That’s not all folks, from Arlo

Arlo Guthrie’s Australian shows will be based around Alice’s Restaurant, which he’ll play in full, and he says he can’t wait to get back Down Under.

Arlo Guthrie.

ARLO Guthrie – folk royalty, Woodstock alumni, son of Woody – once lived with his dad in an apartment building owned by none other than Donald Trump’s father Fred.

That’s right. The man who famously painted “This Machine Kills Fascists” on his guitar rented a flat for himself and his young family – including five-year-old Arlo – from the father of the man who has arguably dragged America further to the right than it’s ever been.

Arlo says he doesn’t remember much about having Frederick Christ Trump as the family’s landlord, but Woody sure did. He found Trump Sr to be a most unpleasant racist.

“I suppose Old Man Trump knows just how much racial hate he stirred up – in the blood-pot of human hearts – when he drawed that color line here at his eighteen hundred family project,” Woody sang in a song about the home he called Bitch Haven, where only white tenants were allowed.

Arlo concedes that his father, who died in 1967, would have plenty to write about his old landlord’s son, but he’s also quick to point out that America is nowhere near as divided as it might seem from afar.

“In everyday life it’s not as divided as it may appear,” Arlo, 71, says over the phone from the States.

“When we go to a truck stop to fuel our buses, or go to a restaurant, or any of the things we do everyday, no one asks if you’re left, right or centre.

“If there’s an emergency – a fire or a flood – no one cares how you voted. So most of the time, most people feel very comfortable being themselves.

“But when it comes to decision making – policies that affect everyone – you’ll inevitably find individuals who use those occasions to project their own agendas. In the political arena you’ll naturally find divisions, but most people are not in the political arena, so you’d never notice the divisions as they’re portrayed in the news media.”

Arlo’s faith in human nature shouldn’t be mistaken for softness though. You don’t have to dig too far uncover the counterculture firebrand whose distaste for injustice remains strong.

“For the last few decades the gulf between those who have too much and those who have too little has widened considerably,” he says.

“It’s probably gotten to the point where we’ll need to readjust those kinds of things. The only division between people is how we will accomplish that task and balance the economy so that everyone is on a more equitable footing. Everyone pretty much agrees what the problem is – we’re just sorting out what to do about it.”

US folk singer Arlo Guthrie.

It’s fair to say Arlo Guthrie didn’t have an average childhood.

One of eight children Woody fathered with three wives (Arlo’s mother was dancer Marjorie Mazia Guthrie), the young Arlo had a bohemian upbringing in the company of musical legends.

Folk legends like Pete Seeger, Sonny Terry and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot would come around to play and talk with Woody, and young Arlo soaked it all in. It was a masterclass in American music, and one that Arlo obviously paid attention to.

“We knew we were strange,” Guthrie says.

“And we also knew that our parents’ friends were very interesting and talented people.

“Ramblin’ Jack is still around, doing some of the best shows he’s done in decades. He was a huge influence on me and he remains one of my most important mentors.”

This mentorship, of course, resulted in Arlo picking up his own guitar and writing his own songs. And they were good. Really good.

His 1967 debut Alice’s Restaurant became an American classic, and the 18-and-a-half minute single Alice’s Restaurant Massacree is still played in full on radio stations every Thanksgiving.

Arlo Guthrie at Woodstock, 1969

To Australian audiences, though, he might be better known for his appearance at Woodstock, and the subsequent movie, where he sang his drug smuggling anthem Coming in to Los Angeles over a montage of thousands of hippies getting high.

That concert, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has a lasting legacy according to Arlo.

“It was historic, at the time for a gazillion reasons,” he says.

“But maybe the most important thing was that it proved that young people could enjoy themselves without the usual reliance on authorities.”

Arlo’s Australian shows will be based around Alice’s Restaurant, which he’ll play in full, and he says he can’t wait to get back Down Under.

“I’ve always loved the chance to get down there,” he says,

“Friendly people, good beer, decent coffee … everything that counts.

“Most importantly we seem to have a sense of humour in common. We even recorded a concert years ago (Live in Sydney) that we released as a record and it’s one of my favourite recordings.

“That was only possible because it felt like we were in the company of people who felt like part of our larger family.”

SEE: Arlo Guthrie plays Alice’s Restaurant

The Gov, April 24

TICKETS: thegov.com.au