Never Pleasant . . .

. . . to hear of an untimely death. . .

(from wikipedia.com)
The New York Times described (Philip Seymour) Hoffman as "a stocky, often sleepy-looking man with blond, generally uncombed hair who favored the rumpled clothes more associated with an out-of-work actor than a star." Hoffman "frequently dyed his hair and lost or gained weight for parts" and "was known for a sometimes painful dedication to his craft." In a 2006 interview with 60 Minutes, Hoffman revealed that he had suffered from drug and alcohol abuse after graduating from college, and went to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction, recovering at age 22. He said he had abused "anything I could get my hands on. I liked it all." Hoffman relapsed over 20 years later, checking into a rehabilitation program for about 10 days in May 2013 because of problems with prescription pills and heroin.

On February 2, 2014, Hoffman was found dead by his friend, playwright David Bar Katz, in the bathroom of Hoffman's West Village, Manhattan office apartment. According to the New York City Police Department, the death appeared to be drug-related.

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Learning . . .

In January 1835, President Andrew Jackson (who harbored a very person dislike of the concept of debt), paid off the entire national debt. To do that, he took advantage of a huge real-estate bubble that was raging in the Western U.S. The federal government owned a lot of Western land — and Jackson started selling it off. He was also ruthless on the budget blocking every spending bill he could.


Meantime, back to the present. . .

Shouldn't we LEARN from our own history?

(Thanks to  http://nextcity.org/equityfactor/entry/here-is-foreign-every-country-that-gets-more-federal-aid-than-detroit and http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/04/15/135423586/when-the-u-s-paid-off-the-entire-national-debt-and-why-it-didnt-last)

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Hurt . . .

I thought my skin was growing a bit thicker after over ten years of huckstering original music performance and recordings but for some reason, certain things still hurt. A natural-born salesman I most certainly am NOT! When applying for employment upon college graduation I unconditionally dismissed any and all job openings that hinted of sales.  I generally feel that if someone wants or needs something, they will seek it.  Consequently I never wanted to be the one to present them with something which I WANTED them to want or need.

Truth is, my stance on the matter has not really changed in essence since then. The one thing that HAS changed is that, after learning about what constitutes a successful music career (and I guess I have to qualify that by adding "commercially" to 'successful' because let's face it, if you have any talent, ability or passion about music, you do want to reap rewards in the critical and/or financial realms) I am now able to 'salesify' enough to confront a potential audience.  That's just marketing, plain and simple.

So in my joy at being on the WAMMIE ballot for Best Jazz Recording, I thought that, since (from the WAMA website) 'nominations and balloting come from the WAMA membership' that I would bring my good fortune at being nominated to the attention of the WAMA membership because, as a WAMA member myself, I sometime read hastily and more oftentimes FORGET things.  Frequently a small reminder can be most useful. A small reminder is what I intended to send the WAMA members, light-hearted, brief but to the point. So while I don't know all the WAMA members personally, I thought we had a common bond in our 'support' of the Washington area music community. I guess not all WAMA members feel that bond.

Turns out that two 'reprimanding' comments were returned to me in response to my request for a vote;  one from a member I do not personally know and another from one I do.

*Sending unsolicited mass emails to DC musicians that you don't know asking for you vote isn't the best way to gain their support.

*I don't really care much for begging for votes.  Please don't include me
on your list.

Granted the comments were innocuous enough (at least maybe one more than the other) and I have removed the two names from my mailing list in respect of their wishes, or in the case of the first, his implication.

But still . . .
        . . . it hurts.

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Rotos . . .

. . . one example of the multiple and various influences upon my music is "Easter Parade" which I detected recently in a new composition . . . and of course, one thing leads to another and I began to sing to myself and pondered the rotogravure . . .


(from wikipedia.com)
In the last quarter of the 19th century, the method of image photo transfer onto carbon tissue covered with light-sensitive gelatin was discovered, and was the beginning of rotogravure. In the 1930s–1960s, newspapers published relatively few photographs and instead many newspapers published separate rotogravure sections in their Sunday editions. These sections were devoted to photographs and identifying captions, not news stories. Irving Berlin's song "Easter Parade" specifically refers to these sections in the lines "the photographers will snap us, and you'll find that you're in the rotogravure". And the song "Hooray for Hollywood" contains the line "…armed with photos from local rotos" referring to young actresses hoping to make it in the movie industry.

In 1932 a George Gallup "Survey of Reader Interest in Various Sections of Sunday Newspapers to Determine the Relative Value of Rotogravure as an Advertising Medium" found that these special rotogravures were the most widely read sections of the paper and that advertisements there were three times more likely to be seen by readers than in any other section.

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Taker or Giver? . . .

Pondering awards, rewards and recognition in a number of life situations. . .


(from http://intelispend.com/employee-rewards-recognition/)
". . .The Collector: It's human nature to gather things and status. Plaques with years of service appeal to the desire for status. Other types of incentive programs tap into this drive as well, motivating people through their desire to acquire more possessions. You'll see this most often in incentives.

The Killer: People are biologically motivated to defend what is theirs. The winner of last year's "Top in Sales" title isn't going to let it go without a fight. And employees engaged by strong recognition programs will work hard to protect their company against competitive threats.

The Socializer: Like it or not, we're wired to bond, and most of us experience the workplace first as a social setting. This is what makes recognition so powerful: celebrating stories about accomplishments with co-workers and managers makes people feel more appreciated.

The Explorer: People have an innate desire to contribute to something bigger in creative ways. Frequent acknowledgment of daily contributions connects us all to work in a more meaningful way, encouraging a higher level of commitment and more innovative thinking. . ."

(from me. . .)
The (real) Musician:  Enjoys awards and recognition and the truly savvy among them exploits the promotional value these awards and recognition provide.  He (or she) will however, continuously perpetuate the making of music for as long as their own organism continues the process of breathing most importantly because that's just about all that they CAN DO!

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WAMMIE . . .

(from http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001C31GFZrDKjKaWrZodhcUSUcZtk-3m6-ryC3VIvQ8Ak9lp6sq3Q6oPuA-qTUs4LprnOFVMtCIcV0tR0QaP4BRsmco46fWgHUUwy12wIvrO_Qhl8v1ybLwodMElepkCbM5WDMpe-bHYy_IZySV9BD9UsA774U6RiQIjPbA5RIOBpGR_seo_C7mFs8zcm2idMlf5uKyyG_8Coo=)
28th Annual WammiesTM Nomination Ballot
2013 Washington Area Music Awards

Voting Deadline is Thursday, February 6, 2014, 10 PM
You must be a current WAMA member to vote.

JAZZ RECORDING

    Black & White Then Back / Ray Jozwiak      www.rayjozwiak.com

    Blue Velvet Soul / Maysa   www.maysa.com
    Compared to What / Redmond, Langosch & Cooley   www.cdbaby.com/cd/             
       redmondlangoschcooley
    Deep Inside Me / Stephanie Rebecca   stephanie-rebecca.com
    Déviation / Daisy Castro   www.gypsymothmusique.com
    Eclipse of the Soul / Lori Williams   www.lorijazz.com
    Leo Rising / Aaron Myers II   www.aaron2.me
    Look For The Silver Lining / Bob Schwartz Quartet   www.groovem.com
    Moon Country / Esther Haynes  www.estherhaynesmusic.com
    The Truth / Allyn Johnson & Sonic Sanctuary 
        www.allynjohnsondivineorder.com




The Washington Area Music Awards recognize significant career achievements by area musicians. Nominations and balloting come from the WAMA membership. Past show participants include Emmylou Harris, Joan Jett, The Clovers, Bo Diddley, Jorma Kaukonen, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Jimmy Dean.

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Flowers, Learning and Seeger. . .

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young girls have picked them everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?
Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Gone for husbands everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the husbands gone, long time passing?
Where have all the husbands gone, long time ago?
Where have all the husbands gone?
Gone for soldiers everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the soldiers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards, everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?
Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Gone to flowers, everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young girls have picked them everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Pete Seeger- Sanga Music Inc -BMI

What do you think?
Tell me at
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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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