David Brahinsky finds the key to Bob Dylan’s spiritual side.
By:Hilary Parker
David Brahinsky didn’t have to think twice. He just knew it’d be all right to focus an entire concert on the works of one artist the legendary Bob Dylan.
Even before Mr. Brahinsky was made aware of the upcoming Dylan biopic, I’m Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan, a Paramount Pictures production due out Jan. 1, 2007, he felt the time was right to focus on Dylan. With that in mind, he decided to devote his Jan. 28 concert, "A Spiritual Side of Bob Dylan," at the Princeton Center for Yoga & Health to the music of the legendary songwriter.
"I started thinking about it before I knew that the film was going to be made and there was going to be kind of a focus on Bob Dylan," Mr. Brahinsky says. "I don’t really know why. It was an intuitive feeling that this was the right time to do it."
For starters, Mr. Brahinsky had been playing Bob Dylan’s music since he first picked up a guitar and had attended a number of live Bob Dylan concerts "many times, in many contexts," including Madison Square Garden. In addition, he had been singing with a number of young musicians who knew Dylan’s music, but not as well as he would have liked.
"In a way, it feels a bit like I’m also helping them to appreciate it," Mr. Brahinsky says.
Many of the artists he has educated in the ways of Dylan Sarah Houtz and Joe Pepitone, who comprise the band The Switch; Denny Kronemeyer, a string musician from North Brunswick; fiddler Gail Frantz and harmonica-player Mark McCusker will showcase their newfound Dylan knowledge at PCYH when they perform with Mr. Brahinsky.
Mr. Brahinsky is no stranger to education. In his day job as a professor of philosophy and comparative religion at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pa., he teaches courses that run the gamut of philosophical thought, from "Basic Problems in Philosophy" to an entire course on existentialism.
He also is no stranger to teaching Dylan’s music, even in his philosophy classes.
"Usually, the last day of class I will do folk songs that are related to the theme. I’m doing more and more Dylan," he says.
From songs about social justice, like "Joey" and "Hurricane," to those tunes that Mr. Brahinsky says highlight existentialist themes, like "Highway 61 Revisited" and "It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleedin’)," Bob Dylan’s music touches a philosophical chord and resonates with people of all generations.
"I guess there must be something in his being and I’m a philosopher so pardon me for this which is really in touch with essential truths and essential values," Mr. Brahinsky says. "And that he’s able to, consciously or unconsciously, communicate it or transmit it through his music."
Taking inspiration from philosophical singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, Mr. Brahinsky also writes his own music, much of which is available on a CD he recorded last year of a live concert at PCYH. With his background in philosophy complete with a dissertation on metaphysics Mr. Brahinsky specializes in putting the words of philosophical sages the whole world over to music, and his songs feature lyrics by everyone from Taoist sage Lao Tse Tung to poet-humanist Walt Whitman.
Just as he’s maintained an interest in philosophy throughout his entire life, Mr. Brahinsky has always been a musician, and played in bands throughout his entire life. As an adult, he was tapped to perform with Young Audiences of New Jersey after a board member attended an assembly he offered at Princeton Day School, where his children attended school. The PDS connection also ultimately landed him with Shoestring Players of Rutgers University, with whom he performed for a number of years. Nowadays, Mr. Brahinsky performs almost exclusively for adult audiences, including his thrice-yearly performances at PCYH.
Nonetheless, Mr. Brahinsky never sought to join the likes of Bob Dylan and become a professional musician, full-time.
"It was always something I wanted to do on the side," he says. "Philosophy and teaching was always my first love in terms of a career." In terms of hobbies, Mr. Brahinsky is an avid tennis player, and he also enjoys practicing chi kung, tai chi and, of course, yoga.
And so, with gigs like the one at PCYH, he is able to combine all of his loves in a cohesive whole that would warm the heart of any metaphysicist. From educating his fellow musicians and audience about the music of Bob Dylan to philosophizing about its meaning, Mr. Brahinsky has the opportunity to unite education, philosophy and music in an event that is much more than a concert.
"The whole atmosphere there is really one where we’re all participating in a common ritual," he says. "It’s more like a meditation. I really find myself doing my best work there. I just get into the music because I can feel everyone doing it with me."
David Brahinsky will perform A Spiritual Side of Bob Dylan at Princeton Center for Yoga & Health, Montgomery Professional Center, 50 Vreeland Drive, Suite 506, Montgomery, Jan. 28, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15. For information, call (609) 924-7294. On the Web: www.princetonyoga.com