LETTER to MEMBERS

UTAH PHILLIPS: ANOTHER HOBO DONE GONE

Hi, friends, 

                Bruce Utah Phillips moved on last month after some years of heart troubles. I've been listening to his pod casts, just to glean some more wisdom from this amazing man. His sagacity was matched only by his humor. "Moose Turd Pie" performed live on Godfrey's stage was a dream come true for me. 

                I first experienced Utah ’way before Godfrey's even entered my mind. A good friend and guitarist, Dennis Mike, dragged me off to Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs, New York, from our homes in Delmar, New York. I had never taken in live folk music like this before, and we decided to head out to hear this Utah Phillips, The Golden Voice of the Great Southwest. As fate would have it, he was doing his first tour of folk clubs in the East, at the behest of Rosalie Sorrels, yet another keystone in Godfrey's history. He came out in chaps and a beat-up leather hat and proceeded to carry on, in a rather blue manner, to the delight of all present. 

                Bruce and Rosalie came to Godfrey's early on; and together and as solos, they created evenings of beauty, song, poetry, stories, and ribald humor. Magic! Utah returned often as himself, solo, actually picking up on when he left, asking questions and reconnecting with us all. His off-stage curiosity took him across Bethlehem, the Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania, exploring the little nooks and crannies such as God's Acre cemetery, Beth Steel, The Mercer Museum, etc. It was like your favorite uncle came over for a visit. His signature was the first mentioned for our Godfrey's Martin guitar, and thus, I carry him with me out to all my gigs (along with his "Eleanor Roosevelt" signature.) 

                Bruce's travels were curtailed over the last years, but he took to pod cast chats on his website. He talked about "the trade", traveling musicians playing for the people on a sub-corporate level. As always, his Union/Wobblies instincts kicked in. I urge you to listen to some of them, www.UtahPhillips.org. Bruce showed his love and respect for what we've been trying to do here on the Southside, supported us (“paid the rent” several times), and spread the word about us to many good friends. I'm thinking about one particular evening here, the back door open to the summer air, when, in the course of one of Utah's train songs, the evening freight rumbled through, as if on cue. Powerful. There are no coincidences sometimes…. That train's moved on, and so has a noble folksinger and philosopher.  

Dave