The New Hampshire Journal
Portrait: Dave Guard

Introduction
Host: [Dave says] if he has a religion it has to be music. Dave Guard’s devotion began back in the 50s when he started the Kingston Trio.

(Cut to Jack Benny clip then George Burns clip.)

Voice Over: Dave Guard had come a long way from the time back in Hawaii when he talked his friend, Bob Shane, into singing at their high school carnival. In fact Guard started his rise to the top with no musical training at all. The songs of the Kingston Trio had easy harmonies and straightforward melodies. Guard says that’s why they were so popular.

Dave Guard: People could just fall into ‘em, you know. And people could imitate that. People could pick up guitars very readily and play ‘em. So I thought just the simplicity of the form made it very accessible.

Voice Over: Guard also credits timing for the Trio’s success. The late 50s were musically stagnant he says. Elvis had been drafted & the Beatles weren’t on the scene yet.

(Cut to Kingston Trio TV appearance singing “Worried Man” with Pat Boone.)

The Trio supplied a nonpolitical brand of folk singing that consistently hit the charts. Then Guard abruptly quit the group.

Dave Guard: Oh there were some big rip off going in the company. And when I squawked, I found out that the people who were ripping us off were taking...were going traveling with the people who were supposed to be protecting us. So I couldn’t appeal to the people who were protecting us since they seemed to be in the “same bed” as you say. So I thought, “I’m gonna go crazy. So I better leave.”

Host: Has there been any point in your life where you have regretted your decision to leave the Kingston Trio?

Dave Guard: Mostly when the rent’s due every month. LOL

(Cut to Dave singing “They Love the Night”.)

Voice Over: The one constant in Guard’s life since the Kingston Trio days has been his music. From singing the sound track of “How the West Was Won” in the early days to coming to New Hampshire last year because there was a lot of interest in folk singing here. He’s traveled the world, written 2 books, devised a system of learning the guitar based on color. But one experience stands out.

Dave Guard: In 1970, I guess, I thought gee I wonder what this Yogi stuff is all about. So I just kind of sat with my back up against a wall. I tried to put all my vertebrae like all in a line, sort of thing, ‘cause I thought that’s the way those guys do...they sit up real straight. And suddenly I was struck by something like lightning. Basically ah,I thought it was like electrocution. It was like this heavy heavy energy came into me. Not heavy, but it was like, you know, very powerful. I thought, “Oh, this is scary. Let’s ride it and see what it’s like.”

Voice Over: Guard found later what he experienced is called a Kundalini awakening. It led him to a study of Siddha Yoga, some of the time with a guru in India. Now he uses herbal tea and meditation to balance his energies. Eastern folk medicine keeps him tuned up he says.

Dave Guard: . . . gotta watch it very carefully ‘cause a musician is an athlete. You have to be able to do your stuff, ya know.

Voice Over: Some of the stuff he’s doing now is a far cry from Tom Dooley. Guard learned these Sanskrit songs in India where people say Sanskrit is the language of the god’s.

Dave Guard: . . . and it’s always saying things, not like “I’m gonna go get a burger on my motorcycle.” You don’t say that kind of stuff, ya know. It’s more like a “There’s a shining blue pearl on the uppermost crown of your, ya know, your highest consciousness and if you focus on that and let the other stuff go, you will achieve more than you could ever want.” (smile)

Voice Over: While Guard’s musical tastes might have become eclectic over the years, it doesn’t mean he’s put aside the songs of the past. He still plays the old tunes in his solo performances and there have been times when the original Kingston Trio got together again (cut to Kingston Trio and Friends Reunion concert singing Zombie Jamboree) to play to still enthusiastic audiences. Another reunion is planned for this summer, the Trio’s 30th anniversary. Guard says it’s a little like going back to high school but at the same time thinks the tour provides a public service.

Dave Guard: It shows people that they can get back to their own youth. I mean, you don’t have to stay there. But I mean to say, pick out your best date. If ya wanna go back to, you know, 1956 or whatever you wanna do, you can just like visit there briefly without all the intervening stuff.

Voice Over: Guard gets a little nostalgic for the old days sometimes. But whether that will draw him away from New Hampshire is uncertain. He’s not crazy about everything here.

Dave Guard: . . . it’s the weather? Naw! I’m a Hawaiian ya know. (smile)

Voice Over: Despite that he’s content.

Dave Guard: I mean life ah . . . keeps movin’ me around. But I’d like to stay. Sure. It feels like home.

Host: Guard these days is giving solo performances and singing with New Hampshire folk groups such as the Shaw Brothers and the White Mountain Singers.

End of Interview