Who Are Those Guys? - Part 1
“Who are those guys?” That’s what Paul Newman asked Robert Redford in the Oscar-winning western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” as they were being doggedly pursued by a posse intent on getting its prey. It’s also now a theme for some “change of pace” articles I hope to do occasionally on people who either directly or tangentially make the saltwater experience here as great as it is. This is the first. There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind. -Washington Irving Music has charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak. -William Congreve I’d never really thought about it, but there is actually a great similarity between the effect a good fishing day and good music have on your soul. Put them together and the effect is magnified. That’s why Key West has to the best place in the world to relax. It allows you to blend both so effortlessly. We have more options for finding the best of both than anywhere else I know. The types and opportunities for either are countless. Fortunately for me, most of the great music is within easy walking distance and the talent level is superb. One such venue is directly behind our boat - the White Tarpon - and another is about 30 yards off my starboard - the Conch Republic Seafood Company. Two great places within a stone’s throw that provide great free musical diversion. Sure makes my day more enjoyable. That location factor is one of the things that makes the A&B Marina the ideal place around which to plan your fishing experience. It’s also allowed me to get to know many of our great local musicians who play here - Chad Burtch, Jeff Clark, Din Allen, Black and Skabuddah, just to name a few - as friends and not just great entertainers. Really good people and I love their music. They may not have the big money record contracts in their portfolio, but they always get me tappin’ my feet and singing to myself . (Trust me - you DON’T want to hear that). It just makes the day brighter. It’s a lot more fun cleaning a boat in the hot sun after a long trip when there is great live music playing. That got me thinking. “Who are these guys?” I get asked fairly frequently if being a charter fisherman is my only job. Some people assume it’s just a sideline. I guess I’ve wondered the same thing about them. After all, they face the same vagaries we do - tons of competition, some of it involving cut-throat pricing; seasonal slowdowns; weather cancellations (many of the venues are exposed); the economy; customer satisfaction; equipment failures, etc. Can they really make a living just playing music? I decided to find out and thought you might enjoy learning more about their daily existence. Hopefully, you’ll better appreciate what they do and realize why you should consider being one of those who shows that appreciation by leaving a good tip when they’ve made your day a little brighter.
To learn more about the local musician lifestyle, I quizzed three “veterans” of the scene who play within earshot of my boat, whose music I love and who’ve become friends, Keith Ricks and Chris Case (“The Bahama Boyz”) and Will Hoppey. They are a microcosm of what I love about Key West - different types of people blending together in perfect harmony in our music scene and not missing a beat. A black guy teamed with a white guy, one with a full-time day job and one who works solely as a musician; a guy who is a snowbird, one married with kids to support, one with a wife and no dependent kids, and one who has only himself about whom to worry; one who was a military brat, one brought up in a show-biz family, and one “hippy-type” whose “other home” is less than twenty miles from the original Woodstock Festival. In other words, typical atypical Key West people.
The “Bahama Boyz” play upbeat island music with a lot of oldies, including Motown, mixed in. Will plays a lot of 60’s favorites, often embellished by unique stories about the original artist(s) or the song itself. It’s all happy music and goes great with an after-trip or happy hour drink. (The fact that Chris constantly identifies me to the audience and gives our boat a regular “shoutout” doesn’t hurt either!) So, “Who are those guys?”
Well, Keith has been married for 21 years with two kids, age 19 and 17. A military brat (his “dreads” must be rebellious reaction) born in Bermuda. He lived in the Detroit and Boston areas among other places before coming here in 1984 at the suggestion of an old girlfriend and deciding to stay permanently. (Is that a classic Key West story or what!) A bass guitarist who also plays keyboard, he’s played in bands since shortly after high school. He’s known Chris for years, really becoming acquainted when Keith’s former well-known, long-time local band “One World” was playing Pier House sunset gigs while Chris was playing the same property. They hooked up a few years back after Keith’s band split and have been doing regular gigs together ever since, although Keith will do some jobs with other musicians and Chris does some solo shows.
With a family he wants to support comfortably, Keith has a full-time day job cleaning pools so that he doesn’t worry as much about the ups and downs of the music biz. Still. he plays as many evening and weekend gigs as he can and music is his real passion. Most of his jobs come to him based on his rep.
Chris is divorced - his kids grown and self-sufficient. He was born in New York (Manhattan) to a professional song and dance team - Janice and Bob Case - who also taught for Arthur Murray Dance Studios. On weekends/vacations his parents would put the kids (3) in their show, introducing Chris to “show biz” early. His family lived in, among other places, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Las Vegas and Florida. He started playing in bands as far back as high school, played the “Chittlin Circuit” throughout the South for years and has been here since 1990, when his ex-wife got a job as an apartment manager.
His sole occupation now is musician/entertainer and he takes it very seriously. Unlike Keith, he will often make “cold calls” to get gigs and is always promoting himself to get as much work as possible. Obviously, the lack of kids and full-time “day job” gives him more freedom to seek daytime gigs, but he also just wants to work as much as possible, both for the money and because he simply loves what he does. He plays solo at the White Tarpon, and he and Keith appear together at the Conch Republic. They also play at multiple other venues such as the Rum Barrel and Virgilio’s.
Will was also born in New York state - Port Jervis. He still returns and does shows there for part of the year, but keeps spending more and more time here. He learned to play guitar chords at 14, began playing gigs right out of high school, and music has been his only job since age 22. A true “singer/songwiter,” he is always willing to do some original songs. Over the years, he has appeared on stage with a variety of “big-name” artists including Jerry Jeff Walker, Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian, Melanie, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxson, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Reba McIntyre, Jefferson Starship and Randy Travis. The stories he intersperces between songs often involve encounters with those and other well known artists and form an integral part of his performance.
He first came here in 1987 and has been living with/happily married to Lynda Pringle for the last twenty years, and she is a pleasant frequent presence at many of his appearances. She is also his soul mate, I.T. person, and “backstage” jack of all trades. He has appeared at just about all the big music venues in Key West, and currently is regularly appearing at the White Tarpon as well as the Sunset Tiki Bar, Rick’s, and Cowboy Bill’s.
As with us local charter fishermen, the things that keep or bring these guys back here to Key West are the lifestyle and the plethora of opportunities here to do what they love. And, just as we love their music, they love our water. One wouldn’t be the same without the other. Think about it. Would Key West be the same perfect place it is if either of those two elements were missing? Hell no! So, we should all want to do whatever we can to keep them here and thriving.
While it can vary with venues, Keith, Chris and Will have a certain fee they require to be paid for any job they take, i.e., they are true paid professionals, not just street performers. However, tips are also a significant part of their income and can make the difference between a decent night and a great one, an OK year or “God, I love playing in Key West” year. We should all thank our lucky stars that great performers like them, as well as the other local performers noted above, share their talent with us, and should go out of our way to thank them and try to keep them here. Do that by remembering to tip them generously the next time that they get you tappin’ your feet or singing to yourself as I do. They just made your day a lot brighter. Do the same for them. Think about it. A buck in the tip jar isn’t going to break your bank, especially if you’re on vacation. But if every one of, say, fifty people in a bar or club drops a buck in the jar, that could mean a great deal to these guys. It’s the “trickle down” theory at it’s most basic level. Make it work and help keep the great talent we have where it belongs - here!
P.S. All the performers mentioned above have my personal “old guy with no musical talent but who loves all music” endorsement. Search them out on the internet, find where they are playing, and catch their act. You won’t regret it.
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
12
Author