"I remember coming to a concert where they had a big catered meal set out for everyone...I went and said, "Miles, man, you gotta see all this food they got here." And Miles said, "I didn't come here to eat."
-Gary Bartz, recalling a conversation with Miles Davis

Ranger Report-Sunday afternoon, Jan. 25/04

There is snow on the ground and more is on it's way. We're all hunkered down here in the bunker with a fire blazing in the stove. I am the "Master Fire-Builder" of the household but sometimes it gets away from me. Now its become far too hot in here and we've been forced to open all the doors and windows and walk around in our underwear. A few years ago I got the stove so hot that an actual butterfly emerged from a coccoon that was hidden in our Christmas tree. It was the end of December in Pennsylvania and a beautiful butterfly was flying around our living room. Aaahh...the family still talks about that one...
But I didn't come here to eat either. I'm here to report on the various weird goings-on out here in "Dreadneck City".
Manatette Cherri hit a patch of ice while driving her SUV home a few afternoons ago and slid into oncoming traffic. She got T-boned on the passenger side by a family of four. No one was injured but the SUV was totalled. In a related story, Manatee friend Brother Nick was also involved in an ice-related car accident. Please be careful out there people...Pump your brakes...Turn in the direction of the skid...Give yourself a little more space to come to a stop...Take it from a Canadian. Make no mistake, there WILL be a test on this later...And if you don't pass, maybe I'll be writing about YOU next month...
The recording sessions at David Ivory's Dylanava Studios are going remarkably well. The band has just finished two weeks of pre-production work. After going through sixty+ of our songs, the list was narrowed down to thirty. Then we worked on the arrangements. Some tunes were radically altered. Fast songs were slowed down, slow songs were sped up, and some were just right the way they were. We were swimming in middle eights, bridges, intros, outros, turnarounds, accents, key changes, instrumentation changes, harmonies, and counterpoint even...Then we recorded demos of the thirty newly-arranged songs. These 30 songs will be narrowed down to the dozen or so that will appear on the album. This was a lot of work in two weeks considering we also squeezed in eight club dates as well...

And now here is your Los Manatees Song-of-the-Month:

Peace Of Mind - Words and Music by W. Hodgson

Three lazy angels on a telephone line
Sharin' a bottle of sanctified wine
Deep in debate about the grand design
They were talkin' in circles and speakin' in rhyme

Lookin' for some peace of mind
Why is it so hard to find
It seems to take a long long time
Lookin' for some peace of mind

One said to two, "You know we're three of a kind.
We're of the same heart and we're of the same mind.
If you look closely now you will find
That all of these distractions must be left behind."

Lookin' for some peace of mind
Why is it so hard to find
Seems to take a long long time
Lookin' for some peace of mind

Standing here watching the mercury climb
The wind is picking up but don't pay it no mind
Just keep moving forward and don't look behind
There is so much to do and so little time
Its the same old story for all of mankind

Lookin for some peace of mind
Why is it so hard to find
It seems to take a long long time
Lookin' for some peace of mind


Copyright 2004 Hungadunga Music

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January 2004 Schedule
Wed. Jan. 28 - Appetites On Main - Trio - 8:30-12:30
Thu. Jan. 29 - The Bell House - Trio - 9:30-1:30
Fri. Jan. 30 - Crazy Carl's - 6 Piece - 10:00-2:00 - including Rhino Horns
Sat. Jan. 31 - The Funhouse - Quartet - 10:30-2:00

February 2004 Schedule
4-Wed. (Attending Tribute to Bob Marley at Havana in New Hope, PA 9pm)
5-Thurs.(Attending Wyatt Hodgson piano recital)
6-Fri. Finn McCools Electrio 10pm
7-Sat. Blue Dog Saloon Quartet (Randy and Will w/ Myles Rothwell and Bob Tomlinson)
11-Wed. Whitpain Tavern Electrio 9pm
12- Thurs. The Bell House Electrio 9pm
13- Fri. The Draught Horse Acoustic 4:30-7:30
13- Fri. Peppers Electrio 9:30pm
14- Sat. Valentine's Day Tex Mex Electrio 9pm
18- Wed. Appetites On Main St. Acoustic trio 8:30pm
19- Thurs. The North Side Acoustic trio 8:30pm
20- Fri. The Dutch Cottage Electrio 10pm
21- Sat. P.T. Saloon Electrio 10pm
24- Tues. Mardi Gras at The Dutch Cottage Electrio 9pm
25- Wed. Appetites on Main Street Acoustic 8:30
26- Thurs. The Bell House Electrio 9pm
27- Fri. Crazy Carl's Sextet (La Banda Grande w/ The Rhino Horns) 10pm
28- Sat. St. Pete's Electrio 9:30pm