The Latest . . .

. . . from Doug Alan Wilcox; articulate, evocative and engaging singer songwriter
and good friend. . . 



(from http://www.dawilcox.com/doug_alan_wilcox_true.html)
On the making of “True”

I had been through a particularly crappy Winter - bouts of depression and malaise had kept me fairly off-kilter for months. Fortunately, I was able to use that pain to write a couple of new songs and had yet a few more tunes that were in the live show rotation but hadn't been recorded so figured it was time to get into the studio. In hindsight, the activity of recording probably saved me many more weeks of ugly mood. Things do happen for a reason.

Along about this same time, my friend and fellow singer/songwriter Rick Windon asked if I would be willing to to take a lyric he had rattling around and try to put my spin on things. The result, "It Only Feels Like Love", while not at all a happy song, is still perhaps my favorite on "True" (btw, this IS a mostly POSITIVE album, really..........).

Now, I've never spoken to other artists to see if their experience is the same but the recording process always takes on a life of it's own for me. I invariably go in with a plan that disintegrates into dust within days. However SOMETHING GOOD always happens in place of that plan.

In this case, the two brand-new songs that I was sure were going to be on this record ended up being set aside for another day - they just didn't fit the flow that was taking shape for "True". I got the idea to write a couple of instrumental, sound-scape-type pieces - not quite songs but bits to tie other songs together.

Another great friend, pianist Ray Jozwiak, had offered his services earlier on and I threw two of the instrumentals his way. One gained lyrics in the meantime and became the title track and first cut on the CD. These "sounds-capes" really mark a departure for me and I think lend a whole different tone to the collection.

This is what I mean by a project "taking on a life of it's own". Things tend to happen very organically and it's always an intriguing and surprising adventure (for me at least)  to see what I end up with.

So in the end, it all came along well in the course of just over two months. My lovely wife helped with production duties (a woman with a very good ear!)
and didn't fuss when I was locked up in the studio or spending time glued to the computer with headphones - listening over and over to mixes.

As you can see other places on this site, all my current recorded work is posted at BandCamp.com. Everything there streams for free so please feel free to drop by - no commitment. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed making this, and all, my records - and if you like what you hear, you know what to do............. :)

Of "True", Betsy Burnam says: "......... It's beautiful; almost Zen-like lyrics and feeling but with humor and gentle passion. Doug opens his heart........."


True
from the album True
by Doug Alan Wilcox
released 09 April 2014
© all rights reserved




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

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Marc J. Randazza, a Las Vegas-based First Amendment attorney and managing partner of the Randazza Legal Group,  has in interesting take on the recent media storm NBA Clippers' owner Donald Sterling. 

First, many have questioned whether or not Sterling's First Amendment rights were violated.  Randazza says his First Amendment rights remain intact. The First Amendment protects you from punishment by the government because of your speech. The NBA is a private club, and it can discipline Sterling all it wants.  The government is not imposing the punishment in this situation.  Neither does the First Amendment insulate you from criticism. In fact, that's the First Amendment in action. 

Going one further though, Randazza says that what happened to Sterling may have been illegal and was morally wrong. In California, you can't record a conversation without the knowledge or consent of both parties. The recording featuring Sterling and V. Stiviano may be the result of a crime. We all say things in private that we might not say in public. Conversely, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy made his own stupid and bigoted statements to the world by choice.  He deserves every ounce of obloquy heaped upon him. Complain about the National Security Agency spying on all of us yet we condone giving our closest friends the ability to do worse.  

"The Sterling story is about how there is no more privacy. We live in a world where you can share your intimate photos with your lover, and they will wind up on a "revenge porn" website.

We live in a world where our intimate conversations will be recorded and blasted to billions of listeners. We live in a world where, say a gold digger can spy on her sugar daddy, and the world says that the creepy old guy is the bad guy."

(source:  http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/opinion/randazza-sterling-privacy/index.html?hpt=hp_c2)

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

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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

Need I Say. . .

. . . More? . . .

(from http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/28/palin-waterboarding-is-how-we-baptize-terrorists/?hpt=hp_t3)
". . . Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told a capacity crowd at a National Rifle Association rally how she would baptize terrorists if she was an elected official.

“If I was in charge,” Palin said Saturday in Indianapolis, “they would know, waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.”

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who ran against then Sen.-Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, with Palin as his running mate, has spoken out against waterboarding, calling it illegal and ineffective. During the Vietnam War, McCain endured years of torture and imprisonment as a prisoner of war under the North Vietnamese.

In her speech, Palin also said the Washington insiders who called the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood a case of workplace violence “don’t know what is right.” That shooting was carried out by Maj. Nidal Hassan.

“Not when that evil Muslim terrorist Major Hassan massacres his fellow military soldiers at Fort Hood,” she said.

Characterizing Hassan, “that devil” as a ‘disgruntled employee,’” is hypocritical, said Palin.

Palin called liberals hypocrites for their stance on issues varying from gun control to torture at the NRA event that was part of the organization’s 2014 convention.

But she backtracked later, saying, “Not all intolerant anti-freedom leftist liberals are hypocrites.”

“I’m kidding,” she said. “Yes, they are.” . . . "

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

Video . . .

. . . killed. . .

 

On your mark get set
Disconnect that Internet
Every girl and boy
Breathing in the joy
Not a care at last
Sit outside and bask
In rays of summer's bliss 

Crabs and fish and shells
Feel your tension spell
Fries and pizza pie
Smiles won't be denied
Everything is cool
in 2 1 8 4 2
Feel the sparkle in your eyes

Catch a wave and ride
Cars and motorbikes
Bikini babes in the sand
Vibin' to rockin' bands
Ocean City

From Memorial to Labor Day
We beckon you to play
To a boardwalk beat
Miles and miles of beach
Your memories to take
Currents dance and sway
leave your footprints in the sand

Fireworks at night
Give your love a kiss
Sail and fish the sea
Here life is a beach
in Ocean City

Now is the time that's right
For you only live once
Time does drag when it's all work and no fun
The ocean gateway calls you
Sport your shorts and shades
It's so divine to dine at life's buffet
It's almost heaven and
There's so much more we can say

Catch a wave and ride
Cool cars and motorbikes
Bikinis on the sand
Dance to rockin' bands
Ocean City

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

A Horse? . . .

(from Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys)
". . . Let's say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Elaine, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months? And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward . . . I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Roger is thinking: . . . so that means it was . . . let's see . . February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means . . . lemme check the odometer . . . Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Elaine is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed -- even before I sensed it -- that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.

And Roger is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Elaine is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.

And Roger is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90- day warranty. That's exactly what they're gonna say, the scumballs.

And Elaine is thinking: maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their ......

"Roger," Elaine says aloud.

"What?" says Roger, startled.

"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have . . Oh, I feel so......"

(She breaks down, sobbing.)

"What?" says Roger.

"I'm such a fool," Elaine sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse."

"There's no horse?" says Roger.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Elaine says.

"No!" says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.

"It's just that . . . It's that I . . . I need some time," Elaine says.

(There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

"Yes," he says.

(Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

"Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?" she says.

"What way?" says Roger.

"That way about time," says Elaine.

"Oh," says Roger. "Yes."

(Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

"Thank you, Roger," she says.

"Thank you," says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.

The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Elaine's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say:

"Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?" . . . "

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 digitally downloaded 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

Refining . . .

is a process . . .


Having agonized over producing a worthy piano track for Mr. Graboski's 'Slough of Despond' I actually had an acceptable alternate version included in the mix below for you to hear.  My having to choose between the two reminded me the Hebrew bible story in 1 Kings 3:16-28. Two young women who lived in the same house and who both had an infant son came to Solomon for a judgment. One of the women claimed that the other, after accidentally smothering her own son while sleeping, had exchanged the two children to make it appear that the living child was hers. The other woman denied this and so both women claimed to be the mother of the living son and said that the dead boy belonged to the other. After some deliberation, King Solomon called for a sword to be brought before him. He declared that there was only one fair solution: the live son must be split in two, each woman receiving half of the child. Upon hearing this terrible verdict, the boy's true mother cried out, "Oh Lord, give the baby to her, just don't kill him!" The liar, in her bitter jealousy, exclaimed, "It shall be neither mine nor yours—divide it!" The king declared the first mother as the true mother and gave her the baby. King Solomon's judgment became known throughout all of Israel and was considered an example of profound wisdom.

I'm not quite sure how this wisdom can be applied to the piano track.  My dilemma is more akin to one mother having to choose one of her two twins over the other to be award a great prize or accolade.  Based solely upon the twins as individual human beings, a mother would simply be unable to made such a choice.

Nor can I.  (What a mother!)


Slough of Despond
(with alternate piano track)
by OHO [Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak]
(original tracks recorded at Blueball Studio, Stewartstown, PA)




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