Entries from March 2007 ↓

Greetings future friends,

I recently read in the Southwest Airlines magazine, “Spirit”, that the angle between any tree’s branch and its trunk is equal to the angle that delineates the veins of that tree’s leaf. Such precision had yet to be matched in nature until the immaculate conception of a trio of tenacious young students from across the Americas: Panama and the Canals. United by a common groove and eager to quench the universal desire for a little more soul, Danny, Benjy, and Panama made a deal with danger and formed a titanium bond that would rival that of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Yet it would not — no, could not — last.

The three parted ways in the winter of 2006. Panama, demoralized and furious, broke Benjy’s two best thumbs and ran off to the third floor, never to be seen again. Danny went on to become a successful entertainment attorney, defending such celebrities as Chow Yun-Fat and Denise Richards. Finding Benjy penniless and crippled, Danny nursed him back to health on a diet of boiled carrots and warm milk. Forever indebted to his former band-mate, Benjy swore to turn his life around.

He started by hunting down the man who ruined his life, Panama Lee. Armed with a blowtorch, a broom handle, and a gallon of icy hot, he began to make his way south of the border. Before he could exact his revenge, however, Benjy was arrested and charged on two separate counts of indecent exposure and libel in Gallop, New Mexico. After posting his bail, Danny helped his college dropout friend get an internship at the Washington D. C. studio of “America’s Most Wanted,” the program of one of his clients. From there, Benjy began working long-distance with Danny on their new musical venture, sans Panama. It was America’s music blog; it was The Canals.

Listen up y’all- two tracks for where we are… and where we’re going.

Kool Keith- Livin’ Astro

Taj Mahal- Farther On Down The Road

-Benjy

Earlier this year, Benjy and I formed a band with our friend Panama. We called ourselves “Panama and the Canals.” The trio was unique — comprised only of a banjo, a guitar, and a set of bongos. Our future looked bright. We were young, driven, and had a witty name. The only thing we lacked was talent. It turned out that bongos were more complicated than they looked, and that Benjy only knew one riff on the banjo. The band broke up after a week, but we remain good friends to this day. This blog is a result of that experience. While “The Canals” failed at creating music, we hope to make up for it here.

That’s my take on the history and decline of Panama and the Canals and the birth of this blog. However, there are two sides to every story. To read Benjy’s account, see above.

First, though, take a minute and listen to these Wood Brothers tracks. Like The Canals, the Wood Brothers continued to pursue music after branching off from a trio (Medeski, Martin, and Wood). We sympathize with them and respect their courage and perseverance. Two interesting facts about the Wood Brothers: First, somehow their debut album (“Ways Not to Lose”) is my 6^th most played even though I have no recollection of ever listening to it straight through and only recognize two of the tracks by name. Second, we could have seen them perform at World Café Live earlier this year from front row seats, but we were busy playing our first intramural basketball game (final score– Ware 3^rd Floor: 42, Fisher Delicious Corn: 20, our first of two losses by mercy rule).

The Wood Brothers – Luckiest Man

The Wood Brothers – Atlas

Buy the album here

-Danny