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GC: So there's going to be a second live album, and I think it's even exponentially better than
the first [laughs].
BiTS: Wow, that's pretty darn good as well.
GC: Yeah, yeah [laughing], that'll be released in early August.
BiTS: Did you say you've recorded that or are you going to?
GC: We already did. We did it on March 9th.
BiTS: Wow, and when is that one coming out?
GC: August. The first Friday in August.
BiTS: Oh, I'm looking forward to it. Tell me,
Odetta Holmes (Dec 31, 1930 – Dec 2, 2008)
what is your feeling about Odetta? Why is
it that you wanted to do a tribute?
GC: Well, I met her in the early 90s, in New
York City. I was a guest at a concert in New
York City at the club The Bottom Line, and
the concert was an Arlo Guthrie concert. My
manager at the time got these reserved
seats for the show because she was in the
Arlo camp. He lives nearby. We live in the
same county in Massachusetts. So I went to
this concert, and we sat at a reserved table
and, lo and behold, did they seat Odetta
next to me. I was watching her being
ushered to the table, and I was racking my
brain. I'm like, I know this woman, but I
can't conjure her name right now
[laughing]. And I'm like battling with myself
until someone at the table said let's go
around the table and do introductions and
she was the last one.
I started out the round of introductions and
it ran around the table. So she was the last
one to introduce herself and then she said,
[deep voice] “Hello, I'm Odetta”. I'm like,
oh my gosh [laughs], like nearly fell out. But
she was so regal, so stately, she glowed
[laughing]. I can't express how much of a tangible aura she had. A patron came up to her just
before the start of the show and rushed right up to her face and said do you remember me; do
you remember me? Odetta kind of leaned back and then gave her this glare and said, [deep voice]
“Child, I’m too old for games. Tell me who you are”.
BiTS: How wonderful. They say, Gina, that you should never meet your heroes because they'll
always let you down, but it sounds as though this was a great experience for you.