Meeting Of The Minds: Saturday

Saturday, November 5th - Normally, Green World Gallery on Duval Street - owned by trop rock fan "Koz" Koslowski and his wife, Pam Campbell - sells locally produced art. During Meeting of the Minds, it also became a live music venue, hosting a number of trop rockers. We started the day by stopping in to say hi to Loren Davidson - and staying to hear the always entertaining Bob Karwin.

The next stop was one of my personal favorites of the whole week... We'd been wanting to make it by the Lighthouse Court to catch Kelly McGuire's songwriters' showcase since we arrived on island, but this was our first chance to actually get there. Next year it will be one of our first stops. Cozy surroundings and some of the top names in Trop Rock (on this afternoon Jack Mosely, Mark Mulligan, Hugo Duarte, and Mike Aiken joined Kelly) and an audience that was there to LISTEN, something we didn't find at every venue. Case in point: When Kelly performed "Daddies And Daughters" from his latest cd, King Of The Island, it was hard to find a dry eye in the place. Before leaving, I stopped to chat with an old friend, local trop rocker "Key West" Chris Rehm, who was hanging out waiting his turn to get up and perform.

With the sun scheduled to set in just a few minutes, we jumped on our bikes and pedaled quickly down to Mallory Square for one of our favorite Key West traditions, the Sunset Celebration. Watching that big yellow ball drop into the water, signalling the end of another day, never gets old.

Sun down, we headed back across the island to the Casa Marina beach side stage for the scheduled Coral Reefer Band show, arriving just in time to catch the tail end of a high energy set from Jimmy & The Parrots. The place was packed, thanks partly to rumors floating around that Jimmy might show up and play with the CRB (the original plan, apparently, had been for this to be JB's "surprise" visit, but it got changed at the last minute to Friday on Duval). On their own, the Coral Reefers put on a great show, taking turns performing material from all of their solo efforts; Club Trini, Peter, Nadirah, Mac, etc. The only disappointment was that Doyle Grisham wasn't given a chance to showcase anything from one of his albums...

Show over, on a normal Saturday night it might be time to call it a day and grab some much needed sleep. But, this was Meeting Of The Minds and there was still music to be heard. So, we cruised back to Old Town and headed to Schooner Wharf for the last of Homemade Wine's set. They had the place rocking with some Southern Rock covers. Not very "Trop" but the crowd didn't seem to care. Auxiliary entertainment was provided by the bar backs/security, who were having some fun tossing out a few unruly patrons. Having spent a few years owning and running bars, I was able to share some "been there-done that" stories with them.

I mentioned this in an earlier blog post, but there are two things you grab when you can at MOTM - sleep and food. Having run around catching one act after another most of the day, we found ourselves sitting at Schooner Wharf hungry at 1am. Thank fully, Malcolm - one of the bar backs we had been talking to - told us about an Irish bar called Finnegan's Wake that was close by and served late. We got there just in time to catch last call from the kitchen and took Malcolm up on his suggestion of the "killer" bacon wrapped Meat Loaf. Served with mashed potatoes, it was the perfect comfort food after a day spent pedaling around the island.

Shurl Gates: Passionate Parrothead

When it comes to music, Shurl Gates is the first to tell you she can't play an instrument, isn't going to win any karaoke contests. But, she more than makes up for that lack of performing skills with a deep love - make that an unbridled PASSION - for music. "I'm not much of a tv person, but I have music playing in my house 24/7. I love listening to it, going out to hear it, being around it", says Gates. That passion has led her to become one of the most familiar faces in the Trop Rock world and most ardent supporters of the people who make the music.

Shurl Galiher Gates story begins in the small Oregon coastal town of North Bend, where she moved as a kid. She went to school, married, and raised a family there. But, as all great stories go, something happened that changed her life forever. In Shurl's case, that "sudden twist of fate" was divorce.

"It was 2001, I was single again and looking to make some major changes in my life. Two of my kids had moved to Florida so I decided to go there." "There" was just outside of Tampa, where she met and started dating a Parrothead. "I had always loved Jimmy Buffett's music, but had never been exposed to the whole lifestyle". Looking to make friends in her new home, she joined the Tampa Bay Parrot Head Club. A former Mormon, it didn't take long for the colorful, and gregarious Phlockers to get her life going in a new direction. "That was it. I found myself - the 'me' I didn't even know was missing. It was a celebration of a new beginning." Through the TBPHC, Shurl began attending events and hearing her first "Trop Rock" bands. "I LOVED it, became a huge fan. I've always been a very social person, so I would make a point of going up and introducing myself, telling them how much I enjoyed hearing them," explains Gates. "One of the great things about Trop Rock is that the people involved are so down to earth, so approachable." Before long, she counted among her friends hard working musicians like Jimi Pappas and John Frinzi, and started getting calls from artists that were looking to play in the area. "Guys would call and say, 'I'm coming down there on my way to Meeting of the Minds. Do you know anyplace to play around Tampa?' So I'd make some calls. I started getting to know the clubs and the people who ran them. It was just something I would do as a favor to friends. I also got to know the people at Radio Margaritaville, like JD Spradlin and Steve Huntington. Steve, it turned out was a big baseball fan, so we had that in common" (Gates' son in law is All Star Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, Roy "Doc" Halladay - Fred). In 2007, she was introduced to Deb Grisham - wife of Coral Reefer Doyle Grisham and owner of Deb Grisham Entertainment, which represents a number of artists, including Nadirah Shakoor, The Mayer Brothers - Peter and "Uncle Jim", John Frinzi, and John Patti. "We became on line friends, trading emails and talking about music and places for artists to play in Florida." Her list of connections continued to grow until 2008, when Michelle Becker of the Margarita Mafia called Shurl to see if she might be able to help bring in some well known presenters for that year's Trop Rock Awards in Key West. "I called Doyle and asked him if he'd be interested and he said 'YES'! Then Nadirah and Tina Gullickson agreed to do it." Her efforts not only helped cement her reputation as a true mover and shaker in the Trop Rock world, but also won her the first ever "Fan Of The Year" award.

Things REALLY changed for Gates the next year. "I was having dinner with (trop rock artist) Rob Mehl. He mentioned to me that he was looking for a Manager and I replied, 'I need a job!'", although she says she wasn't being serious at the time. "The truth is I was looking for something constructive to do - alimony only goes so far!", she jokes. "But, I had never thought that what I had been doing for all those years just to help my friends might turn into a business. Later, I was talking to Steve Huntington and he encouraged me, said it would be perfect for me". Gates Music Management was born. "It really just came out of me trying to create a job for myself, doing something I loved to do."

Two years later, Gates Music Management boasts a close working relationship with a number of top Trop Rock acts, some she managers and some she helps and supports in whatever ways she can. "I feel it's important for them to find work however and wherever they can. So, in that regard I'm not exclusive with anyone. And I only work with artists I truly believe 100% in." 


"I don't expect to get rich from this. I do it because it makes me feel good and that makes it worthwhile"




I asked Shurl to give me the low down down of some of her favorite artists (note: Some of the bands mentioned can be found in previous posts in Beaches, Bands and Bars - Fred):


Homemade Wine - "They're from Knoxville, Tennesee. They started as a three piece, by brothers Ryan and Todd Sheley. Now, they're a full band and one of the most sought after acts in Trop Rock. They'll be playing on Thursday night at this year's Meeting Of The Minds."


Jimmy Parish & The Ocean Waves Band - "From Jacksonville, Florida. They stay extremely busy. He was just down here to play a pre-Buffett show party and will be back later this month to play at The Yard (more on The Yard later - Fred). Jimmy is the complete package. A great singer, songwriter and a true gentleman."

John Reno - "John is originally from New Orleans, so he has a definite jazz influence in his music. He lives in Fairhope, Alabama now but he spends alot of time here in Florida - especially in the Ft. Myers to Tampa area. He plays a wide variety of music, from soft, romatic ballads to over the top funny songs. The one everyone always wants to hear is 'Jello Shots'. He's an amazing songwriter and has a great feel for the audience when he's playing live."

Mike Aiken - "I've known Mike for many years. Back in the days of MySpace, I would look around for new music. I came across Mike's page and liked what I heard. But, I couldn't buy his cd - there was something wrong with the site. I'm not one to give up easily, so i looked around until I found a phone number, called and spoke to a woman. I asked her if Mike ever came down to Florida. The woman turned out to be Mike's wife, Amy, who put Mike on the phone. We developed a friendship and FINALLY, after six years, I was able to get him a gig down here at the Yard!"


Mike Miller - "Mike is from Illinois, a retired police man and founding member of the Boat Drunks. When he retired, he moved onto a sailboat and now spends his winters in Florida. We hosted a cd release party for him in September."


Freebo - "Bass player from California, has played with Bonnie Raitt, Neil Young, Dr, John - lots of great people. I met him at Meeting Of The Minds one year and loved his music. It's not traditional Trop Rock but it fits in with it. He played a gig here with John Frinzi."


Jim Hoehn - "From Wisconsin. I also met him at a MOTM and became a fan. He's an amazing storyteller and has been a big support to me."

Rob Mehl - "He's from Hawaii where they have a long history of 'talk stories'. He's a great storyteller."


AJ Swearingen - "Another local guy. He was hired to play my son's engagement party. There were lots of things going on but, in the middle of it all, I kept stopping to listen to him. I thought, 'I really love this guy!' He reminded me alot of John Frinzi. When it was over, I went up to talk to him and it turned out he knew John - had grown up in the same area! He's not really what you'd call Trop Rock, but close enough that Jeff Allen has started playing one of his songs on BeachFront Radio (Trop Rock internet radio station, featured previously in BB&B - Fred)."


Michael Weiss - "One night I walked into one of my favorite places in Tampa, the Hideaway Cafe, and Michael was playing. I became an instant fan. He's starting to make a big splash around here - played a Pre-Buffett party, has a song on BeachFront Radio."


Trop Rock Junkies - "They're from the Tampa area, do a Buffett tribute but also some originals. They played the B Stage before the recent Buffett show last month."


"Also, people like Paul Roush, John Friday, Bob Karwin. And another guy I have been talking to is Eric Stone, from the British Virgin Islands. Eric stays very busy there in the BVI, but I would love to work with him if the opportunity came up."


I also asked Shurl about her favorite spots - for live music, as well as food and drinks - in the Tampa area:


The Yard- It is literally a backyard of a home owned by a wonderful couple, Mark and Sharon Leveratte. About three years ago, they decided they wanted to host a House Concert. It was such a success that they decided to do more. As guys would come to me, I would suggest it as a place for them to play. Before you know it, they had built a palapa style stage with a tiki bar and were hosting shows once a month. Now they have a fire pit, bathrooms in the backyard, they're building a bunk house for travelling artists to crash in. It's amazing. They won "House Concert Venue Of The Year" at the Trop Rock Awards in 2010. And they don't make a dime. Every thing collected at the door goes directly to the artists and every dollar raised from raffles (of Sharon's handmade jewelry and Mark's carved wood signs) goes back into making the venue a better place for artists to play.  They do it all because they love the music!" (note: they are currently in need of a website and looking for a Trop Rock fan who might be willing to donate some time to make that happen - Fred)


Hideaway Cafe - "In St. Pete (St. Petersburg, FL), owned by Josh Kelly, who is an artist himself. It's a great listening room that hosts all indy artists, playing all original music."


The Palm Pavilion - "It's my favorite beach bar. Right on the beach in Clearwater, owned by a guy named Ken Hamilton. Great food, lots of room, a great place for artists."


Whiskey Joe's - "On the Causeway right as you come into Tampa. The Tampa Bay Parrothead Club meets there every week. They're building a brand new music venue right on the beach that will hold about 1500 people. I can't wait to do shows there!"


Skippers - "In Tampa. We just did the Coral Reefer Souls Show there, which was a huge success. Lots of possibilities for the future there."


Rapscallions - "In Land O Lakes, a suburb of Tampa. The bar there is named after Billy Peoples, a well known Florida Parrot Head. They host alot of Trop Rock."

"Also, two other places I love that are outside the Tampa area are Archies in Ft. Pierce - It's sort of a biker's bar, but with a Pirate theme - a great place, and The Nav-A-Gator near Arcadia, Florida- It's famous in Trop Rock circles."

http://www.facebook.com/people/Gates-MusicManagement/100001472834315

http://www.debgrishamentertainment.com/about.php

http://www.radiomargaritaville.com/

http://www.finsup.com/_/index.html

http://www.phip.com/MOTM.asp

http://www.margaritamafia.com

http://www.beachfrontradio.com/home.cfm

 

http://www.johnfrinzi.com

http://www.gigmasters.com/Acoustic-Guitar/Jimi-Pappas/

http://doylegrisham.com/

http://www.nadirahshakoor.com/fr_home.cfm

http://www.petermayer.com

http://www.unclejimrocks.com

http://www.tinag.com/

http://www.johnpatti.com/

http://www.robmehl.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Homemade-Wine-the-Band/117718255508

http://jimmyparrishonline.com/

http://johnreno.com/

http://www.mikeaikenmusic.com/index.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-R-Miller-Musician/113707452013105
http://freebomusic.com/
http://jimhoehn.com/http://ajswearingen.com/
http://michaeljweiss.com/fr_splash.cfm
http://www.troprockjunkies.com
http://www.phinsband.com/
http://www.johnfriday.com/ 
http://bobkarwin.com/
http://www.boatsongs.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/TheYard-Tampa/100001031214679

http://www.hideawaycafe.biz/

http://palmpavilion.com/

http://www.whiskeyjoestampa.com/whiskeyjoes/

http://skipperssmokehouse.com/

http://www.rapscallions.net/

http://archiesseabreeze.com/

http://www.nav-a-gator.com/

Trop Rockin: Steven Youngblood gets Trop Rock on the air in PCB, John Friday escapes, Homemade Wine wins awards, & Robert Daniels sells some cereal.

Late 2009/early 2010 was a tumultuous time for Panama City, Florida singer/songwriter Steven Youngblood.  “Born with one foot in the water”, as he says in the title track to his “Guitars & Fishing Poles” cd, Youngblood was raised around sail boats and fishing. He picked up his first guitar at the age of eight and never looked back.  With the sand and sea of his coastal home as a back drop and musical inspiration from the likes of Jimmy Buffett and Eric Stone, Steven eventually found himself writing about subjects that were naturally near and dear to his heart - from laid back tracks like “Island Time” and “Cross On The Reef” to more upbeat tunes like “Picture Perfect Sunset” and the tongue-in-cheek “Hope My Ship Comes In”, all found on his debut disc. As he was wrapping up and getting ready to release that album in late 2009, doctors discovered a problem that would require some surgery. "I thought my voice was just getting kind of raspy from all the bar gigs I was playing." he says, "Turned out I had a lump in my throat that was pushing on my vocal cords!" The hospital stay took him off the road and it was several months before he could perform a full show again. At almost the same time, Youngblood, a radio engineer by trade, approached a floundering local AM station about the idea of putting Trop Rock on the air there. The owner agreed and Trop Rock 1290 was born (http://www.troprock1290.com/troprock%20home.html). Jimmy Buffett is a staple of the station, but most of the playlist is made up of Independent Trop Rock artists from across the country, mixed in with a variety of Island music and even North Carolina Shag tunes. The perfect accompaniment to a day at the Panama City Beaches. He continues to add new songs to the station all the time and plans to have an FM signal this Summer.  On the recording front, Steven has a new single he's working on called "Tan Lines", written by his good friend, Charlie Black, a Nashville songwriter with dozens of Number Ones to his credit. He hopes to follow that with another full cd some time next year. In the meanwhile, you can catch Steven (often with his wife Sandra on Steel Drums) playing watering holes all along the Redneck Riviera, from Joey's Oyster Bar, and Margaritaville in PCB to Fuddpuckers in Destin.  He's also a regular fixture at events for both the Panama City and Emerald City Parrot Head Clubs. www.stevenyoungblood.com or more info and upcoming dates (artists can also submit songs for Trop Rock 1290 there)

John Friday is a self–described "Tropical Balladeer and Displaced Pirate" who originally hails from Maryland.  The singer/songwriter's eclectic background includes a stint as a crabber on the Chesapeake Bay, as well as assorted attempts at college, studying subjects from biology to business.  After an injury ended his thirteen year Army career, Friday settled in the Naples area of Florida and started writing songs and performing in the local bars.  In 2009, he released his first full length cd, "Coastal Dreamin'", which included the rollicking ditties “Ain’t Missing a Thing” and “Rita’s Going Wild”, as well as a cover of the Little Feat classic, “Willin’”… "The last two to three years have been kind of a blur", says Friday - referring to all the increased activity in his busy schedule. In 2010, he was part of the talent line up for the "Puerto Los Somewhere" cruise to Cozumel - one of the first of what is now a plethora of Trop Rock cruises, and played a number of Parrot Head friendly festivals - including the Six String Music Songwriters Invitational in New Orleans (http://sixstringmusicnola.com/) and the patriotic Red, White & Tunes Festival in Southwest Florida (http://redwhiteandtunes.com/). He also made a trip to Hawaii to play for the Pau Hana Parrot Head Club and finished fourth (out of over 400) in the Landshark Lager Battle of the Bands in Nashville. Friday finished the year by releasing another full length cd, "Tropicalized".  In addition to the title track, which can be heard on Trop Rock music outlets like BeachFront Radio, the disc includes "Tennessee Whiskey/Jamaican Rum", co-written by well known Parrot Head songwriter, William Melton . He plans to expand his activities even further in 2011 with more House Concerts and festival gigs, both solo and with his band The Caribbean Connection. Asked where he thinks Trop Rock is going, John says "I want to honor the roots, which is Jimmy Buffett, but there's also more to it", adding, "I write about escapism - whether it's about escaping the snow or a bad relationship". He'll be heading up to New Jersey for the third annual Spring Fling (http://www.springphling.com/) in May, with stops along the way - including a House Concert for the Atlanta Trop Rock Alliance. http://www.johnfriday.com/

Formed around brothers Tod and Ryan Sheley, Homemade Wine began booking gigs as an acoustic act around their hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, back in 2008.  Older brother and percussionist Tod has a serious Trop Rock pedigree, as a founding member of  St. Somewhere (www.myspace.com/stsforever), as well as having played with well known Tennessee Trop Rock acts Tall Paul (http://www.tallpaul.com/) and Jake & The Half Conched Band (http://www.lifeonthegulf.com/ ).  Three years later, they are an award winning band with six members, a cd, and a touring van they spend ALOT of time in. "It's been a blast! We just got back from 27 days on the road", said the younger Sheley sibling at the time of this writing. "Mostly around North Florida and the Georgia/SC coast. We played for about 12,000 people at the Taste of Charleston and headlined St. Patty's in Savannah. But we also did some great gigs in places like Greensboro NC and Columbia, SC." The cd in question is "Music For A Salty Soul", which came out in the Summer of 2010 and includes some songs that had been floating around the Trop Rock universe in demo form (including my Ipod) for some time - the catchy country/caribbean "Take Me Down To The Tropics", New Orleans flavored "Sweet Adele", and the melancholy "Seeking Harbor". The cd also included "Her Kiss", the Number One Trop Rock Song of 2010 on BeachFront Radio's Top 40 (the cd also won "Album of the Year", Ryan won "Best New Male Trocker", and the group took home "Top New Trop Rock Band"). After a stop at the New Jersey Spring Phling the end of this month, Homemade Wine will head to Washington, DC to begin recording their second cd, which they hope to have finished by the end of Summer "I want to be done and home in time for football season!" says Sheley. http://www.homemadewinemusic.com/

Last but not least, what do commercial jingles, TV voiceovers, and Trop Rock have in common? Robert Daniels! Daniels is a professional songwriter (member of the Nashville Songwriters Association), and voice-over talent who splits his time between New York City and the sleepy southern coastal town of Murrells Inlet, SC.  When he’s not pimping breakfast cereal or taking you to the next commercial break, he and his acoustic guitar can be found performing Country, Blues, and Rock covers in cafes and nightclubs around the Big Apple. Two of his original compositions, "You Don't Have To Be In Mexico" and "Gotta Love a Girl Like That", have received airplay on numerous Trop Rock radio stations.   www.myspace.com/robertdanielsmusic