No Pain . . .

 . . . please. . .

Like a rousing, intellectually stimulating conversation, thoughts (like mine right now) shift from one topic to another, not always related, and many times without any logical connecting thread.

Suffice to say, I have suffered some back pain and have recently learned of back pain being suffered by friends and relations, some relieved and some not.

But 'Pain' is also a word in the title 'Pain and Gain' which is a movie released in 2013 based upon a series of articles and, now I have learned is also a book written by one victim (not related to the making other motion picture) of the horrible crimes portrayed in the movie which by the ways features one of my favorite actors Tony Shaloub. This film, like others I have viewed, is somewhat disturbing, especially when you consider it is based (loosely, some say) upon fact and makes me well appreciate that I live a relatively mundane life when compared and well intend to keep it that way.

Following this?  The  gain part (see, I told you many times without any logical connecting thread) is what I get from making music. As discussed recently with Oho band-mates, the gain realized from making original music is not necessarily monetary but is very personal and very . . . spiritual (for present lack of a better description).

Which leads me to tell you what's going on-

Monday, June 23, 2014
at 7:15PM Ray Jozwiak-Gonzo Piano Opens This Week's Brewer's Alley Songwriters' Showcase, Monday @ Brewer's Alley Restaurant
124 North Market Street, Frederick, MD 21701 (United States) -
(301) 631-0089


Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Jay Graboski of OHO Live at Johnny's Pizza & Pub in Ocean City, MD @ Johnny's Pizza & Pub
5601 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD 21842 (United States) -
410-524-7499     Set: 10:00 PM


Saturday, July 26, 2014
Warrens Park Annual Block Party @ Warrens Park
5101 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD 21842 (United States) -
    Set: 4:00 PM

   
Friday, August 15, 2014
OHO Live at Johnny's Pizza & Pub in Ocean City, MD @ Johnny's Pizza & Pub
5601 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD 21842 (United States) -
410-524-7499     Set: 10:00 PM
   

Saturday, September 13, 2014
OHO Live at Johnny's Pizza & Pub in Ocean City, MD @ Johnny's Pizza & Pub
5601 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD 21842 (United States) -
410-524-7499     Set: 10:00 PM


Sunday, September 21, 2014
Sippin' Sunday at Elk Run Vineyard with OHO @ Elk Run Vineyard
15113 Liberty Road, Mt. Airy, MD 21771 (United States) -
410-775-2513     Set: 3:00 PM

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

Gonzo and Other Pianos . . .

Pianos come in a variety of sizes. There is the Concert Grand (between 7 and 10 feet in length), the Parlor (or Boudoir) Grand of about 6 to 7 feet, the Baby Grand (about 5 feet) and the Embryonic Grand (about 2 feet)- at Brewer's Alley, there is actually a digital baby grand which we lovingly refer  to as the 'embryonic grand'

. . . and then there is
Gonzo Piano (ten fingers and some imagination)

Ray Jozwiak
opens the Brewer's Alley Songwriters Showcase this Monday June 23rd @ 7:15PM

Also this week
                              3 Songs by Tom Fabinski &
                              Stephen Darnell
                              Featured Performer is Angie Miller
                              and poetry by John Holly and Rod Deacey

Brewer's Alley Restaurant & Brewery
124 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701
Telephone: 301-631-0089 Fax: 301-631-1874
  http://www.brewers-alley.com/

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

Cigar. . .

. . . anyone?

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

Close But No Cigar 

performed by OHO

Live at "You're With The Band"

Baltimore, May 2014

OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & 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', 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

Striving . . .

. . . for something . . . but not always being able to explain exactly what . . .



(from http://www.furious.com/perfect/ericdolphy2.html)
 . . . "Eric was a very, very gifted musician and a very nice guy on top of it," McCoy Tyner told me in a recent interview. "He had a very personal approach to playing and enjoyed expanding the limits of imagination. Eric played so many instruments, his pockets were bulging with all these mouthpieces," McCoy said chuckling at the memory. "He was the first guy to come on as a guest with the band. At the time he came along he was doing his own thing and made a tremendous impression. We felt that the quartet was self-contained. Jimmy, Elvin and I felt that we had built something and were still on that journey. We didn't exactly understand where John was going in terms of adding Eric. We were like little kids in a sense like this is our band and we want to keep it that way. But then again it wasn't like we didn't want to share our experience. John was the leader and he was the one that made the final decisions. He decided that maybe if I do this, this will cause something else to happen. And it did! They played so differently. Eric added another dimension to the sound. John never rested on his laurels. He was like a scientist in the laboratory always searching for something new or different. By adding Eric he was expanding the music. John and Eric had a very different type of life experience. Eric had a very academic approach. He studied a lot. John coming from the South had that real gutsy approach. His father was a minister and his grandfather was a minister. He spent a lot of time in church and you could hear that in the music. At the same time there were points where the two met and could make something very interesting happen."

"Eric added a very interesting component to the music," McCoy continued. "John believed in what Eric was doing. He wanted to help him. At the same time he wanted to open the music up. It was a very good experience for Eric as well, being surrounded by the quartet. Ole was one of the highlights of Eric's presence. He had his own approach to the bass clarinet. He had personal things he would do on the instrument and got sounds out of it that you normally didn't hear on a bass clarinet. He was very animated and very enthusiastic.". . . (Note:  Be patient. Eric's solo starts at about 4:07)

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

Jack . . .

. . . of all trades. . .


Master of very few.

One of the most difficult things about being an independent artist, or maybe I should say LOTS of the most difficult things about being an independent artist, are those THINGS other than making the music.

I mean now we've got (and have had) YouTube which, don't get me wrong, is a wonderful thing but . . . . . .

"Recommended bitrates, codecs, and resolutions, and more
Container: .mp4

    No Edit Lists (or you may lose AV sync)
    moov atom at the front of the file (Fast Start)

Audio Codec: AAC-LC

    Channels: Stereo or Stereo + 5.1
    Sample rate 96khz or 48 khz

Video Codec: H.264

    Progressive scan (no interlacing)
    High Profile
    2 consecutive B frames
    Closed GOP. GOP of half the frame rate.
    CABAC
    Variable bitrate. No bitrate limit required, though we offer recommended bit rates below for reference
    Color Space: 4.2.0

Frame rates
Frame rates should match the source material. For example, content shot in 24fps should be encoded and uploaded at 24fps. Content recorded at 30fps should be uploaded at 30fps. Content shot in 720p60, should be uploaded at 720p60. Content at 1080i 60, should be deinterlaced, going from 60 interlaced fields per second to 30 progressive frames per second before uploading.
Bitrates
Standard quality uploads
Type     Video Bitrate     Mono Audio Bitrate     Stereo Audio Bitrate     5.1 Audio Bitrate
2160p (4k)     35-45 Mbps     128 kbps     384 kbps     512 kbps
1440p (2k)     10 Mbps     128 kbps     384 kbps     512 kbps
1080p     8,000 kbps     128 kbps     384 kbps     512 kbps
720p     5,000 kbps     128 kbps     384 kbps     512 kbps
480p     2,500 kbps     64 kbps     128 kbps     196 kbps
360p     1,000 kbps     64 kbps     128 kbps     196 kbps

High quality uploads for creators with enterprise quality internet connections
Type     Video Bitrate     Mono Audio Bitrate     Stereo Audio Bitrate     5.1 Audio Bitrate
1080p     50,000 kbps     128 kbps     384 kbps     512 kbps
720p     30,000 kbps     128 kbps     384 kbps     512 kbps
480p     15,000 kbps     128 kbps     384 kbps     512 kbps
360p     5,000 kbps     128 kbps     384 kbps     512 kbps
Resolutions

YouTube uses 16:9 aspect ratio players. If you are uploading a non-16:9 file, it will be processed and displayed correctly as well, with pillar boxes (black bars on the left and right) or letter boxes (black bars at the top and bottom) provided by the player. If you want to fit the player perfectly, encode at these resolutions:

    2160p: 3840x2160
    1440p: 2560x1440
    1080p: 1920x1080
    720p: 1280x720
    480p: 854x480
    360p: 640x360
    240p: 426x240

The YouTube player automatically adds black bars so that videos are displayed correctly without cropping or stretching, no matter the size of the video or the player.

For example, the player will automatically add pillarboxing to 4:3 videos in the new 16:9 widescreen player size. If the player is re-sized (i.e. when embedded on another website), the same process takes place so that 16:9 videos are letterboxed when the player is sized to 4:3. Similarly, anamorphic videos will be automatically letterboxed when shown in either 16:9 or 4:3 sized players. The player can only do this if the native aspect ratio of the video is maintained.

You can adjust the fit of your video in our player after uploading your video by using formatting tags.

If letterboxing is added to a video before it is uploaded (i.e. in the case of creating a 4:3 video from a 16:9 master), the widescreen player will add pillarbox bars too, resulting in black bars all around the video (windowboxing) and a bad viewing experience (see the diagram below). . .


Is it ME!!!????  or do I detect a need to be a technical wizzz  and an artist at the same time!!! ???. . . 

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

Seems Like Only . . .

. . . when our good friend Paul Rieger conceived this wonderful idea . . .



Band Bash 2014 - “You’re With the Band!”
We are paying tribute to our friends, families and others who have suffered through the hardships of repetitious rehearsals, frightening feedback and décor-destroying equipment. This party is for you! Please join the bands, Trio Novo, Oho, and Buck Subtle & the Little Planets for an evening of music, art, food and drink!

When: Saturday evening, May 24, 2014, 7:00 PM until 11:00 PM
Where: Heritage Parkville Gardens hall at the Parkville Shopping Center.  7631 Harford Road [Harford at Taylor Aves.] Enter rear parking lot behind Bank of America. Parking in rear.
Food and beverage: Hot and cold buffet, beer, wine and soft drinks

The music: Trio Novo: bossa nova and jazz, with a twist of progressive;
OHO: artful, modern song-making to make you laugh, cry and dance;
Buck Subtle & the Little Planets:  progressive rock for the contemporary absurdist!

The art: enjoy paintings by Bob Tiefenwerth, Connell Byrne and Maureen Nolan

The music starts roughly at 7:30 PM.  (Optional earplugs available upon entrance!) Attire – casual.

This is a private party, so please help us with the head count by sending your RSVP by Sat. May 10 to Paul Rieger.


. . . well, we did, it was. . . and well . . . 

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






v

Sing . . .

. . . Vladdie . . . 

With my newfound interest in and empathy for Vladimir Putin, at least for his desire to serve his countrymen and for his lack of duplicity in things political, drove me to learn that he is a musician.  Well, not a professional musician nor maybe even not a terribly exceptional one.  But he is, with little doubt, a sincere music lover.  Now how can you dislike a music lover no matter how many countries he invades?

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






v