September 17, 2003 To All I've been anticipating an interesting week since Hurrican Isabel is hauling 12 inches of rain in my direction. But the storm is still 500 miles offshore and the rain came early in the form of a torrent of e-mail. The electronic barrage is about Max Bugsby, an ambitous six-man band that played something like 84 gigs in Asmara, Ethiopia in 1971. Not only did we play at the Oasis Club, Top Five Club, Officer's Club, and Chief's Lounge, there were private and official engagements as well. They included the Rotary Club Ball, the Lion's Club Ball, the American High School Prom, the Navy Ball, and the SABA Dance, just to mention a few. Mike Naylor was the driving force in the band but there were no weak personalities in the group. Mike, John Fehily, Jay Dalrynple, and Chuck Bursch had served together in Shemya, Alaska and had palayed some music there. When they coincidently all trickled into Kagnew Station, Mark Kowal and myself joined them. We all worked at Stonehouse. The band debuted about the middle of March 1971 and folded about the befinning of November 1971 when Mike became the first of the group's members to get an early out from the Army. There were a total of eight members that played a stint in Max Bugsby as replacements stepped up in the fall of '71. Joe Divegnlia (Kagenew Gazelle editor) became the drummer and Rick Rutherford (Stonehouse) became the bass player. Jay, John, Joe, Rick, and I reformed under the name Cottonmouth after Mike came back to the world. Cottonmouth played a new repetoir for five gigs during the 71/72 holidays and we were done. Joe and I later formed H.E.D. with Randy Sledge (AFRTS) and Dave Levin (traveling minstrel) but that's another story. Mike made the original Bugsby tapes at various times during our playing span. The music was recorded live at the clubs, usually with the recorder operating unattended and microphones hanging over the dance floor. On the 30-year anniversary of the Max Bugsby experience, Naylor made a collection of music from the old tapes and sent 2 CDs to some of the former band members. Mike did a great job of restoring the music and selecting the cuts. I made a 90-minute highlight cassette tape that I listen to quite often. If you put our music in perspective, it's amazing. The performances were recorded live in East Africa before the Eagles released their first album. There are some great stories in the Max Bugsby experience. Where did the three-quarter-inch plywood come from for making the 18 massive speaker cabinets we played through? Then there was Navy Commander Noggle who who got on stage at his own chang-of-command party and sang "Jerimiah Was A Bullfrog' (Joy To The World) with the band. There was also the day we murdered 22 people and had a 400-person riot at my house! Maybe some day you'll read about it. Regards, Ben Lucero