Operation 365... Blog 108

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 116 Sene Africa - 4-15-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl3LSSoUEdA

Here, again, are my friends Sene Africa. Been rediscovering a lot of great archives in the April 2009 period, Just about 2 years ago right now. Here, Sene Africa are doing what they do best, having fun, sharing their love for their music. Sene Africa, incredible musicians from Senegal, who I'm proud to call friends are Amadou Fall on kora, Ibrahima Ba on guitar and vocals, and Abdullai on djembe, I don't know his last name, They are also the nicest people you'll ever meet, if you do. If you get the chance, I highly recommend it.

Can I go off the subject for a moment? I love devout religious people. Hypocrites, on the other hand, I'm not nearly as fond of. Amadou will tel you he plays for God. I have known him a few years and every time, I've been around him, he's carried himself in a manner that echoes that commitment. Amadou's family have played the kora ceremoniously in Senegal for generations. They build it by hand from cow guts, gours, fishing line and everything else that creates a strong kora. Just saying, I love these guys. They exude kindness and love and I don't know that one can exceed that level of devotion.

Back to business, here these guys rock, 4-15-2009 was the date. They were joined at this performance by Laurel Grinnell on drums. This was a bit of birthday party for yours truly. Amadou heightened the festivities by throwing down some dancing tips mid-jam here to members of the band Riddle the Roar, and my Greens of Mind, bandmate Barbara Tolbert. A good time was had by all.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 116 "Captain Jack" by Billy Joel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4I6u2eTYa0

It is Saturday night. Just got in from dropping the Soul Man off after a delightful housewarming party at Melissa Eisler's house. I brought the pooches, Angel and Nigel. My beloved sweetheart, Leanne, is at Tara's bridal shower, so I am just chilling, waiting 'til she comes home. How 'bout those San Diego State Aztecs today? Getting it done and going to the Sweet 16. Sweet! (digression) So I got home and "Captain Jack" popped into my head. I have been thinking of my friend Dick, who is the mastermind behind Mariposa Ice Cream. Mariposa is a shop in San Diego here, the Normal Heights neighborhood. They make the greatest ice cream in the world.

So my heart is with him, because he is handling some temporary health issues and I was thinking of him. He is quite a character and there is a lot of love between myself and Mariposa. For some reason, "Saturday night, and you're just hanging around," those lyrics appeared in my head and I thought of this tune and I thought of Dick. This song is a little rough-around-the-edges, east coast type of song and Dick is without apologies, a little rough-around-the-edges, east coast type of guy. So Dick, my bud, this one's for you. Enjoy your evening tonight even though you won;t see this until tomorrow. Love to Anna. Peace.

Oh, I almost forgot, huge props, to my boy, Nigel, for his epic work backing me up on squeaky mushroom here. He'd never even heard this tune before and I'm not even sure it's in key, but his spirit and perseverance elicited a squeaky mushroom performance, the likes of which the world has never seen on "Captain Jack." Stay tuned through the end of the video for some bonus footage of me and Nigel jamming out and and Angel's priceless reaction to my recorder solo.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 116 "The Simple Life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEBNW6SRT5k

"The Simple Life" was written with Melissa Eisler. I went to her housewarming party today. It was lovely. She and I wrote this song awhile ago. We used to play it our back in the day here and again. I have numerous recorded live versions of that, but she has expressed discomfort with being shared here in this 365, so I decided to give a go to my first ever successful solo version of "The Simple Life."

I probably changed it up a little bit, most likely. There are 2 vocals usually and I haven't played it in some time, but I think the point gets across. Live a simple life and help people, realize our interconnectedness and you will be cool. That's it in a nutshell. At least from my perspective, and that's what you get here in the Operation 365.