Operation 365 2... Blog 9

Operation 365 2 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 9 "Lady Lauryn" by Jefferson Jay and Spencer Katzman Happy January 2nd. In my world, that means one thing. It is Lauryn’s birthday. It’s got to be tough having a birthday right after New Year’s when everybody’s celebrating, so for a number of years now, I’ve always tried to remember Lauryn on her birthday. Now it is fairly well-engrained in my brain and when it came time to 365ing for today, my thought went straight to her. Here’s some history. I met Lauryn and Lacey (also featured here in video) shortly after I moved California in 1995. We were youngsters, especially them. We all hit it off and became fast friends. I remember writing these words in about May of 1995. We were at a crowded party and one of my friends, who had encouraged me to move to California was going back East for good the next day. So I was in a reflective state. I wrote a bunch and gave it to him to read on his flight home. Thanks Andy, for getting me to move to California. It was a memorable night for other reasons as well, but I guess you had to be there… and now you’d have to care and remember almost 12 years later. Highly unlikely, unless you’re me. So, I didn’t know Lauryn that THAT well, when I wrote this, but years passed and more things happened. She moved to SD for awhile and stayed on my couch some in 2001. We watched Cheers and took our black labs, Charlie and Angel, to the dog park often. Simple, fun times. Hail Charlie. Meanwhile, I got my band going in San Diego as years past and Lauryn eventually relocated to Northern California. These pictures were taken in 2006, I believe on a brief tour my Jefferson Jay Band did in Bay Area. Lauryn and Lacey came out and brought festivity big time, even before the band arrived. Standard classic fare for those gals at this time. This video also serves as a shoutout and fond recollection of this version of The Jefferson Jay Band. We may have been called Brainstorm still at that time. I don’t remember. Here we are, playing at The since-renamed Tongue and Groove in San Francisco, CA. The band at that time was longtime stalwart and dear friend, Damon Stoll on bass, The Mooneyhams, Mike and Lili on guitar and keys, respectively. Thanks to Lili, the first female in the JJB, for opening doors and being a pioneer in that way. I never imagined my wife would be the drummer some day. I didn’t really imagine I’d have a wife… and Sense, Phil Palmejar on drums. It was a fun tour. One last shout out to our tour driver Tim Riley, who doesn’t drive any more cause he can barely see. There were some tense moments parking in SF. Love you, Tim! I really enjoyed this version of the band and it is nice to look at pictures, think back and enjoy the memories. There were some pretty hilarious pictures from later that night with us all half-passed out in the hotel. I would’ve posted those, but I didn’t want Lauryn to kill me. There’s a chance she won’t be entirely enthused about this any way as she is Internet reticent usually. Not even a Facebook. Happy Birthday L-Train. For her, that’s my nickname. One last Lauryn story, a great one. Soon another brief tour roughly five later, we returned to Northern California. This was the unforgettable and infamous Eagle Tiger tour of 2011. The two other songwriters I was traveling with and I walked into what we thought was our gig on a Saturday night in Fairfax. Not so fast. You see, our friend who “booked” the “gig” never told the venue we were coming. They were rude and didn’t let my friends in. Rude enough that these friends, (one of whom becomes a Dad later in this blog) had no interest in playing or being there after that and canceled the gig immediately, if there ever even was one, which there really wasn’t. I didn’t blame them. We pursued Plan B. About 6 folks came out to see us, 4 of which were Lauryn and her three girlfriends. We partied and laughed for hours until almost last call. Just as we were about to leave Lauryn hit it off a tad with this handsome European soccer guy, definitely her type. They exchanged numbers and I teased her back at her house, where she generously let us crash, about it. Hard to imagine that would lead to anything but, VOILA! They got married and just had a baby here last year. Whoa. The magic of existence. So thanks to The Sleeping Lady for being so positively impolite that we sought refuge and found Lauryn a family down the street. Their loss was Lauryn’s gain. Happy Birthday Lauryn. Hope you don’t mind me telling everyone everything on the web. I think your secrets might be safe here still. Could that be all? Of course not. More memories. I am history guy. What can I tell ya? I have degrees. This song. “Lady Lauryn” was co-written by my dear pal, Spencer Katzman and I in 1997. We were in a band called Elin Tea (with Derek Speredelozzi also) that didn’t do much but write and record original tunes, and bicker from time to time. Roughly none of the music we made has ever been shared. It exists. Just sitting here. Never been super certain I want to share any or all of it and I am equally unclear that my bandmates from back then would want that either. I decided it’s OK to make an exception here in honor or Lauryn’s birthday in what I’m now calling “the birthday present no one asked for.” “Operation 365 2 - The Movement No One’s Calling For” rages on. Operation 365 2 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 9 "Loser" by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter So we are celebrating my amiga, Lauryn today in 365-land on her day of birth. Lauryn and our other pal, Lacey, love the Grateful Dead and once even agreed to record a CD of some covers they had informally fingered out on their guitars. It was quality entertainment, making this in 2001. I learned about a Dead song or two I didn’t yet know from them and “Loser” is one of them. I play a slightly faster version just to change it up. I heard the newest version of the Dead (with John Mayer) played a fun show or two in LA this week. Good for them and everyone who went. Celebrate good times. Come on. Some brief research alerted me to the fact that “Loser” was off Jerry Garcia’s first solo album “Garcia,” from 1972. Jerry played almost all the instruments and six of the tunes on it became Dead tunes. My friends who had a baby later in this blog met at an Electric Waste Band show. They are a Greatful Dead cover band that has been playing in our zone at Winston’s on Monday nights for many years. Small world. We are all one. Real small… which leads me to my next subject…. Operation 365 2 - Jefferson Jay - Words – 9 “Welcome Russell” We’ve got late-breaking news at The Operation 365. We are excited to share the great news that our newest friend, Russell Andrei Davis was born on 1/1/16 at 11:16pm and reports state he is a very healthy boy weighing in at 6lbs 15oz. We are beyond ecstatic to hear this news and the way we roll here in 365 town is we share our enthusiasm artistically. Here we share through this little number that his emergence inspired. So happy for Russell and his parents Wes and Larissa. Nicely done! So happy!