David Hughes

2021-07-292021-07-29 by David Hughes

Bachelors In the Land of Nod

Before I start tooting the horn of current songwriters—and shortly I will profile the thoughtful Dan Wriggins of Friendship—let me toot my own. Over the last six months my musical partner Rob Berg and I have released eighteen songs, ten of which never were issued before (unless you received a few as a homemade Christmas gift in 1987).

2021-05-312026-02-24 by David Hughes

Portrait of Rudy Perez 5: Anatomy of a Performance 2

This fifth in a series of portraits of Rudy Perez is akin to the third: an anatomy of a performance. For background on the dancer-choreographer Ruth St. Denis and her consort Ted Shawn, see Egyptian Deities and Jacob’s Pillow from Portrait of Rudy Perez 4.

2021-05-122022-01-20 by David Hughes

420 Shot in 72 Hours: BFD

CNN News Item, May 10, 2021: According to the Gun Violence Archive, at least 117 people were killed and 303 wounded in shootings across the country over 72 hours this past weekend.

2021-04-182025-08-02 by David Hughes

Modes of Mourning

I’m not a fan of royalty by any means. But being interested in design I was struck by Elizabeth II’s face mask, pictured above, prior to the funeral of her consort Philip.

2021-03-152025-08-02 by David Hughes

Missing/Inaction

It was awful. Dissatisfied with the HVAC system in our home I turned to NextDoor, the online neighborhood forum that can provide useful references. I somehow seem to have opted out of its daily or weekly digests but located my login only to be greeted with a missing person notice, a couple of blocks away.

2021-01-252025-09-06 by David Hughes

The Old Normal

I was annoyed Tuesday when the Biden-Harris tribute to the 400,000 fallen included that old, mm…, warhorse “Amazing Grace.” I muttered to my wife Andrea Carney, “Well, as long as they don’t trot out ‘Hallelujah’…,” which of course they did. “Amazing Grace” showed up time and again during the inaugural spectacle.

2021-01-152025-08-10 by David Hughes

Portrait of Rudy Perez 4: Lingering in Spaces

I do what I do because
that’s what I do, and if
I didn’t do it who would?

— Rudy Perez

In talking with Rudy Perez about his career’s performances over the last nine months (see Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3), I noticed how many took place in art spaces. Of course, by the time I met Rudy in 1980, performances—dance and otherwise—were often hosted by galleries—large and small, for-profit and non. What follows are reminiscences of such productions during the years before I left Los Angeles for Denver in 2005, including bits from our conversations earlier this month.