"Ever since the beginning there's always been the guys designated to carry the coal. Remember? See, when the tribe's fire went out, when they moved on, someone had to carry the last hot coal to start up the next fire with at the next campfire. They needed this fire to cook with, sleep near, and even for some good 'ol talks and songs. Now many of these coal holders, over time, became folk singers. Later, some went electric. Some even became rock and rollers. (Hey, different tribes, different instruments.) However the job has never changed."
-Nora Guthrie
Hope Machine was born at a 2003 Woody Guthrie hootenanny hosted by Woody's granddaughter Anna Canoni. It was named after the Woody quote: "about all a human being is anyway, is a hoping machine." The band, whose core members are Fred Gillen Jr., Steve Kirkman, and Eric Puente, rarely does a show without a special guest or two sitting in, and they almost never rehearse. This way of operating has made their performances true celebrations of community, spontaneity, and freedom. Their debut CD March, which was released in the Winter of 2006/ 2007, was recorded live-in-the-studio and received folk airplay all over the East Coast. The follow-up to March, Big Green Hope Machine, features some of Gillen and Kirkman's finest songs, and some very special guest artists. It has received positive reviews and airplay all over the world. Hope Machine is ever evolving, but the message of their songs, and the songs they choose to cover, remains constant; it is a message of hope, peace, and freedom. They remain an "official program" of the Woody Guthrie Foundation, and carry Woody's message wherever they go: that we are all hope machines.