Yachts were beached in her front yard, and the water inside singer-songwriter Linda Chorney's Sea Bright, N.J., townhouse rose to 8 feet during superstorm Sandy.
Floating among the first-floor debris of photo albums and furniture were the masters of some of her recordings. She has recorded six albums, including her Grammy-nominated 2011 CD "Emotional Jukebox," whose masters were not in New Jersey.
"We got slammed. We are homeless. Fortunately, we've got a house in Tucson, but we didn't quite leave in time," Chorney said Wednesday morning from Sea Bright, where she was expected to perform that night in a special concert with the San Francisco pop-rock band Train. Chorney splits her time between Sea Bright and Tucson.
Wednesday's concert was for the seaside town's 1,400 residents and the storm's first responders, a way to lift their spirits and raise money for Sea Bright Rising, an upstart nonprofit organization assisting in relief efforts.
"Life is on hold. (Sea Bright) is unlivable right now. There's a very small part that has electricity. There are no working gas lines," said Chorney's friend Susan Belfer, a publicist who lives in Fair Haven, five minutes from Sea Bright. "The storm affected everyone, from the wealthy to those who do without. But everyone is equal now, and they are all helping each other to rebuild the town."
Train invited Chorney to join lead singer Pat Monahan in a duet of the band's song "Bruises," said Belfer, who is promoting the concert.
"There's a line in the song about 10 years passing between seeing this friend from high school. I don't know if I can pull that one off; believe me it's been more than 10 years" since high school, Chorney, 52, joked.
VH1 will broadcast the performance - dubbed "Christmas in Sea Bright" - on Christmas Day. A special recording of the Monahan-Chorney duet will be released as a single on iTunes to raise money for Sea Bright Rising (seabrightrising.org).
Chorney, who returns to Tucson next week, said she would like to hold a Sea Bright benefit concert in Tucson as well.
"I know there's a lot of East Coasters residing in Tucson because the weather sucks here," she said from Sea Bright. "And I'm one of them, actually. So they understand nor'easters and hurricanes. I am hoping they will have some compassion for the people who haven't relocated. They can make a difference."
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.
