a late, windy, and long-winded update

[not really] my ridiculous new facility

1-5: Production Rehearsal room, the bigger of the two, and the one I'm using more often so far, Steinway B, sponsored [proudly, I'm sure] by AG Edwards
6-10: Orchestra Rehearsal room, Steinway B
11-12: lounge
13-14: green room
14-15: oonference room, for all of those late night conference calls with world leaders

STILL clearing the dust off the blog...and bloginiscing

I've looked at most of my older entries tonight and I'm pretty surprised at the amount of information here over the last two and half years.

A lot has happened, a lot has been accomplished, and it's good to have it on a kind of record.

Not only that, but it's also good to have this little piece of cyber-estate that is stumbled upon every now and then, as opposed to some kind of mini-hub, like my myspace page. http://www.myspace.com/kennyjaworski

Hey, don't get me wrong, the myspace thing is MEANT to be commercial - I guess what I'm saying is that it's good to have this little page here that is more mundane and isn't really publicized or anything.

It's like having a notebook that you keep next to the sidewalk somewhere in your neighborhood. You come by every now and then, have a seat, write about your thoughts at the moment, and leave it there. On occasion, someone might notice it and read some of it. I think that's really cool.

Right now, I'm trying to decide what I'll be doing once I'm done with this entry. My hours, once again, are pretty much backwards. Going to sleep in the morning. It happens to be all the time - I seem to be so nocturnal, as well as so free of strict, daily obligations, that I can roll around the clock sometimes.

I've been taking walks in the very early morning hours for the last few days. It's about 5:30am right now, so, I may do that again.

How's THAT for mundane?

Apart from that, I'm just trying to figure out a few things business and strategy-wise in terms of the music for the next few weeks and months. Things are going well - it can be hard to get that clear-headed, simple appreciation for where you are and what you've done when you have other goals at the same time, but I think that's the key to just enjoying yourself and not fixating on all of the other unnecessary stuff.

I'm happy about what I've done and I'm enjoying myself - yet, there's more to be done - YET, this is all the result of simply doing what I do and enjoying the process. THIS is the key to all of it. No need to get hung up on anything else. ANYthing else.

BUT, you still do those other things and do them as well as you can, and enjoy them for what they are.

clearing the dust off the blog

"and now it's been ten years..."

That's a quote from a Ben Folds Five song about reaching that ten-year point after high school. What follows is "...I'm still wondering who to be." But I think I know exactly who I am and where I'm going, fortunately.

That's Ben Rotskoff on my right, one of my very first friends in school way back in Kindergarten. Ryan Michael is on my left, someone else I knew from way back. David Blumenthal is next to him, and get this: I heard all about David Blumenthal long before I met him in high school because my mother taught him. He was an extremely colorful character and she would tell me about his eccentricities on many occaisions.

It was my ten-year high school reunion this past weekend. I didn't really know what to expect, but it ended up being a great experience. It was a two-night thing: an informal meeting at a bar this past Friday night, and then the dinner on Saturday. I almost skipped the bar thing - I never go to bars. I don't even drink - never been drunk, to tell the truth, and I've hardly ever drank. But I knew it wouldn't be about that.

I parked and walked down to the bar. I took a peek in - it was jam-packed. That controlled chaos of a popular bar on a Friday night. I don't really go crazy over that kind of thing. I kept walking.

I turned around eventually and walked in. Immediately, I see faces I haven't seen in ten years, and it quickly becomes a tremendously joyous occasion. There were a lot of cliques in high school, but I sort of prided myself on being truly clique-less. I was never threatened or discomforted by different social factions and what-not. The result was that I was casually friendly with virtually everyone in my class and a lot of kids in the other grades as well.

Because of this, everywhere I went in the bar there were more familiar faces who I became re-acquainted with. I remembered the Seniors' last day in the commons area - it was such a celebration. Much like winning a championship in sports. This was very similar.

Most people were really cool - a very small handful of people seemed to be reacting a little strangely to the 'nomination' news [most people heard about it before the reunion] - competitiveness isn't something people seem to outgrow, I guess. That was definitely the exception, though.

There was quite a constituency from my grade school - 19 from my fifth grade class to be exact, and the majority of them I knew from kindergaten or first grade.

My old friend Paco Williams was there. He gave me a copy of a single of one of the very first bands I was ever interested in, Winger, way back in fifth grade.

He said that he'd been to http://www.myspace.com/kennyjaworski and listened to all of the music and that he really enjoyed it. He proceded to tell me that he had his girlfriend over and that he knew that if he played my music and told her that he knew me in grade school, that she would be...well...girlfriendly with him.

I can safely say that I never expected to aid a grade-school friend in his more 'humanistic' pursuits through my music.

It was really great to see everyone.

nominee

I am pleased to announce that my debut CD, A Piano Saga, has been nominated for Best Live Performance in the album category for the 2007 Independent Music Awards.

This international awards program and competition is the biggest of its kind and is open to "any indie label release distributed by either an independant or major label distributor."

The judging panel includes Peter Gabriel [who, incidentally, is the man living today who I would most like to meet], Ozzy Osbourne, Suzanne Vega, Fatboy Slim, Bill Frisell, Wynonna Judd, and McCoy Tyner [jazz piano great who played with Miles Davis].

This is quite an honor - especially considering that the IMAs can recognize pretty much anyone not signed directly to a major label. All of those indie labels are eligible. I'm so glad that the CD I recorded on April 14, 2005 in front of an audience of 70 people has gotten some pretty wonderful recognition.



Incidentally:

"This year the IMAs has created an informal "Vox Populi" vote. These results will not affect the Judges' decisions but will add more punch to the marketing & promotional efforts of all the Finalists & their support teams."

So, if you'd like to head on over and rate "The First One" from A Piano Saga, go here:

http://www.musiciansatlas.com/pages/IMAFinalist/ArtistDetail.aspx?id=247&album=1

Truth be told - I'm satisfied with the nomination - I won't pull a George C. Scott and not accept the award if I win, though. :)

Thank you one and all. God bless you.

Kenny

http://www.myspace.com/kennyjaworski

http://www.kennyjaworski.com

relieved

I just did a little research on something I've been experiencing, fearing that it was serious. I've identified it and it, apparently, is harmless:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precordial_catch_syndrome

Mysterious, and therefore worrisome, but, thankfully, harmless.

Phew!

You just might have it, too - it's apparently somewhat common - just less so in adults and moreso in adolescents. Again, though, it's harmless.