Still hammering

At the age of 76, Yarrow shows no signs of slowing. In recent years, the singer has performed at union protests in Madison, Wis., and at Occupy Wall Street in New York City.

He is traveling to Israel next month to perform at events surrounding its upcoming elections. City Pulse was able to catch the activist-artist by phone in advance of his performance at the Ten Pound Fiddle.

What still drives you after all of these years of performing music?

The same thing that drove me, really, from the beginning. For me, the whole deal, the whole pursuit of this, revolves around music as a way to build community, bring people together, inspire them, and unite their hearts in a way that gives them the opportunity to not only care about each other, accept each other, but also unite their efforts to create a more caring, more humane world.

That’s what music does. That’s my motivation, it always was. It’s not just about entertaining, it’s not just about inspiring people, it is about actually creating a connective tissue in their spirit. Just like at the March on Washington (for Jobs and Freedom) — where Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech — when the people there sang “Blowing in the Wind” and “If I Had a Hammer.” And when we sang those songs, we were not performing something, however passionately, we were living something with people that was more than a performance. It was an act of solidarity and commitment. It was so inspiring that it changed our lives. The people at the concert in East Lansing, when I perform, will feel that history.

When you get to my age, there are a lot of people who just feel, “Well I want to retire, and I want to play golf and I want to hang out.” Truly, their lives become very bland and it can be very difficult and painful for them. But mine is as exciting as it ever was. Why? Because I am being useful. I’m the luckiest guy in the world to be able to have this in my life.

When you look at the folk music scene today, is it missing something that it had in the ´60s and ´70s?

Of course! It’s missing a vast audience because the music business has become so hyper-focused on money. If something in the aesthetic world is dollar-driven, you get mediocrity at best. (In the ´60s and ´70s) there were people at the heads of the record companies who really cared about music that was the voice of the conscience of the nation at the time.

Do you think Bob Dylan would have a shot on ‘American Idol’ if he were emerging today? Do you think the kinds of explosively unusual talents that emerged then would be nurtured today? No, it’s kind of cookie-cutter. If you’re in that particular genre and you’re beautiful and you sing this kind of song, we know how to market it. If you’ve got a hit, fine, otherwise it’s over. That’s what happens in today’s world. It’s all about money. And in that atmosphere, music of conscience, music of caring, music of the kind of heart that we shared in the 1960s, just is not supported. It’s marginalized. That doesn’t mean it’s not there. It is, but it’s not like what it was.

What can people expect if they come to see you at the Fiddle?

When I get out there on stage, sure it’s going to be entertaining — we’ll sing “Puff the Magic Dragon” and I’ll bring the kids on stage; I’ll sing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and we’ll all remember Mary Travers and the audience will sing her part on the choruses — but it will be like a cross between a concert and a party, and a peace march. Because it’s in my blood. I’ll not only sing the songs, I’ll let people know a little bit about the history of what I experienced and talk to them about the continuing relevance of these efforts.

For the first half I will do songs that I choose to do, and then for the second half I’ll take requests from the audience and sing what they want me to sing. I’ll be singing the Peter, Paul and Mary repertoire, which is my repertoire, and I will be delighted to sing their requests, because the whole idea of their participation is really important to me.

To hear more of our interview with Peter Yarrow, tune in to “City Pulse on the Air” on the Impact 89FM tonight at 7 p.m. or listen to the podcast at lansingcitypulse.com.

Peter Yarrow at the Ten Pound Fiddle

8 p.m. Friday, March 6 $30 floor/$20 balcony Hannah Community Center 819 Abbot Road, East Lansing tenpoundfiddle.org