Operation 365... Blog 9

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 12 "Running Out Of Time" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvDSI70Tvps

This here is one of my main tunes ever. The music was written by Peter Nairn who was a student in one of my Songwriting and Collaboration classes that I taught at SDSU. He was a cool dude in his fifties. We hit it off and wrote a handful of tunes after the class ended. This was written in 2002 or 2003 and appears on 1st CD, "Great Story" available here www.jeffersonjay.com

My band, The Jefferson Jay Band, played this tune two consecutive years as it went from 2005 to 2006 and then again from 2006 to 2007. The second year I even remembered to make it line up with the countdown. I like the story in the tune. Most recently, when I played and announced at my dear friend Hugh Gaskins' wedding this past summer he had his whole band learn this tune. Near the end of the wedding, he called me up to the stage and I jammed out the tune with his whole band, The G-String Daddies. He had them learn the tune and we rocked right there on the spot, no practice. What a cool feeling that was!

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 12 "Welcome Back" by John Sebastian - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrrxYd8Gzf8

I always liked this tune from way back when I was a wee, bitty lad. Once, upon the start of another semester at my alma mater, Humboldt State University, I earned the coveted play-in-the- middle-of-campus-right-when-school-starts slot. I figured playing this tune would be a fun "resume school" sort of number. Alas, it rained, so my audience was not so attentive.

Until, I told them that the brown paper bag by my side was full of weed and they should all just help themselves as much as they liked. When an officer of the law appeared in the crowd, I confessed that it was really just candy and I was joking. Two other things of note: 1. Because of the debacle of the whole thing, I think I played the "Welcome Back tune" like 3 or 4 times in a half hour set and 2. the candy was the stuff in the plastic bins at the supermarket and it was stale and gross so I brought it back after the show and got a refund cause it was nasty. Ha Ha!

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 12 Blowski - 8-13-2008 -

Today, December 6, is one of my very best friend's Blowski's birthday, so obviously my archive of the day salutes him. Blowsk is a hard worker and a generous and fun-loving friend, the epitome of someone you can count on. Rare traits in our modern world, these are. I play drums in the band he is the frontman for, Acoustic Booze and he has been playing keyboards in The Jefferson Jay Band for a couple years now. Honestly, my first choice was form his birthday two years again when our great pal, the late Don Truesdail wished him a Happy Birthday from the stage at the start of my 12 Hours of Free Music extravaganza in '08. Alas, that footage was not co-operating as quickly as I would have liked so I settled for this hilarious slice of life in the great year, 2008, at Joe and Jen Stevens' wedding. Acknowledgments to freedom fighter Dylan Avery on filming and interviewing our birthday amigo and the ubiquitous Kevin "Mac Mac" McCoy on holding up the lyrics.

Happy Birthday Ski Patrol Dude!