for

Utah Phillips

Sunday, March 9, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

University Unitarian Church 6556 35^th Avenue NE - Donation $20

For over 40 years Utah Phillips has traveled this country using songs and stories about working people, their struggles, and their triumphs, to remind us of how deep and how strong our collective history runs.

On March 9, the Seattle folk music community will come together to support Utah and his wife and help raise money for his medical expenses. Performers include Fast Rattler, featuring Utah Phillips’ son Brendan, Citizens Band, Rebel Voices, David Rovics and the Seattle Labor Chorus.

The "Golden Voice of the Great Southwest" has been described as a raconteur extraordinaire, a radical historian well-versed in the sorrowful details of the bloodiest social justice struggles of the last century, a hobo, and one hell of a musician whose songs can break your heart and bring your blood to a boil.

Sadly, Utah Phillips has recently been forced to quit performing due to a respiratory condition that causes severe disturbances in breathing and debilitating heart irregularities.

Fans and friends have begun a grassroots fundraising campaign. Benefit concerts are popping up across North America as the folk music community comes together to help one of their own, one who has done a lot for his community over the years. Concerts have already been held in Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Toronto and Winnipeg.

The University Unitarian Church, 6556 35^th Ave. NE will host this concert, starting at 7:00 PM. Tickets $20. All proceeds from this event will go to Utah to help off set medical expenses and pay bills. Come and help us to celebrate a new beginning for our old friend. For more information contact the Seattle Labor Chorus at 206-524-7753 or online: www.Seattlelaborchorus.org

Feb. 28 Homeward Bound

2008-02-28T12:15:00.000-08:00

The noon time med swap went without a hitch. Nicholas my step brother is going to drive me to Reno so I can take the train home. If the train runs on time it's an eleven hour trip back to Utah.
It may seem like a long time when I could fly home in an hour or so but to be honest I need some down time to decompress. Dad is doing well, everyone has been very considerate in giving him some space so we could figure things out over the last few days. I wouldn't consider things normal, but this new stage of dads life is definitely manageable. I get the feeling in talking to the doctors that not many people have this kind of pump setup for long term injection. These pumps are mostly used to administer antibiotics continuously for a few months so there is not a lot of data on long term use. We are not worried, forging new territory is nothing new for Utah.
I'll write tomorrow from home .
Thanks
Duncan

Feb. 27, ? Late

2008-02-28T00:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a long month and I am preparing myself to go home tomorrow, today? It's late and I am re reading through the comments over the last few days, there is one constant, Molly Fisk. When we started this journey several weeks ago it was Molly that suggested some one start a blog, so I did.
Thank you Molly! thank yo all and goodnight.
Duncan

Feb. 27, Lunch Time

2008-02-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

The IV bags of Melrinone administered by the the pump on dad waist should last 24 hrs. so at noon every day Joanna must hook up a new bag to the pump and swap out the pumps batteries. The first few times can nerve racking to say the least. So at five minutes of noon when the pumps alarm went off everybody jumped. Turns out the bag was just empty and we went ahead and did the bag swap a few minutes early.......... no worries all is well. The company that supplies the drug will adjust the future bags accordingly. After a few days of going through new procedures and nailing down a solid routine we should achieve even keel.
For dad being home again is a huge relief. I vividly remember driving to San Francisco nearly a month ago and our conversation along the way. I could tell by the tone of dads voice he was fearful of not seeing his home again. We are all relieved to put that chapter behind us and look forward to writing many more. We are happy , delighted and comforted that all you have flipped a ride on this slow rolling train with us even though none of us know where it's headed.
I do plan to keep this blog current as we travel down the road and far into the future. In addition to keeping you updated on Utah's ongoing health condition I think it's a great way to share stories and ideas and help folks plug into the events communities and organizations around the country are planing to benefit Utah.
If any of you have info on such things please post it or send me an e-mail.
Thanks
Duncan

Feb. 27

2008-02-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

Good morning, dad slept well and is up enjoying the day.
A quick note, I know dad is home and he has many, many dear friends that want to talk to him and wish him well but at the moment I think he needs a few days to figure out his new routine. He will be taking 13 different medications two and three time a day in addition to the pump Joanna will have to replace the iv bag everyday. This needs to be the primary focus for the next few days. To be blunt if dads pump stops working so does he. Utah also wants to see and talk with everyone, Joanna and I have to tell him the same thing, one thing at a time. Normally the nurses come in very couple of hours to administer the meds, Joanna does this now, the times are very specific because of the number of meds he needs throughout the day. I hope everyone understands.

Greetings from Nevada City Feb. 26,

2008-02-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

Utah is home!
The trip back to Nevada City was uneventful, dad did very well. Before the parking break was set he walked in the door and promptly took up residence in his favorite winged back easy chair an began roasting himself in front of the fire. He spent the remainder of the evening resting an sorting out the various medication that accompanied him home. His next few days will be spent devising a daily routine and getting acclimated to his new lifestyle.
I can only imagine what the ride home must have been like for Utah. After spending nearly a month in the confines of his hospital room with very little visual stimulation and only a drab green smock for clothing to being suited up and braving the California freeways with the country side rushing by, it must have felt liberating, familiar and yet unsettling.
All in all, for now life is good and we enjoy every minute.
See you tomorrow.
Duncan

Moving Day - Feb. 26,

2008-02-26T09:48:00.000-08:00

Today is the day. As we speak the doctors and nurses are making the necessary arangments to discharge dad. At 10:00 we will receive the last of the training on the mobile pump system that dad will be plugged into by way of the Groshong port installed in Utah's chest. The pump will provide a constant supply of a drug called Melrinone. After the training and the customary two hour wait for a hospital wheelchair we will be on our way.
I will go into more detail later when we get home. For now you all can take comfort in knowing Utah is doing well and headed home.
Thank You
Duncan

Feb. 25, Nightcap

2008-02-25T18:02:00.001-08:00

Utah is currently sorting through a portion of some unidentifiable off white meat and boiled potatoes. His day went well, the only glitch in his days are the coughing fits that begin around 4:00 in the afternoon and last an hour or so. The fits are more annoying than any thing to worry about. We are still on schedule to home go tomorrow.

Upon dads returning home I would like some input on the future of this blog. I do keep in close contact with dad and I can update the blog daily or weekly, I am happy to do so. I will leave it up to you all, I look forward to your feedback and opinions.
Duncan

Feb. 25,

2008-02-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

Utah continues to make headway towards his going home. Instead of arising early he slept until 8:00, the coughing that has kept him up at night has subsided and his spry wit has returned. The doctors will make their rounds at 5:00 p.m. but the word on the floor is that he will be going home tomorrow! Currently he is roaming the halls with Joanna. If he is lucky the door to the physical therapy room will be open, the room has a fantastic view of the bay, stretching from the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz Island.
Thank you, everyone, for the offers of transportation for the ride home. Thankfully because dads condition has so greatly improved I don't think the ride home will be much of an issue. He likely will be most comfortable in his own car. He has come a long way, last week it looked as if there was no end insight and we not even talking about the possibility of going home to actually making plans to do it ( simultaneously everyone please knock on wood )
I have go, I need to track him down so he can take his lunch time meds.
Duncan

Feb. 24

2008-02-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

Utah has spent most of the day sitting in a chair, reading and watching a little television. This is a welcomed change from the last few weeks and spending most of his days in bed. The nurse drew a blood sample around two and dads electrolyte levels have not fluctuated for the last couple of days.
When the doctors make their rounds dads room visits are shorter and noticeably more upbeat. For dad, returning home to his extended family and friends will be the best medicine of all. I take comfort and pleasure in knowing that when I to leave and return home to Salt Lake City and the every day realities of life, dad will remain in the hands and hearts of so many friends and comrades in Nevada City and around the world.
Thank You
Duncan

Feb. 24,

2008-02-24T11:24:00.001-08:00

Hello,
We arrived to the hospital with great anticipation. We were pleased to see dad sitting up in bed soaking in the view from his window as the rain and the wind swept in over the city. He was preparing himself for the day. His first stop was the exercise room. He managed five minutes on the exercise bike and ten minutes on the treadmill. His morning blood test was also very encouraging, his electrolyte level remains constant and he looks great. I honestly feel we may be home early in the week.

Last night Joanna and I enjoyed a very nice crepe dinner at a place on Valencia. We were joined by Nicholas and Ian, Joanna's two sons, my two step brothers, and Mary, Ian's lovely and thoughtful wife. It was a very nice diversion from our normal routine. We did receive a number of great suggestions for diner, hopefully we can save those for a more leisurely trip to San Francisco. Ian and Mary brought with them many fine treats. Perhaps the best was the Whoppi Cushion that we quickly put to use. When we eventually left dads hospital room for dinner. As we filed out of the room I deftly slipped it under his sheets before he got into bed ( I learned from the best ) Later as we sat around the table enjoying dinner we all laughed at the thought of him jumping into bed and the smile he must of had on his face.
When you can bust out the Whoppi Cushion you know things are getting better.
Duncan

evening Feb. 23,

2008-02-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

The best way to sum up the day is to simply tell you that Utah has now started using his trusty plastic cockroach on the unsuspecting nursing staff. Those who know dad well know what I mean.
He has had a good day. We now look forward to the mornings more than ever.
Good Night
Duncan

Utah Phillips

Updates

Long Gone CD release tour

Eureka CD release

CD Release

Howdy

Loafer's Glory

New web page

Howdy

Check this out

Howdy

Howdy

Howdy

Headed to Winterfolk

July 4, in Nevada City

Hello

One more thougth

From A friend and fellow Anarchist

Kate wolf Festival

Chicago Benefit

Memorial Service Last Sunday

A working class farewell for working class royalty

Memorial Service

Saturday Benefit

Happy B-Day

A Note From Utah

A note from Aurora Fox

Michigan Benefit

May 6, Benefit

May 3, Benefit

Chicago Benefit

Roesendale Update

Benefit Tonight

Canadian Donations

Thanks

United States and beyond

hello

Hello

Hello

Chicago Benefit

Easter 2008

April 6, Benefit Concert

Sunday March 16,

March 13, Hello

March 9,

March 30, Benefit Concert

Utah Phillips

Utah has been battling serious heart problems

and the medical bills that go with them.

Aromas Grange Hall Sunday, March 30th

March 5, 2008

Concert Mon. March 10, 2008

MARCH 5, CONCERT

Sunday March 2,

March 1, U. Utah Cyborg and the Blog

CONCERT FOR UTAH

Feb. 29,

Poem From Christine

UP COMING CONCERT

Feb. 28 Homeward Bound

Feb. 27, ? Late

Feb. 27, Lunch Time

Feb. 27

Greetings from Nevada City Feb. 26,

Moving Day - Feb. 26,

Feb. 25, Nightcap

Feb. 25,

Feb. 24

Feb. 24,

evening Feb. 23,

Aromas Grange Hall Sunday, March 30^th