Aayron Jones Delivers Rock And More at Crocodile

  If you read about  the history of Seattle's legendary music club in the heart of Belltown, the Crocodile has hosted some amazing live talent over it's twenty-seven year span. R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Beastie Boys (the list goes on and on)

Add Aayron Jones to the list.

Last night Seattle got an excruciating  taste of the blues, punk, funk spirit as the ghost of Jimi Hendrix and Joe Strummer came into fruition.

Set in an environment of all ages with about two hundred people grooving and moving in unison, Jones had the crowd in his hand from the moment his three piece took the stage.

I had never been to the Crocodile so I didn't know what to expect. Flanked with my rocking, hip father-in-law, he told me stories of shows past and how intimate the venue was.

We arrived to see the opener Woebegone who had a Smash Mouth meets early Zeppelin feel. The lead singer who resembled former US president Martin Van Buren, belted out screams and hissed as they held the audience's attention to get them in the rocking spirit.

Next up? Aayron Jones. The Seattle native didn't waste any time showcasing his blues talent. As if to say, "Hey yeah, Muddy Waters is my Dad!" This millennial with the perennial talent ripped onto songs "Boys From Puget Sound", "Emily", and "Devil's Hand" with such ease and dexterity I thought the guitar would have came out of the womb with him.

Halfway through the hour and a half set Jones busted out Hendrick's Voodoo Child followed by a bluesy soulful Georgia by the late great Ray Charles.

The highlight was the National Anthem. Sure, he was showcasing his love of Jimi Hendrix 1969 Woodstock performance, but he made it his own feeling.The energy and love from the crowd seemed to propel him further into the underbelly of the song's ethos. The anthem lasted five minutes as he bended the notes in a frey of terror. Echos of our current national mood cooed through the air.

He took the mic: "They want to divide us, don't let em." This in between the 'audio' bombs bursting in air.

I've never seen a Seattle crowd dance and groove as one, equal rock horns and peace signs in the air.

Aayron brought the funk. He brought the soul. He brought the rock. And he brought the power of music. For that good hour and more, everyone was under the spell of the kid from the Puget Sound.

In Da Tub

Go, go, go, go go, go, go, baby

It's your bath time

We gon' party like it's yo bath time

We gon' pour  our sippie cup  like it's your bath time 

And you know we don't give a rubber duck

It's not your bath time.

You can find me in the tub, bottle full of bub(bles)

Look mami I got the smile  if you into baby snugs

I'm into having clean water, I ain't into dirty tub 

So come give me some water n soap  if you want to see me scrubbed 

You can find me in the tub, bottle full of bubbles 

Look mami I got the smile  if you into baby snugs

I'm into having clean water, I ain't into dirty tub 

So come give me some water n soap if you want to see me scrubbed 

When I pull out up front, you see my clothes have grub

When I roll twenty diapers deep, it's twenty soiled  in the hub

Babbies heard I roll with dad, now they want to show me love

When you smell like yesterday's dinner, and the people give you shrugs

But homie ain't nothing change diapers down, hands up

I see my toddlas in the cribs that baby roll the playpen up

If you watch how I move you'll mistake me for a baby or simp

Been hit wit a few dinner stains  but I'll eat all of my shrimp

In the daycare  then the teacher  saying " baby you hot"

They like me, I want them to love me like they love comfy socks

But holla in day  school them toddlas tell ya I'm loco

And the plan is to put the ga ga goo goo game in a choke hold

I'm feelin' focused man, my Mommy  on my mind

I got a meal  out the deal and I'm still on the grind

Now Mommy  said she feeling my style, she feeling my flow

Her hands start the bath, the dirt on my body gotta go.

You can find me in the tub, bottle full of bub(bles)

Look mami I got the smile  if you into baby snugs

I'm into having water, I ain't into dirty tub 

So come give me some water n soap if you want to see me scrubbed 

You can find me in the tub, bottle full of bubbles 

Look mami I got the smile  if you into baby snugs

I'm into having water, I ain't into dirty tub 

So come give me some water n soap if you want to see me scrubbed 

My flow, my gotta go, brought me the bath 

Parents, grandparents  bought me all the things 

My crib, my little tikes,  my bikes, my  stools

Look baby I ain't changed 

And you should love me clean way more than you hate it,

I got a whirpool going, rubber ducky in it, I thought you'd be happy I made it.

I'm that toddler in the bath laughing at the good life,

You that nasty dirty diaper baby causing yo parents all types of strife. 

When I get to cleanin and scrubbing my body in the bath it's on

I wink my dimples at you, if you look I'm gone,

I'm out the bath hot as fire, bare but running and turn,

If you talking bout me baby  I ain't concerned,

I'm goin' tell you what Elmo told me, "go head' and happy, happy, dance, dance'

If the babies cry let them cry

watch the snuggles pile up

Or we go upside underwater in the clean  tub,

you know where I be

You can find me in the tub, bottle full of (bub)bles 

Look mami I got the smile  if you into baby snugs

I'm into having water, I ain't into dirty tub 

So come give me some water n soap if you want to see me scrubbed 

You can find me in the tub, bottle full of (bub)bles 

Look mami I got the smile  if you into baby snugs

I'm into having water, I ain't into dirty tub 

So come give me some water n soap if you want to see me scrubbed 

Don't try and act like we ain't clean babies now

In tha bathtub all the time toddla', so it's a problem, get a pacifier, CLEAN UNIT!

Thoughts And Prayers

Thoughts And Prayers 

I'm sick and tired

Tired and sick

'Thoughts and prayers'

They really do stick,

Like gum on a wall

Or bullets in a chamber,

That can rip through flesh,

 So this is the new danger?

'Thoughts and prayers'

Are really just that,

For if you don't ACT,

Then what good is that?

Prayers  for the masses,

While they're murdered at mass,

Thoughts for the kids,

While they're murdered in class.

I'm tired and sick

Sick and tired

Of reading about shootings

And I'm really just mired.

Mired in the violence,

Dumbstruck by the silence

Of our people to act

What good is that? 

But, now's not the time to sing this ryhme.

Perhaps I should harken back to a more peaceful time?

A time when we weren't sick and tired, tired and sick,

Sick of the violence,

Tired of it. 

Tired of violence,

It's really just sick. 

Can America stop it, or are we obsessed with it?

Daily Activity Report June 9th 2017





 

Donald

 

Daily report- June 9, 2017

Naps:

Slept for 2 hrs 3 min from: 4:15 am to 6:18am. Restless at bedtime. Needed Twitter.

Bathroom:

12:00 am-diaper- BM, Diaper Cream

12:05am-diaper-BM, Diaper Cream

12:10am-daiper-BM, Wet (please bring more diaper cream)

Activities:

Weekly Theme: What is the Constitution?

Today’s Focus: Listening to others

Cognitive Development:

Today we worked with our white house staff as a team to read through Article 2 of the U.S. constitution!  We worked on our listening recognition skills as staff pointed out what the constitution is and what it’s not. We were given the choice to read the U.S. constitution or listen to Morgan Freeman voice the Declaration of Independence. We chose to talk about our steak business.

Creative Art:

Today we used watercolors to paint the constitution with artistic legal scholars!?  Yes! We had a little trouble following teacher’s requests, when we got off topic about how we were the 'best creative artist ever to live'.  We had a hard time locating the paint brush thinking it was a cleaning supply for quote, 'the help to worry about'. We tried! A for effort.

 

Language arts:

Today we focused on words and why they matter! Today we read “The Little Engine that Could” but couldn’t sit still. We had a little fuss about why the little engine was in our worldview  'weak' but we managed to get through half the book. Progress!  

Music/Movement:

Today we sang the song “Revolution” by the Beatles and danced along with friends. We got a little upset upon learning it was written by and I quote “A communist. Total loser folks, I mean, c’mon, I mean…you mean to tell me that?...look…look…..” As we went off on a tangent about how we were the best at singing at how the I-pod was quote, “mine!” We did move to the other side of the classroom though, so as not to disturb the fun. And we learned upon moving to that side that we weren't the manager of the Beatles. That was Brian Epstien.

Motor Skills:

Today we used our hands to play with something other than social media on a device. We took a long walk through the White House visiting all 132 rooms. The Lincoln bedroom was our favorite and we did need some 'cool off' time when we learned we couldn't brand it Trump's Pad encased in gold.

Outside Time:

While usually done outside as it implies, today we got outside ourselves! We visited a homeless shelter in civilian clothes to ask and stress to others, “Tell me about YOURSELF?” We stressed the self-part that wasn’t us! We tried to listen to a man and women speak of their current lack of affordable housing and after three whole minutes of intent listening we excused ourselves noticing a Jimmy John's next door.

Science/Nature studies:

Today we learned about the planet Earth, and that we all live on it. “Without Earth, we don’t belong” we sang  as we looked at maps and various globes in the Oval Office. We pointed out in our theme that the U.S. constitution was written on Earth!  We asked why we don’t live on Jupiter since it’s quote, “The biggest and badest planet!” When given scientific information that Jupiter is a gas giant with no hard surface to walk on and gasses that would kills us we remained steadfast in our thinking. We redirected our question to a tour group that swung by.

Self-help/Life Skills:

Today we spoke up and asked for help when we didn’t know something. We knew everything.

Social Science:

Today we worked on memorizing faces of people we see every day. We smiled when we saw Mike Pence, Paul Ryan and our good silly goofy friend “Vlady.”

 

 

 

 

 

Seattle's Hottest Cover Band with no Java Jackets



Older Millennials!

We know you need glasses now so we made the font extra big!

And you there who remembers phone on the wall and VHS rentals!

This is an eye exam. If you can read this kiss your screen already.



Everyone knows that Seattle can be more depressing then a marathon of Schindler's List sometimes (trending on Netflix?) , but blue skies be on the way Willie Nelson! We're getting color like we're halfway through the Wizard of OZ!

"We're not in Kansas anymore!"

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

WRONG MOVIE!

It's Seattle's hottest newest band not entirely formulated upon the hipster formula!

THIS IS 40.



THIS IS 40

It's everything you want from an older millennial cover band that sees both the influence of the Spice Girls AND we haven't even begun to cut our nine inch nails yet.

It's just a downward spiral from here............

We promise to cover more terrain then Richard Sherman does a football field and hell we'll do it wearing a football uniform if we have too. (we prefer that 'Seattle Look' if possible)

Our press conference attended by all members of the print media at Century Link  might look a little something like this:

"Hey This is 40, so Is uh, Paul Rudd in this band? What's with the name?"

 Due to contractual obligations Paul is dead.

"You know that's a sixties reference regarding the Beatle right, not a millennial reference?"

Next question

If you remember making mix CD's and even Cassette tapes for your family and friends growing up  then you will love THIS IS 40.

This coed catharsis of 90's rock, pop, hip hop and R and B (the letters 'r' and b') will bring you back to the time you can go all the way up to the gate at the airport without getting a colonoscopy!

From the Beastie Boys, to Madonna, to Jane's Addiction to your addiction!



OF MUSIC!

You'll 'check your head' 'like a virgin' as you remember when you had been caught stealing!

We will be the 'Weird Al' to your weird proverbial way of incessantly breaking on the freeway when nobody is within a hundred yards of you.

We will play all the hits that you remember from your early adolescence:

From 2pac to Blink 182 to Radiohead, to Mushroomhead.

"Aint nothin' but a 'gangsta' ( 90's!) party!"



There's no Fiction in our Pulp, but the juice was still loose back in 95'.

Ahhh Nordberg!

So Cheer up Seattle. Seven years from now be on the lookout for the band you heard from your cousin's uncle's brother's nephew who moved from Ballard but is now residing in Queen Anne.

As a 90's cover band we will also have D.A.R.E. officers on hand to dispel the myth that smoking marijuana doesn't lead to injecting crystal meth into your veins.

THIS IS 40.



Because just because you have kids, doesn't mean you stop rocking.
It means you stop sleeping in.



It's the 90s all over again kids.

This is 40 covers

Nirvana
Soundgarden
Alice n Chains
Pearl Jam
STP
RHCP
TLC
Counting Crows
Smashing Pumpkins
Beastie Boys
Madonna
Jane's Addiction
Radiohead
Snoop Dogg
2Pac
311
Cake
Pixies
Britney Spears

The Notorious G.O.P.

In honor of Christopher Wallace a.ka. Notorious B.I.G. who released his debut album Ready to Die twenty-three years ago today, the Notorious G.o.P have released their single. And it's real juicy.

It's Juicy

"It was all a dream,
I used to read Ayn Rand and Forbes magazine,
Tim Mcgraw, Ted Nugent up in the limousine.
Hangin' crosses on my wall,
Every Saturday, budget cuts, Mexico will pay for the wall.
I let my legislation rock as I tell Pop,
"Going after weed, civil rights, yo it'll never stop."
'Way back, when health care was a business,
Matchin' money, in fact, with profits in tact.
Remember Rappin' Ronnie?
"Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall, this wall."
You never thought the far right would take it this far.
Now we in the limelight, Bannon holds tight,
CEO's get a raise, blow up national deficit like we Tim McVey.
Born winners, rest of you are sinners,
Remember when I humbly ate caviar for dinner?
Peace to Republicans who have a heart, rarity,
Tom "name your price", Devos, Sessions, Bensy.
We blowin' Up like you thought we would,
Call the voicemail, same number, same gated community, we all good.

And if you don't know now you know.

You know very well who you are,
Don't let us help you out, happy hour is at the bar.
You had a plan, but not that many
Cause we'll take away the one, that left you good and plenty.

We made the change, our Christianity brief,
To up close and personal, health lobbyists leach,
And far from cheap, I play about 18 holes a day,
Spread lies, it's the alternative fact way
Obamacare and Dodd Frank keep me pissy
Girls used to miss me
Now they write letters cause' they diss me
We never thought this could happen,
Us controllin' stuff,
We were to busy depleating SNAPS and austerity stuff
Now Planned Parenthood plays us close like a Trump Twitter post
From Mississippi to the Emerald City coast
Cities in America, gentrified in weeks,
A sold House seat to hear American Heritage Foundation speak
Living life spreading fear,
Putting 5 gold Trump towers over there
Lunches, brunches, interviews we're so cool
Considered a winner, because I defunded that public school
Stereotype as a white male misunderstood,
And we still wear hoods

Uh, and if you don't know, now you know, know.


You know very well who you are,
Don't let us help you out, happy hour is at the bar
You had a plan, but not that many
Cause we'll take away the one, that left you good and plenty.

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis
If you're dirt poor, but can still purchase this
Fifty PAP screens, money tight, and no sofa,
Got no rides, well your free ride is over
Phone bill about two weeks back
No need not to worry, we're still cutting back
And we think you're just lounging
Ben Carson in charge of HUD,
Say goodbye to affordable housing
Thinking back on Lincoln's one room shack
Now the party is alt-right pimps hatred of  black
and we love to show our anger of course,
Smile every time a cop uses excessive force
We used to fuss when the landlord missed us
No tax credits, wonder why Christmas missed us
Your birthday will be the worst day,
We're cutting early childhood health for your Nurseray'
Uh, damn right we like the country that we live,
Cause it went from positive to negative,
and it's all

(It's all bad)

And if you don't know, now you know, know


You know very well who you are,
Don't let us help you out, happy hour is at the bar
You had a plan, but not that many
Cause we'll take away the one, that left you good and plenty.

Uh.
Yeah
Russian Mafia in the house
Kremlin brining in back
GOP
Uh.
For profit health care.
CEO's, CEO's uh.
Yeah....

If you don't know, now you know, know

The Session is Not in Order

Prophets exist, even in our time, and you don't need to own or falsely operate a bible to understand their truth*


the truth*


"What does he mean by falsely operate?"

"Glad you didn't actually ask inner heckler!"

I don't kill my neighbor for working Sunday but I do cast the first stone when told not to.


I've lied under oath. The oath I take when my parents asked if I stole, lied, or did, well, anything.

Having a younger sibling helped shift blame but there was no hiding the, "did you use all the toilet paper for your latest bowel movement?' routine.

I digress.

Our attorney general came out today saying, "I'm not a general but I do need a lawyer because I uh, I lied under oath."

He wasn't sleeping under a tree marked 'oath' mind you.

He said, under oath, that he didn't communicate with Russian foreign leaders before election day (something not to uncommon, hence no reason to lie) and he uh, did.

We've seen this.

"I did not have sex with that woman. Ms. Lewinsky.....I never..."

Ok, Bill, relax it was a consenting blow job and how dare you tarnish the holier then thou Oval Office where Nixon was taped talking about blowing actual jobs?!

We were warned by Coretta Scott King about Jeff Sessions back when the band Poison was on the charts.

Like the band Poison, he asked that the Justice Dept was 'nothing but a good time' and when asked about voting rights for people of color he would often say things like, "Oh my God, look what the cat dragged in?"

No.

We were warned.

I know what you're thinking.

"How can a 70 year old white man living in Alabama be racist?!"

I know.

Unicorns do exist.

And like unicorns this one has a sharp thorn.

Well, possibly many.

In 1986, U2 may have been searching what they were looking for but President Ronald Raegan found his man.

Raegan, fresh off his appearance in the Genesis video, nominated Sessions to be a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

What has more racial tension then northern Alabama you ask?

You guess it. It's counterpart.

When he wasn't being witnessed by Thomas Figures, a black Assistant U.S. Attorney, telling him he had no qualms with the KKK, other then quote, 'they smoked pot', he calling the NAACP and ACL quote, 'unamerican' and 'communist inspired', he was open to the ideas of others so long as it didn't interfere with his white privilege of understanding HIS world view.

Like a rubrics cube selling for 10.99 (two easy payments) the 80's weren't buying.

Coretta Scott King wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee finding serious fault for the nomination. In her letter, she charged that "Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters."

Who this guy?

Awww. He's 'Whiter old Dennis Kucinich"

It's the ears.

"Not Funny you."

Sorry Dennis

Where were we?

Oh yes!

The decade that brought us Poison, and poison in the shape of a potential judge.

It's well known he was deemed to racist in the 80's, at the height of white people coming around to the idea of black people on t.v.

It was a thriller, we all were dancing on the ceiling hoping into our little red corvettes.

Maybe I'm just to fast here?

I don't know.

What I do know is that lying over a small minute detail shows more smoke and a possible fire then being adult enough to be honest and explain yourself your honor.

I know lawyers and if there's anything I know about them they don't do Mad Lips. They have mad lips!

And,

and this is a very important baby got back Sir-Mix-A-Lot conjunction here,

It leads to the high possibility of fire.

So don't mess with the American people Trump and sycophants alike.

Let me get my Q-tip out Mr. Sessions:

"We don't believe you 'cause we the people

Are still here in the rear, ayo, we don't need you,

The doors have signs with, don't try to rhyme with

VH1 has a show that you can waste your time with.

Sincerely,

Your Southern Man born

Action Jack(son)

by way of Charlottsville, Va

to Ohio,

paradise, Wa

We're not going to let you suppress the truth,

after you tried to do it with a voting booth.

So pull this tooth, with no andesitic,

Recuse? No resign, your actions? Pathetic.

Truth will set us free, but you have to go,

Your outdated ideas?

We don't want them no more.

So away we go with Maya and Krazinky,

I receive safer packages from Ted Kzinksky.

I'm addicted to truth, and you don't have it.

The mic is hot, right now you can't grab it.

While Russians hack, your comedy is the same.

Disguises, who lies is? performance is lame.

Before I go, and give this up for lent,

Tell the truth now, or live to repent.

Forgive the sinner, aint nobody saint,

But your bullshit's got ta go',

clean up this taint(ed)

Paradigm.

I don't know why I rhyme,

I'm blind,

Blinded by Alabama Shakes,

This just started,

We doing whatever it takes,

I aint a Beastie, but Boy do I really like,

So I'm going to get back to the grind,

as I pontificate n' pass the mic.

Does the spider recuse or resign given their recluse nature to the truth and decency?

Recuse it is!

We refuse.

We resist.

This bullshit now, it won't persist.

Prisoner

Buy This Album

"I listen to all types."

My humble manager inside the Lakewood, Ohio Record Exchange was as affable as he was smart about his musical stylings and knowledge. This was the summer of either 07' or 08' and as we cleaned used Cd's and put LP's carefully in their spots we carelessly talked music the way la cosa nostra members would talk nonchalantly about the last 'job' they did.

Excited at twenty-three to be in school and working in a record store (albeit a 'chain' one) was my dream of working as Barry (Jack Black)  in the movie High Fidelity.

This was my 'Monday Morning mix-tape' conversation with him minus the comedic guilt trip. What were his top 5 artists?

"Ever hear of Ryan Adams?" he asked.

Having grown up with a dad who owned and played more cds then a radio station, I had heard of him, but wouldn't know his music if played. I played stupid.

"Summer of 69?"

He laughed.

That was BRYAN Adams. Not close, but who hasn't made a pun on names before?

As I began my vinyl record collection working in a Cleveland record store, those simple conversations come back to me more then ever as I listen to one of the best albums to yet grace 2017.


Oh by the way, my manager? A guy a year younger then me at the time was in a band. The name?

PRISONERS.

He did have a lot in common with his favorite artist*.

Prisoner, Ryan Adam's 16th studio album comes out after his almost seven year marriage to singer/actress Mandy Moore ended amicably but with enough heartache to fill an entire career catalogue.  Transformed into musical stylings of a rocking country boy who grew up the middle child, this is an album that his grandparents, (who helped raise him) would be proud of.

Quite simply, Prisoners takes us all captive, and shows a Bruce Springsteen meeting Steve Earle country rock album that isn't forced. It's 'the boss' in 1987 making a country rock album is how I'd describe it to someone curious.

It's hard to miss the ode to the 1980's synth rock  as Adams starts off his 'break up' album with an arena rocker meeting his church organ single Do You Still Love Me?

Somebody has been looking through the boss's tunnel, and on the other side the love isn't reciprocal for our lost hero.

Luckily, the call and response of this heartbreak is. Put into music beautifully.

Songs like To Be Without You are pretty self explanatory and showcase the artist's love for country music telling the story of the blues.

If Adams has a love of Taylor Swift's 1989, (He wrote her a lengthy letter as a fan of hers praising her album and covered her songs on tour), then the decade is in full view as the 'prisoner' lets it be known on the album track.

Also, it's worth mentioning that elements of Fleetwood Mac permeate this record like they grey skies of Seattle. It's the subtly twang of a guitar, a progression, and an army of euphoric sound that matches our rain, i.e. with rhythm and purpose.

I'm not going to go into a track by track analysis of this album as I've read the rather harsher reviews that are nothing more then ardent Adam's fans still coming to terms that an artist who is as country as he is eccentrically rock n roll could possibly  love the 80's as a musical decade. The consensus is that this fails to be yet another 'Ryan Adam's album.' As if music can't fathom an artist speaking his truth in a great way. Especially now given that we live in such a utopia.

Adam's is going through/went through a public divorce with a high profiled person. On Prisoner he puts it out on the tracks and lets us know through his musical catharsis of honesty, that all across the country we may feel that prisoner ethos.

This prisoner doesn't want to live in this 'haunted house' anymore, and in his grief, he shows it's possible to joyfully participate in both being, and escaping as a Prisoner.

My old (young) manager Adam from my hometown of Sagamore Hills, Ohio (originally) is still rocking and rolling in living and working in Cleveland, Ohio. In many ways his depth is his favorite artist's depth. It's amazing how tiny conversations can reconnect your memories to musical milestones.

"No, not summer of 69'. Love is Hell man."

"Sounds like the punk Beatles song lyrics", I scoff.

"It's the Adams's Silver Hammer of truth!"

"Ha!"

I lost touch with Adam or "Gravy" as us co-workers called him. Me getting randomly shot on the east side of Cleveland, recovering, and moving cross country will do that.

Still, I long for those conversations in the Emerald City, and listening to a new Ryan Adam's album shows the listener, that he too appreciates those moments.

My Mom has a wisdom describing two things that may appear different but are overall the same in meaning or substance.

"Same church, different pew", she'd say.

Although this North Carolina kid is crooning about a real life  divorce, many of us (especially my backyard of Seattle) feel an odd divorce from their country.

Many feel like prisoners, as they break those bars of confinement.

Depression, addiction, a sense of empathy mixed with apathy.

The human mind is intricate.

This album brings back more unsure memories of where I was when I was younger, but also the jovial conversations between co-workers and management.

This wasn't, "You're fired!"
It was, "You're hired! Now tell me why you want to work in a record store?"


I thank Adam for getting  me deeper into the music of one of his favorite artists and introducing me to a country I can appreciate.

Both Prisoners in their own right.

Breaking free.

And Mandy Moore forgive me for making this comparison, but just  as Ryan said goodbye to a well known celebrity, perhaps we should consider the same.

Amicably of course.
And get to know our roots and where we came from.
And appreciate the Adams's in our world.

Thanks 'Gravy'. If memories are where the proof of life exist, then I had my share in Lakewood, Ohio talking to my manager.

So next time a friend gets you into a new artist you can stomach or you're feeling that nostalgia for who got you into a more famous one remember; we are all singing a different form of the blues as we 'joyfully participate in this thing called life.' ((If you'll let me paraphrase fictional mob boss Tony Soprano and real life artist Prince.))

Then we disappear

*Note Adam did not merry Mandy Moore, is divorced, or write "Sweet Illusion" But, and this is a conjunction that Sir Mix a Lot would be proud of, they both are charmingly handsome and musicians.

The Ballad of John Brown (today)

Ballad of John Brown (today)
lyrics: Jack Gorbett
           Brian Kuder
            Jesse Paulson

Music: Jack Gorbett

Chorus: Look around, look around

Feel the spirit of old John Brown

I think we're going Kansas bound

Border Ruffians all around

(hmmmmm)

Feeling heat from their sound

(hhmmmm)

Not in my American town.

Verse

October 16, 1859

Haper's Ferry will be mine

I think will march up the Potomac Creek

And disrupt the lives that make men weak

We'll surprise em' and they'll never knew what hit em'

Take the colonel, Washington we'll get em'.

Chorus:

Verse

You'll kill my body,

And the history books will dispute,

In the route, the method, and direction I took,

But there's one thing I know, and there's one thing that's true, the sin of slavery was casted upon you.

Chorus:

Political Anthems

Political Anthems

I love Political anthems.

(and capitalizing the 'p' inappropriately in that last sentence.)

Now read that sentence in parenthesis and try not to crack a smile.

I know, I know. What are parenthesis?

And what's a smile really? I don't own crack! Hey, what's your angle here?

Easy now.

Technically if you self identify as a 'political person' or someone who 'engages in politics' any song that you deem political can be.

Don't believe me?

Read any lyrics from a pop, country, rap, rock, funk, (fill in genre I'm to old to know is good and hip), and you can for sure find a lyric that can be attributed to any cause, person, group, or idea that yearning to breathe free. And I'm not being sarcastic even though it's a minor degree burn in my soul.

Sure, the Beatle's Penny Lane lyrics could be talking about an actual 'barber showing photographs' of 'every head he's had the pleasure to know'

OR

Are we in Guantamano  Bay and is this 'barber' really a CIA operative butchering suspected terrorist as he's not even the slightest bit fazed in showing, to their horror, the heads of the OTHER terrorists he's butchered?

We make music our own is my point.

Remember the 'Great Communicator?'

Good ole' Ronnie Raegan? R and R as his friends called him. Resuscitate and Revive.

You know the guy that said we should have a pathway to citizenship for people looking to better their life in this great country of ours?

Yeah this communist?

Well he's not the first, but America's favorite grandpa (who loved jelly beans by the way) accidentally (or directly eh?) used Bruce Springsteen's political diatribe "Born in The U.S.A" in 84' for his re-election campaign and it was all Thunder Road from there.

It turns out Bruce's lyrics (or the chorus) had a certain Nationalistic 'rah' rah' to it, but the verses were anything but:

"Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go"

All my optimism hopes that these lyrics aren't prophetic! (sad laugher?)

Still though,

We make any type of music our own to fit our worldview. So let's get out of the 80's.

Remember House Speaker Paul Ryan?

"Oh wait, he's still the speaker?"

Ooh yes!

Well it turned out that during the 2012 presidential election when he wasn't restricting women's access to their own healthcare, or cutting SNAPS funding as a true Christian would, the sixth member of New Kids on the Block was a 'yuge' Rage Against the Machine fan?

But relax kids!

Everyone can rage!

When House Speaker Ryan listens to 'know your enemy' he just knows that it's those people in urban areas!

It's always fascinated me as a fan of popular music that popularity doesn't necessarily mean 'clarity' for everyone. I include myself in this.

When news of Flynn resigning took notice this came next as a distraction.

I do love a Political Anthem song and I feel as we enter the, what is it  now, fourth official year of this four week presidency, we need more songs basically sounding like the end of the "Shim Sham Shammys" i.e. Da Grammys.

I'm not talking about the academy ignoring the fact that the Bee Gees were more then the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, but also helped the careers of both Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake.

I digress.

We need more 'we the people' and less 'beautiful people.' (no offense to Marilyn Manson)

If there's a silver lining in any of this it's that I hope Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence can do a reboot with Dr. Who as they find there's in another dimension and galaxy. Seattle? Cleveland?

It was apparent to me that I was with my parent when in 2004 my mother accompanied me to what was then Gund Arena to watch the Vote For Change tour in Cleveland Ohio. I remember I was with my Mom and my older sister's friend who was a friend of the family in town from Buffalo. It was a cool night to be had of baby boom meets X marks the spot, meet old millennial me?  Headlining this bill was an eclectic cast of young and young at heart rockers and rollers with political swag to boot!

I still have my t-shirt of this!

On the bill? And the songs I remembered that clear cool October 2, 2004  night? (hey 6 years before my "I almost died day!")

Bright Eyes

Bruce Springsteen

John Fogarty

R.E.M.

James Taylor

Dixie Chix

Pearl Jam  (when they played this song I figuratively lost my shit)

and others I'm sure of it!

One of the few concert experiences I remember and no doubt I always believed it but I remember specifically many things during this 'Vote for Change' tour that was nothing new in American sentiment. That artists shouldn't be political. Just like athletes need to please 'just shut the fuck up'.

Bollocks! Never mind these sex deprived pistols!

Michael Stipe took the stage to proclaim to the packed, excited crowd:

"They tell us. Don't talk about these things. Do your job. Well, Hi. My name is Michael I pay taxes in Georgia and this is what we do. And this (pointing to the stage) is our front yard. This is our Yard sign!"

Bam!

They kicked into "It's the End of the World As we Know it" and the place lost its shit. It was reassuring to me that the lead singer from the band that is one of my Dad's favorites would have the bravado to come out as a post punk poet and just declare what we all know: Athens, GA has some pretty cool bands.

It's a Dead Beat Club I would be happy to join.

Maybe I yearn for a 2017 year when even Justin Bieber gets out of  his pop conformist fake tough guy crooner turned softie bubble and talk shit about 'agent orange' to quote Busta Rhymes?

"Daddy, daddy, why is he yelling like that?"

"Well sweetie, he's Busta Rhymes, and he's busting his anger although not rhyming about it now ironically given his name."

I'm yearning for a year in which every musician digs deep and understands why they got into art in the first place. Free expression? You like sounds? You like instrumentations? Maybe you like people? Maybe you like people who think, look, act and sound differently then you? Maybe you're not a fascist asshole who shares the same first name with the cute fluffy golden haired feline who journey through America's west with the fawn Pug Otis? Damn you Milo!

I digress.

Look. I bought Kid Rock's albums because (I'm sorry future senator Robert Ritchie from Michigan) I liked his music and his flow.

Does it irk me that he designed shirts for Trump that were very bad and in poor taste?
Yes.

I don't buy his music now.

But I did buy Devil Without A Cause when I was a freshmen in high school and maybe driving to Romeo, Michigan with a good friend to see if we could find him after our excursion to Cedar Point was a bust.

I digress.

But tell me that this isn't a cool song when you're like a thirteen year old boy in the Midwest yearning to breathe free?

MTV was playing videos kind of!

I'm not trying to play the role of 'this is what you will listen to if you believe in 'x.'

First off I don't do x pills,
and
Second (doesn't need to be capitalized again!)

Listen to what you want to listen too.

I was born in the south, in Virginia, and although I like to lovingly roast how backwards the south has been, it's home of the blues. (For better or worse in music and life.)

I come back to a band I listened to time and time again as a small child and young kid on road trips in the back of vans every summer  that had the new GM car smell and late night highway excursions to the south and east coast with family. I call it the 90's (and parts of the 00's)

My whole life I never felt connected to anything except family, a few friends, being educated by Jesuits, volunteered politically, and getting shot with a shotgun at random.

It feels good to be connected to good people and good causes out here as we all in some form or another recognize that we've been living at times on a Channel that's really boring.

And this writer is still a fighter of a different kind.

I'm turning the Channel on my worldview lately.

One day I'll find my political anthem, always knowing it was in my thoughts put to work.

This is your patriot on track, Jack. Action Jackson signing out of service.

Deuces!