Hoodang - Original American Alt. Country Music

HOODANG

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American Roots Music

Founded in 2003, Hoodang has been tapping into that gleaming vein of sonic gold that travels back into the early part of the last century. Drawing inspiration from the tradition of English murder ballads, hardcore American country music, and careful-you'll-cut-yourself electric blues, the band plays a shapeshifting amalgam of original tunes and revitalized classics.

Purchase our debut recording via digital download from one of these online music sources.

Preferred (Pay via PayPal; band keeps more of the $)

Songwriting Workshops

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Booking

BOOKING

To contact or book Hoodang use the form on the left, email Susie Keat at susie_sqdmanagement.com or call Susie at 734.883.1450 . You can book the full Hoodang band or David Kensett Rossiter as a solo act. Hoodang does occasionally play cause-related benefits. Contact us with the details.

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Email Susie

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Music

MUSIC

Hoodang released its debut, eponymously-titled recording in 2004. In the months following the release, more than 22,000 downloads of a sampling of songs from the CD took place on CNET’s Download.com, making Hoodang one of the top alt. country artists on the site.

Currently out of print, the CD is available for digital download from iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby.com, and other online music sites.

The songs here are a sampling of what we've been up to since 2004: studio, live, and demos of new tunes.

Stream Some Hoodang

Memory Lapse - LIVE

Jump Start My Heart - LIVE

Just Your Luck - LIVE

The Prettiest Girl - LIVE

Past Where The Shadows Fall

Pasted-On Smile

Sadie Come Around - LIVE

Let's Get Married Again - LIVE

Dangerous Life

All songs and recordings © 2003 - 2011 David Rossiter except tracks 1, 2, 6, and 8 © 2003-2004 David Rossiter & Rich Rickman

c Pictures by intangibleARTS

Lyrics

Title Page

Sadie Come Around

The Devil's Own

The Blissfield Post

Just Your Luck

Let's Get Married Again

The Prettiest Girl

Two of the Ways

Red House

Dangerous Life

The Last Thing

Past Where the Shadows Fall

Roadhouse Shuffle

Sky Over Baghdad

Fine Morning

Memory Lapse

Ghost Alley

End

Title Page

Sadie Come Around

SADIE COME 'ROUND

(The Mueller Trilogy I)

Sadie Deveau was a woman

of grace and style

Kown for her beauty

she was fought over

once in a while

Though no man could tame her

a few of them tried

Each one she did marry

each one of them died

What's that sound?

Must be Sadie come around

We were raised up together

just this side of the county line

Her mother was kindly

took me into their house for a time

Used to watch her sleeping

when the door was ajar

No, I ain't never touched

never took it that far

What's that sound?

Must be Sadie come around

CHORUS

When the moon is on the wane

I see breath upon the pane

I hear scratchin' at my door

Hear her footsteps cross the floor

Feel her hands upon my face

Catch her scent, but just a trace

I was lost but now I'm found

Now that Sadie's come around

J.P. Delaney was a lawyer

from Baton Rouge

Claimed that he loved her

but he was already

wed to the booze

Did he mistreat her?

She never would tell

One day he went missing

Found him drown in the well

What's that sound?

Must be Sadie come around

Deputy Johnson came a courtin

that very same year

Drove a black and white Plymouth

She ran the siren

it was something to hear

Taught her to shoot straight

always hit the mark

Came home late one night

gunned him down in the dark

What's that sound?

Must be Sadie come around

CHORUS

They took my poor Sadie

to the jailhouse in Thibodaux

Hung her that winter

Then her family

they carried her home

Before she was buried

took a lock of her hair

Keep it next to my heart

So she'll look for it there

What's that sound?

Must be Sadie come around

CHORUS

© 2006 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

The Devil's Own

THE DEVIL'S OWN

(The Mueller Trilogy II)

Heard a screamin from the kitchen

shook me outta my bed

Grabbed the pistol from the dresser and I ran

Musta heard me coming

he was half out the door

A scrawny, little kid

not a man

Fired a shot of warning

and it stopped him cold

She was on me like

a demon from Hell

She said, "Daddy, dont you do it.

Dont you hurt that boy.

He's your next a kin

cant you tell?"

Chorus

You can see it in his eyes

when you look real close

Something vaguely familiar

and dumb as a post

Are those two little horns

On the top of his head?

Unless Im mistaken

hes already dead

What the Devil is he

doing round here?

Seems that my daughter

met a travelin' man

mysterious and so debonair

He wined her and dined her

and took her to bed

The result we got

standing right there

Well, I took him in

what else could I do

He needs his momma

just like any young thing

He's good with the dishes

and makes his own bed

One time I seen him

fix a birds wing

Chorus

He misses his daddy

nothin strange about that

Packs his bags

with every full moon

Since he killed all the chickens

and slashed my tires

I'd say his daddy can't

get here too soon

Keep him chained in the basement

since he set me on fire

Lucy tells me

it was all a mistake

Occurs to me

she's a goddamn liar

That's why Im sittin here

whittlin' this stake

Chorus

© 2010 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

The Blissfield Post

THE BLISSFIELD POST

(The Mueller Trilogy III)

Come crawlin' into town

at the end of the day

belly full of dark

some Hell yet to pay

yellow dog come runnin'

took a piece out of my leg

must've smelled it in me

they're peculiar that way

Widow took me in

showed me some kindness

a pure heart like hers

is rare to conceive

couldn't say for certain

could've just been her blindness

then again could've been

on account of her need

CHORUS

I know youre thinkin'

comes and goes like a ghost

you can feel the earth tremblin'

from out here to the coast

don't count on no bargain

give you a day at the most

you can read all about it

in the Blissfield Post

With skin so thin

her heart could not hide

a sorrow so deep

she'd long carried within

she opened her heart

loosed a flood like a tide

she healed what was broken

and you dared call it sin

People get to talkin'

in that way that they will

tearin' down all that's good

they seal their own fate

she took it all in

till her heart it did still

I come awake in the night

but found her too late

CHORUS

Why shutter your windows

when your house is on fire

why hide in the hallway

where you're sure to be seen

the ground is a risin'

hear that howl on the wind

no use in you prayin'

gonna wash this place clean

CHORUS

© 2010 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

Just Your Luck

JUST YOUR LUCK

There was Edward the 1rst

Next came Billy

then came me

We were orphans

by the time

I was three

Ed was big

Billy's crazy

me I'm a little slow

Don't go thinking I'm dumb

just lazy

Started with that preacher

and Billy down on his knees

We hung that preacher

high from a tree

He was hellbound for certain

we just helped him on his way

I hope to this day

he's still hurtin'

CHORUS

Shared a bottle with the Devil

and with my demons tipped a few

If drinkin's a sin

I'll be damned

But there's worse sins than drinkin'

I've don most of them too

Just your luck I ain't done

nothin' yet to you

Robbed a bank in Missouri

got away clean luck ran out

next time in Moline

There was one dead one dying

as we left that bloddy scene

We crossed that state line

we were flying

Just south of Greenberg

they came out of the night

Guns blazin' orange

What a terrible sight

I killed Ed with my shotgun

he ran in front of me

Wann see some scars

Well I got some

CHORUS

It's kind of you to listen

We're like kin you and me

Both killers in the firt degree

I killed when I had to

You kill for the state

Go on pull that lever

I feel like I'm late

CHORUS

© 2006 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

Let's Get Married Again

LET'S GET MARRIED AGAIN

(Duet)

First time we married

you were such a sight

Hair all done up

Your dress was so white

We were so young

Fools you might say

Never will forget

the way you kissed me that day

Then things came between us

as they often do

You wanted a blue tick

I went out a bought a shiatsu

I drink piss from a bottle

You love your chardonnay

Party never ended

till you drove away

CHORUS

I miss you something alwful

not just now and then

Hate being single

Let's get married again

Next time we married

likely saved my life

We took 12 steps together

and became man and wife

Then you fell for my sponsor

You fell for my sister Rae

You tore me a new one

and it hurts me to this day

CHORUS

Last time we married

you were such a sight

Hair all done up

Your dress not so white

We've exercised our demons

and learned a thing or two

It's just us that matters

not the damn stupid things we do

CHORUS

© 2006 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

The Prettiest Girl

THE PRETTIEST GIRL

(Duet)

You're the most drop-dead beautiful girl

I've ever seen

Prettier than all that gaggle

in them magazines

They might think themselves

so Vanity Fair

But not a one could hold a candle

standing next to you there

You're the goddamn prettiest girl

I've ever seen

You got eyes like a gypsy princess

from days of old

Hair like Rapunzal

'cept its brown stead of gold

Body like di Milo

if she still had both arms

But even then she couldn't muster

half of your charms

You're the goddamn prettiest girl

I've ever seen

Suppose some might call you handsome

in a mutt kinda way

Might concede that its true

but dont get carried away

Your smiles a little crooked

your hair's just a mess

And who besides your momma

taught you how you should dress

Still think you're the goddamn

prettiest girl I've ever seen

You cut me to the quick

how come you play so rough?

I've been around the block

and seen plenty enough

of silver tongued devils

reprobates and such

I ain't one of those

besides I like you too much

You got a smile like Aphrodite

Kinda classic I mean

When you pout like Ava Gardner

youre a sight to be seen

It's Hollywood on Line 1

and Broadway on 2

They just can't seem to get

enough of you

You're the goddamn prettiest girl

Ive ever seen

You flatter me too much

who do you think I am

If love is the fire

then I guess youre the pan

Hold on a minute mister

better take it slow

I ain't in no hurry

just so long as we go

I say you see what you want to

well, maybe that's true

But I ain't like I'm dreaming

what I see is you

And you ain't the only one

with something to say

'Cause when we take a walk

I need a stick

to clear em out of the way

You're the goddamn prettiest girl

Ive ever seen

© 2006 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

Two of the Ways

TWO OF THE WAYS

I call your number

you're not home

Walk past your house

lights are on

See from your silhouette

you're not alone

Had us a good, long run

Seems it's gone

We married in the fall

six years ago

Two hearts on fire

like in the picture show

Held you in my arms

most every night

Not matter what went wrong

still felt right

Now I don't blame you

for troubles big and small

You gave me a hundred tries

I blew 'em all

If I could take it all back

you know I would

Things I thought I cound not stand

should've stood

Now I'm married again

live in another town

Every now and then

still see you arround

My gal she's a beauty

my gal she's true

And that's just

two of the ways

She reminds me

of you

© 2005 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

Red House

RED HOUSE

There's a red house

with a blue door

Painted chairs in the yard

I live in that red house

Crazy mutt standing by

If you visit that red house

Better bring all you got

Don't take kindly to strangers

I'll likely shoot you as not

Took me into the Army

nothin' much else to do

Gave me a rifle

Painted red, white, and blue

Chasin' round this desert

Shootin' whatever moves

Shit they show you on TV

That ain't have of what's true

I've done me some bad things

Done me some good

They told me to fit in

Never felt like I could

Told me to lay down

But I liked where I stood

One day I just kept walkin'

Left that trouble behind

Walked for days round in circles

To make me harder to find

One day they're gonna catch me

Just a matter of time

So, I just sit on this porch here

Thirty outght six by my side

© 2008 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

Dangerous Life

DANGEROUS LIFE

Look me in the eye

might have to kill you

leastways try and talk you to death

Perhaps you can tell

I've had a bad day

Can you smell the death

on my tongue?

Demons at the surface

hey, what you gonna do now?

Talk like a man

or turn tail and run?

Wouldn't get far

mood that Im in

Come on now Mr.

ain't this fun?

Got a dangerous job,

dangerous life

What was it again

you said that you do?

See you got two lovely children

pretty wife, too

Might pay 'em a visit

once were through

You're soft in the middle

I'm hard all over

Daddy made me

the way that I am

If he hadn't a beat me

wouldn't have to beat you

Im your worst nightmare

come true

Hey, where you going?

Ain't said were through

Don't make me get up off

this stool

Have it your way

Like it matters to me

Just don't go away thinking

I'm your fool

© 2002 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

The Last Thing

THE LAST THING

Well, I've loved you since

the first day we met

Give or take a time or two

Six years gone by

'neath this bridge

Still it seems our hearts

they beat true

I'm more than kinda used to

having you around

Your love ain't something

I could've without

I'll try to keep my head on straight

and look you in the eye

'Cause the last thing I wanna see

is you cry

I can be plenty stupid

God knows its true

Guess I'm human

how about you?

Ain't no excuse

to be sure

But if there was one

I'd take the cure

Been told once or twice

you're to blame

Somehow I can't feel the same

I held the door open

whispered goodbye

'Cause the last thing I wanna see

is you cry

Night's closing in

the hour is late

How much longer must I wait

I know you're coming

you said you would

Cross my heart

I'll be good

I'm sorry for the things

that I've done

Come quick or

you'll miss all this fun

I'll just close my eyes now

wake me please try

'Cause the last thing I wanna see

is you cry

© 2003 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

Past Where the Shadows Fall

PAST WHERE THE

SHADOWS FALL

I was born the restless kind

always moving on down the line Come with me

and we'll have a time

Past where the shadows fall

CHORUS

Come on baby

take a ride with me

Come on baby lets go

Come on baby

take a ride with me

Show you all there

is to show

I've been to France

been to It-ly

Sure do wish

you'd been there wit me

Sipping champagne

in a boat on the Seine

Past where the shadows fall

CHORUS

I met Gandhi and Frank Sinatra Cooked 'em up heuvos

with a little cilantra

Gandhi passed

but Frank had seconds

Past where the shadows fall

CHORUS

Got a great big Airstream

all aluminum

Got a dog named Elvis

thinks he's human

If he curls his lip

don't try groomin 'im

Past where the shadows fall

CHORUS

Gonna find me a place

far from the city

Sit on the porch

singin' doo wah diddy

You'll sing along

you sure look pretty

Past where the shadows fall

© 2003 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

Roadhouse Shuffle

ROADHOUSE SHUFFLE

He'd been doing the

roadhouse shuffle

for twenty years or so

Sleepin' it off in the backroom

times he couldn't even

find the door

Played piano for tips and drinks

up and down the line

Each year brought Death closer in

soon it would be his time

Long ways back before the war

he'd held his head with pride

Then he'd seen his friends blown up

and the sickness take his bride

He came home a broken man

with no place to stay

'Cept the juke joints

and honky-tonks

all along the Great Highway

Then one day redemption came

never thought it would

A baby's cry out behind the bar

back where the wood pile stood

Raised her up into his arms

knew hed take her in

Jordans river in a baby's tears

to wash away his sins

Old Death sits in the corner now

decades come and gone

Smile comes to his face

Never thought that hed last this long

Piano music fills the house

streaming up the stairs

Sounds hed taught her driftin in

to soothe his dying cares

© 2003 David Rossiter and Rich Rickman Slow Bang Music

Sky Over Baghdad

SKY OVER BAGHDAD

Sky over Baghdad

light it up wow

Time for the big show

it's on CNN right now

stars spangled banter

pundit fuck parade

talk show shinola

same old shit charade

CHORUS

Can''t you hear me callin' you

come out of your homes

strike up the band

let your voice be known

Got a brand new old doctrine

to suit these troubled times

Shoot ask questions later

revenge precedes the crime

It's an old familiar story

my country right or wrong

but it ain't the bombs

or the missiles

that keep this nation strong

There waves old glory

red white and blue

Still stands for something

stands for me and for you

Fanatics on the Left

zealots to the Right

We let 'em gut the Constitution

you can kiss your ass goodnight

if you're an enemy of this country

then you're an enemy of mine

but that don't mean i wanna kill you

I've seen plenty enough of dying

I've seen women

and children slaughtered

Men tortured in God's name

nations starving by the millions

i know you've seen the same

Seems to me we got a choice

best we make it soon

chase these clowns

out from Washington

change this countrys tune

© 2003 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

Fine Morning

FINE MORNING

I remember the day

you pulled your rusted Winnebago

into vacant slot 21

You saw me admirin'

your boat and suggested

that two poles might be

better than one

We fished that whole winter

from Apalachee to Deadman

the redfish were tailing off the bow

We brought what we kept

home to Jamie for supper

I can hardly bear to think on it now

CHORUS

I can unscrew the top

on a fifth of Old Grandad

but I can't unscrew-up my life

And you can unscrew the bulb

on the lamp by your bedside

but you cant unscrew my wife

Summers on the Gulf

are thick like a fever

slows the mind

as it quickens the heart

Must have been the thunder

or was it a sigh

Woke to a cold bed with a start

I knew she was with you

I could hear you both breathin

as I sat neath your window in the dark

It's a funny thing about gas lines

and these old worn out trailers

all it takes is one tiny spark

CHORUS

The river's real pretty

with the sun comin up

I let the current take me out

to the Bay

I wish you were with me

to see this fine mornin'

It's a pity things turned out this way

© 2004 David Rossiter and Rich Rickman

Slow Bang Music

Memory Lapse

MEMORY LAPSE

First thing in the mornin'

comes the ringing of the bell

Another day in paradise

my own private hell

Hear the buzzer soundin'

as they slide back my cell door

Feel him comin' up behind me

but I turn around too slow

Only friends I got left

are loneliness and strife

Figured they were gonna

stick by me

for 20 years to life

Got a devil in a holster

and a monkey on my back

Evil spirits in a bottle

took me down a one-way track

Shot of Old #7

started out that fateful night

Curtain of black

fell 'cross my mind

till I couldn't tell

wrong from right

CHORUS

It makes my blood run cold

like the Red River in December

To think I'm serving time

for a crimve I don't remember

By ten o'clock that night

I'd gotten rid of all my pain

Even if you'd asked me

Couldn't have told you

my name

Must of got a little lonely

that's what the police said

So rather than go on home

I went someplace else instead

To a local lady's house

where comfort was for sale

Woke up in a bloddy shirt

on the cold floor of a jail

CHORUS

Can't say I even felt it

even now it don't hurt that bad

Laying out on this cold concrete

Like a dead man on a slab

I see that stars shining

in the pitch black Dakota sky

See her face swim up before me

like it did the night she died

Oh Jesus, can you help me?

I feel the fires of Hell

Right now I'd settle for Purgatory

yeah that would just suit me swell

CHORUS

© 2003 David Rossiter and Rich Rickman

Slow Bang Music

Ghost Alley

GHOST ALLEY

He's standing just

off to my right

tends to keep w

ell out of sight

Tells me things I

gotta do

like burnin' tires

and smokin' you

Says he's seen you

eyeing my Angeline

Tongue hangin' out

biding your time

All dressed up

in them fancy clothes

snortin' that shit

all up your nose

CHORUS

You think you're tough

Don't look that way to me

You're the kinda man

sits down when he pees

Nothin' but a hole

Where your brain's

supppsed to be

Think you can take me

I doubt it let's see

Hes got a face ticks

like a clock

Down from ten

and then it stops

Blink just once

and I'll be gone

This thing'll be over

'fore too long

See that curve up

beyond them trees

You'll never make it

plain to see

But he's gonna whisper

into your ear,

"Move over Junior,

lemme help you steer"

© 2010 David Rossiter

Slow Bang Music

End

Video

Hoodang - Just Your Luck

Hoodang - Past Where the Shadows Fall

Hoodang - Sadie Come Around

Hoodang - Live at TOP - Don't Recall

Hoodang - Texas Eagle (S. Earle)

Hoodang - Missssippi Toast

Hoodang - Willin' (Lowell George)

Click On A Video To View

Hoodang - Just Your Luck

Hoodang - Past Where the Shadows Fall

Hoodang - Sadie Come Around

Hoodang - Live at TOP - Don't Recall

Hoodang - Texas Eagle (S. Earle)

Hoodang - Missssippi Toast

Hoodang - Willin' (Lowell George)

c Pictures by intangibleARTS

Photos

Wood and Whiskey

D. K. Rossiter

The Ark

Mad Anthony Wayne Festival

Magdalena's

Ypsilanti Crossroads Festival

Top of the Park

David and Sis

He started out on dobro

First guit-box lesson

Hoodang 1.0

Hoodang 1.0

Hoodang 1.0

Rich Rickman

Drew to you too

The Amazing Pat Bills

Hoodang

Hoodang

Hoodang

The Ark

The Ark

The Ark

Tap Room

Original Mueller drawing

Northport

With Christoph Mueller

Aachen show poster by Mueller

Aachen

Mueller's Daddy-Mojo Cigar Box

Benefit For Chico

Top of the Park

Live on WCBN

Parlor guit

Later

Press

PRESS

"They're making some of the toughest, smartest country music anywhere in the Midwest." - The Ark

"One of the most skilled and smartest songwriters around these days. His lyrics really talk to me. His music is authentic. I have received lots of inspiration from it." - Christoph Mueller, Outlaw Artist

"Rossiter is a storyteller first and foremost. If you like the parade of ornery hard-luck characters who have wound their way through Steve Earle's albums, or the tough, edgy romantic characterizations of the grassroots Ontario iconoclast Fred Eaglesmith, be aware that there's a local figure who can play in their league. And he's got a dry leather strap of a voice to go with his songs." - James M. Manheim, The Ann Arbor Observer

"Sometimes all a country song needs is a plucky mandolin and a melancholy banjo, and this Ann Arbor trio makes the most of its simple, catchy ramblers. Frontman David Rossiter has a tinder-dry voice tailor-made for pensive road maxims; gleaming pedal steel only adds to his authority." - Download.com

"Fine Morning is one of those so-good-they're-scary tunes that force you to hit the repeat button just to make sure that you really heard what you just heard. Then it lingers in your head for a long, long time." - W. Kim Heron, WDET-FM and Metro Times

"Ahhhh what a relief...THE REAL DEAL! I'm a fan." - Drew Nelson

"I'm not gonna waste time with platitudes and bullshit. Pick up a copy of your live Crossroads show. Freakin' outstanding! Absolutely the best live recording straight from our board...it's that good." - Frank Wright, Music Director, Ypsilanti Crossroads Summer Festival

c Pictures by intangibleARTS

FOH

Friends of Hoodang

People are always asking us, "Hey, when are you playing next. I wanna come." Suffice it to say we've done a half-assed job of keeping people informed on our whereabouts and goings-on. Till now.

Here's what you can do to keep in touch:

< Sign up on the left for our mailing list

> Subscribe to our Hoodang blog

> Check in on our Facebook page

> Send David an email

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Workshops