Magic . . .

. . . was in the air. . .


. . . last Friday at Bread & Circuses Bistro's Patio in Towson. The clouds parted, the sun burst gloriously through.  Three mysterious men with musical instruments plowed through three sets of driving, sophisticated and danceable cover tunes interspersed with thought-provoking originals well into the evening. . . all of which seemed to simply appear. . .

. . .Out of Thin Air

When I woke up today I had all that I want
Everything that I did brought desired results
How could this be? All the rules have been changed
In the pool where I drowned I am swimming again.

But of course I am wrong.  How could I understand
When my society tells me how tall I stand?
Then I take it inside and wait for life’s kiss
Which is sure to arrive ‘cause I’m riding my bliss.

What did I do? The world holds me up
Invisible hands grant the nourishing cup
Have I found a way that has always been there?
It seems to me it came out of thin air.

The child waking up brings the old crone to tears
Pushing through my disguise see the tips of my ears
How could this be all the rules have been changed
In the pool where I drowned I am swimming again.

When I blindly reach out to what I cannot see
Grace reappears and it rescues me
I’m not what I feel, I’m not what you think
I’m only what is and what isn’t in sync.


Out of Thin Air
by John P. Graboski (live at Bread & Circuses August 9, 2013)





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Imitation. . .

 . . . is the sincerest form of flattery. . .


Quotes from Charles Caleb Colton
"Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship - never."

"True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost."

"Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity, than straightforward and simple integrity in another."

"Those that are the loudest in their threats are the weakest in their actions."

"Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away."

"Men's arguments often prove nothing but their wishes."

"Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it's set a rolling it must increase."

"Men are born with two eyes, but with one tongue, in order that they should see twice as much as they say."

"Imitation is the sincerest of flattery."

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Common. . .

. . . sense. . .


(Thanks to Medea Benjamin of truthout.com)

Some common sense to begin restoring America to its former position of respect and admiration:

1. No more drone strikes.  They don't stop, but help to make terrorists.

2. Save money and help the cause by closing the drone airbases.

3. Free Guantanamo prisoners which have already been cleared for release. Holding them is an affront to humanity and hypocrisy with regard to our values.

4. Apologize and compensate the families of innocent people hurt or killed by drones or other military action.

5. Withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan. 

6. Talk. The Taliban and more rational elements of Al Qaeda have indicated they are open to negotiations. History shows a large percentage of terrorists groups have been dissolved by joining the political process. 

7. End support of dictatorships and repressive leaders. Business selling weapons might be good for US weapons makers but not for the rest of us.

8. Support non-violent democracy movements. Chaos and instability only help terrorists.

9. Stop disregarding international law and national sovereignty in killing terrorism suspects. 

10. Use foreign aid to support education, healthcare and elimination of poverty.

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Duke. . .

(from The New York Times)
“I was in a rock band, I played with a bunch of Brazilians, I played R&B with Parliament-Funkadelic and all of that,” he said in an interview before his most recent album, “DreamWeaver,” was released last month. “I mean, I’ve done jazz with Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley. It’s a goulash. It’s a gumbo.

George Duke, who as a small boy begged his mother to buy him a piano after she took him to see Duke Ellington, began playing professionally at a time when many musicians were interested in blending genres. He played in a trio that backed the singer Al Jarreau while he was still a teenager, then accompanied Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz musicians at clubs in San Francisco. By the early 1970s he had performed and recorded with Adderley, the jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and Zappa’s Mothers of Invention.

Zappa “told me one day that I should play synthesizers,” Mr. Duke wrote on his Web site. “It was as simple as that!” Urged by Zappa, he said, he experimented with a few types of synthesizers before settling on the ARP Odyssey, “purely to be different from Jan Hammer, who was playing the Minimoog.”

Critics sometimes said that Mr. Duke’s music was too smooth, not challenging enough, and that he was too eager to court a broad audience. He disagreed. “I really think it’s possible (and still do) to make good music and be commercial at the same time,” Mr. Duke wrote. “I believe it is the artist’s responsibility to take the music to the people. Art for art’s sake is nice; but if art doesn’t communicate, then its worth is negated. It has not fulfilled its destiny.”

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Oho. . .

OHO
FRIDAY, August 9, 2013 @ 8:00PM
at Bread & Circuses Bistro (Patio)
27 E. Chesapeake Avenue
Towson, MD  21286
410-337-5282 http://bandcbistro.com/


We complain the floor's uneven  When we simply don't know how to dance  In a sentimental treason 

Each word is charged as every glance My foes approach and I start singing How do I defend against

my friends?  The treasure buried where I fumbled  The ball into the tiger's den  Maddened fingers

spar  With the laughing strings  I was very close but no cigar  We were on the corner with our cup

The lad with light feet made the girl light up  Putting the pep back into the step  Where you would

leap is now where I have leapt I'm an easy victim of nostalgia  I was making friends among the blind 

The filament was bright at high noon Radiating from the signs  Maddened fingers spar With the

laughing strings It was very close but no cigar  Find the low denominator  With a hundred pairs of

eyes  Leaning on an arm that failed us  Against the grain it's common life  I was choking on

imagination  Still I know I get the gist   Sifting through a tired memory  In Paris turning with the twist



OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve and Ray Jozwiak

Also, please visit:   
http://www.ohomusic.com


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Thinking of B3s. . .

. . . not B47s

(from wikipedia.com)
The Hammond organ was invented by Laurens Hammond and John M Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Various models were produced, which originally used tonewheels to generate sound via additive synthesis, where component waveform ratios are mixed by sliding drawbars. Around 2 million Hammond organs have been manufactured, and it has been described as one of the most successful organs ever. The organ is commonly used with, and associated with, the Leslie speaker.

The organ was originally marketed and sold by the Hammond Organ Company to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, and as an alternative to the piano. It quickly became popular with professional jazz musicians, who found it to be a cheaper alternative to the big band. Jimmy Smith's use of the Hammond B-3, with its additional harmonic percussion feature, inspired a generation of organ players, and its use became more widespread in the 1960s and 1970s in rhythm and blues, rock and reggae, as well as being an important instrument in progressive rock.

The Hammond Organ Company struggled financially during the 1970s as they abandoned tonewheel organs and switched to manufacturing instruments using integrated circuits. These instruments never caught on with notable musicians and groups as the tonewheels had done before, and the company went out of business in 1985. The Hammond name was purchased by Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation who proceeded to manufacturer digital simulations of the most popular tonewheel organs. This culminated in the production of the "New B-3" in 2002, which provided an accurate recreation of the original B-3 organ using modern digital technology.

Hammond-Suzuki continues to manufacturer a variety of organs for both the professional player and the church. Other companies, such as Korg, Roland and Clavia have also achieved success in providing emulations of the original tonewheel organs. The sound of a tonewheel Hammond can also be emulated in modern software such as Native Instruments B4.

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Booking. . .

Dear Mr. Booking Agent,

I just stumbled upon a video of your band on YouTube.  I heard you guys at the beach last year.  Very nice.  Jay and David (founding members of OHO) know your keyboardist very well and actually played in a band with him years ago.

Anyway, still hoping OHO can get a date(s) from you at the Downtown Club.  Fall or winter would be fine if your schedule is full.
Best,
Ray Jozwiak
Oho


Dear Ray,

I've had time to listen to some of your stuff and I don't think it's going to fly at The Downtown. We mainly book high energy pop/rock cover bands. Our demographic Thursday through Saturday nights is more of the young university crowd. We don't really do original bands & the covers you guys do are pretty obscure.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A?

Mr. Booking Agent,

Thank you for taking the time to listen to Oho and for your kind response.

I presume you mean by 'high energy pop/rock cover bands' that each of them play virtually identical repertoire of predictable selections.  Also, do I read into your comment 'high-energy' that for some reason (longevity?) you presume a lack of or a 'low' energy quotient in us?

It seems odd to me that you give the university crowd, a population who is dedicating or will dedicate 4 to 6 years of their lives to LEARNING NEW THINGS, no credit for artistic open-mindedness.  Possibly you should reconsider ORIGINAL bands for the venue.

We seem to think that Beatles/McCartney/Lennon material as well as Leonard Cohen, the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel and the like are ANYTHING BUT obscure.  But hey, that's just US!  What the hell do WE know????

Best,
Ray Jozwiak
Oho


or B?

Dear Mr. Booking Agent,

Thank you for taking the time to listen to Oho and for your kind response.  Should you and The Downtown decide on a change in format, we hope you will keep Oho in mind.

Best,
Ray Jozwiak
Oho

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Methinks B.

 



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