The Return Of The Ranger Report & March 8, 2005 (In Color)
There sure were a lot of birthday celebrations in the Manatee organization last month:
Feb. 6 is Bob Marley's birthday. It was here in Pennsylvania that he played his very last show in 1980. Last month he would've been 60 years old. We played so much Bob that week that folks started calling us Los Marleytees.
Feb.15 is Jefdam Records president Jeff Asher's birthday and he hosted a hearty "Manatee Film Festival".
Feb.23 is Manatee keyboardist/vocalist Karl Frick's birthday. We presented him with a certificate recognizing him as the greatest musician in Pennsylvania.
Feb.27 is Manatee drummer Ritchie DeCarlo's birthday. He gets to play drums with us this Friday, March 11 at the Cloud Nine Gentleman's Club in Harleysville.
Speaking of Bob Marley, Canadian reporter/writer and long-time Manatee friend Mitch Potter interviews Bunny Wailer in a new book, "Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright-The Bob Marley Reader" published by De Capo Press. Mitch is a Middle East correspondent for the Toronto Star.
Speaking of Jefdam Records, last month they released two new live Manatee CDs as part of their "Limited Edition Archive" series. The first CD, "Lookin' At The Outside World", was recorded 9/18/92 at The Fox Barn in Malvern, PA. The second CD release is an acoustic show recorded 7/18/99 at The Turk's Head Festival in West Chester, PA.
My wife Emma was featured in a full-color photo on the front page of The Souderton Independent newspaper for their Valentine's Day edition. Nice work Emma!
Recording has resumed on our magnum opus album project. Over time it has gone by such working titles as: "All Gussied Up", "The Up And Upful", "Turn Off The Fans", "Swimmin' In It", "A Show Of Hands", "Funky Lunch", "Pipe Up", and "Held For Observation"
Manatee bassist/vocalist Randy Wagner has also started recording demos of new original material at his Cheltenham, PA home studio.
Meanwhile, over at Ronkle Records in Collegeville, PA, Uncle Ronkle and his staff are hard at work on the "Best Of 2004" double live CD culled from hours of Los Manatees recordings made last year.
Annie Fanelli, our girl in the U.K., just sent word from Manchester, England. Plans are underway to get us over there for a mini-tour but it won't happen until later in the year.
Singer/songwriter and Manatee friend Geof Brackett is writing a new book called "Occidental Traveler". It includes a record of his Chicago to Alaska motorcycle trek as well as his recent trip to Antarctica.
For years we've been performing the songs "Hey Mo" and "Pretty Face". They were both written by Canadian songwriter Todd Brown. He recently got back in touch and gave us the name of his comedy web-site. The address is www.data-radio.com
Finally, I would like to thank Jane's mother for knitting me that excellent red, gold, and green Rasta scarf.
Cazart,
Ranger Will Havesome
Hunter S. Thompson
1937-2005
R.I.P. 