I was fortunate. I pulled a 313 in the Vietnam War draft lottery. I got to surf, camp out and enjoy my freedom while many were either forced to serve or enlisted by choice. Simultaneously the nuclear arms race and Cold War with Russia was still a threat. We Boomers rebelled against the establishment.
This year is 50 years since many of us had the pleasure to be part of the Woodstock experience. As a working musician, thinking of the tunes #1- I enjoy singing and #2- I think my audience enjoys hearing…quite a number for 1960-70’s Folk-Protest tunes have a key spot in my play lists, though I have to refrain from playing in some venues to avoid pissing off customers who are on the opposite side of the fence.
On my Tuesday April 9th 11am-pm Brooklynbilly Music Mashup show I’ll be playing 2 hours of folk protest and peace songs ranging from the Vietnam, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon ear through to todays situation with Trump. It’s amazing how so many of the 60-70’s songs are unfortunately relevant again today.
To be honest, it’s quite depressing and I hope I can get through my show without breaking down….for our brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice participate in a war created by politicians and were treated like crap upon their return, to deep divide we currently have in our nation.
That’s my show tomorrow. I’ll get back to my regular crazy mix of tunes next week. I hope you’ll tune in, reflect with me where we’ve been, where we are and where we might be going together. If you’re of a younger generation, you may want to listen and understand some of the baggage us Boomers are carrying.
Tune in at 90.7 FM around the Monterey Bay area as well as around the globe at www.ksqd.org – and if you miss the live broadcast, it’ll be available in the archives for two weeks at https://www.radiofreeamerica.com/show/brooklynbilly-music-mashup-show-k-squid
@ksqdfm, @BrooklynbillyMusic, #FolkMusic
