Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (Wendy Williams)

Wendy Williams has risen to be a big star here in the united States. She basically spreads gossip about all the stars and tells everyone’s personal business. She has been doing such for a long while. I knew her a long time ago when she was part of a radio program called the “Carter and Sanborn show” here in Philadelphia. I did radio props for the show. When they first introduced her on the program they had a parade where she would pop out the top of a car for everyone to see. I sat next to her “before” she had all her plastic surgeries (and all I can say right now is that there is a “remarkable difference”  in her “before and after pictures”). She is now on her own in New York and doing well with her own program. However, how does it feel when you suddenly become the lead hot talk of gossip? Here is the latest news on Wendy Williams and her cheating husband:

https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2019/03/28/wendy-williams-spotted-out-with-husband-kevin-hunter/23701877/

Of course it is only natural that she should love her husband. She has gone through a lot with him. However, if this had been another famous couple what would Wendy say about it? She would most likely talk badly about it and say what she believes the wife should do. Can she practice what she preaches in her own life story? I would love for everyone to be happy in their relationships. I truly do not like drama. Unfortunately, drama gets introduced to us all whether we want it or not. Wendy Williams needs to be left alone to handle her own marriage. The same should be said for all the other famous couples that Wendy gossips about on her program. Right now her story only fuels the fire for her own show. People tune in because they want to see how she will react. I don’t watch her program because I really don’t wish to hear about other people’s drama. I wish her and everyone else the best. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought, and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Legendary Blues singer Bonnie Raitt in concert with Brett Jolly on bass guitar

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (Song segment taken from last night at our Wednesday Night event)

There are so many different types of songs that artists ask us to play at our Wednesday night events. On average we have to play about 5 to 7 songs each week that we have either never played or never heard before. We do our best to play “everything.” This particular group likes to do original rap music. It is a father and son combination and it is great to see them perform together. They call themselves the “Farmer boys.” I may not be a big fan of rap music, but I love that they bring their art to our showcase. This was an original song of theirs, so naturally I never heard it before. I played it anyway. We have so much fun, and I sincerely hope that if you are ever in the Philadelphia area on a Wednesday night that you come out to see us (at the Crab Tavern, 201 North Macdade Blvd in Darby, PA, from 8:00 pm to 12 midnight). Thank you so much for checking out my Daily Thought and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (How far to go for family)

Today, March 27, is my son’s birthday. As with all my family, I plan to do things for him to help him celebrate his special day. I don’t do this because I feel his behavior has been so great recently or because I feel he is perfect. I do so “simply because he is my son.” Don’t get me wrong, he is not a bad son at all. In fact, his intentions are usually great and admirable. Compared to other boys he would be considered a breath of fresh air. The issue with this birthday is that he didn’t plan it very well, and it is going to “cost me.” He had friends coming in from out of town (who have no place to stay, so naturally they have to be put in a hotel). He wants to go with about 6 of his friends to some special place for games (so of course I have to rent a van for them, and even drive them there). The more things he plans the more they involve me forking out money (even if he doesn’t consult with me first). Please keep in mind that when it was my birthday he brought me “2 Tahitian Treat sodas.” Does anyone get the picture here? I am writing about this today because family should not be expected to be perfect. Sometimes family can turn out to be entirely wrong. You may not always agree with family but it helps to at least continue to try. I know of people who will shut down from family for their own personal reasons. I can’t tell you what to do but if you know your family will be there for you when you hit rock bottom then it might behoove you to consider doing the same for them. This is not about wrong or right. This is about family. You should be able to depend on family when you cannot depend on anyone else. To me, that makes a huge difference. My mother’s birthday was 2 days ago on March 25. She died from ovarian cancer in 2004. She would confront dangerous gangs to protect me and my brother. The very next day I was probably getting on her nerves. It didn’t matter. She was my mom. Family should go beyond all rational logic. If you feel stressed out by family, there is no need to shut down or shut them out. Communication is important in all aspects. Talk to them just like you feel they should talk to you whenever necessary. It just might make the biggest difference in your life as well as theirs… Thank you so much for checking out my Daily Thought, and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Singer/songwriter Bunny Sigler in concert with Brett Jolly on bass

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (How would you handle this?)

My daughter told me about a friend of hers who recently opened up one of those game shops. For those of you who don’t know these are stores with games in them for people to play. Most times you will get younger kids coming in to play. Anyway, this shop has already been opened but there are some problems that need to be fixed. It appears that one (or some) of the patrons have a terrible issue with “body odor.” Obviously it is a hygiene problem that is so bad it creates an uncomfortable situation for other customers. They have complained about it (and I don’t think you can ignore something like this). What should the owner do? I heard that the owner contemplated putting a sign out and alerting people that they may be asked to bathe before coming into the establishment. I said this sign could be very insulting to some people. If anyone is complaining then it might be a good idea to confidentially talk to the person and “let him or her know” than others are complaining about their hygiene. This would give the culprit some privacy without making every thing seem so “demeaning.” It would also be good to make sure you let the person know that it is “others” who are complaining and not just you. That way the offender shouldn’t take it as a “personal issue” against you. Some people may have a hygiene problem and not even know. Telling them in a nice way could help them. The key words for all of this is to do things “confidentially” and “privately.” That way you can gain respect from all parties involved. My daughter’s friend mentioned this to her through private email on Facebook. She asked me what I though so I told her. I do hope that I gave her the right advice. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (For those who would love to learn how to play instruments)

I have had several people come up to me and tell me that they would love to play instruments (or that they had a child who would love to play). The issue in learning how to play any instrument is conquering how difficult it is in your mind. When someone sees a piano usually they think that they have to learn all the notes to it. Eventually, that is true, but for most songs there are usually more keys that are used than others. While you may have the option to use all the keys it doesn’t necessarily mean that you “have” to use them. The same thing when it comes to the guitar. Certain notes (and chords) are more prominent in songs and once you learn them it will make it a lot easier to go to other parts. Drums work fairly simple. While all the parts of it are important, nothing is more important than the foot (kick drum) and the snare. As long as you can master  these 2 components then playing drums will become a lot easier to do. I don’t play horns or strings but I am sure that there are shortcuts to playing those as well. Learning the notes is still only the beginning. The next part depends on what type of musician you want to be. Some people stress the point that you need to be able to “read music” from off a sheet. Reading music is when you look at the “written out notes” and then play it exactly like it is written in the song. A lot of musicians are cool with this. I cannot read music at all, but I play a LOT of gigs. That is because a chart does me no good. I simply rely on my ear to get me through songs and that has worked great for me. In fact, if someone plays a song that I have never heard before, I can practically pick up the song “on the spot” while playing it through my ears. I have a lot of stories where my ear has gotten me through a lot of musical challenges. How can you develop a good ear? I tell most musicians to get used to playing “in the dark.” That way your placement of hands will do you no good. You would “have” to rely solely on your ear to play a song. This also increases your feel for the music and your tone. There are more tricks that I will gladly tell you with time. Always remember that you can learn on your own how to play. I am self taught and doing well with it. You can do it too. Don’t allow your mind to be your biggest obstacle. Get rid of the word “can’t” in your vocabulary, and make it happen. Thank you so much for checking out my Daily Thought and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Brett Jolly and Muziq Soulchild at PIR studios

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (The real state of the Union)

I don’t need to hear the President give a speech about how great things are. The proof is in the conditions under which we live. Right now the economy doesn’t seem so bad… “yet”…and for that I would have to give the President his props. Whether he initiated it or received the benefits of someone else’s labor our conditions are still good (for right now). However, I do have problems with the things I keep hearing about. This Mueller report seems to dominate the news consistently, and even though it is taking a long while to get completed, the potential of it could hit very hard. As for the president, I find it difficult to believe that he disrespected women, veterans, minorities, other politicians and yet still managed to “win” the White house. I find it hard to believe that he wants a wall to protect us from elements that aren’t just coming to us from the South Border (They are coming in from other places as well). I find it hard to believe that after all the contradicting he has done that he believes he has not lied about anything. For the Mueller report, it is quite possible that he has nothing to fear. If that is the case, then why is he so worried about it? When his ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, testified, he laid out a plan that seemed highly credible, even though he is already a convicted liar. Right now the biggest difference between him and Trump just might be the word “convicted.” Every day I am reading new material on the conditions of this mess. For me, it is taking way too long. If there is anything damaging in the report, what will happen then? I don’t know if you can bring criminal charges against the President (unless he commits something as serious as murder or something). If some of his cronies have already gone to jail then why is it so difficult to believe that the President himself didn’t engage in criminal activity? After all, they “worked” for him, didn’t they? And what about his lawyer, Giuliani? Does anyone else think that this guy is highly confused? Our relations with North Korea were bad, then good, then bad again… I have no idea where we stand with them now. Russia brags about having weapons that we have no defense for. They can “claim” dominance, but they obviously don’t know what we have for them either. Things in the news have sounded so crazy, and right now I don’t know what to make of our circumstances. Sometimes I think we ought to build a wall… just to protect Mexico…. Yes, things in the news sound crazy, and the more you read into it, the more confused you might be. I am growing weary of “possibilities.” If anything is going to happen, by all means “bring it on.” The world is entitled to “answers.” Let’s hope we can get them… Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought, and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Harold Melvin’s Bluenotes in concert with Brett Jolly on bass guitar

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (Song video segment taken from last night at our Wednesday Night Event)

If you are a Luther Vandross fan then I’m sure you will appreciate this clip. We have had some “magnificent” singers come into the Crab Tavern on Wednesday nights. I don’t even know the name of this young man but he came in and did an “excellent job” singing this Luther tune. He even “looked” the part. He was only one singer of the great talent we featured last night. Even though the night felt a little weird the result was still the same. We had a a great audience and people enjoyed themselves tremendously. We didn’t take a break all night. If you are ever in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area on a Wednesday night I hope you can come join us at the Crab Tavern (201 North Macdade Blvd in Darby, PA from 8:00 to 12 midnight). This is only a sample. You need to be there to personally enjoy everything. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (A lesson learned)

My daughter is looking for a new car. She has gone to several different places looking for the car she wants. She found two that she likes and both of them are used. The one that she liked the most she was prepared to buy. However, she is a female and it has been rumored that some dealers like to take advantage of unknowing females. The car is a Lexus, and it was a nice one. They wanted her to buy the car, but we informed her to bring a mechanic to the dealer so that he could first “inspect” the car just to make sure that there was nothing wrong with it. I think most people believe that when you buy a car from a dealer that they automatically “fix” everything “before” they sell it to you. Obviously that was not the case “here.” Upon inspection from the mechanic, he found that the car needed an alignment,  2 front tires, 2 front brakes and new windshield wipers. If none of these had been spotted then my daughter would have bought a car with some problems right from the start. If my daughter doesn’t buy the car then someone else would have bought the car with these problems. She has not bought the car yet, but if they fix the problems she just might do so today. I just cannot fathom why “any” dealer would sell a car without fixing it up first.  Was this just a “freak of nature” that the problems of this car got past the inspectors or is this a common thing to hide the problems that often come with used cars? I am beginning to think that maybe every potential customer needs to hire a mechanic to insect a car before they buy it. The main purpose of a dealer is to make money. I realize that. However does that mean that they have to “hide” issues that are important? I am not a car expert at all, but whenever I buy a car I expect it to work properly and not fall apart when I get it home. I cannot say that this example fits all dealers, but I am shocked that it happened here.  The lesson that I learned from this is that “an ounce of provension is worth a pound of cure.” Maybe whenever buying a car I need to always have a mechanic check it out first. My son is now looking for a car. I might have to adjust my way of thinking to get him one. I am not accusing all dealers of anything but I am only telling the truth about what happened here. Be “sure” of what you are getting (even if you have to ruffle some feathers to do so). Be happy before and after you leave the lot. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

The Stylistics in concert with Brett Jolly on bass guitar

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (Knowing when to shut down)

Yesterday people tried to introduce me to a lot of drama. There was a certain event transpiring and it seemed as though everyone wanted to call me about it.  I don’t believe I should have been involved in it because it certainly wasn’t caused by me. However, yesterday I was blitzed by many calls and texts wanting to know my thoughts. For those who don’t know me, I am doing my best to remain drama free. I have felt this way ever since I had my stroke. This means that whenever someone wants to hit me up with a lot of unnecessary drama then at some point I just shut down.  I don’t need to continually hear about other people’s problems all the time. When you get besieged with a whole lot of crazy stuff then at some point it becomes your own. I have worked too hard to maintain a stress free life so listening to all this stuff takes me out of my calm essence. Today they can try again, but I am going to be ready for everyone. Last night I cut my losses and just said I will go to bed peacefully rather than fight with anyone. This morning I feel much more relaxed after that. I honestly believe that people should not take in more craziness than they have to. Everything needs a cut off point, and tomorrow is always a new day. If this theology keeps my soul at peace (and yes, for me it does) then I accept it wholeheartedly. Some people may not understand this. As long as I understand it then that is what matters most. Hopefully you can manage your own intake of other people’s stress. They can try to put it on you, but they will only succeed if you allow them to. If I don’t like what they are pitching, then I will let them know that they have a very small limited amount of time with me, and then I will hang up (or walk away).  That may sound cold to some, but I stand by my own decisions. Now, how is “your” day? (smile) Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought, and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Wayne Brady (Let’s make a deal) with Kenny Lattimore in concert with Brett Jolly on bass

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (Why does it seem so hard to keep your good vibes from church going?)

I can’t vouch for other church services, but I would think that if you can manage to go there continuously then you must like it. Church is where they advocate staying in the heart of the Lord and being the best you can be. Yesterday I had 3 church services (starting at 7:30 am in the morning). The first service started at 7:45 and went to 10:00 am). The second service started at 11:00 and went to 2:00 pm. The last one was “Communion” and started at 5:00 until around 7:30 pm. During this time I get lost in the good vibes that church usually brings. It helps me to realize my faults while pressing me to do even better in the eyes of the Lord. Yes, I do play music there. I love playing in the church. I am particularly fond of up tempo gospel tunes. I also love the challenge of playing tunes I have never played before (and some times I never heard them before as well). The head pastor at my church is “excellent” and he makes it great for everyone. My biggest problem is trying to keep the good thoughts in my head after church is over. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t collapse into a bad spirit immediately after church but I don’t hold on to the spirit for a extensively long time either. In fact, after I left church yesterday I had this bad feeling that I just wanted to punch somebody (This is really a joke, okay?).  Maybe because I had so much emphasis on being good minded that I just needed to get back to my relaxed state. No, I am not a bad person at all, but it takes a lot to  stay in good church standards. I am not about to go commit a bad act against anyone. For some reason it just “feels” like I want to. We all need to experience the good vibes from church. It could make the biggest difference in how you perceive your own life. I will continue to strive for a better life.  I will continue to go to church. Hopefully you will too. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Bonnie Raitt in concert with Brett Jolly on bass guitar