Brad Dunse: Blog

Canvas bags draping slumped shoulders, buckles digging into tired muscles, nervous fingers losing their sweaty grip every tenth step, I huffed my gear through the crowds of soldiers. Spotting a slightly wooded area to escape the baking sun, the bags almost magnetically pulled themselves towards cover; reaching it they slid off the shoulders with a sigh through puffed cheeks.

Rubbing the burn from sore neck muscles, stretching out the back, and taking in the action all around; I wondered what the day might look like in hindsight, and which one of the souls out there might be a new found friend by day’s end.

A bit nervous of what to expect amid the battle experienced soldiers out there, wonderment gave way to doubt as to whether the ability to even identify with what they have seen allows for friendship.

Finally, two gents approached asking if I was who I was. Confirming it with handshakes, we began chatting as bags were opened and gear pulled out. Opening the case and sitting on a stool, I began to fiddle around on my guitar....

Sometimes when writing, the purpose is to aim commercially and sometimes it is to just write a song with a message that is rooted in you in a manner and genre in which it just comes out. Thus is the case with this month’s song.

As with so many tunes I write, I’ll just set down with my guitar, find a groove, and just let the tones and emotion lead me into the topic. With Hunger For The Weak...

Quick Tip: Split Personality

I remember as a kid watching a movie where Sally Fields played a troubled young girl named Cybil, which was the name of the movie… even movies have one word titles . Anyway it showed a tragic condition imposed on a young girl where she developed what was sometimes called Split Personality or Multiple Personality, now referred to as Dissociative Identity Disorder.

As serious and unfortunate that is in real life, songs can also mistakenly suffer from that same dilemma. IN fact songs are written from and towards certain perspectives or “personalities”. There are three of them “I”, “You”, “They”… First person, second person and third person respectively.

Out of the split personalities perspectives in general there are two different kinds, intentional and unintentional, or otherwise a flat out mistake. What do I mean, how could this happen? I’m glad you asked.

Let’s take the unintentional kind first of all. If I were to write a verse [...]

...In honor of Veteran’s Day coming up on November 11, particularly those who served in the Vietnam War, this month’s SBTS is a song I had the honor of co-writing entitled The Wall. No, sorry it’s not the Pink Floyd tune of the same name… which I think is pretty awesome in its own right. However, this is quite a different song for which I feel very honored to have been a part of its writing, and continual affect on those who have served or those who have lost loved ones. I still get email in my in-box from vets expressing their appreciation despite it being around for a while. That to me is the most rewarding thing in songwriting...

Back in the 60s and 70s there was a TV show called Bewitched. Each episode showed this modern witch, minus the broom and warted nose mind you, how her powers helped in a crisis and also got herself and husband in a bit of trouble. “Brad? Has the marshmallow slipped out of your s’more? What does that have to do with...