Okay, so there’s not really any blues, but since I’ve got the blues on my mind what with this NaNoWriMo thing going on. But I wanted to take a break from our scheduled programming to share this with you:
Chris Brune, publicity still for The New Chautauqua.
My dad, Chris Brune, hosts these one-man shows irregularly, usually for a charitable cause, in this case Literacy Volunteers of Sussex County.
My favorite part of this performance comes at the top of the hour, 1:00:00, where my dad performs the story of The Star-Spangled Banner. Every New Chautauqua, he does the story of a song (previously it was The Battle Hymn of the Republic), and this is an excellent exegesis.
These programs always make me slightly jealous of the audience, given that I’m often out of town and rarely have made one. But in this short (well, hour and a half) clip, you can catch a glimpse of what it was like growing up in our house, after the dinner plates were cleared away, and the instruments were brought out. Playing music together, listening, singing, enjoying the creation of music.
I am looking forward to being home on leave—and make no mistake, no matter where I go, northwestern NJ is “home” for me—and perhaps playing music again. And, perhaps sharing it as well!
