Thursday, December 29, 2016

Operation 365 2... Blog 370

Life is returning to normal, right about on schedule with how long it took last time. I have been looking back at what I wrote at the end of thew first 365 and comparing and contrasting. So far, I've learned I am lot more fired up and ready to go, than I was after the first one. I am adjusting back to normal life, just a tad bit more tired. I seem to have a slight hangover from all the compulsive sharing. I'm sleepy. Hoping to get some rest on this here New Year's Eve weekend. For many years, I've felt compelled to do something memorable or fun on New Year's Eve. This year, I don't care. I just want to be. It will be awesome.

My blog that I revisiting today is Blog 362 of the first 365, specifically a chunk I called, "The Best of the 365"

http://jeffersonjay.blogspot.com/2011/11/operation-365-blog-362.html

So I just read this essay. I fixed some of the typos. I would love to release both 365s some day in chronological order as eBooks with click-ability on the videos, sans typos. So, it's a nice essay. I recounted personal highlights, detailed other significant  or satisfying moments, did some I called "The Best of the Rest," which were things I wanted to do but didn't get to and finally, a brief bunch of thanks.

OK, let's play. Game on!

I'm not gonna lie. You get in a groove working every day and it can be very gratifying. It centers you. In 2011, I wrote, "It felt good to feel that there was something artistic to do every day. I have always dreamed of getting up in the morning and knowing I had to write a song or record a song that day. In my imagination, I was for money or a job of some sort, but those are peripherals. I was able to make the creative part of that dream come true. Every day, I had a musical project to do."

Amen! Preach on, brother. I still very much feel that way. The 365 forced me to play guitar every day. That makes you a better player. It forced me to write probably somewhere near 200 songs. That makes you a better songwriter. It can't not. The "Words" section, new to Operation 365 2, made me develop those skills, improvising banter, making it interesting, finding my voice. All of these things are very valuable and it took time. The improvement there was gradual. Now I feel ready for any challenge of that nature. Radio, comedy, hosting a a TV show. Whatever. I'm inclined to steer clear of comedy. My sense of humor can be extremely harsh. That darkness makes me dangerous. I'm inclined to abstain. I slightly miss the duty part of it, but for that, I have this, and a million other post-365 duties.

OK, so what were the best moments of this 365 for me. It is hard to say, much harder than on the first one. A few dramatic ones stood out then; the lady who told me I helped her and her child feel better dealing with some tragic circumstances, the two children with cancer for whom I wrote songs. There was nothing exactly like that in this one. Every day is different. Same goes for 365s.

So... January 1, 2016, stands out in my memory as a great day in 365 Land. Let's look back and see.

OK so the date on this video was January 2, 2016, but my man Russell was born on January 1.



I improvised this little number in his honor as soon as I found out and I think it was a sign of the great things ahead for both Russell and our giant project.

This one WAS on January 1, though and remained one of my favorite moments of the 365 'til the end. Thanks to Daniel Ratcliffe and my wife, Leanne pearl for all the hours of withstanding my 365 or as Dan once called it, "spinning my wheels."



What else happened that stands out? I pushed my self to some new zany lengths as a songwriter. On three occasions I dabbled in the dark art of bulk songwriting. I had an epiphany on a walk on night about how I could help make anyone a songwriter. I came up with this app and had the whole thing in my mind. That said, I couldn't do that right then. So I did the next best thing. I put the tools to the test and wrote 12 songs as quickly as I could, with my slick streamlining method. I think it took me about two hours. As I continued penning these ditties at a blistering rate, what they were actually about, was slowly revealed. I don't want to spoil it, but the last song was called, "Baby." Yeah, apparently, I want to have a "Baby." Those 12 songs showed me I think I'm ready. No news yet, but...



The penultimate tune in that chunk was called, "Bright," and it's one of my favorite tunes I ever wrote. It also foreshadows, "Baby."



Of course that wasn't enough for me, so on two separate, later occasions I wrote 24 tunes at once. I think in both cases it took about two days to finish them all. I used that technique there quite effectively and each batch featured a number of tunes that I like.

2016 may be best remembered for all of those who died. I had a few friends as well and I used this forum to pay my respects in my own way.

Hail Dick from Mariposa Ice Cream



Hail Dave, aka The Old Hermit Named Dave, 5 other names...

and David Bowie



We celebrated nuptials with family. Hail Erin and Dave, Tom and Leanne.



A little thing I like is covering my friends. I know how it feels to have someone play your song. It is a unique thrill. So I delight in doing it here and there for my songwriting amigos. I fit in a few this time.

Robin Lee (2)





Justin Mills



Don Truesdail. Hail.







Blowski (2)





Steve



Chris Scelzo



Dan Truesdail



Charbra



Derek Speredelozzi and this 365 recap I laid over his song



and

Tim Riley



and Matt Reischling



I love these people and I love their tunes. It is my humble honor and privilege to perform and pass on their music in whatever way I can here. I appreciate them as artists and I am delighted to get to push forward that appreciation in this manner. It is personal and humbling. You can feel the love. Thank you friends, for the gift of your music. It has moved me.

Hmm, what else happened?

There's this, of course.



A fellow wrote an article in this week's San Diego Reader about all my fine work.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/dec/27/blurt-jefferson-jay-every-day-365-days-straight/

Is it weird that nothing is is jumping out into my brain right now. Well, speaking of weird there was this.



and this



and this...



Donald Trump was elected.



and of course, The San Diego Gay Men's Chorus Padres fiasco



Let's call those the highlights for now. I'll let you know if I think of more.

The Best of the Rest

Things I thought of doing but didn't included my tribute to Mike Warrington of "Love Hate Love and "Am I Inside?" by Alice in Chains. "Love Hate Love" was too mean, even though I learned it. I also learned, "Am I Inside?" by for some reason never thought it was good enough to record. I wanted to do "Mary Anne" by my man, Some Guy, but that song is also mean and I ran out of time. I love these mean songs/. It's just something about me singing them at this point in my life that doesn't entirely jive with the rest of what I'm doing. That's just not my brand of entertainment at this moment in time.

I enjoyed doing requests for some people and any and all feedback I received from anyone anywhere. One day I posted a song, "Sending Love Letters to the Moon," about my beloved and departed pooch, Angel.



Someone named Dennis wrote something nice right away after I posted it. I went to go copy that here now, but it is gone. Either way, it meant something to me then. Thanks to every commenter, every Facebook liker, (especially Hugh Gaskins, Naomi Nussbaum, and Dan Truesdail) and to everyone who made a request (Miz, Jonathan, Chris Sulit, Jason Patterson, Bruno, Micah, etc...), whether I fulfilled it or not. I fulfilled a bunch and folks' feedback made the hours of work feel less lonely. That sounds a little dark, but I don't mean it that way. It is what it is. I did this for me and that feels very empowering. That said, thank you!

Last time I said this same thing a bit more eloquently.

"So that was what was awesome. Being with my friends. Smooching Leanne at the end of the videos. Entertaining people. A lot of folks dropped me nice notes and said encouraging things on Facebook. That all meant so much. That is what kept me going, people's kindness and appreciation. So thanks to everyone who supported me, encouraged me and every said or wrote a nice word about the 365 anywhere to anyone. Thanks to Leanne, "



Congrats to the Cubbies.

I did a couple videos that a musician/friend Jonathan, aka Sheer, made his own and I was very moved by his results. You can check those tracks out here. Thanks Jonathan.

Go Cubs Go

City of New Orleans

Thanks to Nigel



Thanks to Paul Ruiz



Thanks to Daniel Ratcliffe



and thanks to you!

In 2011, I wrote, "For some reason. Some folks expect me to do another 365. I can’t blame them I guess. There’s truly no precedent for this. It’s never been done before and never will be again, most likely."

Well, guess what? I was wrong. I did it again. What's next? Only time will tell. I wait on baited breath. #Excited

Peace


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