"Just following up on the GREAT music you all did for us at PV last fall, and wondering if I could talk you into doing another two this year: June 2 and October 7?
PLEEEEEEEESE!!!"
. . . this songwriting stuff. Well, maybe that's a bit melodramatic. The song Blood Brother was written at a time in my life when I was actually forcing myself to be as prolific as possible. The rationale was to write in as many styles and genre as I could, no matter how good or bad, to build a body of work (again, good or bad) and learn, one-about writing and two-about where my strengths (if I had any) and weaknesses were. Blood Brother was loosely modeled on Dixie Chicken, a composition I always admired for its simple, concise, ironic story and its funky, catchy, swampy, Louisiana-drenched music. It's no Dixie Chicken (by Little Feat), but I learned much about the genre which is still a great favorite of mine. It also reinforced my knowledge that a decent musical composition transcends musical style and can be adapted to multiple arrangements. OHO is currently working towards our next studio album offering which will include our take on this tune. Stay tuned . . . meantime, here is solo piano workout on Blood Brother, just for fun.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/14/us/politics/democrats-donald-trump.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FTrump%2C%20Donald%20J.&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection&_r=0)
'. . . “I think it’s a dangerous game to chase every new outrage,” said Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a new member of his party’s leadership. “We’re going to have to make the case that voters were sold a bill of goods and this is a hard-right president and hard-right Congress.” . . . The party cannot, Mr. Schatz added, “get distracted by the latest shiny object.”. . . '
(from http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-music-donald-trump-cant-hear?intcid=mod-latest)
". . . There’s no point in studying history if we do not take some lesson from it. The best way to be sure that 2017 is not 1934 is to act as though it were. We must learn and relearn that age’s necessary lessons: that meek submission is the most short-sighted of policies; that waiting for the other, more vulnerable group to protest first will only increase the isolation of us all. We must refuse to think that if we play nice and don’t make trouble, our group won’t be harmed. Calm but consistent opposition shared by a broad front of committed and constitutionally-minded protesters—it’s easy to say, fiendishly hard to do, and necessary to accomplish if we are to save the beautiful music of American democracy. . ."
(from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-greene/is-donald-trump-mentally_b_13693174.html)
". . . (a) stunning letter to President Obama from a source, with written permission from Dr. Herman, Dr. Gartrell and Dr. Mosbacher . . . about Donald Trump’s alleged “Narcissistic Personality Disorder”. . .
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
November 29, 2016
Dear President Obama,
We are writing to express our grave concern regarding the mental stability of our President-Elect. Professional standards do not permit us to venture a diagnosis for a public figure whom we have not evaluated personally. Nevertheless, his widely reported symptoms of mental instability — including grandiosity, impulsivity, hypersensitivity to slights or criticism, and an apparent inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality — lead us to question his fitness for the immense responsibilities of the office. We strongly recommend that, in preparation for assuming these responsibilities, he receive a full medical and neuropsychiatric evaluation by an impartial team of investigators. . . "
