At age 10 Rene was being tutored by her father to pick out melodies on the harmonica.  Folk music is in her blood – as a boy her father carried a harmonica in the pocket of his overalls on the farm in Nebraska.  Regrettably for both Rene and the listening public, she thought of the harmonica mostly as a novelty instrument and pulled it out only at birthday parties, on camping trips, and when in solitude she needed to feel the beauty of a melody. It was only when she moved to New York City well into her adulthood that Rene became acquainted with the blues.  She was thrilled to learn that in the blues this little $20 instrument can be played with enormous skill and complexity that evokes an amazing breadth of feeling, power, and subtlety.  If you want to use your time constructively during one of Buried in Blue’s intermissions, ask Rene for a peek at the assortment of instruments inside her pink case and get her talking about the skill required to play those little things.