More. . .

. . . happiness?. . . 

So I said
I've got a roof o'er my head
Some people can't even say the same thing
But it's still not a fact
I can take any comfort in
I want more to make up my legacy
I'm not poor but everybody's telling me

Money can't buy everything
You've heard it time again
No money can't buy happiness
When will you learn this fact of life my friend

So I said
I've got my very own bed
I don't give it much thought
When I lay down my head
But it's cold and it's lonely
In December on the street
Why do you tell me these kinds of things
I still crave the luxuries that wealth can bring

Money can't buy everything
You've heard it time again
No money can't buy happiness
When will you learn this fact of life my friend

I want to be a squire a king a country gentleman
If I can if I can
I want to get respect for what I have
And not for what I am
Just a man just a man

So I said
It's more than daily bread
That I'm talking about can you hear what I said
You see everyone tells me to accept my own fate
Why should I take what is handed me
Can't even try my way
It wasn't meant to be

Money can't buy everything
You've heard it time again
No money can't buy happiness
When will you learn this fact of life my friend


Money
(from Critic's Choice)
©1996, 2003 Raymond M. Jozwiak<




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More. . .

. . . from the "Is This Really News???" department. . .

(from the Associated Press)
". . . Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman hung out Thursday with North Korea's Kim Jong Un on the third day of his improbable journey with VICE to Pyongyang, watching the Harlem Globetrotters with the leader and later dining on sushi and drinking with him at his palace. "You have a friend for life," Rodman told Kim before a crowd of thousands at a gymnasium where they sat side by side, chatting as they watched players from North Korea and the U.S. play, Alex Detrick, a spokesman for the New York-based VICE media company, told The Associated Press. . . "

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Blood . . .

. . . Brother. . . again

I'll be your Blood Brother
By your side through thick and thin
I'll be your Blood Brother
Just as long as I don't have to bloody
My hands hands

Bar rooms sure have a funny way
Of bringing loyalty out in a man
Buy a drink and tell a joke
And buddy you've got you a friend
But keep a good eye upon that friend
Because he really doesn't give two hoots
And don't say anything about his Mom
His  girlfriend or his army boots

I'll be your Blood Brother
By your side through thick and thin
I'll be your Blood Brother
Just as long as I don't have to bloody
My hands hands

Walked into an auto-mo-showroom
I need some wheels but got no money to spend
When a guy with an ugly tie
Walks out and acts like he's my long-lost friend
I said hey Buddy I've a purpose here
And if you please I will accomplish my goal
So don't you slap me on the back again
Cause if you do I might just lose my control

I'll be your Blood Brother
By your side through thick and thin
I'll be your Blood Brother
Just as long as I don't have to bloody
My hands hands

So please be careful when you meet someone
Who'll make a promise at the drop of a hat
And don't provide them with encouragement
You will regret the day you offered him that
Cause everybody needs some empathy
But just how willing
And how far will they go
To really help you when the chips are down
Can they be trusted half as far as you throw them

I'll be your Blood Brother
By your side through thick and thin
I'll be your Blood Brother
Just as long as I don't have to bloody
My hands hands


BLOOD BROTHER(partial song: from Oho rehearsal)
©1997 Raymond M. Jozwiak




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Baggage. . .

Six AM
The buses aren't nearly as crowded
As the night before
Someone said there was
Music and laughter
Behind all the shutters and doors
What was all of it for

Who needs friends
There's barely a minute for breathing
Everyone here works so hard
There's no party
When I reach my doorstep
I struggle to pull out my key
Where's the meaning for me

You see but you're unaware
There's life on the other side

But there's no bridge to cross
I'm looking through the fog
For some way out of here
I've baggage here to
I've baggage here to toss

Bless my soul
I've read about you in the paper
I've seen your picture somewhere
When you speak it's in volumes and volumes
I can't hear a word that you say
Funny it happens that way
I've been told that envy's the thing I've been feeling
For your kind of work and your play
But to tell you the truth
That it's only a wish
For a new kind of day
When worry and fear melt away

Could be
That a day will come
When you just might understand

But there's no bridge to cross
I'm looking through the fog
For some way out of here
I've baggage here to
I've baggage here to toss

I'd like to go away
and go there to stay
But I can't find the way

So it goes
But change never really comes easy
Resistance is felt all around
But inevitably
Something happens
That makes the old ship run aground
We all stare in awe of what's found

Like me
You appear to be
Looking for some meaning here

But there's no bridge to cross
I'm looking through the fog
For some way out of here
I've baggage here to
I've baggage here to
I've baggage here to toss

Baggage
©2006 Raymond M. Jozwiak




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Labor . . .

. . . of love. . .

. . . a work in progress for Oho.
[Thanks to Jay and David]
. . . it's coming along rather well I think.  (more later)

I'll be your Blood Brother
By your side through thick and thin
I'll be your Blood Brother
Just as long as I don't have to bloody
My hands hands

Bar rooms sure have a funny way
Of bringing loyalty out in a man
Buy a drink and tell a joke
And buddy you've got you a friend
But keep a good eye upon that friend
Because he really doesn't give two hoots
And don't say anything about his Mom
His  girlfriend or his army boots

I'll be your Blood Brother
By your side through thick and thin
I'll be your Blood Brother
Just as long as I don't have to bloody
My hands hands

Walked into an auto-mo-showroom
I need some wheels but got no money to spend
When a guy with an ugly tie
Walks out and acts like he's my long-lost friend
I said hey Buddy I've a purpose here
And if you please I will accomplish my goal
So don't you slap me on the back again
Cause if you do I might just lose my control

I'll be your Blood Brother
By your side through thick and thin
I'll be your Blood Brother
Just as long as I don't have to bloody
My hands hands

So please be careful when you meet someone
Who'll make a promise at the drop of a hat
And don't provide them with encouragement
You will regret the day you offered him that
Cause everybody needs some empathy
But just how willing
And how far will they go
To really help you when the chips are down
Can they be trusted half as far as you throw them

I'll be your Blood Brother
By your side through thick and thin
I'll be your Blood Brother
Just as long as I don't have to bloody
My hands hands


Blood Brother
©1998 Raymond M. Jozwiak
(from a recent Oho rehearsal) 




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Here I am . . .

. . . again.  On the crest of another Monday morning.

A dear friend fighting for life. . . want to help
A respite from a dull, cursory week was welcome, and now over
Hot, steamy conditions with which to cope, and with which I have little problem.  (No shovels required)
Good conversation with my west-coast son
Exhilarating workouts at the keyboard
Stressful coping with the 'critical' element
Progress made in the creative direction
Another future opportunity to make some joyful noise for friends and their family
Wonderful meals and time with my loved one (and ones)
But here comes that Monday again. . .

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We're all in this together. . .

. . . so let's make the best of it.

How many times has someone said that to you and in how many different and varied situations?

Joanie has a 'friend' at work (Crissy) with whom she gets along well and may not choose to call her 'best' friend, but generally chooses to call friend. Crissy happens to live right next door to Joanie. Not that this in and of itself happens to be a problem. But the fact that they live next door to each other may very well have played a crucial role in the demise of whatever semblance of a friendship that existed between them.

Joanie has learned over the last five-plus years that Crissy is a little bit unusual, to use a kind word. Crissy has a temper. And she doesn't hesitate to utilize it irrespective of the relationship of the target of that temper to her. Mother, son, husband, friend, neighbor; she is an equal opportunity hot temper. Crissy is also capable of being the sweetest little peach this side of Georgia IF SHE WANTS. No one is really able to accurately gauge which they will encounter any given day.

In the last several months, Joanie and Crissy have learned the the firm by whom they are employed will be making some drastic personnel changes which will inevitably result in many jobs being lost. Crissy has been with the company longer than Joanie. But turns out Crissy was given notice that her position would be terminated and although nothing is certain and the same fate may eventually befall Joanie in the distant future. But nevertheless, both girls know 'the score'. And ever since the announcement was made, Crissy has become more . . . aloof. In fact, sometimes Crissy will gripe that she is losing her job and Joanie is keeping hers while she (Crissy) got Joanie her job in the first place. . . which in truth she DID NOT.

Still, in keeping with her bi-polar-type temperament, on an odd day she will talk amiably with Joanie about one or another trifling, daily matter just as nicely as you please. Now it has been determined at work that Joanie must learn to perform some of Crissy's daily responsibilities. Crissy, as a result (and possibly in an effort to ensure Joanie's failure) is offering as little help as she possibly can in the training of Joanie.

All of this may possibly have been the first straw. But the last (or maybe the two should really be transposed) follows. Crissy's husband Tom casually asked Bill (Joanie's husband) one day if he could hold Crissy's surprise birthday party and Joanie and Bill's house (which to refresh your memory, is located exactly next door to Crissy and Tom). Now Joanie, who has a heart as big as all outdoors (and a reserve of energy to match) has been known to accommodate such things in the past, so Bill told Tom he would discuss it with his spouse and get back to him. Joanie realized that the time-frame of the proposed surprise party was not a good fit to her plans. But in addition, thoughts of the current work situation flooded back into her mind, both resulting in much less than a quick and certain YES of a response.

Inevitably, Crissy's demeanor toward Joanie has markedly changed since all this news has now become known all involved parties. Both couples will attend one party but each will leave as soon as the other arrives. No more friendly, casual greetings are exchanged on Sunday afternoons in the backyard or upon entering the house after a long day's work.

But still, on an odd day, at the office Crissy will ask Joanie if she has seen American Idol the night before, without batting an eye.




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Blood Brother

Barrooms sure have a funny way of bringing loyalty out in a man. Buy a drink and tell a joke and buddy, you've got you a friend.
But keep a good eye upon that friend because he really doesn't give two hoots. And don't say anything about his Mom, his girlfriend or his army boots. I'll be your Blood Brother, by your side through thick and thin. I'll be your Blood brother, just as long as I don't have to bloody my hands.

Walked into an automoshowroom. I need some wheels but got no money to spend. When a guy with an ugly tie walks out and acts like he's my long lost friend. I said hey buddy I've a purpose here. And if you please I will accomplish my goal. And don't you slap me on the back again. 'Cause if you do I might just lose my control. I'll be your Blood Brother, by your side through thick and thin. I'll be your Blood brother, just as long as I don't have to bloody my hands.

So please be careful when you meet someone who'll make a promise at the drop of a hat. And don't provide them with encouragement. You will regret the day you offered them that. 'Cause everybody has some empathy. But just how willing and how far will they go to really help you when the chips are down. Can they be trusted half as far as you throw them? I'll be your Blood Brother, by your side through thick and thin. I'll be your Blood brother, just as long as I don't have to bloody my hands.

©1994 Raymond M. Jozwiak




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There were times. . .

. . . when I felt that I had ALWAYS taken accordion lessons. Then there were times when I felt that I would never be allowed to STOP taking them. But through the twenty-twenty vision of hindsight, they were ten years well spent on lessons which exposed me to a wealth of musical variety with an initiation to and education in music theory.

Somewhere around my last year of lessons, an unusual development regarding the operation of the Maryland Accordion Institute occurred. My friend, and fellow accordion student of Greek descent, possessing an appropriately lengthy Greek name and who we knew affectionately as Jimmy, purchased the operation. As I was about seventeen years of age at the time, I was understandably astounded at #1, the fact that Jimmy had the financial resources to purchase an entire business AND #2, the fact that Jimmy had the intellectual capability, the drive, motivation and just plain chutzpah to take on such a gargantuan challenge at this tender age. Jimmy was probably several years my senior, but just the same, truly quite an intelligent, thoughtful, practical and generally resourceful young man. And while he may have had the financial assistance of some older adults, he was, by all means, up to such a challenge. By that time in the life-span of the Institute and the current tastes and trends in popular culture, the Institute and accordion lessons in general, were already on their way OUT. But this was by no means a reflection on the talents and abilities of my friend Jimmy when it came to running the Maryland Accordion Institute. His great display of maturity in the whole affair made me proud of him and of myself as well, if only by association with my mature and sophisticated friend.

And the association was briefly more that simply friendship. Jimmy asked me to handle some musical affairs at the Institute during his vacation. This would mean unlocking the building, performing the duties of an instructor and handling the subsequent cash transactions. I was flattered to be asked, eager to prove the wisdom of his choice and filled with new and exorbitant amounts of self esteem at my new, responsible and lofty position even though it was only a temporary, vacation fill-in position.




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I Have No Limits. . .

. . . said Jay Graboski, my long-time musical collaborator and friend (many years ago- possibly more than even he remembers) when debating with a potential employer about our musical 'combo', trying to convince the man that we could provide whatever kind, type or genre of music the man was seeking for his desired, whether real or imagined, clientele.

And I say this ( i.e. I have no limits, meaning in my musical interests, tastes and avenues to which I am willing to devote or otherwise apply my energies) in jest, of course, but only as an introduction to a wonderful piece of music by another, newer musical associate and friend, Garth Baxter.

Garth is a member (now of the 'executive' or 'steering' committee of the the Baltimore Composers Forum, an association with whom I became involved late in 2009) of the Baltimore Composers Forum and a composer and educator par excellence!

I hope he doesn't mind my posting an aria from his new opera, "Lily", to which he treated me recently, here for all to enjoy.

The delightful performers are vocalists Lydia Beasley and Jason Buckwalter, with Andrew Stewart, pianist.




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Russell's stains. . .

Russell, like many of us (and a preponderance of people under 40 years of age) has a facebook page. Russell is one of my three sons and lives in Los Angeles.

I, who by the way am well over 40, also have a facebook page; and a myspace page, and jazz network worldwide, global jazz network, twitter, google and more than even I remember. My membership on these sites is strictly commercial (thanks Frank) but no less sincere. In other words, if you become my 'friend' (on myspace) or if you 'like' me on facebook, I am sincerely appreciative. But my true purpose for being there is to spread my music throughout cyberspace. I probably, now that I understand social media, would be on one or two social networking sites even if I didn't play music, but I doubt I would be a member of as many of them as I now am.

But anyway, back to Russell. Now all three of my boys were 'creeped out' as they called it, if I (and it has been rare)
communicated with one of their friends on a social networking site, most specifically facebook, since that seems to be the most widely used such site for their age group. But if a friend of theirs and I somehow 'ran into' each other on facebook, and they held some interest in my music, I had no problem with the interaction. I wasn't exercising some strange voyeurism or some such other perversion. I was merely trying to spread my music throughout cyberspace.

And likewise, I have stumbled upon the facebook page of each of them sporadically when utilizing facebook and will sometimes glance at a photo or read a post. After all, that's what it's for.

Now there's not some sordid punchline to this little diatribe about the revelation of some bizarre proclivity, heretofore unknown revelation or any such thing. . . but maybe there is.

On Russell's page, there was a photo of Russell and two of his friends (and co-workers) all dressed in similar garb (sweatshirt and khakis, if you must know), and Russell is unknowingly sporting three, very visible stains on his sweatshirt. Which promptly led to some amusing verbal interplay among he and his facebook friends. And no, I couldn't resist adding my two cents, saying simply, "nice stains, Russ."

Well, talk about your anticlimactic rambling. . . not Russ and his friends on facebook. ME. HERE. I still found the situation quite humorous, in a dry sort of way. And I even think, and some folks have done sillier things, that since these stains developed such a personality in their own, small, facebook way, that these stains should have their very own page on facebook. Don't you???

(hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com/)