Current mood:
optimistic
A quick comment or two about the Ranger tunes posted here . . .
All of the songs here are original. 'Arizona' and ' Jessie' were written by keyboardist Matt Twain; 'Pedal Steel' by Bill Walsh on acoustic guitar; 'Real Love' and 'Yippie Yi Yo' by Mitch Ballard on electric and acoustic guitar, and 'Gonna Make It Happen' by drummer Mark Mathias.
These songs were recorded in the mid-90's when country music was peaking in popularity, and The Rangers were opening five or six shows a year for nearly all of the major country acts coming to northern California's Konocti Harbor Resort. We opened for (ahem): Tim McGraw, Wynonna, Sawyer Brown, Marty Stuart, Alabama, Joe Diffy, Colin Raye, JoDee Messina, The Mavericks, Trisha Yearwood, Mark Chestnut, Ricky Van Shelton, Pam Tillis, Kathy Mattea, and Toby Keith.
Back to the songs . . .
Don't let the slow intros to 'Real Love' and 'Pedal Steel' fool you . . . They both start out low-key and quiet, but gradually build as lyrics, solos and emotion come together. Carlos plays a violin solo at the mid-way point of 'Real Love' that's just gorgeous, and the second half of 'Pedal Steel' features Chris on steel, and Mitch taking the band home with a brilliant, well-paced guitar solo during the 'jam' section. 'Gonna Make It Happen' was originally written as a power ballad, but morphed into the current version when, during a rehearsal, Mark - as a joke - pulled out a pair of brushes and put the jazzy/swing feel to the song. We all got such a kick out of how fun it was that we never went back to the power ballad thing. The drive and energy of 'Arizona' made it our most common opening tune at the bigger shows, and 'Yippie . . ' has always been some rockin' good fun.
These days the band members are scattered about, from San Francisco, Oakland, and Castro Valley to Manteca and Sacramento. Rehearsal logistics are a bit challenging, but there's desire and intention to play more fairs and festivals in 2009. This is a good band with some great players. Keep your eyes and ears open for us through the coming year.
Thanks for checking us out.