Operation 365... Blog 139

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 147 Beer Money - "Home Again"- 2-17-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvCjvC2um8M

Happy April 20th everybody. Today is the one-year anniversary of my final Open Mic at Portugalia, the restaurant that I hosted shows at for 4 1/2 years, The word on the street is that "The Port" as we affectionately called it, is about to go down for the dirtnap, once and for all. Honestly, I can;t believe it took this long. I decided quite some time ago that I would focus on the myriad of great memories I had there over the years and forget and forgive all the nonsense that happened in my final days on the job. I feel good about it. I can only hope the folks over there are mature and evolved enough to see it similarly.

If I'd thought about it, I would have used something from that Open Mic or from our 4/20 supershow in 2009, but I am very happy with this selection. Here is Beer Money, featuring Joe and Jen Stevens doing there song, "Home Again." Make no mistake about it. Portugalia was all of our homes away from home for years and I will always be hugely appreciative of that time and opportunity. Joe has his moments of extreme eloquence and the ability to summarize a situation in a moving manner., He does that here at the end of the clip, so please consider sticking around for that. I join the Beer Money on this one, with a little lead guitar, from the heart and from the soul. Peace.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 147 "Easy Skanking" by Bob Marley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJwlMvJireo

Who doesn't love Bob Marley? (Racists?) Could there ever be a better advocate for the use of marijuana as a medicinal herb than the great Robert Nesta Marley? How about as a man? Marley put himself at great personal risk to speak out for what he believed in. I look up to that so much. His career is one of the most moving and inspring that I know if and his body of work leaves no doubt that he was a man of conviction, and no doubt as to exactly what those convictions were.

Marijuana is legal for medicinal use in the state of California, and many others, yet prisons nationwide are full of "criminals" convicted of marijuana-related crimes. What year is it? 1965? Any Bob Marley tune would be a fitting tribute to the stoner-appointed holiday of 4-20. I chose "Easy Skanking," because I love the message. Marley has many tunes with super heavy messages. can relate. Marley sang about racism, slavery, the culture declining into materialism, and a united Africa. This song is about relaxing and how he chose to do it, which was with herb for his wine and honey for his strong drink. Hundreds of thousands of people die every year of alcohol-related deaths. How many die of weed each year? Zero. When is the last a a doctor anywhere prescribed several beers or shots to someone who was in pain, or suffering from cancer, or glaucoma, or a bunch of other stuff? Never.

Pharmaceutical companies will sell you a million different drugs to try to relax you. That is perfectly legal. Marijuana is a plant that grows in the ground, but it's illegal. Could it be because the government is not making a ton of money off it? Yes, I think so. I admire and respect Bob Marley's intolerance of corruption and inequality. Nobody is perfect, but Bob Marley as an ambassador for weed, freedom, and reggae music? The whole world wide, I can not imagine a stronger representative. Jah Rastafari. Long live Bob Marley. Happy holidays, weedheads.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 147 "Light It Up. It's 4/20"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngeTEU48-xc

I've written my share of reggae tunes over the last however many years. How many would I have written if not for the existence of Bob Marley? Probably none. What an inspiration and what a great advocate for reggae music and the Rastafari way of life. I am not a Rastafarian, and there is a lot I don;t know about it, but I would almost surely choose Rastafari over several other religions, if forced to make that sort of choice. I am really glad that is not the case, though and I get to choose what I wish to believe, every little detail at a time.

I am going to play some sort of reggae song today for this 365 here. I just haven't chosen which one yet. Will it be "Great Story," the title track of my first CD? WIll it be "Step Up," one of the highlights of my most recent album "Yellow?" Those tunes by the way can be heard and purchased right now at www.jeffersonjay.bandcamp.com, if you are so inclined. Will it be a special new song to commemorate this holiday for medicinal herb users? Hmmmm... Now to decide.

OK, it's done. This new song is called "Light It Up. It's 4/20." Of course this song in no way recommends the use of medicinal herbs without a doctor's prescription because of course, you know, that would be wrong. If you're confused about my message, please understand that I am a teacher and I tell the kids every time they ask, that I have never done any drugs and never would. I am against that. I tell them. Now that we understand each other, I felt, the least I could do was be an undertand neighbor to my Ocean Beach compatriots and give them a song to sing will they medicate on their appointed holiday. The rest of you... light a candle or something. Make this song your own. Isn't it Passover? I think Easter is coming. There;'s got be some reason to light something safe on fire that resonates with you... Do whatever you want. I think that's one of the planks of the stoner agenda. Is that right?

That groove is still floating in my head. I could have played it for hours more. Yes, I just made that up on the first try, moments ago. I hope you like it. The melody is still singing in my head. "Light It Up, cause its 4/20" Ahhhhh...

NOTE: In honor of 4/20, I forgot to post these last two videos and the blog. Can we say that I was celebrating? Trying to find a fitting way to commemorate this bowliest of days. The funniest part is, I actually did all these videos and the blog yesterday. I just plum forgot to post the last two. I was a bit stunned when I went to look at yesterday's blog and it had never been posted. Ditto for yesterday's last two vids. Because it was 4/20, I think I'm gonna let myself slide and call it part of the observance. What choice do I have? I could stop I guess... Ahhhhh.... sweet relief. Ha! No, that would be too easy.