16 North 9th Street in Darby, PA. The D Cafe. We are an open mic event. We take requests and we play just about “anything.” Some people have original songs that they want to perform. They tell us what they want and “we play it on the spot.” It is a really nice environment with a grown atmosphere. We also take donations. If you would like to hear a specific song for next week then send us money with a request note through cash app at $Eltonbrettjolly. Here is a sample of a guy named Farmer Boy who had his own original music. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.
Monthly Archives: October 2021
Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought ( Should vaccinations be mandatory?)
It seems that for “some” people a line has been drawn in the sand. There are people who feel like they shouldn’t have to be vaccinated. For the sake of them I highly respect that right. However, for the sake of anyone who doesn’t want their health jeopardized from the corona virus I don’t quite understand. This virus is deadly and has already killed many. I “personally” know people who refused to get the vaccine and actually got sick from the virus. Those people have told me that they “regretted not getting the vaccine in the first place when they could have” and claim that they are lucky to be alive now. Some people are taking “the hardline” on this issue. Here is a current story about some of these people:
I firmly believe that people have the right to jeopardize their own lives if that is what they choose. I just can’t accept that the rest of us should have to pay for their ignorance. If you are willing to sacrifice your job and everything else you value then that is your right. You should not be able to sacrifice “mine.” When hearing the reasons given for why they chose to abstain from a shot I find it to be confusing. Some have said that they will put a tracer in the vaccine so that they can always find you. You can be followed through your phone already (whether it is off or on). I have heard other reasons but these also seem absurd. There are a lot of stories about now deceased people who refused to take the corona virus seriously. I think it would be imperative for you to read up on them. 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 (How to practice the right way)
As a musician, I often have to “practice” with others to make sure we are playing together the right way. I have done many gigs “without doing a rehearsal” and a lot of those gigs went well (but “not all” of them). I have done big gigs for celebrities without rehearsals that also “went well.” I did a gig with Dionne Warwick without practicing and it turned out nicely. I also performed with Jean Knight (“Mr. Big Stuff”), Chuck D and Grover Washington Jr without practicing. What is the purpose of practicing? It is to refine the art of your performance. I am not a really big fan of rehearsals if they are not done right. If I have done my homework and I know my parts (before I even get to rehearsal) then everyone should be expected to do the same. I “hate” sitting at a rehearsal watching and waiting for others to figure out their parts. If you go over your parts before coming to rehearsal then things will go a lot smoother. Also, know your itinerary (If you are rehearsing for music then know the songs you are expected to sing or play). If necessary know the keys you are supposed to play them in as well. Be “efficient” with your time so that no time is wasted. Your success “isn’t based on the quantity” of rehearsals but rather “on the quality” of the rehearsals. Often when people say “We can pull this gig off with 6 rehearsals” then they take away any inspiration for wanting to learn the material fast. I feel much more motivated if we “are expected” to rehearse everything in just “1” practice. Of course, there are times when I have had to do a “lot of practice” and the gig “still fell apart.” Singer Gerald LeVert had us practice for 2 hours and then changed up everything for the gig. The gig still went well, but it felt like we wasted the rehearsal. Please remember that the quality of any gig you do comes from the quality you invest into it. It is not about your time, but rather your devotion. Make the most of your preparation and things should go a lot smoother. 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 (Ada)
I stopped featuring pictures on my page a while back ( I do photography) because of the way WordPress is designed. I used to do it a lot, but I think I ran out of storage so I no longer have room to do it anymore. Today I was able to free up enough storage to feature Ada. She was very receptive to having her pictures taken. Just like I love doing music I also love doing photography. I mostly take pictures of women (but I will do other topics as well). I truly think that “all” women should have a photo session. Photo sessions are like makeovers that “last forever.” 10 years from now everyone will probably look different, but with a photoshoot you will keep those memories for your lifetime. If you are ever in the Philadelphia area and want your picture taken please go to my website WWW.Brettjolly.com and let me know. It would be my pleasure to work with you.
Brett Jolly’s Daily Thought ( The other side of Madonna)
Over decades in the music business, Madonna has never held back much of anything. When others have tried to tame their shows she has been very open to “shocking people.” She has been banned by MTV, featured wardrobe malfunctions for the public to see, and offended religions with her antics. She even kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the VMA’s. Oh, by the way, she “sings too (in case you didn’t know).” Recently she was on the Jimmy Fallon show promoting her new book. Yeah, you guessed it. She flashed the audience. Here is a clip of her segment:
I have worked with a lot of musical greats, but I “never worked with Madonna.” However, a good friend of mine who “did play for her” talked to me about working with her. I asked him years ago why she did all these “controversial things.” He responded by telling me that Madonna is “one of the smartest women in the music business.” She knew that every time she did something “controversial” she would “make more money from it down the road.” He told me that “she knew exactly what she was doing every time she wanted to shock people.” Obviously, “it worked.” So many other artists have followed her methods in music and reaped huge benefits from it as well. Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears (and more) have ridden the horse to “controversial shock” and their careers have skyrocketed as a result. She may be older now but she still has enough to open the eyes of her audience wide. Controversy sells. Madonna sells “controversy.” 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 (Funny moment)
Sometimes when you play a gig you never know what to expect. Last night (Thursday) I performed a gig outside at a park. The weather was good and we had a good time. People can be funny sometimes. We did this song and a couple danced to it. It was great until some woman got drunk and then fell backwards while losing her wig. I tried my best to contain my emotion (but I think I failed on this one). Either way we still had a great time. Hope you like the clip. 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 (When a store worker is having a bad day)
Yesterday was one of those days for me. The wheels on my amplifier deteriorated (and subsequently fell off) so I needed to get new ones. For the record, I am “not” one of those “fix it” guys, and I admit my weaknesses in that area. I went into a Lowe’s store and bought the wheels and (what I thought to be) the proper kind of nuts for it. Well, I got the right wheels, but the nuts were wrong, so I had to go back into Lowes to try to get nuts that fit. This time I decided to go to one of the workers there and “ask for assistance.” The worker seemed to be extremely “irritated.” He told me the nuts I brought were the wrong ones. I already knew that, and when I asked him how I could determine the size his only response was “measure them.” I honestly didn’t know how and I told him that I only wanted to get the right pieces for my situation so he “reluctantly” went with me to show me (huffing and puffing all the way). When we got to the aisle he picked up (what he thought) were the right nuts only to find out that “they were not the right ones either.” He then uttered out the words “My bad” and continued to look for the correct ones. He finally found them for me, and even though he was was in some kind of mood I pulled up my wallet and paid him some money for his efforts. He seemed “rather shocked” that I did that for him. I told him that I appreciated his effort, and while I can’t show appreciation for anyone else I can surely show mine. I understand how people can feel in his situation. Even though he “is paid” to deal with everyone’s questions it doesn’t mean that his job can’t sometimes get frustrating for him. I don’t know if what I did made his day any better, but he did soften up a little after I paid him. I probably shouldn’t have done so, but I believe the world can improve from us understanding each other better. For instance, it is easy to judge a man who commits a crime but we rarely take the time to understand his circumstances (in his prior upbringing) to determine what caused him to become a criminal in the first place. The same can be said for everyone else. The small ounce I showed him of appreciation yesterday “just might” make a huge difference in the quality of his work today. Sometimes that “little bit of understanding” can make a difference in your day as well. Just wanted to share this today. 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 (One of my “negative moments” working for a celebrity)
Many people think that if you happen to work with a celebrity music giant that everything is “fantastic.” That is “not always the case.” There were these 2 guys years ago that had a “huge” hit song. They were from Philadelphia and they had written other hit songs as well (but this song was specifically designed for them). They were McFadden and Whitehead and their hit song was “Ain’t no Stopping us now.” I had worked with “a lot” of musical artists and I was a little leery when I heard we were going to work with these guys. This is what happened. We were scheduled to have rehearsals with these guys, but each time we did one “only one” of them was there. Gene McFadden would show up there, but John Whitehead would not. We rehearsed all the songs for about 3 rehearsals, but never got to rehearse with both of them. McFadden assured us that Whitehead would be there for the gig. I had heard that they were having big disagreements between them. The gig was in New York, and on gig day we were there. The announcer mentioned “McFadden and Whitehead” but when the lights came on something was wrong. Whitehead was a “no show.” McFadden had to do the “entire show” by himself. After the show ended. McFadden said he had to go get the money he owed us and that he would be right back with it. Of course, he never came back with it, and we “got stiffed” for about 3 thousand dollars. We did manage to get some of the money but definitely not all of it. The interesting part of all of this was that weeks later I went to Burkes Street in Philadelphia, and McFadden suddenly came from around the corner. He saw me and was “scared straight.” He started stumbling his words and he said that he would have my money for me soon. I looked at him and told him that if I really wanted to, “Ain’t no stopping” me from kicking your a$$ right now. He almost had a restroom accident on himself, and I could see that he was a drug addict that had nothing. Beating him up would not have gotten me any of the money, so I let him walk. This was one of my “negative moments” in my music career. I know I am not the only one this ever happened to. The most important thing was the lesson I learned. This was not one of my highlights in my career. Both men are dead now, but I learned a valuable lesson from this. 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 (The double standard of pro life)
I have been hearing a lot of publicity on the concept of abortion. Certain politicians in certain places are trying to “de- legalize a woman’s right to her own body.” These “leaders” claim to be pro life, but are they really? Here is one new story:
https://www.aol.com/news/biden-lifts-abortion-referral-ban-040553781-112554106.html
Different people have different views on being pro life. That is not unusual, but how far do their standards actually go? Are they equally as dedicated to preserving the lives of inmates on death row? Are these people against war? How about gun control? What are their views on mask mandates? Mask mandates are designed to protect all of us from a disease that could kill us. If you value life (as you say you do) then what is the problem with getting vaccinated and wearing masks to protect yourself and the rest of us from a pandemic? Everyone has a right to his or her view on life, but at least be dedicated “all the way” in what you feel. If you are indeed pro life then you “should” be in favor of gun control as well (because that can also save lives). This just seems to make sense to me. With the issue of abortion life just doesn’t stop with a baby being born. That child needs to be raised and brought up in a proper environment after birth, so if we are going to outlaw abortions then we need to (at least) have a plan in place to raise these children properly, and when they grow up “they need not fear war, pandemics or guns.” Does this make sense? 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 (Why is there a shortage of change?)
In a lot of businesses I go to, I tend to see the signs stating the need for “exact change.” For some reason there appears to be “a shortage of coins.” You may have experienced the same thing. Why has this happened? Well, I read up on on it, and this was what I found:
I know that the pandemic changed our ways of living a lot. I never imagined that a “shortage” of money would result from it. I have a “lot” of change but stores are saying that they want to be paid in exact prices (or do a credit or debit transaction). Since this all seemed to happen so suddenly, it feels as though we are trending towards a “cashless society.” Just imagine what this would do. I know of several people who absolutely cannot get paid by check. For whatever reason, they cannot take a chance on the government being able to get their hands on their money, so they want to alleviate the trail of what they earn. By getting rid of cash there will always be a record of what you earn (you can’t have credit without a bank account). I used to give money to beggars on the street, but no one seems to carry cash anymore. Can this system come back? Possibly, but I am not sure how. Also, I keep hearing talk about something called “bitcoin.” I honestly have no idea what that is, but I try to stay as far from it as possible. I started hearing about bitcoin around the start of the pandemic, so I do wonder if this was staged with it. Someone on Instagram is trying to get me to invest in it. Good luck to them. I won’t invest in anything I don’t understand. Will coins be worth something again one day? Time will tell on that one. Right now we just have to accept things the way they are. Thank you for checking out my Daily Thought, and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.
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