Operation 365... Blog 176

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 182 Richard Romero and Friends - 3-4-2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxeqXWQOuv0

Richard Romero is a dear friend of mine. Back when I had weekly shows (and hopefully I will again soon) I would have Richard start them off. Richard is reliable, professional and always got things going right. This is from his set on March 4, 2010. At that show he was joined by Paul Lopez on congas, The Soul Man on guiro, Jack Davidson on guitar, and Paul Ruiz on trumpet. At one point or another all those dudes also played in my band, Paul, Richard and Soul Man still do and I'm going to go have band practice with them in a few. Actually, Soul Man can;t make. 92year old son of a gun has a gig.

This is just a short excerpt as Richard's songs are often longform and go on for some time. I don't have that much time today. Enjoy a nice trumpet solo though from Paul Ruiz. Some silly guy pulled out in front of his big truck yesterday while Leanne and I were driving and in return said silly guy got his Audi convertible smashed and Paul and I got airbags to the face. Leanne got rear view mirror to the face. Everybody appears to be OK. Thank God.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 182 "Puff the Magic Dragon" - Peter, Paul, and Mary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1RTSGh6E4Y

was actually more feeling like doing "Leavin' on a Jet Plane," also by Peter, Paul and Mary, but figured I should save that for two weeks from now when I am actually leaving on a jet plane. So this was a natural fallback. I tried to play up the super hippied out aspect of this song, as that seems to be what it isa most known for at this point in history. I remember, or at least I think I remember watching a "Puff the Magic Dragon" cartoon as a child that I liked. I know I liked the "Pete's Dragon" cartoon, but I'm pretty sure it made me cry. I saw after I finished this jam that it has a capo on the second fret. Does that count as making it my own?

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 182 "Ken the Alcoholic"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv0cAfQoAeg

I wasn't really planning on ever doing this one as part of the 365, because it is so deliberately heavily derivative of "Puff the Magic Dragon." But once I busted out "Puff," it seemed today would be the perfect day. There is a hilarious story with this song. Pressed for time, I'll have to tell it really quick. I have a friend named Ken. He likes to give me a hard time. I usually just take it and say little back. Every so often though, I have to flex my muscle just so he knows that if I really want to, i could eviscerate him any time I want.

So one time, my visiting friend Jason Paterson and I went to Ken's bar that he owns. It was new at the time and empty. I busted this out for ken and the few people assembled. Needless to say, Ken was horrified. A little too close to home? Perhaps. So there you go. I'm sure Ken would love this particular version though, because Ken, although he'll never admit it, is a funny guy. Very funny. Thanks to Pete, Paul, and Mare for loaning me this melody. I promise I'll never try to make any money off it. I just used it once to make a purple man blush and now again as my original on Day 182 of my 365. Peace, Kenny.