On finally getting to meet Pete Seeger
Alison Bert on November 16th, 2008 | Filed under Music, Writing
My eyes welled as I joined the folks around me in a rousing chorus of “This Land is Your Land,” led by Pete Seeger and his grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger. I remembered the words to every verse, having sung the song again and again as a child with my too-big guitar (when no one else was around because I was embarrassed of my voice). I would watch Pete Seeger’s weekly television show with my father and listen to his record of children’s songs, which found a permanent home on the turntable of our hi-fi. I was fascinated by how his fingers danced on the banjo, how he played his instruments by ear and made it look easy, how he told stories in words and songs.
At the concert, I sang quietly in case my voice were to crack or hit a note out of tune. I marveled at Pete Seeger’s gift to draw in his audience, to make you feel like you were the one he was singing to. At 89, he was still a virtuoso who could make us laugh at the ironies of our world and our words. (”Quicksand works slowly; boxing rings are square. A writer writes, but do fingers fing?”)
Woody Guthrie’s classic “This Land” was the next-to-the-last song on the concert, a benefit to restore the historic Ritz Theater in Newburgh, NY. Sponsored by La Bella Strings and the Bardavon, it’s part of the Tom Humphrey Guitar Series to honor the memory of the renowned Hudson Valley guitar maker who passed away earlier this year and who made the beautiful instrument I play.
As for the last song, I remember little about it because I was too busy thinking of what I would say to Pete (or should I call him Mr. Seeger?) when I finally got to meet him at the reception.
“How un-Pete-Seegerlike,” I thought, seeing my childhood icon as a man who lives in the moment and sings from the heart, a man who concerns himself with cleaning rivers and bettering the world and certainly not rehearsing conversations in his head with people he hopes to impress.
I waited anxiously in line at the reception, one of many admirers vying for his attention. I felt guilty thinking that he would have probably rather perused the refreshment table, but I pressed on because I’d always wanted to meet him and kept barely missing the opportunity.
As my turn approached, my heart pounded. I dreaded that he would brush me off, or nod vaguely as he did with one gentleman before apologizing that he didn’t remember the occasion the man so eagerly described.
“Mr. Seeger, I’ve always wanted to meet you,” I said. He leaned in to listen, so I went on. “I used to watch your television show with my father in the 60s, and it inspired me to learn guitar. I went on to play for a living, and Tom Humphrey built my guitar.”
“What kind of music do you play?” he asked.
I was surprised he wanted to know, and I felt a twinge of guilt since I’ve devoted far more time to writing than music in recent years. I told him that I play classical guitar and that I like music inspired by people’s cultures, all kinds of music, including the Yiddish Klezmer music from my own heritage.
That was as coherent as I got. I ended up blurting out something about how inspiring it was to hear him sing “This Land is Your Land,” then thought, “Sheesh, Alison — you couldn’t have mentioned a more sophisticated song?!”
I broke the ensuing silence my telling him that my father was a civil rights activist. His eyes widened.
“What’s your father’s name?” he asked.
“Ellis Bert,” I said, adding that he probably would not have known him, but that he went on to become a civil rights lawyer. “He was the one who introduced me to your music,” I said. “He was excited that I was coming to hear you tonight.”
I asked him if he would take a picture with me. (My boyfriend Greg took the portrait here — Greg, who drove us an hour in a downpour even though he’s not into folk music and was terrified he would have to sing “Kumbaya.”)
I thanked Mr. Seeger, smiling despite my sense of unease. “I’m going to let you talk to your other fans,” I said, then slipped into the crowd.
As gracious as Mr. Seeger was, I suspected that the small talk that comes with meeting your fans is not his favorite form of discourse. Nor mine.
In the perfect scenario, we would talk about the music and writing and causes that inspire us. I would tell him that I don’t pursue music with the intensity I once did, having changed careers from musician to journalist, though that’s only part of the reason. Perhaps I would play the role of journalist, which is more natural to me now than that of fellow musician — or fan. That is, I would be myself. After all, Pete Seeger’s art is all about honest expression and the freedom to be true to ourselves.
But this isn’t a perfect world. So we do the best we can in scenarios that are less than ideal. In this way, I’m grateful for my brief encounter with this extraordinary man.
This is Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, a gifted musician who spent much of his childhood in Nicaragua. He’s been performing with Pete Seeger since he was 16. It started when he got on his grandfather’s case for singing in Spanish with a bad accent, he told us last night. Pete Seeger responded by suggesting that he come on up and join him to make it sound better.
And this is Toshi Seeger, Pete Seeger’s wife, with Chris Silva, Executive Director of the Bardavon. I want to thank them, along with Kristen Cronin of Safe Harbors of the Hudson, for making this wonderful evening possible.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Hi Alison!
What a lovely post. It was great to meet you and I’m so happy that you made it to see Pete and Tao. Hope to see you again!
November 30th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
If I’m not mistaken I think it was the Smothers Brothers that first introduced me to Pete Seeger’s music. Years later it was Harry Chapin… years after that it was Bruce Springsteen, and now its Alison Bert… this man has been inspiring undiminished awe and reverence all these years and I’m happy to see he’s not done yet! Thanks for the great post!
February 18th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Last year, my teacher suggested I do a project on Pete Seeger since I was into music. I had never heard of him before but by the end of the project I was hooked! I was really inspired by this great man and I looked everywhere to see if he was playing any concerts anywhere. I could find no information so I finally gave up. I just happened on some article that said his last concert was sometime in November of 2008. I got really disappointed. I wanted to meet him, but not only that, hear him sing and influence people first hand. I’m really glad that you were able to meet him and sing with him. And don’t worry. It would be VERY inspiring to hear him sing “This Land Is Your Land” in person. No one’s gonna hold that against ya =)
February 19th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Cat, it’s a pleasure to hear from you. I hope you get to hear him soon. A good opportunity would be at his Clearwater Festival in June:
http://www.clearwater.org/revival/aboutfestival.html
Also, here’s a site that lists his concerts. There’s one in April in New Orleans:
http://www.tourtracker.com/artist/pete-seeger/1001788
Maybe one of his other fans can stop by and tell us how to find out about his concerts.
BTW, in checking to see if Tao Rodriguez-Seeger had any concerts on his blog, I saw one of your posts with a link to your blog. Nice work! You’re a really good photographer.