pianogonzology

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Applicable . . .

Maybe you've heard that NPR's unique sports commentator Frank DeFord is retiring after 37 years on the job. A unique voice in the sports world, DeFord brought an original perspective to a world in which I, quite frankly (no pun intended) have little interest. DeFord is also very quotable . . .

(on college sports. . . )
"If the players aren't getting paid, there's something terribly, terribly wrong, and that's true only in the United States. Everywhere else, where money is involved with sport, the players get paid. But these poor kids in college, they're doing it for free, and that's just disgraceful."
-Frank Deford

Does this possibly apply to live music now that we've reached 2017?

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Tuesday, May 9, 2017

For Educational . . .

. . . purposes only. . .

. . . on Charles Kushner, father of Senior White House Adviser to Donald Trump, Jared Kushner . . .
(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kushner)
". . . In the summer of 2004, Kushner was fined $508,900 by the Federal Election Commission for contributing to political campaigns in the names of his partnerships when he lacked authorization to do so.[9] In 2005, following an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie negotiated a plea agreement with Kushner, under which he pleaded guilty to 18 counts of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering. . . The witness-tampering charge arose from Kushner's act of retaliation against William Schulder, his sister Esther's husband, who was cooperating with federal investigators; Kushner hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, arranged to record an encounter between the two, and had the tape sent to his sister. . . Kushner was sentenced to two years in prison[12] and served 14 months at Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery in Alabama before being sent to a halfway house in Newark, New Jersey to complete his sentence. . . He was released from prison on August 25, 2006. . .As a result of his convictions, Kushner was disbarred from practicing law in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. . ."

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Monday, May 8, 2017

Tenth . . .

. . . Anniversary. . .

Come out tonight, Monday, May 8 for The Brewer's Alley (124 N. Market Street, Frederick MD) Songwriters Showcase's Tenth Anniversary Show which features Kate MacLeod and Michael Kelly and featuring Teporah Bilezikian. Ride the elevator to the listening room - SSSSHHH!! - on the 2nd floor. Produced by Roderick Deacey, Todd Walker and Ron Goad at this location since MAY 2007. "We make Mondays better than most Saturdays." Full menu, bar, great music

Show begins at 7:30 with Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano

What do you think?
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My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

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Sunday, May 7, 2017

Man . . .

Courtesy of http://www.skicenkovice.info/skisnew-stick-man.adp

. . . must be careful. . . (and honest). . .

(from James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham)
". . . Madison first considered some questions of agrarian philosophy: what caused men to change from hunters to farmers? what instincts, if any, inclined men to become civilized? what ratio of plants to animals best suited human progress? and finally, what balances of nature must man be careful not to upset, lest he make the world unfit for human habitation? Especially important was plenty of pure air. "in all confined situations, from the dungeon to the crowded work-house, and from these to the compact population of overgrown cities," Madison declared, "the atmosphere becomes, in corresponding degrees, unfitted by reiterated use, for sustaining human life and health.". . ."

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Saturday, May 6, 2017

Caught (Again) . . .

Caught in the crosshairs
of my poison-dart marauding rifle
Of course what can a body do
You’re not the man you used to be
You say with certain relish
But still you’re here with me today

And though you surely cannot hide
You’ll try to run for cover
And I will follow where you go
As we perpetuate the dance
We’ve done through all the ages
Ours is much more than just a show

Bought my ticket
Took time off for the
Drama of life
Drama of life
Drama of life
Front row orchestra
Tails, tux just for the
Drama of life
Drama of life
Drama of life

Some choose their circumstances
With a dearth of careful thinking
Some can’t make any choice at all
But all the options must be weighed
Outcomes evaluated
And for the joy you must add salt

Bought my ticket
Took time off for the
Drama of life
Drama of life
Drama of life
Front row orchestra
Tails, tux just for the
Drama of life
Drama of life
Drama of life

Take an intermission
Look at what you’re missing

It’s not a natural
Or a simple kind of understanding
Half-heartedness won’t make it so
To rise above self-serving
Vanities makes all the difference
Sometimes that’s all you need to know

Bought my ticket
Took time off for the
Drama of life
Drama of life
Drama of life
Front row orchestra
Tails, tux just for the
Drama of life
Drama of life
Drama of life

Caught
©2017 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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Friday, May 5, 2017

More Education. . .

(from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/18/jared-kushner-harvard-donald-trump-son-in-law by Daniel Golden)
". . . New Jersey real estate developer Charles Kushner had pledged $2.5m to Harvard University not long before his son Jared was admitted to the prestigious Ivy League school, which at the time accepted about one of every nine applicants. (Nowadays, it only takes one out of 20.) . . . I also quoted administrators at Jared’s high school, who described him as a less-than-stellar student and expressed dismay at Harvard’s decision. . . “There was no way anybody in the administrative office of the school thought he would on the merits get into Harvard,’’ a former official at the Frisch school in Paramus, New Jersey, told me. “His GPA [grade point average] did not warrant it, his SAT scores did not warrant it. We thought, for sure, there was no way this was going to happen. Then, lo and behold, Jared was accepted. It was a little bit disappointing because there were at the time other kids we thought should really get in on the merits, and they did not.’’. . ."

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Thursday, May 4, 2017

Music . . .

. . . hath charms . . .

(from William Congreve's The Mourning Bride, 1697)
". . . Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound. . ."

Brewer’s Alley Songwriters' Showcase (now in twelfth year!) is held on the second Monday evening (mostly!) in each month upstairs at Brewer's Alley, 124 N. Market St., in beautiful downtown Frederick, MD, except during December. The program starts at 7:30 pm with a piano prelude, followed by two songwriters doing three songs each. The featured songwriter for the evening goes on around 8:30 pm for 45 minutes or so, sometimes followed by two or three more three-song performers. Somewhere in the mix we throw in some poetry from John Holly and Rod Deacey. Our MCs are Ron Goad, Rod Deacey, Tomy Wright, and Todd C Walker, who runs the show. I am still booking the features and sharing the three-song spots with Todd Walker. Ron Goad books the pianists for piano preludes… which on May 8 will be . . .

. . . ME. . .

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html or at
http://www.ohomusic.com

My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

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