Operation 365... Blog 74

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 80 Robin Lee 1 - 2-19-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvRIYB9E6G8

This is the great Robin Lee from my show on February, 19, 2009. Here she is accompanied by Jack Davidson on lead guitar and The Soul Man on guiro. How many other circles feature a 91-year old World War II vet sitting in with everyone who plays? I miss Robin a lot. She has been, who knows where, for a long time. I miss her muchly and think I will be posting a bunch of her for the next however long for myself, and whoever else may miss her.

Having a bunch of footage of Robin, like I do, is one of the reasons, I have felt, for a long time, that it is important to share what I've collected. Here she is starting her set with a tune I posted once before (a different version), "Down To My Last Cigarette." She rules. What a wise, loving, intelligent, intuitive, and interesting person. I think I'll share a lot of this particular set, from two years ago right now, roughly, for the next however long I feel like it. This set had many tunes to choose from. Ahhhhh, the good old days.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 80 "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2wK-p1qFRk

Realizing tomorrow may be busy, so I'm getting a headstart on my 365, pre-weekend. This tune is cool. Had the band learn it for a Halloween gig a couple years back, 2008, I'm pretty sure it was, yes. It was a fun gig. People were inebriated and scantily clad, pretty much your average OB Halloween party in that way.

This song is easy, D, C, G, all the way, the chords are. My buddy Don Truesdail, who played with me on bass at that Halloween gig said, this song was kind of a response to Lynyrd Skynyrd's tune "Sweet Home Alabama," which is also D-C-G, the entire tune. According to Don, this wasn't totally meant as a compliment. No proof exists online, that I can find, to confirm Don Truesdail's story about how Zevon wrote this tune influenced by "Sweet Home," but I am going to go with it anyway.

Warren Zevon seemed like a cool guy and I can do his voice all right with the little bit of congestion I have remaining, so I went Zevon-style with it, you could say. I will do the Skynyrd jam for Sunday. Why change chords when you can play D-C-G all day? God bless rock n' roll.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 80 "Dumb Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lphkWzwwAhs

Disgust. Disdain. Call it whatever you will. It's there though. Ever in a relationship way too long? How 'bout one you could hardly even call a relationship? Been there. Sucks. So glad I'm not there now. But it wasn't so long ago that I can't summon the emotions I felt when writing "Dumb Love," on a bitter Sunday morning about a year ago or so. A wise friend of mine once said, "that's why we write songs like this..." And the "why" is to play them and get our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ideas out in a way that is healthy and constructive and ideally, leads to some advancement in our lives. I think "Dumb Love" helped do that for me back then. I never went back again. It just seemed a lot more obvious once I'd finally found it in a song.

Thank God those days are long gone now. Notice the late-video cameo of the superpuppy, Nigel, who I co-parent with my current, and incredibly wonderful girlfriend, Leanne. I am working hard here Friday to do my weekend's 365ing so I can have more time to spend with her real soon.

I was looking through original songs of mine to pick one I hadn't played yet. I tried a different one I'd co-written, and it led me right to this. Also, this is my most Warren Zevon-y tune, so it worked in that way too. As far as the Zevon-y thing goes, I think I like "Dumb Love" better when I sing it like myself, but singing it Zevon-style fits so well, sometimes I can't resist. This was one of those times. Sumamrized, screw dumb love. It's a waste of time and no substitution for the real thing.