Bob Doran


Latest Articles:

The Hum ~ Out of Print ~ 9/28-10/3

Well, I took this weekend off at least in the Union, so there’s no Hum in print. Did anyone notice aside from my editor Lauraine? Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, I still got emails and message asking if I would help drum up interest in one show or another, which makes me wonder once again, does anyone care whether I spend... READ MORE >

The Hum ~ Down the rabbit-hole ~ 9/20

“Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. In... READ MORE >

The Hum ~ The Same Old Same Old?

The seasons are changing. This long, hot summer won’t be over officially until next Friday (Sept. 22, @ 1:02 p.m.) but cruel winds have already “hit heavy on the borderline,” and recently between fires and floods and guns on the Plaza, things seem out of control. How can we put things right? How about with music, dancing and friends? The quintessential... READ MORE >

The Hum ~ Peaches in the summer wind ~ 9/6

The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. Carl Sandburg Reading it on a page, you may not hear the rhythm in the words, but if you hear a recording of Sandburg reading it, it’s there. The jazz drummer Matt Wilson found it a loop of Carl... READ MORE >

The Hum ~ A labor of love ~ 8/30

Labor Day weekend is coming up. That used to mean the end of summer vacation and something about rich people wearing white, but those are archaic traditions. We have new traditions to replace them. Established as a holiday to honor trade unions and the “workers,” now it’s just another extended weekend. We’ll still set up a soap box for speeches... READ MORE >

The Hum ~ School Daze ~ 8/23

“Up in the mornin’ and off to school. The teacher is teachin’ the Golden Rule, American history and practical math. You’re studyin’ hard and hopin’ to pass… Soon as three o’clock rolls around, you finally lay your burden down. Close up your books, get out of your seat, down the halls and into the street. Up to the corner and... READ MORE >

The Hum ~ Be here now ~ 8/16

“Life is such a great adventure. Learn to live it as you go. No one in the world can censure what we do here below. Don’t save your kisses, just pass them around. You’ll find my reason is logic’lly sound: Who’s going to know that you passed them around a hundred years from today.” ~ from “A Hundred Years From Today”... READ MORE >

Hootenannies, Shindigs and Hullabaloos ~ The Hum ~ 8/9 

You have to be of a certain age to remember Hootenanny, a tv variety show that focused on the folk music revival in the early ‘60s. It came and went for a couple reasons. The first was your basic, “There’s something happening here, but you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?” to quote the post-folk revival artist... READ MORE >

The Hum ~ 8/2 ~ Hot Fun (in the Summertime)

“Them summer days, those summer days, that’s when I have most of my fun. High, high, high, high there, them summer days, those summer days. I cloud nine when I want to; out of school, yeah; County Fair in the country sun and everything is cool, ooh, yeah. Hot fun in the summertime, hot fun in the summertime… (repeat ad... READ MORE >

The Hum ~ 7/26 ~ Something about Jonathan

Remember a movie from the ‘90s called, There’s Something About Mary? The Farrelly Brothers raunchy rom-com begins with shot of a couple of guys in a tree playing the title track, a song that sets the scene in a tale about a guy who just can’t forget a girl. “His friends would say be reasonable, his friends would say just... READ MORE >