Play Music on the Porch Day

... so the Bay View Compass has always been a reliable guide on the goings-on in the imaginary village of Bay View,  Wisconsin.  And in the August 2020 issue, the front page featured an article about Play Music on Your Porch Day.  This August 29, 2020 event involved playing music on your front porch instead of the other things people are doing nowadays, so it sounded like a good idea to me.  We had music, and we sort of had a porch out in front of the studio, and we gave it a go. 

With the help of Joyce (my wife), and Tiara Lukiesh, (one of my piano students), we put together a fun one-hour program of music, a little of everything - Beethoven, Baby Boomer favorites, Beatles, jazz, tangos, polkas and of course some of our favorite Basement Music. The video below is a sampling of our experience.  We had fun, got lots of good honks and thumbs up from passing cars, and even some villagers standing around having fun with us. The people on the Harleys couldn't hear us, but their contributions added a certain Milwaukee authenticity to the proceedings. Enjoy!

Na Na Na Na-Na-Na-Na

This song reminds me of all the late summers of days past.  Memories where the sun is always shining.  Coming of age in the turbulent late 1960s, my most vivid memory of this song is a sun-filled Saturday afternoon, our church youth group was meeting recreationally at a nearby Wisconsin state park.  We gathered into groups of about five or six, and crammed into the cars of the youth leaders.  Looking back, I later realized that these "adult role models" we looked on as leaders were actually only two or three years older than us.  So, we all had a lot in common.  I remember careening down country roads with all the windows open, and I'm pretty sure we were a bit above the speed limit.  And cranked up on the most powerful car radio I had ever heard, were the Beatles, singing "Hey Jude".   Na Na Na Na-Na-Na-Na, Na-Na-Na-Na  Hey Jude! 

Meanwhile back here  in the 21st Century, fifty-some years later, the Beatles remain as a primary musical influence of young people.  It was a most pleasant surprise to discover that one of my piano students had not only become familiar with the Beatles heritage, but had also been playing saxophone since high school.  How fortuitous!  Thanks, Tiara! And Joyce, my beloved wife, who just loves the Beatles (this is either an exaggeration or a dog-gone lie.) took up the tambourine to give us that 1960s vibe.  Far Out!