Operation 365... Blog 359

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 365 Jefferson Jay Band "Do You Feel Free?" 8-19-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3uvovPzBGc


Ahhh... the last time I will copy the first few lines from yesterday and start a new blog. It is Day 365. 1:47AM. A quiet moment of reflection before I plunge into editing today's cover and writing today's original and getting about a marvelous Thanksgiving. In fact, it's Thanksgiving right now. Happy Thanksgiving.

It's a great feeling, a sense of accomplishment, any time you do anything successfully. When projects are larger the sense of satisfaction grows. In this case, I adopted a different way of life. A way of life in which I do certain things each day. I make sure certain things get done. Not cause I needed to or I had to, per se, but because I challenged myself to see if it was possible. It was. It is. I am finishing it right now.

What can you do if you put your mind to it? What do you want to do? What is it worth to ya? Is it worth it on those days where you just don't feel like doing anything at all or when there are clearly more important things going on? That is life, though. We don't always have the opportunity to decide if it's important. Sometimes life does the deciding.

Maybe we don't have to decide. Maybe, it's enough to go through each day, doing, and that sense deciding each day at a time. In a way, that's what I did for the last 365. Was I asserting my freedom by doing what I said I was going to? Or was I a slave to my proclamation? To my stated intention? Did I own it or did it own me? I would argue we shared this experience, life and I. And because of each other, the 365 and I can reflect together on what happened in this time. Without the 365, this capturing of time, this would not be possible. You can do it by yourself, but that's just thinking. Thinking's more projection than reflection, most of the time.

Wondering why I chose this tune for my final archive? Sometimes I think "Do You Feel Free?" is harsh. It's so direct, almost condescending, unintentionally of course. But here the question stands? Do you? Do you decide what you do? Do you feel good about it? If not, what can you change to make it otherwise. These are real questions for this time. It's what matters most. Revolution now exists in people's minds. It's like that other stuff. You decide. You make rules and by them, you abide. You are free if you're free in your mind. And there's no exceptions for denials or lies. When you're along, you know. In this life, do you try, try for what your heart is after.

Look at your life and ask yourself this, "Man (or woman), does that feel good?" If the, answer isn't yes, you should probably do something differently. I'm just saying... Otherwise, why?

This version of "Do You Feel Free?" was recorded at The Belly Up Tavern, in Solana Beach, CA on August 9, 2009. Thanks to all the artists whose talent and sharing made the Archive component of the 365 such a pleasure to provide. Special thanks to Don Truesdail, Robin Lee and Justin Mills. Hearing you guys play always transports me to the true good times, those that make me feel free in my mind.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 365 "Thank You" by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYJa1-SAJzs


Workin' it down to the wire on the Operation 365. It's 10:07PM and I'm still pumping away. A crazy day with the whole Thanksgiving factor and trying to bring some special treats to end this with some gusto.

For months, I've known I wanted to end the 365 with Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" as my cover on Thanksgiving. A day or so ago, Blowski brought up an idea, I myself had had a few days earlier He mentioned doing "The Final Countdown," one of the funniest songs of all-time. He volunteered to direct it more or less. Then he got busy, but the seed of the idea was planted. and it was too funny an idea for Josh and I to let go of that easily.

It involved co-ordinating a few people's schedule, but last night we filmed, Justin Mills and Adrianna Martin-Morningstar joined us for the excursion the Steve and Tara's casa in Lakeside. We practiced and filmed and got some good stuff. I was then faced with the challenge of putting it all into place to make an awesome video. I did the best I could. I guess in a way that what the Operation 365 is all about. You are not going to post 3 incredible videos every day. That doesn't not mean that there will not be artistic or entertainment value in each of the videos. It just means the journey itself is why we do it. and how it comes out is how is was meant to. We're fortunate when things in life come out at all.

So, here it is. Maybe I'll use the footage to practice making awesome, more technically hip, videos. I plan of having some more free time real soon.

Thanks to Europe, Led Zeppelin and The Doors for the use of the tunage. Thanks to Steve and Tara Cheeseburger, Justin Mills, Adrianna Martin-Morningstar, Josh Rodriguez and my sweet lady, Leanne Pearl, to being there for me as friends and rallying it up on a Wednesday in November to try to help me end the 365 with a flourish. Peace and Love.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 365 "Why Decide?/Release"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en29GUeqHV0


I wrote "Why Decide/Release" today. It is actually two tunes that go together, I think. It is brand new. I knew I would have one day left on the originals after I finished going through my new CD, "Gift To Be Alive," which you can have here incidentally.

http://www.jeffersonjay.bandcamp.com

So I figured I'd write a song for the end, maybe call it "Operation 365" or something. I have thought a lot about what all this means, this whole Operation. What I learned. Why I did it. What I gained from the experience and I answered my own question with another question in part. Why Decide? Why do we have to say how things are? Can't we just experience and leave it at that? Why does it have to be what we say it is? Why can't it just be? That question, "Why Decide?" can be asked of every line in this song? Why decide what really matters? And so on and so forth. It's food for thought and on Thanksgiving with 365 straight days of work behind me, and a belly enormously full with delicious food from Jeff Dewine and Jillian's house, I will answer the question in the spirit it was asked. You don't need to decide anything unless you want to, but things are the are either way.

The second part of this tune, "Release" bears the real answer to all these questions. Let go and then you free your mind.

It's a beautiful world. See it that way or miss the simple bliss before your eyes.

Peace and love in this life.

Onward and upward, we fly.

NOTE: Thank you for watching the Operation 365. While this concludes the video portion of our program, I started the blog about a week ater the actual Operation and intend to continue until it reaches its 365th day. I believe that will be next Wednesday.

When I started this experiment 365 days ago, I said I was doing it to see what would happen. The purpose of the essays, "Reflections on the 365," if you will, is to look into that more closely and see what actually happen during the course of this Operation, as understood immediately following its conclusion. So thanks for your company. We will beginning our descent into less daily responsibilities. All forecasts are for a smooth landing in Freedom San Diego, California on Wednesday. In the meantime, please enjoy the rest of your adventure. Thanks for flying Operation 365!

NOTE: On November 24, 2011 at 11:25PM PST, Jefferson Jay successfully completed the Operation 365. Hooray for life and living. Gratitude. Hooray! Now to celebrate!