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All Hallows Eve is also known as All Saints Day and of course Halloween. There are all kinds of religious links. October 31st is known as the day before All Souls Day, which speaks of the faithfully departed. What does this all mean? Can we dance on this day? –  if there is a really good party I would think so. But would the world continue to exist if All Hallows Eve was removed from every calendar and every cultures celebrations of Halloween? Heck if I know. For me, this day(s) holds a special place in my heart.

You see, I met someone on the official  celebratory period between Oct 31st to Nov 3rd about 20 years ago. Oh? And what happened? Well, I say we met one day and she says we met on a different day. Does it matter? I think not, since it’s observed for a full 4 days! How about them apples! And what do apples or any other fruit have to do with scary clowns holding axes? Or even their exes? Somehow, I played hooky on that particular day in school and the knowledge escapes me.

What if we hadn’t met? Would I have become a physicist or an arborist? Or even a zookeeper in a developing nation? And what new technologies would I have discovered as a physicist? By not becoming a physicist and not accidentally creating a black hole in a laboratory setting, perhaps by meeting this person the planet was saved. If I had become an arborist and misdiagnosed a particular disease which spread like wildfire throughout the world eradicating all plant life eventually, thereby destroying the entire population of the world! About the safest path would be a zookeeper. However, none of the above happened. Or may have in a parallel universe. In which case, be happy you’re in this one. 

What does All Hallows Eve mean to you?

I for one, scored. That’s for sure. (smug smile)

ceej

Recently, I made a big decision, well at least for me I did. I have quite a few tunes laying around, not doing anything. By that I mean no one is listening to them. Of course there are the tunes on this website that are being heard. But mostly they’re not heard, much. So, for the past year or so, I’ve been reworking and producing new versions with the help of computers to fix vocals, add various instruments for musicians I can’t get over to my studio. You would think that a majority of musicians would love to play on tracks and have demos of their playing to share with auditions and friends. But alas, California has made that harder. The complaints I get are “it’s too much gas, dude” and “your tunes aren’t commercial enough” which are a few thoughts I get from them. The gas one is tough in California as a round trip to my place can cost upwards of $40 depending on location. Musicians are not flush with cash in my circle. Not to mention the time involved to travel. 

So, I started embracing new technology, which includes lots of computer use, plugins, AI etc. I start with an existing tune I’ve written, either recently or over 40 years ago. I add words if the lyrics weren’t finished, and add music sections like a bridge etc. I use the computer to first flesh out the song before continuing. Once I have most of the pieces in place, I know my voice, which is so-so at best, works well with various plugins that fix or even change it into a different timbre. And that’s only the beginning. The original tune may have been a love ballad. But, maybe, perhaps, it would sound and fit better as a progressive tune, or rock ballad? Country Western? After fiddling around with styles, I’ll pick one and proceed. Now all this takes place with lots of computer magic. I’ve actually been using my Amiga 3000T’s for over 30 years for midi to write my songs. Now of course I still use them with added help from Windows and Linux systems. While I have to play the tunes using a keyboard first, once recorded, I can change it to any instrument. Most music today is made this way. Now, before the haters yell at me because they record the whole band live in the studio, I personally don’t have the cash or play every instrument in the world. But computers have them. There’s that. And with MIDI I can play any instrument that’s been loaded into my system. Or on the internet. Basically, the world of music is changing and making it easier for non-musicians to write music without ever knowing how to play an instrument. 

Do I support this? You bet! Creative people can be amazing at realizing new songs. And getting their artistic emotions, soul, etc out there into the world only makes this planet a better place to live. This is no way negates the years of playing I have done, the many instruments I have purchased and the bands I have played in over 40 years. For example: I can’t paint or draw very well. And yet, I have these incredible images in my mind I would love to see in the world, on a wall, in a book. Soon, that will be possible, at the moment we are seeing the beginning of that with AI. 

Back to my story, with all these tunes of mine not doing anything, my new project was started to get off my butt and release them. To be heard. To be liked. To be disliked. Whatever feelings/emotions/thoughts you have about them. I prefer good thoughts etc. (laughing) but can take some criticism. Of course I will take you off the Xmas card list if you don’t like them. There’s that.

Now that I have a few tunes streaming on various platforms I am encouraged to produce more songs. A renaissance is happening within myself. I am writing more, playing more, asking other musicians to join me (which they still don’t citing the various reasons above). Also, beginning the process of downsizing my studio. Which will make it easier for me to eventually move out of California. One goal is to find a place with a plethora of good musicians. Lot’s of research to do on that. And the above needs to take place before I die. Now that I am closer to 100 years old, it only spurs me onward into places I’ve never been or traveled. Just like Ambrosia’s song “Somewhere I’ve Never Traveled”. Describing my journey to a “T”

And thus begins a long journey of tweaking, playing, changing, testing and finally getting versions of my old tunes ready for release. Check back on this blog for links of current releases. 

cheers,

ceej

Has it already been another year? The old adage “times flies” while incorrect as time does not fly, only inches forward like the frog in a slow boiling pot of water (uh-huh) kinda rings true. A little bit. I dunno. If one could guess in this amazing surreal world of inconsistencies, my guess would amount to zero. Yup. As I get older, the neurons upstairs have conceded the fight against entropy and basically ceased functioning.  Again, not what this post is about.

My ever loving, Mello raccoons are back. During the months of Sept-Oct they somehow manage with whatever raccoon GPS that’s built-in to find my house. Or maybe it’s their kids? A raccoons life is a hard one. Between food and predators, the live about 3-4 years in the wild. In captivity between 15-20 years! Big difference. My dog alerted me to the Return of the Freeloaders this morning. While I’m not an AirBnB, it’s nice to give them a pro-bono place to rest. Are they dangerous? Do they carry diseases? Well, they can be and yes they can carry diseases. So do birds and stray cats etc. About the only critter I never worry about are opossums. There’s only one in my neighborhood sadly. Look them up when you get a chance. Having one in your backyard that gets along with your cat or dog can be a good thing. For now the raccoons, they get a free pass. Tomorrow that could change. 

cheers.

ceej

UPDATE: After many evenings pondering the implications of this technology, I’ve come to the following conclusion. Mostly, because I am a musician first, technician second. Somehow, this would be back to bite me and teach me a lesson. Maybe. But until then, I’ve decided to only use AI as a band member. Which means simply, AI can only do covers of my tunes and use various band members to play my songs. EXAMPLE: I write a tune called “THIS NEW TUNE”. I record it, sing it, play the instruments or have friends help out etc. Everyone leaves. Song done. But is it? Nope. I want a different feel. Rather then spending days or weeks recording new parts, new vocals, I get AI to play using a different feel, instruments. So “THIS NEW TUNE” is still the tune I wrote and recorded. Just different musicians playing. Almost like hiring session band players to go into a studio and record the song again. Without the huge cost involved. And since I am not rolling in the dough, quite a few bucks are saved.

What I’ve decided I don’t like, is using AI to write the tune for me. To quote a famous artist “I write the songs that make the whole world sing”. My tunes may not make the whole world sing, however, I wrote them! My emotion, experience, soul and the desire to create. Well, there you have it. And that’s all she wrote.

ceej

I caved. Yup. Totally caved. Gave in. Relented. Succumbed.

Why? I dunno. Just wanted to see if I could be inspired. And I was. Also, wasn’t. 

Made me a little sad. I couldn’t tell the difference at first. Was this an AI generated song or someone elses tune the AI stole? Again, I dunno. Completely surprised at how easy this was to create and modify a song within 15 minutes. All parts realized by me and the AI. To be sure, all I did was type a few words, add a few styles, gave the AI a musical direction to follow and WHAMMO BAMMO – TUNE. DONE. 

I stopped at around 2 minutes as I couldn’t bring myself to delve deeper into the various settings that would morph the musical direction even more. So, theoretically, this is now my tune, my copyright. Seriously. I own it now. I can’t sing it, like ever. I don’t even know if I can play this live. But hey, tune?

Going to think about the implications for a bit. Check it out below. Let me know what you think.

cheers

ceej

“RIDE THIS WAVE” by AI and ceej

Exhaustion sets in regularly lately. Have no use for metamucil or other existing folk remedies. I’m just tired. Confused. Thinking of starting a new political party called “KILLBILL”. Before the naysayers shout “Elon Musk is already starting a new party. Why on earth would we need another?” Mostly, because, I say so. Yup. And we need this one to stop the plethora of uneducated brain dead house and senate representatives from continuing to “babysplain” why we need new laws to remove guns from the general public. Oh sorry, AMERICANS! 

Every shooting that happens in America, heck, in the world translates to: The New Bill to Outlaw Assault Weapons. The Newer Bill to Ban Any Weapons. The NEW NEW KILL BILL for everything!

Justified? Nope.  Once again, weapons don’t kill humans, people using weapons kill people. Today I read about the 11 year old who was ringing doorbells and running away in the middle of the night. Just a children’s game. The owner of the house shot the child, who was then transported to Emergency and passed shortly thereafter. So many things wrong with the above. Like, why was the 11 year old out after midnight ringing doorbells? I did stuff as a youngster. So, yes, I get it. But today? Parents are put in prison for letting their kids ride a bike down the street! The owner of the house shooting someone running away? Can’t even begin to understand that logic. 

What about the church shootings and school attacks taking place? Every time one occurs, another politician pounds the pavement with a new proposed law to ban all weapons. Well, I’ve finally come around to their thinking. Although I propose a more sweeping change. My bill will be called just “KILL BILL” which includes every possible thing that can be used to deliver a death blow to another human.

Here’s a short list as the full list is bigger than the library of congress.

Guns, knives (including butterknives, plastic knifes, oh heck – all silverware of any kind! Household items such as Blenders, coffee makers, fryers. Pots and pans. Microwaves, refrigerators (tip one over on someone, see what happens..) scissors, rope, wire, paper (ever get a paper cut? try a couple hundred) chairs, furniture, bats, baseballs, volleyballs, geesh make that ALL SPORTS GEAR. Pianos, guitars, drumsticks amps, electricity, water, oxygen, milk, peanuts, food in general. And the list continues…

The above does not kill by itself, usually, the person does the killing. Yes, there are accidents which we can exclude. If we ban all guns or even most guns, let’s not stop there. Knives should be removed as should razor blades, sharp sticks, tree branches. I watched this Documentary on people being killed accidentally called “TUCKER and DALE VS EVIL” like one guy was

 another just 

and so on. So, accidents can happen.  Do we need a bill for that? Where does the ridiculous end? Anything can be turned into a killing device if used that way. I propose we help one another to survive with compassion, dignity and kindness. Morals should be foremost in the battle to curb whatever evil there is in the world. But another bill? Nah. Let KILL BILL be the final one passed right before the planet explodes.

cheers

ceej 

Following up Hawt Whytesun is a pretty tall order. Indeed. So, I reached into a box of songs I had recently finished recording and pulled one out, a totally romantic song which brought me back to the years of playing in the Gary Efford Band. Gary would belt out soulful melodies of love without breaking a tear. Maybe this type of music is in my blood or at the very least my heart. Yes, I am a romantic person. I believe in reaching into another persons dreams and aspirations of life. The sadness, happiness, ectasy of those around us, sharing our inner most desires.

And sometimes instead of getting down, I write songs. While I am not a lead singer (and if you are drop me a note, would love to meet you!) the finished product is usually quite profound. For me. So, take a listen and let your mind wander into an evening of beautiful curiosity.

cheers,

cj (Tell Me How You Feel)

So, years ago, for fun and strictly tongue in cheek, I wrote this self help pamphlet which has absolutely no help in it at all. Yep. I was regressing to my childhood where knowledge was useless and being Hall Monitor in 3rd grade was the big status symbol of life. Since I was backing up all my storage drives, I came across this incorrectly titled self-help booklet, which I had thought was lost to the ages. And should have been. Just saying…

While it was originally slated for 10 chapters, I stopped at 4. Why? I don’t know. Bad hair day or no coconut chocolate chip cookies, or maybe there was a new episode of Star Trek on the telly. Now you probably think I’m British because I said “Telly”? Nope. Although I watched quite a few shows over the years with British actors portraying Americans. Which worked for me. Except for when it didn’t.

Please get real help if you need it, as any info in the following pages will not provide any help, at all. Only posted here to remind me I have no talent as a writer. Except when I do, of course. (smile)

Enjoy, or not.  Link opens in new tab

ceej

Hawt Whytesun I AM THE OTHER ONE

Blown away! Yes, I am. I was on the phone making random comments, which I usually do, with one comment being  “The Sneeze That Almost Was”. During our conversation I suggested the title was great for a series of children books. And kidding, I suggested using AI to follow my plot designs to create a story. Holy macaroni! The story was great! And I suggested a few images as well. Which were also great. Maybe not the greatest story in the world but the technology used (software AI) has progressed to an amazing level of coherence that I thought this could have been written by me!. But, alas, it was only co-authored by me this time around. While I have written stories on this site, (https://carljasper.com/the-days-after-the-great-power-outage-of-thanksgiving-2020/) the style and humor is completely different. Well, being written totally by me would be the key denominator. Going to post the story here for your amusement and WOW factor. Hope you enjoy it. I sure did.

cj

Opens in new tab…

sneeze that almost was

Where is I? Heck if I know. Although I had what I call fun a few weeks back. I had lent out my table saw and a few days later they said “we need to buy you a new table saw. Yours is broken now.” They don’t really know me. I replied “Awe shucks, gee golly. The saw died doing what it loved doing. What a way to go!” Really, the saw was over 20 years old. Still, they needed a saw to finish their project so they bought one. And when finished they gave it to me. Now, if they knew me, they would’ve known that while they were purchasing another saw, I had mine completely apart – to diagnose what was wrong. It turned out the motor got too hot and melted a part that directs the flow of air over the fan motor armature to keep it cool. After removing the melted nylon part, I realized that JB Weld (plastic epoxy) would fix it right up. That’s exactly what happened over the next couple of days. Table saw repaired!

But I thought, “what if something else happens to the motor?” which sent me down a rabbit hole. I searched for a new/used motor and was stunned by the cost. Most motors ran about $200 with some almost $400. Geesh! No way was I going to spend that much when a new table could be had for around $150. I started looking at various online websites like craigslist and offerup. Sure enough, found a few compatible saws that used the same motor as mine. Even bought one for $15. Took it apart because the motor wasn’t working. Turned out to be a bearing. After replacing the bad bearings, the used saw was now working. And I had a replacement motor. This was about the most fun I’ve had in years. I love taking things apart to hopefully repair them. Learning how everything worked and the process of repair is so invigorating, the knowledge I gain is worth all the time I spent. It encouraged me to purchase a new carburetor for my chainsaw that was giving me problems. And yes, that now works as well. Although I had to hide that repair because I’m in California and I should be using battery/electric operated chainsaws. Oh well.

Be safe and stay cool.

ceej

Who knew the three “R’s” could be so exciting? My dog knew. In fact the squirrels that live in my front yard know as well. But did I? No, not really. For years I have been subscribing to various online streaming services. And for years the services have reduced not only what they offer, but downgrading it by inserting commercials. One main reason I signed up was to watch uninterrupted shows/movies. NO COMMERCIALS! Now before I am labeled a “Hater” which I am not, well a tiny bit at least when it pertains to melted ice cream – they have invaded my life once more. As the major streaming services all have added commercials or will be, my personal direction has been to cancel them. Another strategy I will be activating soon is “Selective Monthly Viewing” or SMV for short. A simple example is canceling a streaming service until they add content that appeals to me, then subscribing for enough time to view the new shows/movies/content and canceling/unsubscribing after viewing. 

But wait! Are there other avenues to avoid the pay-per-view commercial? Yes, we now pay for commercials when commercials used to pay for content. Yes, I know I can view over the air, just not in my area as there’s no direct line of site to any broadcasting antennas. Big sigh… Of course some shows are only available on certain streaming channels. Like AppleTV and Netflix etc.

Oh my, what to do? Well, my fellow show watchers I now visit my local library for DVD’s Blu-rays of current shows/movies to check out. Do they have everything a streamer has? No. What they do have is enough for me. And I’ve noticed that free streaming platforms have been adding premium content. Which is very cool! My local library is fairly close and plus carries a large selection of the books/authors I also read. So for me, it’s a win-win. I now watch new movies again with NO COMMERCIALS! Of course that keeps me out of certain circles of friends as I have no idea what they’re talking about. Guess I’m not keeping up with the Jones’s.

And Christmas is almost here! Since most of my family is either visiting Saturn or have relocated out of state, celebrating is a singular function these days. Well, I spend time with my girl and her kids. Although they’re grown and have other venues of their own to visit. I haven’t been writing as many tunes for the past few weeks, but hey, been busy counting pebbles in my backyard. A rocky defense I must say…

I played a boutique with a friend a couple of weeks ago. That was fun. Only butchered 15 Christmas tunes or so. Again in my defense I had a brain cloud. Very serious one as well. Keep singing/playing and adding your voice to the world. Makes it a nicer place to live.

ceej