Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (Photo shoot with Barbara)

I had stopped doing these photo shoot features because my page had run out of memory data. However, I think I have found a way to continue. This lady’s name is Barbara, and she is a singer.  She sounds great and she was interested in modeling, so we figured we would try this out. I think she did a wonderful job and I hope you like her pictures. Hopefully I will be able to keep this feature up. 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 (Classic version of a Sly and the Family Stone song taken last night)

We like to take requests all the time. We love to do different tunes as well. We really don’t have a fear of trying any song when we perform on Wednesday nights. When people ask us to play a particular number (that we have never rehearsed before) we simply attempt it. The worse that could happen is that it won’t sound right, but people appreciate the fact the we even try it.  If you are ever in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania area you are invited to join us at the Crab Tavern, 201 North Macdade Blvd in Darby, PA from 8:00 to 12 midnight. We have fun and we simply enjoy music. This is a song that was requested last night. We hope you enjoy it. 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 (You are… what you “think” you are…)

This statement probably sounds silly on the surface, but there is actually a lot more to this when you break it down. Some of us are content to be “exactly where we are.” We don’t feel the urge to learn more, experience more or take on more in our lives. However, that thought only limits us from our true capabilities and stops us from achieving our own potentials. You have talents that you could put to use, but you may not want to engage in the effort to maximize your abilities.  That means that you are “what you think” you are. Great people are only normal people who had the resolve to try and accomplish great things. Some people are so afraid of failure that they resist the effort to gain more. You might have great singing ability. You might be a great speaker. You might have an incredible sense or politics. Do you feel as though you are “maximizing” your life right now? The mind is very powerful. Often we don’t know what we are truly capable of. As long as you breathe and live you still have the opportunity to grow and learn. It doesn’t have to stop once you reach a certain age. If you feel your have more gifts to bestow upon the world, then what is stopping you from exhibiting those gifts? The answer: “You.” In order to better yourself you first need to build your “confidence.” Your confidence is your believe in yourself. Lack of true confidence has resulted in many failures. If you don’t first believe in yourself then how can you expect others to believe in you? I am not referring to being cocky or arrogant.  Believing in yourself starts from within. Do you know who and what you are today? Today is the very first day of the rest of your life. Just imagine that you got old, died, went to Heaven and then looked at a video of your life. Do you think you will see things that you “wished” you had done? Of course, you will. Why wait until you die and go to Heaven? Do it now, and alleviate the doubt. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought, and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Kenny Latimore and Wayne Brady in the studio with Brett Jolly

 

 

 

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought ( Just found this piece…and this is crazy funky)

Sometimes the best music isn’t necessarily the most popular known tunes. Sometimes you can find a treasure that you never heard of before and truly love it. I have always been a big fan of this man. He was a musical genius and left us way to soon. However, he left us with a lot of his own music and if you like a funky sound then I think you will adore this. I don’t know where this was done, but if you like funk then I strongly suggest you check this out. I just recently discovered this song and wanted to share it with you. I hope you like it. 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 (Happy Memorial Day)

For the record, I am “not” an advocate for war, but I also realize that war is often necessary in order to achieve peace. People have died so that you can live a normal existence, and those people need to be honored. Today is Memorial Day here in the United States, and I just wanted to take this moment to simply say “Thank you” to the veterans who made sacrifices for me and others. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought and I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Radio Personality Tom Joyner, members of Full force and Brett Jolly onstage

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (Sex)

This topic is truly confusing when you mention it on the surface. A lot of people think this subject is fairly disturbing… until they get the chance to engage in it themselves. We try to keep our young kids from knowing about it, only to discover they learn it before we can teach them anything. For some people it can be the most disgusting thing on the planet, but yet many of the great artworks in history exhibit it. It is “sex.” Prostitutes are often vilified for selling it, but if you go out on a date (and pay for everything) and then have sex afterwards it is perfectly legal. Some people will withhold sex until they are married. I have heard from some of those who did and many of them actually regretted that decision. It is one of our basic needs. How can one thing that is often declared to be so nasty be something that we all essentially need? When you think about it, the entire human race would become “extinct” without it. Have you looked around at how many people you see in the world? That means that there must have been a “whole lot of sex” going on.  How do you feel about it? Do you consider it to be taboo? Do you have a great desire and need for it? Many people don’t want to see it, but yet many of those same people love to “engage in it.” Men crave it, but then again I believe that women do too. A lot of what we do often becomes centered around the concept of sex. Of course, most sex drives are strongest during your earlier years, but does that mean you no longer need it after a certain age? Maybe we all need a different perspective on it. For example, most men love to see a naked woman. Yet, when I sent to the southern beaches of France (and South Beach in Miami, Florida) and saw women topless it seemed to be “perfectly normal.” Why was that? I think a lot of our values and beliefs come from what we are “taught” and many people look at sex from what they have “learned.” If sex were so evil then why is so much of it happening around the world? Is it impossible to believe that if we lessened our restrictions on sex there would be less rapes and physical abuses? I don’t think anyone knows the real answers to this question, but if people have a general addiction for sex then it seems obvious that they would go to exorbitant means to get it. As much as we preach against it, we all need it. Maybe we all need to change our perspectives on it or  maybe we should just keep things the same. Only you can determine what works best for you. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought and always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

James Ingram and Brett Jolly (With Sheldon Reynolds, formerly from Earth Wind and Fire and Johnny Croom, formerly of Boyz II Men, Genuine, and Alliyah

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (My brother Bill sat in with us last night)

We had our weekly “Grand Slam Jam” again last night and the audience was packed. My brother Bill Jolly sat in with us, so we featured him on this Tower of Power tune. We also had horns last night and the evening went great. The crowd loved it. If you are ever in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area on a Wednesday night I hope you come see us at the Crab Tavern, 201 north Macdade Blvd in Darby, PA, from 800 pm to 12 midnight.  It almost feels shameful to have so much fun.  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 (Can you determine if your day is going to be a good or bad one?)

Have you ever awakened in the morning and just “felt” like today was not going to be a good day? If you have, then you were probably right. Usually when someone’s day starts off “feeling” like a bad day then the negative often ensues. Does this mean that your bad days are pre-ordained? It has been said that we often pull the negative and positive energies out of the air through the power of our own minds. For example, if you are expecting a bad day to happen then you may in essence be “creating” your own bad day. The same could also happen for you having a good day. I remember years ago performing at one of the casinos in Atlantic City. I don’t gamble, but during the break I decided to check out people gambling at the roulette wheel. There were a bunch of people there placing bets on a spinning wheel hoping to win big (none of them looked happy though).  Then I saw this neatly dressed older gentleman in a white suit walk up to the table. He had TWO (2) women with him, one on “each arm.” He was a Black man wearing a derby, and he had a white woman on one arm and a black woman on the other. This man practically “reeked” of confidence. He walked up to the roulette table and placed a “huge” pile of chips on the “long shot.” The crowd looked in amazement and several thought he was going to go broke. Well, lo and behold, his long shot “hit.” He won a ton of money on his first and only try, and then just walked away with his 2 ladies. To me, that was either sheer confidence or he knew that the gambling was fixed. On the other hand, I have known of people who “expected” a bad day to happen, and that is “exactly” what transpired. I am not saying that we can create our own fortune, but you never know for sure until you try it. If you wake up in the morning with a good perspective and still have a bad day then obviously it didn’t work. That could mean that your good days and bad days were already planned for you. I always say that if you already know you will be having a bad day, then there is absolutely no need for you to play the lottery (because you already know that you are going to lose). On bad days I try not to make any major decisions because I already know what the outcome will be. In fact, I try to get the day over with early do that I can go to bed and hope the very next day is better. Sometimes things are going so well that we start to think that this can’t last (and that is when our bad luck starts to happen). The mind is powerful. It might be even more powerful than you think. Maybe you should check out the power of your own mind to see what you can make happen. You just might be surprised. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought, and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Word famous harpist Jeff Majors with Bunny Sigler singing lead in concert with Brett Jolly on bass guitar

 

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (Name for my new bass guitar)

This may sound silly, but hopefully by the time you finish reading this it will make more sense. BB King always had a “nickname” for his guitar. He called it “Lucille” and everyplace he played people recognized his guitar by name. Eric Clapton called his guitar “Blackie.” George Harrison called his guitar “Lucy.” Eddie Van Halen called his guitar “Frankenstein.” Willie Nelson called his guitar “Trigger.” I don’t put myself in the same category as these other musicians but I still like to have a name for my bass guitar anyway. This wasn’t always the case. My daughter Jazzmin actually named my first 6 string bass guitar. She named it after a character on the cartoon show “The Boondocks.” If you ever watched the program then you might be able to relate to the name she gave it.  The name of my original 6 string bass guitar was “A pimp named Slickback.” You had to say the “entire name” of it in order to get it right. Now I have a “new” 6 string bass guitar, and I asked my daughter to give me a name for this one as well. Considering the fact that we just recently went to see the Avengers movie, she decided that my bass guitar’s name should be “Thanos.” I loved the name, and now I am set. Having a name for my guitar gives it “identity” and it also gives my guitar fame “without me.” It is almost the same as having another child. My guitar may not walk, eat or sleep, but it “can talk” and under the right circumstances it can “say a lot.” I don’t know how many other musicians have a name for their “basses” but for me this just “feels right.” I may be just a tad “eccentric” on this but I like the name “Thanos.”  When I get my next guitar I will get another name from my daughter.  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 with his 6 string bass guitar named “Thanos”

Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought (What to do about the quality of your own life)

When you grow older it is amazing to see how your world changes. People you take for granted become ill (some even die) and all of a sudden your world appears to be much more fragile. One of my friends just recently lost his sister and another one of my friends recently had a stroke. Just about everything that I took for granted in my 20’s is no longer guaranteed now. There isn’t much you can do to stop the changes from happening around you, but you still have some control over your own existence. I had 3 church services and a rehearsal yesterday (I had a gig in Atlantic City the day before) and I was very tired. However, I had a talk with a friend of mine who also believed in increasing the quality of his own life. One of the things we discussed was making sure that you continue to grow as long as you live. In other words, never stop learning new things. When you stop learning you stop growing and essentially your life is over at that point. Also you need to do more to live longer. Taking walks is a good thing to do. I walk whenever the opportunity arises. I will walk around a 5 block area of my neighborhood (sometimes doing so several times a day). Walking not only makes my body feel better, but it also seems to clear my head from a lot of distraction. Finding fun things to do is also healthy. When you engage in “legal safe activity” it can make you feel much better. Changing your diet can also make a huge difference in your life. Finally you need to “stress less.” People will always come at you with things designed to make you feel bad. They can only succeed if you allow them to do so. When someone comes up to me with some crazy drama I instantly inform them that they seconds to change their tune or I will walk away. I mean it.  At some point everyone’s life will end. No one lives forever. This is why it is important for me to increase the quality of my life while I am still here. I have had health issues before. I consider this to be my second chance, and I want to make the most of it. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought, and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Dionne Warwick and the O’Jay’s in concert with Brett Jolly on bass guitar