Operation 365... Blog 226

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 232 Destructo Bunny and Jefferson Jay with The Soul Man - 1-27-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff5APdCM23s

More Destructo, this time with Soul Man and l'il ol' me. Here we are, at the end of our January 27, 2009 program. I went up and sat in with James and The Man of Soul for this little jam here. I always love sitting in with the freestyling rabbit. He is gifted at the mic skill, so it always keeps me on my toes, trying to keep up. It is very good exercise for the brain. Playing with The Soul Man is very good exercise for the soul. Perspective, calibration, all of these things come into focus when you're doing something for the right reason. In Soul Man's case, it's playing for the groove for the love of making music and it's infectious. Love these guys. Dig.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 232 "Please Don't Go" - Mike Posner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX3RtQdbNig

So I was looking for this 80s tune that I thought was called "Please Don't Go." I still haven't found it. What I did find was this tune from a couple of years ago. This "Please Don't Go" had over 18 million hits on it. I even had to sit through a commercial to watch it. I listened to half of it once, looked up the chords and decided this is good enough for me , for today. So I played it. If it doesn't go like the original, that makes sense, because I never heard the tune all the way through.

I can;t give up on things like this, so I just discovered the song I was actually looking for was "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S., whoever that is. Apparently, it's an early 90s tune. I must admit I like that song WAY better, but maybe some of the 18 million people who took there time to watch that Mike Posner tune, will watch mine. What that would accomplish, I have no idea.

Shoutouts to Lisa and Jeffy Posner, the only people named Posner I knew, until this song crossed my path. This whole experience had definitely assured me I can write a pop or popular song. Now I just need to find and convince the starmakers.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 232 "The Caryn Tune" A capella
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9blMf5N-gAg

Now this is a long story. Let's travel in the way back machine all the way to the year 1993. I was a freshman at UMASS. I was regrouping from the loss of my best pal Tony and trying to find my way at this enormous party academy and managing to have a great time after a little while. I met all these dudes on my floor and I was inspired by many of them, most notable, Michael J. Warrington to take the notion of making mic for a living seriously. All these years later, I still am.

So events unfolded as we made our way into sophomore year. Right around the two year anniversary of Tony's death. I met a gorgeous young lady in my French class named Cary. Meanwhile, musically, things continued to progress and I was developing my skills with the thought that I may become the new singer in Warrington's band. To my shock, Cary liked me and while she had lots of other crazy stuff going on, we could relate to each other on a variety of levels. She had been through some serious loss too, and I guess we were just meant to help each other grow at this time.

So I was a little carried away and I wrote a 19 or so page love poem, which I called "A Proposal to Cary." The gist of this epic poem was "we can go for it and pursue this opportunity or we can throw it away. It's up to you. You decide. Let me know." Hence, the proposal. So I gave her the original of this long story I worked on meticulously and it more or less worked out for awhile. I learned a lot and had some great times with Cary that I will remember always. To this day, it's still one of my most ambitious pieces of writing.

So the band picked up steam. We called it Chameleon Stress. We played some fun gigs and I learned on the job. We wrote a few tunes and learned a whole host of covers by the likes of Alice In Chains, Rush, King's X, Phish, and a number of other bands. There was a lot of pressure, because everyone in the band was so accomplished. Anyway, the guys in the band, Warrington and Dan Cohen, had penned a piece of music about a friend of there is who had died named Karen. I struck a chunk of my poem to go with their music and we had a nice dramatic power ballad.

When the band was breaking up, I expressed an interest in keeping the tune in my repertoire. They were not so down. It was very personal to them, so I had to say OK. My pal, Spencer Katzman, tried to solve this dilemma by writing alternate music that went with my melody. We played that a couple times and I liked it, but it wasn't the same. So , her Im singing the part that was mine from both those jams.

I write a lot.... I just realized there is a whole section to this tune that I forgot to sing, here it is.

with words, the oomph is not supplied
for you, for me, for tourists tied
and binded, hung above the crowds
the peering fear in looking down
the hatred spied on every face
the selfish an unruly space
the princess balance 'bove the crowd
with sprinkling dress and sparkling gown
the rope and rescue understood
the family faction always would
protect their valued, priceless friend
the strongest chain links never bend
from out the jaws of biting grind
the lessons learned and burned remind
the people who disrupt the flow
are ones from whom the beanstalk grows
but rising high above the clouds
the sight is one of giants proud
your gods protect you every day
and help you live your life your way
when families above us merge
the greatest lights in life converge
the royal region golden green
the castle smiling kings and queens
our world above the hatred screens
Routine escapes that love will bring
when talents powers unified
the end is infinite the sky
the heartest challenge life will bring
end infinite the sky

It comes at the end, after the "actions will decide" and before the "COLLIDE." The vid was long enough already, so it's just as well. Like I said, I have written a great deal over the years. I have about 80 composition notebooks full, that I started compiling right about when Tony died in 1992. I haven't stopped, although I do write a lot less than I used to. I have been meaning to read some old stuff soon. It is always an enlightening experience, looking back. It always seems to offer some profound window of understanding on the events of today.

In case you were wondering, I wrote a big, long poem/story for Leanne as well. It is called "The Pearl." Those are the only two times in my life I've ever gone to those extended lengths in the maner. Can't be writing opus love poems to women every day. It would kind of lose its luster. Two every twenty years is OK though, I gather. Well, it's worked well so far for me.