Finally it happened. A match. A 'club' that required exactly the musical product we were offering. It was a relatively roomy, oblong configuration with a large rectangular bar that encircled the tending staff, located at one end with a dance floor to the side and a stage at the far end of that. It was located in an industrial area to the south of the city, in close proximity to the docks, business of which brought many merchant marine and an assortment of blue-collar clientele for some weekend reverie. In fact, we frequently, unfairly generalizing, joked about the patrons' general lack of teeth and violent tendencies. Let's face it though, large amounts of quickly consumed alcohol frequently does result in less-than-gentlemanly behavior in humans, irrespective of type of employment or socioeconomic level. . . Our bigotry was not based entirely in fiction though. One particularly well-lubricated Friday night crowd included two, physically imposing females, complete with the teased, bouffant hairdo, each with a personalized version of a blond-streak adornment. Someone in the crowd was heard to refer to these ladies as 'skunk-heads', referring to the aforementioned blond coloring. As the evening progressed, it became obvious to us that the 'skunk-heads' had become enamored with several male members of the crowd. It became more obvious still later, that there was some discontent among the party of ladies and their newly-found, romantic interests. Eventually a real, true-to-life bar brawl erupted as a result of the developing sexual tension (or was it friction?) When the fists began flying, the entire band and our visitors were, for lack of a better description, flabbergasted. At that point, we all know precisely what happened, but each would relate a different version now if asked, one of the involved merchant marines picked up a chair from a table adjoining the dance floor, and broke it over the head of his antagonist, sending a wooden chair leg hurling meteor-like onto the bandstand. It seemed as though the frame froze at that point, all sound ceased, and we all stared toward the crowd, mouths agape in astonishment for what seemed to be a short eternity, but ended with Greg (our saxman/vocalist) picking up the disconnected furniture appendage, waving it in the direction of the audience saying something to the effect that he dared anyone to try anything NOW!
(from https://www.nbcnews.com/)
"Sessions orders fresh look at Uranium One deal"
"U.S. life expectancy falls for second straight year — as drug overdoses soar"
"With CHIP funds running out, 'there are no good options,' official says"
"Car that hit crowd in Australia's Melbourne was deliberate act, police say"
"What the tax win means for Trump, now and in 2020"
"South Korea fires warning shots at DMZ after soldier defects from North"
". . . 80% of individuals affected by depression do not receive any treatment. . . statistics show that diagnoses are growing at an alarming rate. In addition, states with higher rates of depression also show high rates of other negative health outcomes, such as obesity, heart disease, and stroke. Individuals suffering from depression are more likely to be unemployed or recently divorced than their non-depressed counterparts, and women experience greater risk of depression than men. Despite all of these statistics on depression, this infographic shows that many people suffer symptoms of depression without seeking care, and that undiagnosed depression costs the U.S. millions of dollars each year. Now a global health issue, depression awareness, diagnosis, and treatment are matters of crucial significance in building a healthier, happier world. . ."
Finally, a 'club' that required exactly the musical product we, 'Ful Treatment,' were offering. It was a relatively roomy, oblong configuration with a large rectangular bar that encircled the tending staff, located at one end with a dance floor to the side and a stage at the far end of that. It was located in an industrial area to the south of the city, in close proximity to the docks, business of which brought many merchant marine and an assortment of blue-collar clientele for some weekend reverie. In fact, we frequently, unfairly generalizing, joked about the patrons' general lack of teeth and violent tendencies. Let's face it though, large amounts of quickly consumed alcohol frequently result in less-than-gentlemanly behavior in humans, irrespective of type of employment or socioeconomic level. . . Our bigotry was not based entirely in fiction though. One particularly well-lubricated Friday night crowd included two, physically imposing females, complete with the teased, bouffant hairdo, each with a personalized version of a blond-streak adornment. Someone in the crowd was heard to refer to these ladies as 'skunk-heads', referring to the aforementioned blond coloring. As the evening progressed, it became obvious to us that night that the 'skunk-heads' had become enamored with several male members of the crowd. It became more obvious still later, that there was some discontent among the party of ladies and their newly-found, romantic interests. Eventually a real, true-to-life bar brawl erupted as a result of the developing sexual tension (or was it friction?) When the fists began flying, one of the involved merchant marines picked up a chair from a table adjoining the dance floor, and broke it over the head of his antagonist, sending a wooden chair leg hurling meteor-like onto the bandstand. It seemed as though the frame froze at that point, all sound ceased, and we all stared toward the crowd, mouths agape in astonishment for what seemed to be a short eternity, but ended with Greg (our saxman/vocalist) picking up the disconnected furniture appendage, waving it in the direction of the audience saying something to the effect that he dared anyone to 'try anything NOW!' . . .
Bb Blues
live recording of Ful Treatment apprx 1977
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)
. . . With members Jay (guitar/vocals), Jeff (drums)[later replaced by David], Greg (sax/vocals) and myself (keyboard/vocals), we undertook a string of private affairs and wedding receptions. Soon we decided to dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of a regular engagement, most desirably at a nightclub. Our one weak point however in pursuit of this lofty goal was our repertoire. Our rehearsals were few and far between. In fact, I now cannot remember an actual rehearsal with this incarnation of 'Ful Treatment.' To our chagrin, and self-deceiving disbelief, club owners actually wanted the bands they hired to play the current top-forty popular favorites to which the audience could dance. We, in our haughty laziness (or was it lazy haughtiness?) refused to do that. In fact we simply continued to play as much of our uptempo (and preferably 'newer') material instead of succumbing to the current trend of disco music brought about by the recent resurgent popularity of the Bee Gees thanks to the film Saturday Night Fever. In our defense, we did learn a new number or two, just simply not enough to market ourselves as a top-forty act. Another improvement that we opted not to pursue was the hiring of a fifth band member to play the bass guitar, a definite enhancement to a combo's authenticity when reproducing dance music (as well as rock music in general), and mainly for the reason that it would have resulted in another party with whom to share the money. . .
Three-quarters of which comprise the present day OHO!!! . . .
Blood Brother
by OHO (Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak) live at Belisimo's, Finksburg, February 2015
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 will be released April 7, 2014 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)
The Broad Institute, a biomedical research center, announced a $650 million donation for psychiatric research from the Stanley Family Foundation — one of the largest private gifts ever for scientific research. It comes at a time when basic research into mental illness is woefully inadequate, and many drug makers have all but abandoned the search for new treatments. It's been about 25 years since any major pharmaceutical strides have been made in treating psychiatric disorders. Broad Institute officials hope that Mr. Stanley’s donation will change that, and they timed their announcement to coincide with the publication of the largest analysis to date on the genetics of schizophrenia.
Why did Ted Stanley make such a generous gift? In 1988, his son Jonathan Stanley (a college dropout) was visiting New York City when he became convinced that government agents were closing in on him. He bolted, and for three days and nights raced through the city streets and subway tunnels. His flight ended in a deli, where he climbed a plastic crate and stripped off his clothes. The police took him to a hospital, and he finally received effective treatment two years after getting a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. “My son’s life was saved,” his father, Ted Stanley, said recently. When he himself was in college, he added, “those drugs didn’t exist; I would have had a non functioning brain all the rest of my life.”
(thanks to http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/22/science/650-million-psychiatric-research.html?_r=0)
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)
. . . or, in this case, don't eat the burgers. . .
Can't, in any good conscience, endorse the food they serve at that Scottish restaurant on the the clown commercials. But I can say that the Ronald McDonald House is a breath of fresh air in world where many seem to place continuously decreasing value on the lives of their fellow human beings. I had the opportunity to provide some Gonzo Piano music at mealtime at one such house and found it a wonderful experience.
(from http://www.rmhc.org/ronald-mcdonald-house)
Many families travel far from home and spend several weeks or months to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children – a long time to be away or to divide a family. And, for children facing a serious medical crisis, nothing seems scarier than not having mom and dad close by for love and support. A Ronald McDonald House is that “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost.
Our Houses are built on the simple idea that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on the health of their child – not where they can afford to stay, where they will get their next meal or where they will lay their head at night to rest. We believe that when a child is hospitalized the love and support of family is as powerful as the strongest medicine prescribed.
. . .Families are stronger when they are together, which helps in the healing process. By staying at a Ronald McDonald House, parents also can better communicate with their child’s medical team and keep up with complicated treatment plans when needed. They can also focus on the health of their child, rather than grocery shopping, cleaning or cooking meals.
. . . When your child is sick, you want the best care possible – even if it is hundreds or thousands of miles away. The Ronald McDonald House allows families to access specialized medical treatment by providing a place to stay at little or sometimes no cost. . .
(from http://news.yahoo.com/l-archdiocese-cardinal-mahony-settle-sex-abuse-cases-225218104.html by by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Andre Grenon)
". . . The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony and a former priest have agreed to pay a total of nearly $10 million to settle four child sex abuse cases brought against them, lawyers for the victims said on Tuesday.
Mahony, who retired in 2011 as head of the largest U.S. archdiocese and is now in Rome taking part in choosing a new pope, was accused of helping a confessed pedophile priest evade law enforcement by sending him out of state to a church-run treatment center, then placing the priest back in the Los Angeles ministry.
As part of the agreement approved by a Los Angeles judge earlier this month, none of the parties admitted wrongdoing, according to a plaintiff's attorney in the case, Vince Finaldi. . . "
And who will take this religious organization seriously in the future???
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You can NOW download
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very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE
In the early 70s, the members of the wedding combo of which I was a member (Reflection, by name), thought our regeneration (after the comings and goings of members in different combos) would be more thorough with a name change and finally settled upon the catchy moniker FUL TREATMENT (yes, ONE 'L') which accurately captured our ability to navigate the crosscurrents of musical genre and essentially play ANYTHING that ANYBODY wanted. This gloriously selfless intention was more true in theory than practice, but our intentions were sincere, particularly at the start, although that facet of our existence did deteriorate somewhat in time.
Music, fun, abundant work and money were ours. Good times, as they now say. Our repertoire had evolved and developed during this period to include Bungle in the Jungle, You're So Vain, Games People Play (Jethro Tull, Carly Simon and The Spinners respectively). But then, in what seemed to be a not very long time later, Bruce (our drummer) resigned (abdicated his drum throne-pun intended). My sister, who at the time worked for the state government, had become acquainted with a young man at the office who, in addition to charming all the ladies there (including her), was a drummer. Not only was he a drummer, he was a drummer who was receptive to the idea of joining our little musical organization. His name was Jeff.
Jeff 'auditioned' and was quite impressive on many levels. He had a powerful touch, yet not without the ability to sensitively accompany a slow ballad. While not subtle, his drumming was strong, steady and something of a departure from his predecessor. We missed Bruce both personally and musically, but we welcomed Jeff and enjoyed the markedly different rhythm keeper and dynamic, debonair character that had become our drummer. I, more than the other members of the band, began spending additional amounts of personal time with Jeff, enjoying his captivating stories, his outrageous personality and his knowledge and appreciation of musical styles. Jeff and I visited many and varied drinking and eating places after gigs and I'd found that not only had the band acquired a fine new drummer, I had found a fun and fascinating new friend.
Keith, our guitarist and one of the founding members, had by this time decided to leave the band, an event that was somewhat bittersweet, as we sometimes longed for a guitarist with a different style. But he certainly possessed many good qualities, was reliable and added musicality not infrequently. Jeff had oft-times mentioned his seminary-educated, guitar-playing brother Jay who was also a founding member of a different, uniquely original music-playing organization called OHO. Jeff indicated that Jay would be interested in joining our combo in order to make some money because then, as now, local, original musicians weren't reaping great sums playing their own compositions. I had no inkling at the time that this event would influence both my music and a substantial portion of my life. But it has.
Charisma evidently ran in Jeff and Jay's family, as Jay possessed possibly even more of it than his younger, drummer brother. Jay somehow was more in control of the charisma with a certain maturity added to it, along with an additional self-confidence that may have been attributable to his age. Similar as they would appear from my description here, they were actually quite different from each other in reality. But the musical combination radically changed the performances of Ful Treatment much for the better. Jay rocked. [And still does] And following his lead, Ful Treatment rocked as well, at least on some of our repertoire, which at the time included 'You Really Got Me', 'Wild Thing', 'Needles and Pins' 'Twist and Shout' and 'Heat Wave'. We were all young and relatively carefree, and more frequently than was wise, a gig would turn into a party. . . for the band.
After a period, as always occurs in such mini-organizations, Jeff decided to leave the band. Jay was able to recruit alternate (with Jeff) OHO drummer David and, viola, the rest is history. At least it's a big part of MY musical history. Ful Treatment, in the ultimate configuration probably only played together for several years. But they were fun years.
I kept somewhat in touch with Jay in the intervening years. He always treated me to an LP or CD of things he was working on musically. Then about 2003, I read in the Baltimore CityPaper that OHO was performing at a local venue and I was determined that I would patronize same. Various associations between Jay and myself (musical showcases at Gallery G in Hampden, Mystic I) transpired. Then in early winter of 2011 Jay, David and myself (sans any saxophonist) began rehearsing for Schlongtasm 29 (a showcase of musical acts brought together each year to celebrate Airiad Records' Dan Long's birthday.) The ex-Ful Treatment rhythm section were reunited after 32 years as the latest incarnation of OHO, playing substantial amounts of original music and covers of far greater integrity . . . and of course, now infinitely wiser,
Good Times INDEED.
What
do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html
You can NOW download
your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE
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