September 25th is International Peace Day, but today Molly Schlangen, a yoga instructor from Epping organized modest commemoration on the Commons in Raymond I wasn’t able to get there for the earlier part of the day, but I did luckily arrive about a half hour early.Mike O’Donnell was getting his guitar and harmonica ready to entertain us with a variety of songs, many of which had me singing along as I remembered days at the Philadelphia Folk Festival back in the 70’s. We'd soaked up music all day and then headed back to the tents for our 70’s version are karaoke with six strings and three chords.
We sang along with him on the Universal Soldier, Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream, The City of New Orleans and others, but Mike also offered some of his original works which carry similar themes in today’s world.
Mike writes about the working man, society, and the human condition. I didn’t have time to talk to his about his music, but to me it sounds as if he is writing from life experiences and the world he sees around him. His Homeland Security Blues pokes fun at the paranoia generated by the war on terror and Thin on Top, the song featured in the video below, talks about growing old, something with which this aging hippy can all to easily identify.
Mike is a transplant from Oregon and has been in NH for about 7 years. He plays at the Loaf and Ladle in Exeter on Sunday mornings, the Lazy Lion in Deerfield on Thursday night, and at the Yankee Market in Raymond on Friday nights.
His voice isn’t going to win him a million dollars on America’s Got Talent, but his voice is honest and he sings from the heart. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him on the commons and I’m going to make it a point to check him out one of these nights.
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