Operation 365... Blog 211

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 217 Don Truesdail "Mr. Scratch's Lure" - 24 Hours of Free Music - 6-28-2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99mTHRGCX7c

Be a nice person in this world, or else Don Truesdail, or some other awesome person, might go write a song like this about you. I don't feel at liberty to let the cat out of the bag as to who this one is about, but suffice it say, the target had it coming. Fortunately, he moved to Australia. Not far enough if you ask me. Is it really that hard to be kind and respectful in this world? I think not. Some people, you give 'em an inch and they become convinced they're the next King of England. Yeah, Don was a very peaceful person. I didn't find out until after he died, that he was a karate expert who could have been beating disrespectful people's butts anytime he felt like it. I did watch him scale a wall once, but that is another story...

Welcome back, once again, to three years ago, 2008. 24 Hours of Free Music was the show and it was a great day to be alive in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California. A parade of incredibly talented folks left their egos behind and took it to the stage proudly and humbly to share in an unforgettable moment in time. It was great. Don. Robin Lee, Wes Davis, Justin Mills, Destructo Bunny, Sene Africa... I could go on a long time. It WAS 24 hours long. Its' epicness cannot be overstated. I have thrown this even four times but 2008 took the cake by leaps and bounds. I've managed to sneak a few sweet cliches into this post.

Hail Don Truesdail and be nice to people. You never know who you might be pissing off.

This clip was filmed on June 28, 2008 by Dylan Avery and for the movie "Jefferson Jay's 24 Hours of Free Music." The Soul Man appears on guiro. Getting those feelings out... That's why we write the songs.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 217 "Here There and Everywhere" by The Beatles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlU__vWXKhw

Are there commas in the title of this song? I am on a Beatles' binge on the 365 this week. It was somewhat unintentionally, but hey, they're the Beatles. It was only a matter of time... John and Paul wrote this classic piece of tunesmanship and I thanks them for it wholeheartedly. I'll go ahead and thank them for the whole "Revolver" CD while I'm at it. My voice is still a little scratchy from our Jefferson Jay band 3 set funfest out in the mountains last weekend. Hopefully it will be better for the 93rd birthday party of the Soul Man, this Saturday afternoon at Humphrey's Backstage Lounge. You ever seen him play the guiro? He's the scratchiest guy I know.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 217 "The Ace"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UUlQGp57yE

I like card songs. I like poker and I like songs with multiple meanings. With that in mind, I have written a a few such songs in recent months including "Good Luck, All In" and "Full House," two songs that use cards as a metaphor but mean a lot more. I threw this one together just now, a bit more quickly, but I think this little number has quite a bit of potential. The ace is the finest card in the deck. It can help you win a lot and it can help you lose a lot. Anything you put your heart and love in to can have that same effect. It doesn't mean that you don't want it. It just means that with it, there are risks. You do want it. This is life. You want to take chances and you want to have those chances lead to successful choices, victories if you will...

Another cute thing I like to do in songwriting (I'm not sure anyone else does it) is I try to let the songs write themselves a little bit. How do I do this, you ask? Well, the chords to this here "The Ace" song are A , C and E (E minor actually). Yes, it can really be that simple. I threw a little B7, C7 turnaround in there and voila, a song. Ace song.