Back-up Vocal~ As this tale reveals itself, to readers AND to me, I still find that I need to take a step back and acknowledge its ridiculous nature. Hapler needing it clarified gave Bo a chance to explain it further and offer more grounding. I think it makes as much sense as anything in the “Manny-verse”, and that really isn’t much. I’ve learned not to burden Manny’s perspectives with a construct as ugly as logic. Ultimately, he believes we’re much better off without it. That said, Bo is right. No plans or resources have surfaced allowing for the caliber of touring The DBS 3© deserves. Ideally securing a summer gig as the road band for a legacy vocalist would be a spectacular opportunity for my crew. Barring that, session work will keep the bills paid and then some.  It won’t be the first time they’ve done it or the last.

Some may wonder how Simply Red entered the equation. I can only offer that while building the panels for this here Comic, their “Stars” tune popped into my head. I have no idea why except to say that my ADHD brain runs on its own fleet of engines. For one rare second, they all operated in unison and threw that song to the front of the line. I was just fortunate to be working at my computer tower at the time. So I opened YouTube, fired up that ditty, and let it play. I was immediately reminded of what an incredible singer Mick Hucknell really is, and a Shout-Out was the obvious next step. Further, Bo is right again. All possible respect to the real group, playing for Mr. Hucknell as his summer road band would be a coup and a half for Manny and the boys. I can’t begin to speculate on the monies they might garner. However, that gig would earn them a caliber of respectability that can’t be beaten. Quite the feather in their cap, with the potential to provide them a considerable slice of mainstream appeal. Many Prog bands may rebel against that sort of thinking. But in the bigger picture, the value housed in such an experience would elevate my guys to new heights of wisdom. A few months on the road would truly season them, too. That’s why it would never happen. Additionally, let us not forget the salient point Hapler shared (he has them now and then): no songs about dragons. Manny wouldn’t even hop a public bus to a rehearsal space for what he’d label such an absence of artistic vision. 

We see that radical choices in acoustics have been brought to the forefront. We’ve been down a variation of that road a time or two before. Funny to see a party other than Manny demanding them for a change. The expanse of the Manifold Studios© grounds never stops surprising me, and I still can’t piece together why a retirement home needs one jet ski, let alone a metal shack full of them. Mine is not to question. 

Finally, I must agree with Bo once more, and even furnish an observation of my own to complement it. If he was the touring bass player for Simply Red, he’d not only spend his days off racing them jet skis on the French Riviera, I suspect he could even go Pro with the right amount of hype from record label management. Infinitely more exciting to watch than weekend company softball games. If any among my readers were willing to pony up a few shekels of sponsorship, he’d be happy to sew your brand logos on his robe. Shoot me a gmail and let me know.