Mannyacs

Back-up Vocal~ As the scones thread pronounced itself to be the broader thrust of thus particular tale, a few components rose to the surface with specific thickening agents ready for use. Principal among them, was remembering that Manny and Soxx really began their music careers writing jingles to pay the bills. The stars aligned in just the right fashion as the “Crumpet Castle” franchise is headquartered in England and our boys are onsite. So, it only made sense that these two should be deployed to write the song that would ignite legions of taste buds and set stomachs of the world a’growlin’ for a line of fruity baked goods named after their own Bass player, the newest hero in the 4-String arena. WRITE the tune, NOT PLAY it.  The “suits” left that to the pros, as well they should. Nobody needs Manny and Soxx taking their own basic jingle structure and riffing a half hour Prog Rock jam out of a catchy little melody crafted to sell scones. Still, that element brought to mind a thought that many of us have had over the years…the notion of the pick-up band. In off moments, I’ve imagined a swath of musicians from a range of bands actually uniting to create new projects. Most were so far flung that I figured they would never happen, until one or two of them did. In particular, Transatlantic not only formed, but as of this writing, they’ve made 4 studio albums and 4 live albums. Plus, my man Pete Trewavas plays Bass on all of ’em! With that in mind, this Comic became yet another shameless name-drop soiree (“Longmire” fans will get that one) and Reb Beach will always deserve a spot in that kind of action. Indeed, among all the legends mentioned above by my boys, keyboard GIANT Rick Wakeman is the only one I know for sure has done session work outside of the traditional band format. As a fellow of “a certain age”, I do love some classic Supertramp and I find as I get older that their music only continues to speak to me. So, a Shout-Out was absolutely in order. The saxophone on “The Logical Song” is immaculate and the harmonica work on “Take The Long Way Home” still gives me chills. I’m familiar with Tito Puente Jr. as one of the most respected, accomplished and Internationally revered percussionists our planet has ever produced and Biz Markie is a sorcerer of the Human Beat Box. They both needed a spot in the Dossier of names that have graced my pages, for their vast contributions to The Arts. Plus, it allows me to prove that my boys are possessed of a much more considerable grasp of Culture than some may have previously suspected. 

Once again, my comfort with creating monitors displaying varying degrees of content has grown quite a bit in recent times and I have found it provides at least a hint of realism to the proceedings in Manny’s world. Or at the very least, as much realism as anyone can expect to find in Splendorland. That said, this Comic was somewhat heavy on the dialogue and showing the recording software deployed for some of the instrument tracks, allowed me to thrown down one or two even more absurd nuggets that room did not permit for inclusion in the discussion. Combining the “Crumpet Castle” ad campiegn with a Splendorland University education (let’s be honest, in this day and age you could do a lot worse than a degree from them hallowed halls) then, airdropping Manny and Soxx into the mix as the spokesmen for all the wonders a meeting of those minds can generate, feels like a promising communion with a Victorian-era laundry chute full of potential! Stay tooned.