Meet The Wanderers! - The Wanderers - News

Elmer Buehler Passes

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

We sadly report that Elmer Buehler of Portland died Memorial Day 2010 at age 99. Elmer was the last known prime source for the story of Woody Guthrie's 30 days in Portland when he wrote 26 songs about the Columbia River. Some of those songs were among Guthrie's most famous - "Pastures of Plenty," "Roll On Columbia," and "The Grand Coulee Dam." Elmer was interviewed on Guthrie's Northwest story in the University of Oregon documentary, "Woody Guthrie and the Bonneville Power Administration." Elmer's memories were the basis for retelling this previously little-known chapter in Guthrie's life, especially as written in Ed Cray's book, Ramblin' Man. We are proud to say he was our good friend.

April Shows Got Them Singing

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

We've completed three very successful April shows and would love to keep the energy going with some more! Two concerts combined us with the talent gals of Cabin Fever Northwest. We did two double-CD release parties - one in Seattle at Haller Lake Center and the other at Nancy's Farm in Bellingham. Even though Cabin Fever NW is from Bellingham, they had never played at Nancy's. Now they know what a treat that is! And everyone was singing along with both our groups. The shows were really fun.

Then we Wanderers headed for Orcas Island and the fine grange hall there. We've done several shows there with our pal, Tom Rawson and his band of merry players. Folks this time were really in the mood to sing and they sure did, all night. Read the review in our PRESS section from Bullwings, an Orcas publication. That's how we love it...a real hootenanny. All we needed was a room full of banjo players. Well, perhaps the three we brought were enough.Thanks to everyone who made that night so great.

Want us to bring our hootenanny to you? Just give us a shout.

Peter Yarrow visits Woody-Watch a Video

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

As part of the run up to Portland's big Winterfolk-22 concert, on Feb 4 Peter Yarrow (Peter,Paul and Mary) visited the Woody Guthrie Circle outside the Bonneville Power Administration headquarters in NE Portland. The entire circle in front of the building is named for Guthrie. The granite walkway and an adjacent garden feature stones carved with some of Woody's sayings and lyrics. Guthrie wrote songs for BPA in May 1941. BPA honored Guthrie by naming a power substation near Hood River for him in 1965 but in 2000 BPA sold the substation and Guthrie's name was removed. BPA decided the honor to Guthrie should be preserved. I (Bill) headed the committee to create the tribute garden and circle, which were dedicated in 2001, 50 years from the time Guthrie worked in Portland. Yarrow's visit was part of publicizing the effort to name a Portland area hiking trail for Guthrie. Watch a video of Yarrow's visit to Guthrie Circle and the BPA and a surprise concert with day-care kids!

Portland's Winterfolk-22 a big success

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

We played Portland's big Winterfolk concert saturday night, Feb 6 and what a show! Firstly, 600-plus people sold out the Aladdin Theatre in Portland to raise funds for the Sisters of the Road Cafe in Portland, a place where people of all social and economic conditions can get a warm meal, some friendship, comfort and respect. It was a great cause for Utah Phillips. Peter Yarrow headlined this year as he did last year. I think Sisters has found a way to his heart, too. We were honored to be a part of the cause - our first invite there. We did six of Woody Guthrie's Columbia River songs and were accompanied by Donny Wright, bass meister. The whole thing is engineered by folksinger Tom May, who has been doing it for 22 years. It was an amazing and memorable night. Thanks Tom and everyone who performed. Part of the evening included promotion of a plan to name a hiking trail along the Interstate 205 freeway in Oregon for Woody Guthrie. Right now the trail has an institutional sounding name applied by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Petitions are out and there's a web site. Just look for Woody Guthrie Trail in your search browsers. The trail passes within blocks of the apartment Woody rented in Portland while he worked here in May 1941 writing 26 songs in 30 days. That apartment still stands! Cool!

2/3/2010 - Update

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Hello again. It's been a quiet winter but we finally got our new CD out! Yeah! We've splashed it over various places on our site so you can see and hear it. This one celebrates our 50 years singing together. It's good and fun to hear. We took it first to Florence, OR - where much of it was recorded last summer and folks were enthusiastic to see it. We'll show it off at the Portland Winterfolk concert, Feb 6. Around mid March, we'll be showing it in various Arizona spots. We have a pair of shows in April in Seattle and Bellingham, WA., with Cabin Fever Northwest. Tara and Dianne should have their new CD out by then so those shows will be real celebrations.

While you consider shows to see, put Mar 12 on your calendar. Bill's other two groups - the Unpaid Bills and the Cruzers are doing a joint show in Seattle at the Wayward coffee house on Greenwood Ave. in Fremont. The Unpaid Bills are two guys named Bill doing songs about money. The Cruzers are two Bills and a Jim with three same-branded guitars doing some country and folk standards. There are striking similarities in personnel.

Here's to the groundhog being wrong! Have a great spring.

Catching Up

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Well, it's been a while since we commented here. Sorry for the delay. We've had a fairly quiet summer, punctuated with a four-day tour near and on the Oregon Coast and a couple of great music festivals. Our calendar dates on this site are up to date so you can see where we are next. We're doing a whole bunch of songs beyond those on our album including a set dedicated to some of our heros like Terry Gilkyson, Bud and Travis, Utah Phillips and, of course, Woody Guthrie. We're still doing those unique shows on Woody Guthrie's great Columbia River song collection so let us know when we can come do a show at your school, library, community center, art gallery or even museum. We look great in museums!
Shhh. Don't tell anyone but we are kinda, sorta working on a new recording project to bring some songs from that new batch to you.

We'll be back soon.

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Carl is snow-birding in Arizona right now until April 1. We'll start our 50th year singing together with a show at the Orcas Island Grange Hall on April 4. Our good friend, banjo-pickin' Tom Rawson will join us as we attempt to raise the grange hall roof a few feet with songs. Please join us.
We'd LOVE to help celebrate our 50th anniversary with YOU..all it takes is an Email to this site and we can work out the details. Thanks.
bill

FOUND!! Columbia River Songbooks

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

2/20/09- SingOut Magazine has a very small stash of Woody Guthrie's Roll On Columbia, The Columbia River Collection songbooks. They were discovered in a dark warehouse corner. We Wanderers will soon have some of them. The rest remain with SingOut. If you *ever* wanted one of these songbooks, NOW is the time to get them...directly from us or from SingOut. The stock will not last long and the books will NOT be republished. Check our LINKS page for details.

A Wonderful Year, Thanks to All

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

2008 goes down as a wonderful year for us Wanderers. We thank each of you for helping us present shows and mostly for coming to hear and see us. We love meeting all of you, singing our songs with you and telling you of Woody Guthrie's Northwest saga.

Here's hoping we meet, or meet again in 2009. We'll start right out January 16-18 at the Florence, OR. Winter Folk Festival, one of the best winter festivals in the region. Join us to hear the great Tom Paxton, Barry McGuire, Deadwood Revival, Cabin Fever Northwest and so many others...and see the lovely community of Florence, OR. Then a week later, January 24, we team up with our Seattle friend Tom Rawson to raise the roof at Artichoke Music in Portland. When you come, be ready to sing loud and long.

Thanks everyone. Have the greatest of holidays.

10-12-07 Portland House Concert with Tom Rawson

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The Wanderers and Tom Rawson continued our mini-tour together in Portland with a splendid audience at Ken and Ellie Rice's home. House concerts are wonderful - up close and personal; warm and friendly. The place was full and everyone was in a mood to sing. Tom really gets them going with his great sing-along songs and we added a few of our own. Ken and Ellie do just a few shows a year and they are the best hosts! We love house concerts!