He's Got the Blues

A few years ago our dog, Buttons, injured his back by jumping off my bed the wrong way.  It hasn't happened since then, until this past Monday.  My son and I came home from a meeting and found Buttons just huddled on the floor shaking.  I knew that shake wasn't fear, I remembered it from the last time he was hurt.

I made an appointment with Buttons' vet for the next day, and my son took him in to be checked.  Sure enough, Buttons had tweaked his back again.

It seems while at the vet however, Buttons didn't want to cooperate.  Understandable, as he was in pain and hasn't ever liked strangers touching him. He tried to nip at the vet and his assistants, resulting in him having to be muzzled.  Then when it came time to have his x-rays taken, the assistant put a pair of "doggles" over his eyes to protect them.  It was at that point my son decided he needed a picture of Buttons in his new attire, so he whipped out his cell phone, snapped a shot, and posted it on his Facebook page.

Though I felt bad for Buttons, I did think it was a cute pic of him.  The following day, I showed my co-workers the pic, and told the story of what had happened at the vet.  One of my co-workers, Jeanne, said Buttons looked like a blues singer.  The idea got stuck in my head and just wouldn't leave until I did something about it.  That "something" was to write a blues song for Buttons.  I then took the song to Jeanne, who became my co-writer, making suggestions of how to make the song even better.

Long story short, I decided to share Butttons' blues ditty with the rest of the world, (or at least my friends), via my blog page.  With that said, following is the pic and blues song it inspired.  When reading the lyrics, it's helpful to keep a common blues riff in mind; the one that's slow and goes, "duh duh...duh duh duh duh duh..."  (I tried to find a sample to put here, but had no luck.)  If you're not sure which riff I mean, I'm sure any slow, bluesy riff will work.  Enjoy!

THE BLUE MUZZLE DOGGLE BLUES

Went to my doc

'Cause I had a pain

Doc told my owner

"He's got a strain"

"In his back"

"Same as before"

"He's got it again"

Oooooh yeah, I got it again.  (Pitiful howl)

Then that doc

Though I was sore,

He poked,

And he prodded 

Til I couldn't 

Take it no more

(Low growl)  No more, no couldn't take it no more

Went on the defense

Wanted him to stop

So I took a nip

At his fingers

Yeah that doc, 

He almost got bit

(Kind of snarling)  Oh, oh, oh, yeah, almost got bit

And in return

What did I get,

A blue muzzle wrapped 'round my lip

Yeah, a bright blue muzzle right on my lip

(A second of silence because of the muzzle, then restart)

But the doc,

He wasn't done yet,

Oh, oh, oooooh no, he wasn't done yet

Took x-rays 

Of my backside

But 'fore he did

Made sure I had

Doggles covering my lids

(Hoarse whisper)  Doggles, goggles for dogs

Oh yeah, he put doggles on my lids

Then to my dismay

See my owner

Aim his cell phone my way

(Pitiful howl)  Oooooh, no, no, no, don't do me this way

Didn't care

How silly I looked

Just snapped a pic

And posted it to Facebook

(Sad sound)  Put it on Facebook for all to take a look

(Moaning howl)  Oooooh the humiliation

(Moaning howl)  Oh, oh, oh, the shame

Don't think

No, don't think

I'll ever

Be the same

(Long, pitiful howl)  No, I'll never be the same

Yeah, I got me 

A bad case of

Those doggone

Blue muzzle

Doggle blues

(Low voice)  A bad, bad case of

(Low voice)  Those doggone

(Low voice)  Blue muzzle

(Low voice)  Doggle blues

(Go from low voice, to loud howl)  I said a bad case of

(Continue loud howl)  Those doggone

(Continue loud howl)  Blue muzzle

(Continue loud howl)  Doggle

(Pitch voice up to a howling shriek)  BAH - LOOOOO - ZZZZZ

REVIEW--Casey James--"Casey James"

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)

It's been nearly two years since Casey James placed third on the ninth season of American Idol. Since then, James' stalwart fans have been anxiously awaiting the release of his debut CD. The wait ended March 20, 2012.

"Let's Don't Call It A Night", is the first single released from James' self-titled debut. It's been getting a lot of airplay on country radio, even with it's heavy blues influence. It's definitely one of the strongest songs on the CD.

Not to say that there are any weak tunes however, quite the contrary. While some of James' songs may sound similar in some aspects; and don't really stand out from the rest of the tracks, they're still decent and worth listening to.

A couple of stand outs, besides the debut single, are "Workin' On It", and "I Miss Your Fire".

"Workin' On It" is a playful, tongue in cheek song telling about all the things the singer doesn't have, but is working on getting. It's one of the most fun, upbeat tracks of the eleven offered on this CD.

"I Miss Your Fire", goes the opposite direction, with James singing soft, slow, and sultry.

The rest of the CD is a mix of tunes who's style fit somewhere between those two songs.

The best part about the CD is that it let's you hear Casey James' voice, and all the amazing ways he uses it in his songs. Sometimes artists are drowned out by the music; that's not the case this time.

If singing and playing weren't enough, James co-wrote nine of the eleven tracks, and also had a hand in co-producing one or two.

If you're looking for hardcore, down home country, you may be disappointed with Casey James' offering. However, if you like your country mixed with blues, and touches of various other genres, you're sure to find something you like on this CD. It's definitely a WINNER.

Casey James @ the Bing Lounge-9-14-11

Just before Casey James performed, TicTak brought out a young man, Ben Rue, who’s a singer from Silverton, Oregon. Ben did a few songs for the audience that night, and let me tell you, the guy definitely has a future in music! Not only does Ben write songs, he has a great voice, and stage presence to back that writing up. I really think he’ll go a long way in the business.

Here's a photo of Ben with Casey James that night.

It was then time to bring Casey James onstage.

To be totally honest, I had no idea who Casey James was before seeing him in the Bing Lounge. Yes, I knew he was from “American Idol”, only because I read that part somewhere; otherwise, not a clue.

What I heard that evening was a young man with a beautiful voice, who’s heavily influenced by the blues. Just watching him play, you could tell he’s passionate about what he does.


Unfortunately, Casey’s voice was often drowned out that evening by the music. While the music was excellent, it just seemed too loud to be able to hear Casey sing. The times when the music was quieter though, his voice definitely shined through.


During the interview period of the show, Casey was asked to describe his type of music. He told the audience it’s a cross of blues, country, and rock. On the spot a new word was created for Casey’s music, “bluetree”, combining blues and country.

Over all, Casey James’ performance was good; I just wish I could have heard more of his voice shine through.

THE NEW BRIDGE

Anyone who lives in Oregon or Washington knows there’s been plenty of talk and planning for a new bridge.  Monday, April 25, 2011, those in charge of the project revealed what the new bridge will look like.

Sighting economic reasons, as well as others, it’s been decided the new bridge will be the same type as the Glenn Jackson Bridge; a low, flat, concrete structure.

On “Simon in the Morning” the next day, Jolynn Winter had the “blues” about the decision.  (For those who haven’t heard her, Jolynn takes current topics and sings bluesy parodies about them.)  Jolynn lamented about the bridge being boring to look at; that a bridge should be something beautiful to see.

 Jolynn’s song put an idea into my head about how to make the bridge beautiful, help the environment, turn negatives into positives and overall create a win-win situation.

Anyone in Oregon and Washington needing to get rid of old paint could take it to designated drop-off areas.  In return for the paint, people would get a tax write-off for their donation.  Since there’s talk of the bridge charging a toll, to help with expenses, each person would also receive a voucher good for a certain amount of toll free passes over the bridge.  The more paint donated, the larger the voucher.

The paint would be used to paint the new bridge.  Those doing the painting would be people sentenced to community service; especially anyone who’s been arrested for tagging and graffiti.  This would allow the person to fulfill their community service, while expressing themselves creatively and legally.  There would be some limits of course.  The artistry would have to be something that would be appealing to the masses. 

To be honest, all of this was off the top of my head, so if it was to happen, it would have to be worked out more.  Then again, that could take another few years.  So for now, that’s all there is…Just a random thought I had and decided to share.  J