Local guitar hero Sean Michael Dargan performs tunes from the Vietnam era with the Back in the World Band.
In We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War, local authors Doug Bradley and Craig Werner explain the role music played in the lives of American soldiers serving in a strange and foreign land.
On Sept. 30, they’ll share those stories through the actual words and voices of veterans who survived the war, as well as live performances of the songs that got them through it.
The event, a Madison Public Library Foundation benefit, will be held at The Barrymore Theatre and feature readings from the book Rolling Stone hailed as the best music title of 2015.
All proceeds will benefit the $2.5 million capital campaign for a new Pinney Library, slated for the Royster Corners development near the library’s current location on Cottage Grove Road. General admission tickets cost $35, and VIP tickets are $125.
“Some of the veterans who will be joining us will read from their own “Solo” [a first-person narrative] that is included in We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” Bradley says. “The others will be a mix of Vietnam veterans and post-9/11 vets, who'll read pieces by vets who aren't able to join us that evening.”
The readings will be accompanied by performances from longtime Madison musical stalwart Sean Michael Dargan and his band, with additional keyboards, horns and singers.
“It is going to be a cool mash-up style of show, where a vet reads a passage from the book, and then the band plays a song or two that was highlighted in that passage,” he says. “Suffice to say that Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, CCR, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones will all be well represented.”
Family and friends of deceased Vietnam vets are expected to attend, also.
The authors and musicians jumped at the opportunity to participate in such a special event.
“I have always been fascinated by the Vietnam era,” Dargan says. “Two of my best high school friends had dads right in the Vietnam age. One was a decorated soldier, the other was a conscientious objector. The two sides of the puzzle always resonated strongly with me as a metaphor for our American experience during my lifetime.”
“It’s all about the Pinney Library and helping it grow and serve its community,” Bradley adds. “The Madison Public Library Foundation decided this was a good fit. For me, it doesn't matter if the book is a year old or not; the songs and the accompanying veterans’ stories will always resonate. Personally, I can't think of a better way to highlight the importance of libraries. Plus, the vets’ stories — and the music — are so darn good!”
