When I hear politicians say that the real issue is mental health, I cringe… I cringe because in many of these cases, they are “RIGHT,” but they “STILL” won’t address the issue of “How to keep mentally challenged people from legally acquiring these weapons in the first place.” They prefer to “look at” how to deal with mental health issues while “failing to address how to change the laws so that mentally challenged people won’t be able to obtain weapons to go on shooting sprees.” I’m sure that by now most people have heard about the shooter who killed 18 people in Maine. This guy was allowed to “legally” purchase a gun with mental health problems. He is dead now but the damage has already been done. Here is a video:

The Temptations were a group that defined a generation. They were one of Motown’s premier groups and they had a slew of great hit songs. When I was younger my father told me that he was on a plane once with 2 members of the Temptations (Otis and Melvin) and they had a great conversation. My father then took us to the Latin Casino where the Temptations were performing and while onstage those same 2 members said hello to my father. I was a proud little boy to know that my father was friends with these guys. As great as the group was they went through the same tribulations that most groups go through during their career. Sometimes certain members feel they can do better as a solo artist. The lead singer for the Temptations (Dennis Edwards) left the group and formed his own band of Temptations. Through court battles Dennis had to change the name of his group to the “Temptations Review.” Dennis was the lead singer on several of the Tempts big hits like the ones below:

I often tell this to singers, musicians and all sorts of entertainers. Your ability to play or sing might be great, but what will set you apart from others is a little something known as “swag.” Some people think that swag is over confidence. There is a difference between being confident and being cocky. When I take the stage I have expectations for myself. I will often smile, and I try to give off the perception that ‘I belong here” to the audience. If the crowd can feel confident about you then it will make your performance even better. I like to feel like “I was made for onstage.” That means that I exude confidence and a flair for relating to the crowd. When I play I hardly ever look down at my guitar. In order to accomplish that I had to learn how to play while looking straight ahead. This has helped me significantly, because I can now play and sing at the same time (I can also watch television and hold a conversation with someone). This also builds up my “swag” so that I can feel like I have an advantage over my audience. I “love” large crowds and I love it when there is a video camera placed in my face. As long as you are not conceited your chances are greater while performing. It also helps to give a nickname for yourself when coming onstage. Beyonce does it (ever hear of the term Sasha Fierce?). This helps you to become someone other than yourself and makes it easier to do things you wouldn’t normally do. When you look at certain performers (Prince, Michael Jackson, James Brown, etc.) they all had “swag.” It makes a big difference. Thank you for checking out my Thought for Today and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Stevie Wonder and Brett Jolly

That time of year is approaching fast. The holidays are just around the corner (also Valentine’s Day in February). Many people are searching for gifts that no one else can duplicate. I create “personalized music videos.” In other words, I can take your words and expressions and record/write them to music of your choice (and put them to video for you). Music has power. It can influence you greatly. You can go shopping for gifts that you hope no one else will buy or you can give the most precious gift: “Your testament recorded to music and video.” No one will be able to imitate your message and this is the one gift that is absolutely “personal.” This can all be done online (I can bring in a singer to sing it or you can send me a voice file). You can check me out at my website WWW.Brettjolly.com. Price depends on the amount of detail you want in your project. Thank you for checking out my Thought for Today and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer. Just check out the sample video below:

Marriage can sometimes feel like a roller coaster. Most times there will be “up” moments and then there will be “down” moments. The strength of a good marriage is how well you recover from those “down” moments. Personally I feel like there are many marriages just like Will and Jada’s but because of their celebrity status there seems to be more backlash. Jada is talking… “Publicly,” and “talking more, and more.” She’s got interviews set up all over, and she is making money bashing Will. Here is a small sample:

Now it is important to note that there are usually “two” sides to every story. Right now Jada may unpopular because of how she is handling this. Her response for them breaking up was that they were “tired of trying.” However, that doesn’t expose any details. Technically she doesn’t have to provide ANY details (but since she is already providing “so many other details” then she may as well let “it ALL” out). Will Smith has gone from being classified a “bad guy” for slapping Chris Rock to now becoming a victim for his treatment by Jada. Is she wrong for destroying Will in this manner and does Will have any blame in this situation? The biggest problem I have with this is just the fact that Jada is making money from bashing Will. I would have much more respect if they handled their issues “privately.” The good thing for Will is that he will probably gain his respect back again from this (because for a while it felt like his movie career days were over). Will Smith is from around my area. When I used to perform block parties I would always watch this little kid with big ears in the audience looking at us while I played. I knew Will back then and I was very happy for him when his career took off. A lot of times when we “go up the mountain” we often have to “come back down again.” For Will and Jada’s sake, I just hope they can keep their details more “within themselves.” Thank you for checking out my Thought for Today and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

When you think about the way the world is today (and compare it to years ago) have you noticed anything different? The world seems to be changing significantly. Things we were taught when we where younger don’t seem be true anymore. George Washington never told a lie (Yet how do we know if that is really true or not?) Milk was supposed to be good for you (but lately that view seems to have changed). Johnson’s baby powder was supposed to be safe for your kids (so why are they being sued so much?) It feels like today “so many different people” are trying to convince us of what they believe is best for us (and yet they always seem to contradict each other). People are telling us about cures for things from cancer to erectile dysfunction. Can you believe all of it (or can you believe any of it?). Did we really walk on the moon or was it a big hoax? New theories seem to imply the moon landing was “staged.” When 911 came, people were taught that the last plane that crashed in Western Pennsylvania was a result of passengers who heroically attempted to overthrow the hijackers. When they showed the picture of where the plane crashed there was nothing but a big hole in the ground (In other words, there were “No” remnants of the plane to be found. Maybe it’s just me, but just about ALL crash sites I have ever seen had (at least) pieces of the plane scattered about. Maybe I am wrong, but I feel as though the plane was blown out of the sky by us to avert it coming to hit the White House. Our history is slowly becoming dismantled. Slaveowner statues like Robert E Lee are bing looked at differently now. Climate change is altering our world (even though a lot of big name politicians still don’t see it that way). Can anyone explain exactly what is “the state of Us?” It seems like everything you learn in school is contradicted by the internet. Social media (like news channels) used to “tell us the actual truth” and NOT “persuade us to accept THEIR truth. Government (Republicans and Democrats) would be more interested in the will of the people instead of their own party. Are we making progress? I am almost at the point where I trust “nothing.” Doctors want you to feel better, but they make more money if you are “not totally cured” and then have to continually come back to them. Wars (and the threat of them) seem to be more prevalent now. The “State of Us” seems to continually change as we go through life. Can we keep up with it? Should we? Thank you so much for checking out my Thought for Today and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

The Whispers in concert with Brett Jolly on red bass guitar (right side in the back)

The world of Gangster rap is fairly well chronicled. The music was popular and mostly promoted by money from the drug world. It made music icons like Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. The fact that it also tested tense relations between gang rivals Crips and Bloods was also big. At one point both of these rappers were at the top of the game in the rap field, and “both” were murdered. Tupac was shot while riding with Suge Knight execution style. This happened many years ago, but now they have finally indicted someone for his role in that shooting. Here is a video:

When it comes to great concerts I love to see them (even though I would much prefer to perform “IN” them). You never know how much you are going to love a concert until you actually “see” it for yourself. I would like to tell you about a few that I encountered. This R&B group called “Graham Central Station” gave an absolutely “fantastic” show. The leader of the group, bass player Larry Graham, used to play bass for Sly and the family Stone. Graham Central Station was an incredibly talented group with great musical material, and it showed in their concerts. I was once on the same program with Beyonce (No, I never played for her, but I was there for her show. That night I played for Natalie Cole). Beyonce’s show was great (even though a great portion of it was tape and tracks). She had an all female band at that time (with 2 drummers). Years ago I saw Michael Jackson (and the Jacksons) in concert. This show was really nice. The first song Michael sang was “Wanna be starting something” and with my musical ear I noticed that he lowered the key of it drastically. In fact, he lowered the key of all of the songs that he made famous as a youngster. Even though the show was great, I think I like Jermaine Jackson’s songs the best (He did about 3 or 4). One of the most high energy shows I ever saw was James Brown. He sang, he moved and he performed (This was at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City years ago). While his show was great, Brown actually performed about 9 or 10 slow songs (I didn’t think he even recorded any slow tunes). I don’t think you can talk about James Brown’s show without mentioning Prince’s show. Prince was the “energizer bunny.” When most performers would do an hour and a half show Prince would perform for over 3 hours. I could look at the faces of his band and tell that he was “wearing them out onstage.” Prince”s show was equivalent to James Brown times 10. Recently I saw Sheila E in concert, and I was “pleasantly surprised.” She kicked it out incredibly and she even performed some of Prince’s old songs in her show (She was a part of Prince’s music). As for shows I was a part of, I absolutely “loved” performing onstage with Teddy Pendergrass. We had so much fun and I often felt like a musical madman onstage. Now that Teddy is gone I am still doing tribute to him with a Teddy Tribute band. We have 4 original band members and singer Don Connor, and if you like the music of Teddy Pendergrass you will “love” this show. Music is a such a blessing to hear and check out. I am happy that I got to be a part of it onstage. Thank you for checking out my Thought for Today and as always I wish you the very best that life has to offer.

Teddy Pendergrass in concert with Brett Jolly on red bass guitar (to the left side)

When you look at this there are a lot of different emotions and opinions that are probably going through most people’s minds. Kevin McCarthy, who most recently helped to ratify a vote to keep the government from shutting down, jeopardized himself in the process and sacrificed his job as speaker of the house for his efforts. If you did not hear the story here it is: