This month marks 20 years since the release of my CD, “Do the Weather Wiggle with Stormin’ Bob Swanson.” My eldest son, Daniel, is currently working on a documentary film about my “singing weatherman” career. This means we have been going through a lot of old photos, videos, etc. This stroll down amnesia lane takes […]
Category: Blog Posts
A stroll down amnesia lane
I’ve been at this “Singing Weatherman” business a while. Over the weekend, I came across footage of a performance I did at the “Pickin’ Porch” 19 years ago (original broadcast date was 10/28/2004). The “Pickin’ Porch” was a concert series hosted by the Birthplace of Country Music Museum (back then it was located in the […]
Bright Star
It’s almost time for the autumnal equinox — that moment when the Sun’s rays are directly over the equator, and all locations on Earth experience (approximately) equal numbers of daylight and nighttime hours. In fact, the term equinox comes has Latin roots, “equi” meaning equal and “nox” meaning night. Not only does Fall mean cooler […]
Play hard, play hard
Another summer tour is in the books. I finished my “Song Cycles with Stormin’ Bob Swanson” summer tour in early July with a mini-tour in North Mississippi — playing three libraries (Como, Hernando and Olive Branch) over the course of two days. Of course, a mini-tour with some travel means one thing to my boys […]
Songs that (don’t) stand the test of time
I like to think that most of the songs I write, if not eventually classified as “classics,” can at least be considered timeless because they mainly deal with weather and space topics that will likely still be around when I’m too old to sing them anymore. But I do have a few with definite expiration […]
Making music with my friends
What could be better on Father’s Day than to post a video of the first live public performance of our family band, Henry & The Dynamite? While the video features two of my sons, Nate (drums) and Henry (lead vocals & keyboard), I also want to thank my eldest son, Daniel, for drawing our band […]
Project-based learning
When I’m not playing music, I’m teaching. When I’m not teaching, I’m learning. In reality, I’m often doing all three things at the same time. The bottom line is that, being a professional educator, I probably spend more time than the average bear thinking about how people learn new things. If you’re like me (and […]
Brushin’ Bob, The Singing Painter
Last winter, if you recall, I built a backyard shed during my holiday break. My plan this winter has been to take care of another honey-do project that has been hanging over my head since last summer — my wife and I have wanted to paint the exterior of our house. Unfortunately, a bout with […]
The beat of a different drummer
Asking a songwriter to name a favorite song they have written can often be like asking them to name a favorite lung. Not so in my case. While I am very proud of a lot of my songs, “How Hot Is It?” has always been my favorite. It could be because I remember its origin […]
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back
In my childhood, when I was going to attend a birthday party or spend a night at a friend’s house, my mother would remind me that, “Good guests get invited back.” As I continue to plan for this summer’s tour, I’m always thrilled when I get a request from a library I’ve been to in […]