thorns of a dilemma

So I’m driving home…doing 50 in a 45…nothing crazy. a car pulls out of nowhere making a left turn right in front of me. I have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting her. she proceeds down the road at no shit 30mph, and then makes a right turn, rounding the corner well into the oncoming lane.

I made the turn behind her, punched the gas pulling in front of her car and then stopped. Got out and walked up to the car and said…”how drunk ARE you? Do you need a ride home or what?”

After a brief conversation I realized my point had been made, and told her to PLEASE be careful and got in my car and drove home…safely in front of her.

but she was obviously drunk. Did I do the right thing? I had threatened to call the cops during the discussion…but decided against it. as I drove home I wondered if she made it home safely. I prayed no one got hurt because of my choice. but I also felt good for being kind and giving her a chance to have learned from the lesson.

I hoped she might be scared straight by some crazy ass dude stopping her car and screaming at her…I mean, we’ve all done stupid things and I for one would be grateful for someone doing the same for me had I been a foolish drunk in her shoes. but would she learn? did I do the right thing?

is it Friday yet?

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omg this is amazing. trader joes chicken gyoza sautéed in olive oil with onions and Celtic ale with Cajun spices. so freeking good.

I spent all afternoon putting a grill together then cooked dinner on the stove. I was gonna head out and play some music at open mic but…here am I. had a nice dinner though. it was also nice to be barefoot for most of the day. amazing march weather.

everything works out the way it’s supposed to.

Posted on March 22, 2012 at 9:02 pm by jamie · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: blog · Tagged with: , , ,

random thought #1.

for lack of a better title. but the point is I’m going to start dumping random thoughts here…stuff too long to fit on twitter and stuff I don’t really want on facebook. just whatever füç|<îñg shit crosses my mind

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now be forewarned that I am a serious slacker so chances of me following thru are…meh. but what the hay. give it a go eh.

it’ll be like a public journal of my dumb ass thoughts and ramblings and by all means, take it…use it…bitch about it…ignore it. all the same to me. if you make any $$$ because of something I shared and you’re feeling generous, by all means feel free to throw some my way. I’m easy. do what you will. art for arts sake you know. just don’t be a dick.

truthfully you know what? that’s basically my life mantra…do whatever the hell you want but don’t be a dick to anyone. there’s way too many dicks in the world already…one less is a good thing.

so there it is random thought number one: don’t be a dick.

Posted on March 21, 2012 at 11:30 pm by jamie · Permalink · Leave a comment
In: blog, general nonsense, writing · Tagged with: ,

fan bonus track – FREE download!

it’s true!!! the EP is FINALLY done, and sent off to the disc cookers to bake at 420 for 5-10 days. so the hard copies won’t be available for a bit, but rumour has it that you’ll be able to pick up a copy on CDBaby THIS WEEKEND (yay!) and it should start hitting iTunes, Amazon, and all those other guys not too long after that.

i’m so excited i can hardly type…this is my first release and i’m really happy with how it came out. i know you guys are gonna love it, and i can’t wait for you to get your hands on a copy! it won’t be long now!

BUT—i’ve got an EXTRA SPECIAL SURPRISE for you guys. the EP has 4 songs ( i won’t spoil the secret on which ones for now) – but there is a secret double secret 5TH SONG that is NOT on it and…not only can you hear it, but for a limited time you can download it FOR FREE! You have to be signed up as a fan (which you most likely are if you are getting this email) but that’s it…no other catches.

Just follow this link, and as long as you have signed up as a fan, you should be able to download the MP3 file:

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_11739270

 

Anywhere EP – Available Soon Everywhere!
Anywhere EP

happy 2012…what’s your plan?

that’s what I keep asking myself. i don’t have a good answer yet. but i have a few clues. i’ll keep you posted. really i will.

but here’s what i DO know. it’s gonna be a fun one.

hit a little pothole with the EP release. the discs probably aren’t coming until Feb thanks to a UPC glitch. but that’s OK because digital distribution should be up and running soon! the release date was Jan 15 but it looks like that may slide a bit for some of the stores. it WILL be available on the 15th…someplace. promise!

and the FREE download for all the mail list peeps? anytime now!!! are you on the list?

got a live online show coming up on the 21st…it will be a free show, featuring Mr. will king and a cast of other talented characters. be prepared for that rocking coffee experienced, live from coffee bean roasters in tarrytown, NY. show up if you are local…we gonna be having some fun!!!

apart from that, we’ll be booking some spring dates so hopefully we’ll hit the road in march or April…hurry and put in your requests for stops along the way…send me your town and venue requests and I PROMISE they’ll be seriously considered! got some contests and other crap in the works too…I truly hate all that hokey contest crap, but apparently people like free stuff so they tell me we should do it. whatever…if they suck, just tell me and I’ll make ‘em stop. or do more just to piss you off, depending on my mood.

that’s right folks…the carnival in my head is about to begin…step right up. “join the party…every day”

where did the fall go?

wow. i can hardly believe that the last time i posted to my blog was in AUGUST?!?!! unreal!!! i’ve been busy though, and there will soon be a lot to show for it…

busy you ask? well, i finished my 4 song EP last month, and it is heading for production. just finishing up some artwork and stuff and off it goes! i’ve had a lot of help on this project, and the kudos will soon be handed out…but for now i just wanted to let you guys know that early next year (january…fingers crossed!!) the EP will be out and available for download and mail order…if you are on the mailing list, you will soon get the info about how you can pre-order a copy, and how to get your FREE bonus track BEFORE the cd is available to buy! that’s right, everyone on my mailing list will get the free track just because i love you guys!

so what else??!?! we’re getting fired up scheduling some live shows (dates and locations tba) and some online shows as well just in case the road show isn’t coming to a juke joint near enough to YOU! there’s gonna be contests and freebies as well, so keep in touch so you don’t miss out! follow me on twitter @jamiegray and Facebook

more soon…i promise…really…it WON’T be months till you hear from me again…trust me :)

peace and music to all!
~jamie

i wonder….

…why i find it so hard to post updates to my blog. maybe i should just forget about it!?! NAH!

so, i gotta show this friday in Bethel CT with my good friend Will King making a special guest appearance. molten java 7:30pm. every time i get get to play with will is special…just sayin’. we sat down last saturday night and picked a few songs for a few hours. my fingers are still a wee bit sore (and my gut still a bit wrenched from…what the hell WAS that that we ate from the 7-11? gakkk!!!) but it was a real fun jam session and we did some interesting stuff. friday should be a good one!

last night i hung out in new haven for the first time in awhile. i went to see angela easterling who was up here all the way from south carolina. been waiting to get a chance to catch her live for awhile now, and…well let’s just say it was so worth it! go see her if you get the chance…tell her i told you you had to! and you can check out a couple of my favorite songs here.

well, after angela packed up and shoved off for boston, i shuffled over to Toad’s Place to see YellowMan…dude, i was dancing all over that place. sweated out the $5 red stripes and then some. felt like i was in the islands you know…and the perfume in the air was quite…jamaican mon. nice nice irie one love brother yellowman :)

heading back into the studio soon…another session or two and we’ll get ‘er done! will king will be lending his talents on a couple tracks in the next few weeks, and possibly another special guest *wink* [fingers crossed]

i really have to do this more…try and stay cool y’all!

peace, ~jamie

BlogTV Show

in case you guys don’t know, i’ve started playing on BlogTV.com again. most thursday nights around 10:30 pm est you can find me playing some tunes and drinking some beers…hanging out with the folks in the chat room. it’s LIVE Music and the interactive web combined.

come join us…we always have a good time!

see y’all next week!

~jamie

here’s a recorded clip from last night’s show…


7 years - Broadcast your self LIVE

at the royal wedding

so after a last minute all night flight, I arrived at the royal wedding reception in well-slept-in attire and irreverently late…i pulled up in my car and was immediately surrounded by bobbies trying to chase me away. the prince for some reason stepped in, gave me a wink and instructed them to VIP park my car in front of the palace, before continuing inside with his bride.

i of course headed straight to the royal open bar ($5 tip “suggested”) and began to pound a significant cache of royal warm beers. i then went on a drunken self-guided photo tour of the royal residence. each time i was collared someplace i wasn’t supposed to be and they tried to throw me out of the royal abode, I managed to talk my way out of it…or slip away into the crowd.

oh…did i mention…i fell asleep with the TV on and woke up to the first “royal kiss”? (or maybe it was the Royal Re-Kiss)

#WeirdDreamsFromSleepingWithTheTVOnAreBetterThanReality

ok i’m back…what did i miss?

damn. seems like i’ve taken this hiatus thing way too seriously. it’s already almost february?! i guess i musta got lost in the real worlds pfft ;)

ah, taking time off has been like a vacation…oh, except that i worked all the time and really didn’t go anywhere or do anything lol.

i think you have to actually vacate before it counts, right? and my car has been playing “service me” mind games. i love driving and going places…but not so much when i’m wondering if, at some point in the journey, i might wind up bein’ held hostage to a blown gasket or thrown rod. oh yeah and the fact that it’s freezing cold? nothing worse than having to hoof it in a sub-arctic blizzard hell.

so, i’ve been sticking close to home…hanging out with the kid and dog. getting in some serious xbox time (i still suck though). picking up the guitar from time to time. recorded some stuff…nothin’ i was too thrilled about. maybe it’ll sound better when i play it back ;)

eating well. drinking a bit too much. eating a bit too well. extended vacation jamie gray style.

ok, so maybe not vacation…extended holiday. well, except for the work part. but as they say, if you stay on holiday forever, you never really take a holiday…or you’re just a really lazy bugger.

i wouldn’t want anybody sayin’ that about me, eh?

well…gotta lot of cool things happening. some new recordings to share hopefully soon. another couple weeks and we’ll rev up the old jamie gray live show on the web…hopefully have some venue announcements soon as well.

time to put some new strings on the old guitfiddle…see ya soon!

peace ~ jamie