G1 . . .

(Regarding "The Thought Behind the Songs")

On Mar 17, 2017, at 4:12 PM,
Hi Folks,
This coming week I’ll go down to take a close look at Germano’s sound system.
It looks like guitars with direct outs is the way to go. Anyone have a problem with that?
Please bring guitar cords.
I’ll know more later, but please let me know if you have a direct box you can bring.
Ray, are you cool with a Yamaha G1? No need to bring a keyboard?
It looks like we can run voices and instruments through the Peavy. I’ll bring a mic for me.
I don’t know how dependent you are on a stage monitor, maybe we put the most dependent person in front of it. I don’t have any stage monitors. Having an extra one or two would be very helpful. Please let me know if you have one and which one.
Thanks,
Ty

Ty,
If they don’t have a Bosendorfer Concert Grand 290 Imperial the Yamaha will do.  :)
(Hell, my Kawai is only 5’2”)  But seriously, any acoustic piano (tuned and maintained) is a treat
for my purposes.
Best,
Ray

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Get your copy of OHO's  Where Words Do Not Reach now!
The Ocean City Ditty Video is now on YouTube
Also, be sure to visit: www.rayjozwiak.com and www.ohomusic.com

Tweet  

Follow me on Blogarama

Words . . .

(from www.urbandicionary.com)
nailed
you completed a task successfully or got something right . ie :You nailed it to the cross.
shred

shred
verb
play a very fast, intricate style of rock lead guitar.
"we want to hear everything from country and western to blisteringly fast guitar shredding"

rockinest
(adj) To rock even more than it is possible to express with the word rockin.


Jay's Guitar Solo
©2016 Raymond M. Jozwiak

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Get your copy of OHO's  Where Words Do Not Reach now!
The Ocean City Ditty Video is now on YouTube
Also, be sure to visit: www.rayjozwiak.com and www.ohomusic.com

Tweet  

Weep . . .

. . . bitchin' solo  (hand in there til about 3:27. . . worth the wait) . . .


RIP man.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Get your copy of OHO's  Where Words Do Not Reach now!
The Ocean City Ditty Video is now on YouTube
Also, be sure to visit: www.rayjozwiak.com and www.ohomusic.com

Tweet  

Like . . .

I would like to send you OHO's latest album via WeTransfer for airplay on PRM.  'Where Words Do Not Reach' is an archival collection of OHO's instrumental works dating back to 1974 and ending with a couple of new tunes. For the more adventuresome listener there is a lot to appreciate here starting with the intense album opening "Board Organ" where furious drumming, off kilter keyboards and fiery guitar run amok in an all-out progressive psychedelic jam. "Nocturnal Recurrence" is another solid track and very heavy on the keyboards while "Albumblatt" is an excellent all acoustic guitar number with impressive fret work from O'Sullivan and serves as a nice reprieve from the previous chaos. "Motion of Motion" is another fine acoustic guitar piece followed by the much heavier "Snow Lady/I Crawled" where the band's eclecticism shows up in the form of wild keyboard sounds and a somewhat darker theme. The band continues its genre hopping with the pop inspired "Aubrey Circle Dance" and the feel good country grooves in Non-Sex Nonsense". The album ends with two new tracks, "Slough of Despond" and "Unique", both having a more refined sound with the latter featuring mostly piano and Graboski's treated guitar chords. Where Words Do Not Reach covers a wide range of styles and sounds, enhanced by the band's eclectic arrangements and tuneful songwriting.  Please visit www.ohomusic.com

Unique
from Where Words Do Not Reach by OHO (2015)





What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 


OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet  

Hypnotic . . .

(thanks to http://io9.com/5891504/what-hypnosis-really-does-to-your-brain)
Nearly every culture in the world has a history of hypnotic trances considered either spiritual or eerie. India and China used hypnosis to relieve pain during surgery. The practice soon migrated to Europe. Ether and anesthesia pushed hypnosis out of medicine, for the most part. Eventually, Hollywood embraced it as a plot device, adding on fantastic properties that made it seem still more outlandish to the public. It finally settled in the entertainment industry, where it does have the power to make people do extremely silly things, with extreme sincerity.

Compared to a resting brain, many areas are activated when a person is put into a hypnotic trance. All the areas that flare to life during hypnosis are also engaged when a person is concentrating on mental imagery — except one. Like many areas of the brain, the precuneus lights up during many different tasks, all of them having to do with a consciousness of self. It also deals with visuospatial aspects of the brain, letting us know where we are in space.

Under hypnosis, people are able to concentrate intensely on self-created imagery (or imagery that suggested to them) but do not place their selves as part of that imagery. They've lost the reminder of what they personally do and what normal judgments they make, while increasing their ability to think about a whole range of imaginary situations.


Baltimore Improvisation
OHO's Jay Groboski, hypnotic guitar musings to the changes of Randy Newman's Baltimore, Ray Jozwiak, keyboard accompanist (recorded at the Compound, December 2014 sans percussion)



What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 


OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet  

 

As Far . . .

. . . as we know, beginning shortly after 9:30 or maybe 10:00 PM, OHO performs Friday August 15th at Johnny's Pizza & pub, 5601 Coastal Hwy, Ocean City, MD 21842 (410.723.5600). Decent selection of brews, excellent pizza and the ONLY establishment in town displaying a Connellized (i.e., painted by artist Connell P. Byrne) electric guitar, centrally located behind the main bar. If you happen to be in OC this Friday, please join the band & our friends for an evening of fun, friends & food as we stuff some musical muscle down your piping.

OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve and Ray Jozwiak



What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Mom Said . . .

. . . be wary of people that have two first names. . .

 . . . maybe she was wrong . . .


(from wikipedia.com)
" . . . Joseph Arthur began writing and playing music in his early teens, after inheriting an electronic keyboard from his aunt. At age 16, he played bass in a blues band called Frankie Starr and the Chill Factor, which disbanded by 1995. Initially, Arthur sought to become a noted bass guitarist, stating: "I never started singing until I was in my early 20s. I remember thinking, ‘OK – I am not a singer, I am a musician.’ I wanted to be this like heroic bass player so I listened to people like Jaco Pastorius, just smoking weed listening to Bitches Brew over and over again. And then like Nirvana came out and I was blown away and then I got into Bob Dylan. Around that time I started playing acoustic guitar and realized I could actually write songs if I wasn’t playing complicated bass lines."

Joseph graduated from Firestone High School in 1990 and continued developing his music. In the early 1990s, Arthur relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, continuing to record home demos, playing local clubs and working as a guitar salesman at Clark Music Store.

In 1996, Peter Gabriel's A&R associate Harvey Schartz presented Gabriel with a demo of Arthur's first EP, Cut and Blind. Gabriel and Schwartz arranged a live audition at The Fez nightclub in New York City, and Arthur flew up from Atlanta. The night was a success; not only was Lou Reed a guest in the audience, but within a few months Arthur was officially signed, making him the first American recording artist signed to Gabriel's label Arthur recorded his debut album at Gabriel's Real World Studios in England with producer Markus Dravs (Björk, Coldplay, Arcade Fire). The debut album Big City Secrets was released worldwide in spring 1997, and Arthur joined Gabriel's WOMAD tour in Europe. Big City Secrets displayed Arthur's often angsty and emotionally-wrought lyrics coupled with diverse instrumentation, which he himself described as "someone struggling to heal over experimental folk-rock", but went virtually unnoticed by the mainstream. Two years later, he recorded an EP called Vacancy, which earned him a Grammy nomination in 2000 for best recording package. . ."

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html 

OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)

My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Stuff . . .

(http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5812320/gene-kellys-singin-in-the-rain-suit-up-for-sale)
A memorabilia collector is selling the gray wool suit Gene Kelly wore as he joyously danced in a downpour in the Hollywood musical "Singin' in the Rain."

The suit is expected to sell for more than $20,000 when Heritage Auctions offers it up Friday in Dallas. Memorabilia collector Gerry Sola has had the suit for more than four decades after buying it for $10 at a 1970 sale of MGM props and wardrobe items following the sale of the studio to financier Kirk Kerkorian.

"I think it's one of these pieces that people are really excited to see go up on the block," said Margaret Barrett, director of the entertainment and music memorabilia department at Heritage Auctions. "Even if you've never seen this movie, you probably know the scene. You've seen Gene Kelly dancing around, singing in the rain, swinging on that lamp post."



(from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylans-newport-guitar-sells-for-nearly-a-million-bucks-20131206#ixzz2n4N8FrP3)
Epic rock memorabilia brings epic money: Bob Dylan's sunburst Fender Stratocaster, first unsheathed at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, sold at auction for a record-breaking $965,000 on Friday, according to the Associated Press.

Dropping nearly a cool million on an axe might seem excessive, but this guitar is one of the most iconic instruments in music history. Dylan's three-song Newport performance is the stuff of legend: Many folk diehards booed the set, viewing the switch to amplified rock as a sell-out (and labeling Dylan a traitor to the folk movement).

Despite the historical importance of the instrument, Christie's auction house wasn't expecting such a massive price: pre-auction estimates for the guitar (which also included the original leather strap and hardshell case) were between $300,000 and $500,000. Within the case itself was another hidden gem: early-draft lyrics to three Dylan tunes ("Absolutely Sweet Marie," "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and two others). Those pieces were estimated between $3,000 and $30,000 by the auction house.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Too Many . . .

. . . Cowboys. . .

Why don't you grow up
just as fast as you can
All of your innocence
Is a flash in the pan
It's overrated you say
Tryin' to be a nice guy
It's so much easier this way
So why even try
Too many cowboys

Everyone's watching
So you think all the time
Maintain the image
But it's all in your mind
What's so damned special about
Being hard as a nail
Banishing subtlety
Sets yourself up to fail
Too many cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend

You wear a big hat
It's a Stetson of course
Chew some tobacco
Take a ride on your horse
You've got some buddies I see
Just a little hard-boiled
They've got some dirt on their hands
They all dabble in oil
Too many cowboys

Can't say you're sorry
Can't say you're wrong
God is on your side
He's been there all along
It doesn't matter to you
If they're hurt or they're dead
You've been above it so long
I'll stick by what I said
too many cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend

Get in your big truck
And just drive away
You have no interest
in the things that I say
Nor did you ever
Listen that much at all
You set yourself up
For some big kind of fall
Too many cowboys

And just like a cowboy
Just the kind that you are
Virile and macho
But without a guitar
Into the sunset you rode
And the credits did roll
Not a regret did you feel
But you've taken your toll
Too Many Cowboys

Just too many cowboys
Not quite enough men
Who will listen
Rather learn than
Only just pretend



Too Many Cowboys
©2009 Raymond M. Jozwiak





What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet