Sunday library series features authors, musicians

PALMER — Hurricane Dave Rush isn’t exactly a stranger to the Valley.

During a summer’s worth of musical performances, he’s played here more times than he’s able to track.

“The audiences I get in the Valley are very good, they’re very responsive and they always seem to have a great time,” Rush said. “The people throughout Alaska are just wonderful people. They’re all special to me but there are a few areas, Palmer’s one of them, Delta Junction is another, where I just love to go because of the people.”

Rush will be returning this weekend for a Sunday performance at the Palmer Library where he will perform as the artist known as Hurricane Dave.

His is the second in this year’s installment of performances the Friends of the Palmer Library are hosting as part of its Sunday at 2 series.

“We do have some authors from different backgrounds coming in to share how they were published kind of their journey,” said Palmer’s Library Services Coordinator, Katie Schweisphal. “We do have a lot of music coming through and really the purpose is to provide a free entertainment for those in the community who care to know a little bit more about what’s out there.”

The programs, she said, run through the school year and usually take a break during the holidays but fall on the second and fourth Sundays of every month. The schedule is somewhat fluid but performances already booked include the Hand Bell Choir in November, Flat Baroque on Dec. 4, Cantora Arctoca Feb. 12 and the Matanuska String Orchestra May 6. Some shows are at the depot, others are in the library’s meeting room.

Rush said he did one of these shows last year and appreciated that there were refreshments to be had. Folks who want to come out should be prompt, though, the show only lasts from 2 to 3 p.m.

“I did a CD that came out last summer called ‘The Cheechako Chronicles,’ ” Rush said. “I’m shamelessly promoting that album and playing a lot of songs off of that as well as other stuff that I’ve got.”

A summer’s worth of work, he said, brought him as far north as Chicken and as far south as Seward. He said he and his wife set a goal of spending as few summer weekends in Anchorage as possible. They did pretty good — just one weekend home. A Florida transplant, Rush said Alaska is great for musicians because festivals and concerts run all summer long.

“All it takes is an RV and a tank of gas and a guitar,” Rush said.

Troubador-hood is a side gig for him but one he enjoys immensely, he said.

“I used to do it as an occupation a long time ago and I wasn’t having any fun with it. When you do it for a living it’s not any fun,” Rush said. “I’m enjoying it a whole bunch more in my advanced age.”

He describes his music as country, or maybe country-folk. The most popular track from his album is a song-length allusion to the Valley’s most famous face.

Dubbed “Please Don’t Ask Me About Her,” the song takes the form of a post-breakup romance song sprinkled with tongue-in-cheek references to Sarah Palin.

“It really struck a nerve with many Alaskans,” Rush said in a press release announcing the show, “Even some who agree with her politics. They’re just tired of fielding questions about her.”

Rush joked that he’s still hoping to spot the former governor at one of his Valley shows.

“I crossed paths with Sarah Palin in the airport back in February at one o’clock in the morning but I didn’t realize it was her,” Rush said. “As she was walking away I thought, ‘Oh man that’s Sarah Palin and here I am with no CDs on me.’ ”

The closest he came during a show was spotting Gov. Sean Parnell during a show at the Alaska State Fair this summer. Rush tried and failed to get the governor’s attention from the stage.

“He was probably looking at the giant rutabagas,” Rush said.