Politics and Music

It's been a while since my last post (sounds like confession, doesn't it?). This one is about politics and music. I wanted to break down the meaning of a couple of my songs.

"Tell Me" is about the alienation that most Black Americans (my opinion) feel toward the mother continent of Africa. I once read a comment from an African who said that American Blacks are a "lost people" because we have no knowledge of the countries that we originally came from. This song was also my attempt to explain slavery to my daughter. "Tell Me" is a conversation between me/us and the motherland.

"You & Me" is a plea for unity and peace. There have always been serious problems in the world and our time on earth is no exception. The wrong religion, the wrong skin color, greed and hatred. Like the man said: "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace"
(Jimi Hendrix)

And last but not least, "A War Of The Few". I have had many people misunderstand this song. I wrote this song as an open letter from a soldier in Iraq to his family in the USA. All his/her thoughts, fears, rants and hopes. I'm just stating a simple fact. This is indeed a war of the few. The war is being fought by a small group of our countrymen & women who are doing what they were asked to do. They are sacrificing everything because they are soldiers. Just because you say "Support the troops" doesn't make you a patriot. Someone else is fighting and dying and it isn't you.

New Music

Hello again -
I hope all is well in your world. Please check out two of my new songs. You can hear them on the MySpace website right now. www.myspace.com/thejackhadleyband The songs are "A War Of The Few" and "What Can I Do?" I'm recording them in the studio with Bryan Gordon, bassist extraordinaire. I have a couple of new projects going right now: a blues/jazz/ambient/funk/soul (??) effort, and more of a straight-up blues thing with my special touch. These two songs will be up for a little while. Thank you in advance for your comments!

Kokopelli's NOLA Benefit & Show - Thank You!

Greetings -
I wanted to thank everyone for the Fri. Feb. 16th show: Kokopelli's (best club in town) for hosting the AmeriCorps NOLA Katrina Benefit; Brooke Fritz and Scott from AmeriCorps Colorado chapter for all the legwork; Bryan Gordon (bass), Lee Brown (sax), Larry Algiene (special guest drummer from Blues Planet Project band filling in at the last minute), and Dwight Mark (mandolin & guitar) for donating their time and talent; Blues Planet Project for their superb opening set. It was a great night of music for me and a boost for the ongoing rebuilding efforts in the Gulf!

Sat. Feb. 17th
An awesome display of music from the band, with drummer Phil Weightman from the Hazel Miller Band sitting in. Once again I realize why I play with the best. Thanks to the many fans (old and new) who showed up Sat. night, too. We appreciate your support! Sometimes the only way to make it through the weekend is a shot of blues/funk/soul/rock from the Jack Hadley Band. See you at the next gig!

Hyde Street Studios, San Francisco

In November 2006 I flew out to San Francisco to record with my old friend, Steve McQuarry. He is an unbelievable keyboard player (seriously. straight ahead, fusion/funk/acoustic/synth. think Bud Powell meets Chick Corea) living in the Bay Area. Anyway, Steve called me early in the fall to discuss coming out to record at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco. Hyde Street was the old Wally Heider Studio from the '60s. Everyone you can think of has recorded at this place: Hendrix, the Dead, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and the list goes on and on.

On 11.18 we went into the studios and recorded one of my songs, "You & Me", and one of Steve's, "Sliby". In addition to myself on guitar and vocals and Steve on Hammond B3, we had Sheryl Mebane on drums (great drummer, in the vein of Tony Williams) and Craig Broussard on bass (awesome bassist, can do it all). Recording always takes much longer than you think. The setup alone for the drums is wild. Mics everywhere, trying to get your sound just right.

What can I say? The results will be posted soon on the Jack Hadley Band MySpace page in the near future. Many thanks to Steve for putting the whole thing together and great playing, Sheryl and Craig for their inspired playing.

Photo: left to right: Gabriel Shepard (engineer), Craig Broussard (sleepy eyes!), Josh (engineer), Jack Hadley, Sheryl Mebane. Steve took the picture.

Steve McQuarry http://www.sonora.tastylime.net
Sheryl Mebane http://www.geocities.com/sherylmebane/

Denver NOLA Benefit at Kokopelli's Feb. 16

Greetings -
I wanted to let you know about an upcoming event at Kokopelli's. The Colorado Alum Chapter of Americorps of Denver is hosting a Fundraising Show to benefit the ongoing Katrina Relief effort in New Orleans, LA. The Jack Hadley Band will be performing along with the Blues Planet Project. Here is the schedule: Blues Planet Project, 6-7:30pm, The Jack Hadley Band, 7:30-9pm. Kokopelli's is located at 2233 Larimer St., Denver. The date is Friday, February 16, 2007. A $10 donation will be accepted at the door. The band lineup for the Katrina Benefit is: Jack Hadley/guitar, vocals; Bryan Gordon/bass; Lee Brown/saxophone; Tony Black/drums (drummer extraordinaire from The Tony Black Summit).

It seems like Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf States a long time ago. But the rebuilding effort continues in the South. Americorps has been doing a great job in New Orleans. They need your help! We are all Brothers & Sisters and if we can give somebody a hand shouldn't we do it? See you at Kokopelli's on Feb. 16th. Peace.

SAT. FEB. 17. The Jack Hadley Band will be appearing at Kokopelli's again Sat. Feb. 17th, 9pm -1am. Once again I am privileged to be playing with some of the best players in town. The Sat. night lineup is: Jack Hadley/guitar, vocals; Bryan Gordon/bass; Lee Brown/saxophone; Phil Weightman (from the Hazel Miller Band) on drums.

Why Are You A Musician?

You would think that all musicians would answer that question the same way. "Because I love music". Right? Wrong. I know musicians who claim they play music because they want to make money (Oh, yeah, and they're serious). Whenever I hear that statement I just shake my head. As far as I am concerned, there is only one answer. You are a musician because it makes you happy.

There is always a point on stage when you hit that sweet spot, whether it's you or somebody else in the band. And you smile to yourself or just laugh out loud. Because you know it's right. All the reasons that made you pick up your instrument in the first place (looking cool, getting out of the house, sex, drugs) don't make sense any more. Practicing, doing gigs all over town, all over the world, getting to the point where you know when, or if, it sounds good. You feel it in your soul. We are musicians because it makes us happy.

And if you really are playing music just to make money, please let the rest of us know so that we may avoid your presence. You might think you're a revolutionary, but it's only in your mind (insert your favorite sociopath here). Until the next time.