Post #284488 by Volcano Girl on Fri, Feb 9, 2007 2:03 PM

I found this while looking around. It explains some of what Kono found out about the Volcano originally. I guess that's where the mistaken last name of F came into play, and also the part about the Italian family.

http://www.dizzyrambler.com/scrapbook/seventies/matanzas/matanzas.html

****In late 1970 Ron Whitney decided to start playing the Rustic Lounge in Winter Haven and after about a year or so he was offered the opportunity by Ric Furnari to move the band to "Dante's Blue Room", an upscale Italian restaurant and lounge in southeast Winter Haven. Ron cut the act down to a trio and along with Ronnie Skinner on guitar and Allen Keefer on Drums the band, then using the name Ron and Matanzas, started packing the crowds in.

After Raintree County broke up, Jesse and I didn't play for several months, but eventually (probably early 1973) we had started going over to the Blue Room and jammin' with the guys on Saturday nights. After a few weeks Furnari liked what he was hearing and the place was packing out on the week-ends, so we were hired to play Friday and Saturday nights with the band. Business was so good, Furnari soon moved the club into a vacated Polynesian restaurant in downtown Winter Haven that had large twin Tiki-hut style buildings separated by a garden area complete with rattan bridges and fountains. He dubbed his new venture, Dante's Roma and Inferno Lounge. In the beginning, the restaurant was in one building and the lounge was in the other and the band played five nights (Jesse and I worked 3 nights, I think!) a week. It was also during this time that I made my ill fated attempt to play the banjo (?) as part of the "showtime" portion of the week-end shows. ****

I remember hearing the name Ric Furnari floating around after we had moved from WH, but I had no idea of the context of it till now. I have no idea if he was involved with the restaurant at the time my father owned it, or if he was just someone who bought the property after we left.