On Friday, February 20, I checked out some old friends at Jimi's, located next to the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.
First up was Billy Brown and Arnie Baird, a pair of very talented singer-songwriters. Their set opened with Billy's very moving ballad, "Still In Love With You."  You can tell instantly by his song that Billy's heroes are Motown, Beatles, Jim Croce, and the like. The body of their set included "Track Of My Tears," "Feelin' Alright," "Little Wing," and "Comfortably Numb." Arnie, a Tim Buckley disciple, echoes Buckley's wild phrasing, both in his vocalizing and guitar solos. They closed their set with another Billy Brown original, "Down By The Carousel".

Billy and Arnie are slated to play at Jimi's the first Friday of every month at 9:00pm and occasionally will invite others to join in on the fun. As someone who has played with both of these guys I could say that the situation is very relaxed and Billy is very encouraging as they dive into each classic rock song.
After Billy and Arnie, I saw a face I haven't seen in a while: Dawne Allyne. She's involved with a new group called the Roman I's. Similar to Billy and Arnie, the Roman I's are sway between Motown and singer- songwriter country-rock. Their set included "Just My Imagination" and "Brick House," featuring bassist Bootsy Lewis on lead vocals. Dawne eloquently twanged on her original "Give Me A Kiss." With Walt Maggitt on vocals, they have nice vocal blend that can be further explored.  Ben Chapliin is their lead guitarist. Billy Brown joined in for this set on percussion, rendering a kind of calypso beat on some of the tunes. As for Dawne, I guess she is willing to becoming more active, having opened up as a solo for Joe Grushecky at the Stone Pony on February 28, which will surely give her more exposure.
As for Jimi's, it's been a while since I have been in the building. I noticed that acts from all genres are welcome there: rap, rock folk, poetry, etc.

                                                   -David J. Gorsky

time, but please check with Copyright Office as government fees are always subject to change. (Usually they go up!!) The form you need to fill out in order to copyright a "sound recording" is "Form SR". It can easily be downloaded from the copyright Web site at http://www.copyright.gov. In addition, you can call for more  information at (202) 707-3000 or get forms at  (202) 707- 9100. The Web site also contains lots more information about copyrights for all forms of intellectual property. It is always a good idea to consult with an attorney if you have any questions about how to best protect your rights.
It may be of some interest that the origin of copyright laws in the United States comes from the Constitution. Our founding fathers believed that legal protection should be afforded to authors of creative and intellectual works (Article I Section 8). Personally, I think they were right and am thankful that we live in a country where we have such protections. I hope this information has been helpful to all of you fellow musicians. Good luck in your writing and performing.
If you have any comments or questions please feel free to email me at goldenseal2001@ hotmail.com or jhughes@ borrus.com.

-Joe Hughes is the founder of the rock group Goldenseal and is a lawyer by day with The Office of Borrus, Goldin, Foley, Vignuolo, Hyman and Stahl in North Brunswick, NJ.