How James White got "Sunny"...

James White is one of the most well known and popular Trop Rock performers in the world. But, how well do you know "Sunny Jim"? Read on to find out about his early days in the "Country music capital of the West", how a broken heart took him to the Caymans, how family trumped island fun, and some of his favorite local places to hang out with his wife, Adela. Oh, and how, exactly, he got "Sunny". Plus, the stories behind some of his favorite songs....

We have something in common… We both spent time in Corpus Christi, Texas. You were born in San Antonio, but grew up in Corpus. But, then your family moved to Southern California. How bad of a culture clash was that – going from coastal Texas to late 60’s Southern California??

It was a culture clash, moving to California, but not in the way you might expect. I went from beachy Corpus Christi (which is where I’m sure my love of the ocean comes from) to the Country music capital of the West, Bakersfield, which was WAY less tropical, and fairly “Leave It To Beaver”. We moved to an area that, no kidding, from the end of my street was desert-like conditions for the next 20 miles to the mountains. Bakersfield was a great location to be, though. 110 miles from the LA beaches, a couple of hours to Yosemite and the Sequoias (where you could go backpacking and rock climbing and skiing). We also had the Kern River to tube in the summer. Not bad!


Something else we have in common; we were both influenced into our careers – me as a dj and you as a musician – by what we heard on the radio, although on different coasts. What are your first recollections of music in California the late 60’s and early 70’s? Can you remember the first artist you heard that made you go, “Wow! I want to do THAT!”?

Oh, it starts even before that. I remember country swing bands in the San Antonio area, and the Beatles, Stones and Beach Boys from the mid 60s’. In California, we had a particularly strong MoTown and Stax influence on the radio, along with Credence, Loggins and Messina, and the usual suspectes from that era. Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, Hendrix. I missed the regional east coast people, like Springsteen. That came later.


Tell me about your first guitar…

My first guitar was my Dad’s. It was a cheap one he bought in Mexico. He played a little, and I started on that one. I remember in 1969 he came home with a brand new Yamaha FG180. It cost something like $120, which was a lot then. It was so much easier to play, and I eventually took that one over and played it or the next 20 years. I finally bought my Martin MDC around 1996, and Dad got his guitar back. He’s been playing ever since. My first electric was a Telecaster. I bought it used and regret selling it. I must have close to a dozen guitars now, mostly second hand cheapies and oddities. I like weird guitars. My main guitar for many years was a Fender Strat, in the Antigua finish. I bought it new (my first new guitar) in 1980. I’ve only seen two like it. One was owned by Eric Clapton, the other by the musical director for the Drifters, with whom I did a couple of gigs in the mid 80’s. I still have it, but it needs some work. It’s been bashed around a lot, and has yellowed over the years.


From California you went cross-coast to Nashville. What made you say – “I need to go to THERE”?

I was living in Northern California after going to college at Chico State, 90 miles north of Sacramento. I had a band with a drummer friend and our guitar player, Bill Cooley, moved to Nashville and immediately went to work with Reba McEntire (he’s now with Kathy Mattea). Then the drummer went out there to work with Allan Jackson. I figured it was time to try my luck in Music City. I got there and got a job doing data entry RC COLA. lol. But I was interested in song writing, and hung out at the Bluebird Cafe, where I met many wonderful people, heard all the best songwriters, and just soaked it all in. It was like grad school for songwriting. And I feel the next question coming on......


You know what’s next, right? Following the Sunny Jim song line, from Texas to California to Nashville…you wound up in playing in the Cayman Islands…How did you get that gig?

It sounds like a country song but I got my heart broken by a cute girl in Nashville, and joined the first band that was headed out of town.. lol That was a show band called the Marvells. After a year on the road, we landed a job as the house band at the Treasure Island Resort on Grand Cayman.


How does a Nashville band get a gig in Grand Cayman?

The resort was owned by some Nashville artists, so that's the connection.


Eventually that Marvells "house band" contract ran out, but you stayed...

Part of our contract included learning to scuba dive and getting to dive whenever there was space available on the boats. We worked five nights a week, and were finished at midnight on Saturdays (thanks to Cayman music and dancing law). So there was ample free time to enjoy island life. Which, I most certainly did. Why would I want to leave that? Oh, and I met my wife that October on her birthday. We were engaged by April, and married the following January (Super Bowl Sunday… she’s a Cowboy Fan and I’m indifferent). We’ve been married 22 years now and have 19 year old twin daughters.


Care to share any good Cayman stories from that time period – characters you met, colorful bars you played or hung out in?

I really should write a book. There are SO many stories. Here’s just a little taste:

Full moon night scuba dive parties, beach parties, tourist girls at the Holiday Inn on the beach (Barefoot Man Rocks!), locals inviting us into their homes and becoming life long friends, Pirates Week (Carnival), Australians, Brits, Philipinos, Germans, Canadians, Irish and French, South Africans, Jamaicans, wading in the Caribbean on my set breaks, Hurricane Gilbert and not being able to get off the island, my $500 first car, my amazing Trusty Rusty (the 3 cylinder minivan that seated 8 people - or four and dive gear), my Victoria 18 sailboat that I rebuilt with Rob Shirley (who started the Mastercraft Boat company in his garage), meeting Rob Morrow, joking with George Hamilton about Buffett, becoming friends with Al Roker (and taking him on his first night dive and going to his wedding in NYC), meeting Jimmy Buffett on his 50th birthday and ending up in his book “A Pirate Looks at 50” and playing on Radio Margaritaville (the first non-Coral Reefer and first time for R.M. out of the U.S.), meeting Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman and especially Sidney Pollack, hanging out with my band, snorkeling every Sunday morning at Eden Rock, learning to sail with Captain Phil, Sunday champagne brunch at the Hyatt, meeting shady people, raising my girls as a semi-stay at home Dad (THE BEST THING), and on and on.

But, at some point, you decided you needed to move back to the States. Was that a tough decision?

The reason for coming home was twofold. First, my girls were very bright and needed to be in a school for gifted children, which they didn't have in Grand Cayman. Second, work permit issues were getting to be a drag. We were ready to be in our own country again.


How much time do you spend on the road now?

For two years, I spent two hours a day driving my Katie to and from school. Now that my girls are driving (second year of college!) I am able to travel a LOT more. Now, I’m all over the map. I’d say I’m gone from home about a fourth of the year. And now that my wife is working from home, she gets to come to the really cool shows. This year we’re looking at Hawaii (with Tom and Michelle Becker- Latitude), Isla Mujeres, Mexico with Mark Mulligan and Kelly McGuire, and Grand and Little Cayman this summer with the Barefoot Man. What a life!

I’m sure you have lots of favorite places to play around the country, but what about bars in your backyard; When you’re not touring and playing, what are your favorite home town hang outs - where would we find Sunny Jim on a day off and what would he be drinking?

Funny you should ask… Adela and I are heading to lunch today around the corner at the Spanish Point Grill. Also the Casey Key Fish House, Pops Sunset Grill. All old Florida style. We’re not city folk… lol We like to stay near our little Fishing Village of Osprey. And Rum and Coke is the drink of choice. Any dark rum.


At least once a week I have a discussion with someone about the pros and cons of the term “Trop Rock”. I see it as a descriptive term for a style of music – in the same way people use “Country” or “Americana”. It’s a jumping off point for what kind of material you can mostly expect you’re going to hear from that artist, as opposed to say, “Singer/songwriter” which is such a broad term. Others say it pigeonholes a performer. What’s your take?

I agree that it’s a good jumping off point. It seems to me that TropRock covers a lot of people who play music for Parrothead Clubs, even though they may be more rock than anything. I think my music does fit that name pretty well. I definitely have my 12 years of island life as inspiration for the lyrics I write, but the music isn’t all calypso and soca. Some twang pops in from my rockabilly days and my early Texas exposures.


Last year was the first Meeting of the Minds for my wife, Georgia, and I. We were originally planning to leave Sunday but people told us we HAD to stay for your Songwriter's Showcase at Blue Heaven – and we’re glad we did. That has become a staple of the yearly gathering in Key West. How did that come about?

My first MOTM was in 1998. It was when Hurricane Mitch hit. That was the worst storm of the 1998 season. It meandered around the Caribbean, sank the Fantome and crossed the Keys as we were driving down. Welcome to MOTM! My friend from Houston, Marcy Delissandri, got me booked at Blue Heaven, and that Sunday I did my show solo on the top of the water tower. I was back there in 99. In 2000, we moved back to the US from Grand Cayman, and I was on the road for the better part of that year. I had met so many good writers and performers, I decided that I wanted to turn Blue Heaven into a songwriter showcase, and expose listeners to people they may not have heard of, as well as get to visit with musician friends that I only got to see when traveling around the country. It’s been ongoing since then, and I only wish we had more time there!


House concerts have become a big part of the Parrot Head/Trop Rock experience. Kelly McGuire says he loves doing them because they are a LISTENING experience, as opposed to a bar gig where you have to compete with everything else going on. How do you feel about them? Do you do many?

I do lots of house concerts, and much prefer that to a bar gig. Unless the bar is on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean! lol A house concert needs to be differentiated from a house party, where a concert is a listening/learning experience and a house party is, well, party time... If any of your readers see that I will be in their area and would be interested in doing a house concert, they should contact me through my web site. It’s easy to do one, and it’s really the best experience for the listener. It’s intimate.


I don’t want to give too much about the story behind your songs, since that’s what people look forward to hearing at House Concerts. But, tell me a little about a few of my favorites:

“Mermaids”: For my daughters, who grew up snorkeling and swimming every day until they were 8. We used to have such joyous times in the swimming pool at our little Cayman apartment.

“The Tropical Shirt Song”: About a friend who would seem very conservative at the office, but once the weekend rolled around.... watch out!

My wife’s fave, “Fishing In The Milky Way”: About one spectacular night on Grand Caymans North Sound, when there was no moon, no clouds and no wind. The water was like a mirror, reflecting all the stars. If you’ve ever been somewhere where there was little or no ambient light, you know I’m telling the truth when I say you could hardly tell where the water stopped and the sky started. Every time you throw out your fishing line, it looked like you were fishing for stars in the Milky Way. And in my little boat, with my good friend Kean Monohan.


Do you have any others that stand out for you personally?

That’s a tough one. “Isla Adela” (from Postcards From Seven Mile Beach) is very special. Every time I sing it, it’s like saying my wedding vows again. Very uplifting. “Blackbeards Navy” has proven to mean a lot to so many people, that it’s now a favorite. “Moon Over Mustique” really caught the beauty of a moonrise shared between best of friends. I guess I need to put the stories and the lyrics on my web site, because each one of them really is a snapshot of a place in time. “Hallie Let Your Heart Go” changed from being about a girl not wanting to leave “paradise” to being about a father telling his daughter that someday he’ll pass on, and that it’s a part of life like the sun setting and the moon rising. THAT was an amazing songwriting experience.


How did you get the name “Sunny Jim”?

A drummer friend, Andy Arrow, use to call me that - both from my sunny disposition and from the Beatles movie, “Hard Days Night”. Then, in ‘98, I was on a cruise ship on the way to Grand Cayman with the Nashville band. The ship’s Jamaican band jumped ship and they were left with no afternoon entertainment. The Cruise Director asked if one of us could entertain a crowd and I volunteered. He told me I needed a “Caribbean sounding” name, so I used Sunny Jim. The band started calling me that and it stuck.


Anything else you would like people to know about you?

Well, I think it’s obvious that I love what I do, and never take it for granted. I love sharing music with people, hopefully giving them insight to my life and theirs at the same time. It’s the universal language, and it’s all about sharing the joy. Otherwise, I think it’s all pretty much out there... I am who I am (quoting Popeye, no less).


Thanks for your time, Jim

Thanks for the great questions, Fred! See you on the beach!

Hugo Duarte: The One & Only

In the entertainment business, being readily identified by just one name signifies uniqueness, a sense of accomplishment. Think Sting, Elton...Brooooooooce. Say the name "Hugo" to just about any Trop Rock fan and they will immediately know who you're talking about. I caught up with the one and only Hugo Duarte, who took time out from the road to answer some questions....

Let’s start way back in the beginning. Cuban, Chinese, and Scotts-Irish from the Blue Ridge Mountains. That sounds like an interesting mix. Tell me about the early days of Hugo Duarte?

I grew up in Tigerville, South Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In that environment, of course, I was exposed to bluegrass and country music. I used to sit up with my Grandfather and listen to The Grand Ole Opry on WSM on Saturday nights. I also grew up singing in the church choir from a very early age, so we had that genre as well. My first record was Walter Brennan doing "Old Rivers" and "Wolverton Mountain".

According to your web site, you then got turned on to the “classic rock” bands of the late 60’s/early 70’s. How did that happen – was it what you were hearing on the radio?

A lot of my friends were listening to the early rock in the 60s, especially the Beatles. We all begin to pay attention once we saw the Beatles on the Sullivan show. From there, it was an easy transition to begin to seek out interesting music. When FM radio started up, it became very easy to discover new music that we liked. I was listening to the Allman Brothers a lot. The Marshall Tucker band was from right down the road in Spartanburg and used to play in Charlotte, North Carolina all the time. That led us to bands like the Outlaws, the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Three Dog Night, Crosby Stills & Nash, and so on. I was also a big John Denver fan. So, I was listening to a lot of different kinds of music in those days. Of course, when Woodstock happened, it changed all our lives. That brought in Santana and a lot of the other bands that we were not familiar with up to that point.

But, along with the usual rock names – Hendrix, The Eagles, CSN - you also say you were into classical music and composers like Copeland and John Philip Sousa?

My Dad loved John Philip Sousa, so there was a lot of that playing in the house. My Mom liked Hank Williams, Mitch Miller, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Lawrence Welk, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart, and many others, so we had a wide variety of music all the time. I discovered Aaron Copland somehow, and I really enjoyed his music. My parents really enjoyed concerts, theater, movies, plays, and other forms of entertainment, and they insisted that my sister and I attend. We also had the school band at the college where my parents were both professors, so I had that form of music to listen to as well. My mom says that I had shown a natural love of music of all types from a very early age, so it was no great leap to move in any direction musically speaking.

You’re a teenager, now living in North Carolina, and a friend loans you a guitar. Tell me about that…

My friend’s name was Darrell Stafford. We used to spend all of our time together when we were in middle school, either at his house or at mine. I was playing trumpet in the school band, so I was already involved in music as an active participant. There was an old Stella guitar in a case in his closet and one day I asked if I could see it. He handed it to me and I was instantly in love with it. Over the next few days, I would come back to his house and fool around with that guitar. Eventually, I asked if I could borrow it and he said “sure!”. So I took it home and did my best to learn how to play it, but it was really difficult to play because the neck had warped over the years. Several months went by and my Mom noticed my dedication to the instrument and took me to the music store and bought me my first “real” guitar. It was a Vox electric guitar and I had a small amplifier that came from Sears. Every day after school, I would sit in my room and play along to records until dinner time. After dinner, I would go back up to my room and play until my Mom forced me to do my homework.

What was the first song you remember being able to play all the way through?

That is an easy one! It was “The House Of The Rising Sun”

You wrote your first song around this time, too, correct? What prompted you to want to start writing your own material?

I started writing poetry when I was about six years old, so writing songs, to me, was simply an extension of that same process. When I was 15, there was a girl at my school that I was seriously infatuated with and she was a serious ballet student. I had her on a very high pedestal, but desperately wanted her to be my girlfriend, which was never going to happen. Needless to say, the first song I wrote was a tragic love song called "Dance For Me". After that first experience of putting lyrics to music, I fell in love with the process of writing songs and have never looked back.

We have something in common – we both spent some time in Charlotte, NC. I was in radio – met my wife there – you were in college. What were you studying and what were your career plans at that time?

     

I was a Chemistry major, with an eye towards going into medicine.

It sounds like the draw of playing live music got in the way of college. Tell me more about that…

Of course, I took my guitar with me to college and would play all the time around the dorm. A lot of the kids I went to school with would sit around and listen to me play. One time, we had a major power outage at the school and the local newspaper came to do a story about how we were coping. For some reason, the reporter ended up in our dorm, where I was playing guitar and singing with a bunch of my friends sitting around me. The story morphed from being about how the students were coping without power to basically a story about me and my music. It was kind of strange that that could happen. It also provided me with my first taste of negativity, in the sense that some of the other students felt that I had stolen the story that should have been about them. All I did was answer the questions that were asked of me.

How did the trail take you to Key West?

My Dad moved to the United States from Cuba in 1949. The first place he lived in the US was Key West, Florida, where he still had many friends. When I was 15, we took a family trip there and it was the first time that I was able to drive the family car on the interstate. I had my drivers permit at the time and my parents allowed me to do a good deal of the driving to Key West. I still remember what it felt like to go over the old Seven Mile Bridge with a Winnebago coming at you from the other direction and nothing but a guardrail on the right side. I can still feel the tension of thinking that my side view mirror was going to touch! Once I left college to pursue a life in music – this was around 1977 - a booking agent got me and a friend, another guitarist named Robert, a job in Islamorada, Florida for a six-week stint at "Whale Harbor". A bartender friend of mine really liked our music and insisted that I go with her to check out the music scene in Key West. I was thrilled, intimidated, excited, and unsure of how I might be able to break in to that market. We kept being invited back to Islamorada to play over the next couple of years and each time I would go down to Key West and hang out. Two friends of mine purchased Rick’s on Duval Street and eventually hired us to play there. That was my very first gig in Key West.

You spent some time with Jimmy Buffett? Tell me how that friendship developed…

Once we started playing at Ricks, it was not very long before Sloppy Joe's hired us. Then, around 1978-’79, we got a gig on the beach at the Pier House Hotel, which was a pretty heady resort in those days, particularly catering to European tourists. We played there for the next couple of years, on and off, and eventually were promoted up to the Havana Docks Bar upstairs above the main restaurant. It was a beautiful venue overlooking the water. One night, a large party came in and sat at a table right in front of the stage. Jimmy Buffett was in that crowd, and I recognized him immediately. Needless to say, it may me very nervous - to have him sitting in the front row. Somehow, we finished the set and went to the bar to get a shot of tequila to calm the nerves. Bobby Lieberman was Jimmy's road manager back then. Bobby walked up to the bar and told us that Jimmy would like for us to join them, and that he wanted to buy us a drink. How could we resist? So we sat down with the group and had little chat. We were doing a lot of his music in those days. Jimmy asks if we would mind if he sat in for a little while. The answer to that was a no-brainer. After 10 minutes or so of his being on stage with us, the bar was packed and we were rocking the house. The management noticed that something special was going on and came to me when we took a break to ask if there was anything they could do for us to keep this going. I asked for an office backstage to use as a dressing room and requested that they bring beer, water, towels, ice, and glasses to us as a courtesy to Jimmy. He ended up playing with us for the rest of the night. After that, whenever he was in town he would come in to wherever we were playing and sit in. At the time, we were going back and forth – playing in Key West for 6-8 weeks at a time, then going back to North Carolina for a few weeks before heading back down. Eventually, around 1984, I moved down there. We got a gig in a bar called "Del Rio’s” and played there until the owners went bust. That bar eventually became "Margaritaville". We were the house band at Margaritaville for a while until we were hired away by the “Hog's Breath Saloon". We did a few shows with Jimmy in Key West and other places after that and I considered us friends at that point. My favorite shows we did with Jimmy were a benefit to keep the city of Key West from granting licenses to people who wanted to build condos in the area where the salt marshes were. The other one was on New Year's Eve in the late 80’s when we played with Jimmy, Steve Winwood, and Steve Cropper, who was the guitarist on all those great Motown records and also the guitarist for the Blues Brothers.

Cut to today – we’ll talk about the Frozen Gringos tour you’re currently on in a minute – where do you call home these days?

I live in Wilmington, North Carolina when I'm not out on the road.

How much time do you spend on the road?

The road life varies more or less, according to season, but I have to say, that I am traveling more than ever these days. I really love it and I love to get to new places and meet new people. It is always a treat to be able to share my music with folks for the first time. I do try to get home as often as possible to recharge, write, record, and live a normal life.

You’re out on the road with my old friend, Jeff Pike, whom I have interviewed before on this blog  – the Frozen Gringos Tour. How did that collaboration come about?

Jeff and I did a cruise together, although we didn't really know each other well at the time. He tells the story on stage of our first meeting, which is hilarious. I won't repeat it here. We'll just let folks that are interested come out and see the live show and hear for themselves. We did another cruise a year later and ended up playing at the hotel where we were both staying before and after getting on the ship. It was just for fun, but we drew a fairly good audience who filled a hat with money to keep us playing. Jeff looked at me and said, "Maybe we should think about doing this for real?" We talked about it for about five years, then, finally, the opportunity was presented for us to actually be able to get out here and do some shows together. So far, everything has gone way better than we had ever dreamed and we're having a wonderful time doing music that we each typically do, but, we are also doing music that neither of us have ever done either individually or together. We share the same musical interests and many of the same musical influences, so getting on the road together was an easy decision.

What stops have you made – and where is the FG tour going to take you two?

So far, we've played in Kentucky, St. Louis, Iowa for four shows, Minnesota for two shows…Next stop is Chicago, maybe Nashville after that and then to North Carolina for a couple of shows. Eventually, we will be back to Atlanta for a show there.

Any good road stories you can tell from this tour – that I can share in a public forum?? Lol

Every trip has great stories that accompany it. We made a couple of cool stops along the way, either to see something historical or to honor one of our heroes that is no longer with us. We had to stop in Peoria, Illinois, to see the memorial to our friend, Dan Fogelberg, and we also stopped in Clarion, Minnesota, to honor one of Jeff's heroes, Glen Buxton, who was Alice Cooper's guitarist and is buried in Clarion. We also stopped in Northfield, Minnesota, the site of the James’ Gang’s last bank robbery. The history surrounding this place makes a great story for anyone who is interested in the history of the old West.

Every year you host a party for your fans at MOTM, how did that come about?

I've been fortunate, over the years, to gain a lot of fans who have for the most part also become friends. I decided that the best way for me to be able to thank as many of them as possible for their loyalty was to have a party, during which I could take the time to say thank you to every single one of them who came through the door. I used to play at the party, but then decided that it would be a good idea to turn my friends on to people that I admire musically by asking other artists to come in and play for all of us so that I could maximize the time I get to spend with each individual guest. Over the years the attendance has quadrupled. We send out over 1000 invitations each year for the Fan Appreciation Party and that is exactly what it is; my chance to say “thank you”. “I appreciate you.”

How has social media changed things for an artist like yourself?

I'm not sure that we can really see a tangible result attributable to social media, although my personal feeling is that it is a much more desirable form of getting our names out there than advertising or spamming people with a bunch of newsletters, event notices, and other communications that fill up people's inboxes. It does give us the ability to communicate with our fans on a more personal level and on an everyday basis. For that reason, I do think that social media has changed the way we interact with people in a positive way.

What’s next for Hugo in 2012?

Well, who knows?  I do know that I will be doing some of the things that I typically do each year, like my West Coast tour in the summer and our Hog’s Breath Saloon appearance at  Meeting of the Minds in November. I am off of my typical schedule a little bit in that I am usually in the Pacific Northwest at this time of the year. Jeff and I have been invited to perform at the New England Parrot Head Convention in March and I'm doing Flipperstock in St. Louis in April. I may end up taking Jeff Pike with me on that deal, but we’re not sure just yet. We will be doing more House Concerts this year than ever before and I really like that. For the rest of it, you'll have to stay tuned - just like me!

Since this blog is called Beaches, Bands and Bars, I like to ask musicians I interview about some of their favorites in those categories: If you could be on any beach in the world, where would it be and why? What about other bands you listen to, including “non Trop Rock”, what is on Hugo’s Ipod? And how about your favorite watering holes at home – where could we find Hugo at Happy Hour?

I love the beach on St. Croix and on St. Maarten, both of which I got to visit this past fall. They are both beautiful, the water is incredible, and it is easy to be comfortable in either of those places. I have a lot of interests musically that do not fall into the category of Trop Rock and that is what I listen to mostly. However, I do listen to Rob Mehl because I love him, Kelly McGuire, Sunny Jim White, and Mark Mulligan. I respect all of those people as songwriters and performers. I listened to a lot of Billy Joel, Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, the Eagles, a lot of country artists too numerous to name, Don Conoscenti, an old friend from Key West, Marc Barardo from New York, and my new favorite, Calman Hart from San Diego. I think the last question would have to be defined as “where is home really?” I really don't go out to bars when I'm at my house except to hear music and, as a rule,  I don't drink when I'm doing that. If I were to be found sitting at a bar, it would be at the "After Deck" at Louie’s Backyard. That is my favorite bar.

Thanks for taking the time, Hugo... I look forward to seeing you and Jeff when the Frozen Gringos come through Atlanta!

Bars in the Keys

Key West is a destination. But, getting there is half the fun. While you can fly directly into Key West International Airport (international, in this case, a very loosely used term) we almost always prefer to land somewhere north of the Keys - Ft. Lauderdale the preferred choice over Miami - and drive down. It's only 190 miles but, done right, it's a full day's drive. I say "done right", because to really enjoy the trip, there are a number of places you'll want to stop along the way...and I say a full day because each stop merits a lengthy stay, usually involving some adult beverages.

Although there are plenty of well known watering holes between the end of the Florida Turnpike and Islamorada, we usually bypass them and make a bee line for our favorite spot - Lorelei's (officially "Lor-E-Lei Restaurant & Cabana Bar"). As I typed the words, I just let out a sigh, wishing I could be there right now...Sitting at one of the waterside tables with a hand made top-shelf Margarita.

Located at mile marker 82, on the right if you're heading South, the first thing you see is the weather worn Mermaid, welcoming you to Lor-E-Lei.

Head up the drive, park your car and it's just a short walk to a large outdoor patio that wraps around the kitchen and bar.

Park yourself on a stool, or walk out to the beach and grab a table.

Either way you're in for some great food and stout boat drinks. Conch Fritters are some of the best we've had anywhere and their "catch of the day" fish sandwich is always fresh and delicious - and one of the more reasonably priced in the Keys. Finish it off with a slice of their house-made Key Lime pie with whipped cream and Mango sauce and you'll know why we make it our first stop on any drive down to KW.

I have to say, we have never had bad service at Lorelei, even when they're busy. The last time we were there, we wanted to sit out on the beach but there was no server in that section. We went up to the bar, grabbed a couple of drinks and ordered our food. When the chow was ready, the Manager walked it out to us. Lor-E-Lei also has live entertainment seven nights a week.. And, unlike other water side establishments we've been to, the music always fits the atmosphere. When I'm kicking back, soaking up the sun and enjoying a cold beverage, I want to hear Buffett, Beach Music and Reggae - not hard rock or sad songs (I'm talking to you, Slider's in Fernadina Beach) . Maybe it's just me...

While we usually stop on our way down - which usually puts us there around lunch time - Sunset is when Lor-E-Lei really shines. On the return trip, we'll often time our flight out of Ft. Lauderdale so that we can catch the sunset (and another slice of pie) from their deck before bidding adieu to the Keys.

Another one of our favorite stops is Robbie's Marina, 4 1/2 miles down US1 and also in Islamorada... One of the main attractions here is a chance to feed the large and voracious Tarpon that hang out around the docks. Plunk down a few bucks, grab a bucket of bait fish, then walk out back and let the fun begin.

There is also a restaurant - appropriately named the Hungry Tarpon - with an outdoor bar....

And an eclectic open air market where you can buy everything from original art to jewelry and souvenir knick knacks.... You can also charter a fishing boat, rent kayaks and go snorkeling....

You can, literally, spend a whole day at Robbies...

To be continued.....

Meeting Of The Minds: Sunday, November 6th - The Last Waltz

We had originally planned to fly back to Atlanta on Sunday, but were told by several MOTM veterans that we should stay to catch Sunny Jim's songwriters showcase at Blue Heaven. So, we made some last minute adjustments - which included having to move hotels - and stayed another day. And we were very glad we did. Getting reports that Blue Heaven was packed to the gills for brunch, we decided to wait a few hours before going and, instead, headed to the Smokin' Tuna Saloon, Scott Kirby's new place just off Duval (you can read more about it in my earlier interview with Scott here on BB&B). The place was also pretty packed but we ran into our new friends, Jimbo, Tracy, and Brett again, who were getting ready to leave and offered us their table, where we sat and watched Howard Livingston and, then, John Frinzi with special guest, Doyle Grisham.

The Tuna is one of our new favorite places in Key West, with plenty of room, a cozy feeling despite being largely outdoors, and good food - the Smokin' Tuna Dip and peel & eat  local shrimp were especially tasty. One funny note: After turning down my first couple of beer requests, saying they were out of stock, the bartender shrugged and by apologized, saying "This is our first Parrot Head convention. We just weren't ready!"

We hated having to give up our much coveted table, but we wanted to catch at least some of the acts at Sunny Jim's showcase, so we closed out and walked up Whitehead Street. By the time we got there, the brunch crowd had subsided and, although there was still a good sized audience enjoying the music, there were plenty of places from which to watch the show.

If you've never been to Blue Heaven it's REALLY an outdoor venue. Unlike Smokin' Tuna, where there are at least some covered areas where you can go when the weather doesn't cooperate, there is no such shelter at Blue Heaven. Luckily, it was a beautiful Fall afternoon so being outdoors was exactly where we wanted to be. especially given the caliber of entertainment. Another interesting feature of Blue Heaven is that the "stage" is about ten feet up in the air, surrounding an old water tower. So, to see the performers, you have to look up. The advantage is that, unless you were to maybe get behind a group of NBA centers, you never have to worry about people blocking your view.

We caught Tall Paul, Latitude, Rob Mehl and several others before heading back to the Smokin' Tuna to see Kelly McGuire and Scott Kirby. On the way, we stopped by the Green Parrot, where the Sauce Boss was rocking the house while mixing up a pot of Gumbo.

Back at the Tuna, we found the place to be even busier than before. Apparently, even though the convention was officially over, lots of folks had the same idea we did and had decided to stay another day. Georgia eagle-eyed a group with young children sitting at the very same table we left a couple hours earlier ("They can't stay long, they have kids") and this time we were able to repay the favor by inviting Brett and his buddies from the Ft. Meyers area PHC to come sit with us.

Kelly and Scott are two of my favorite Trop Rock artists, and the chance to seem them play together was a real treat. They were joined by Mike Aiken and the three took turns performing their own songs. And that was just the "appetizer" for the main event, Scott Kirby and guitarist Dave Edmisten (along with a fiddle player whose name I didn't catch). Together, they ran through some of Kirby's catalog, including one of my favorite all time Trop Rock songs, "Lucky Enough". The line "I'll raise my glass, you can kiss my old ass...I'll die with my feet in the sand" will probably wind up on alot of Parrot Head tombstones.

A full day of music, wrapping up a long but thoroughly enjoyable convention, but it wasn't over yet. The last hurrah was the "No Plane On Sunday" party featuring Jim Morris & The Big Bamboo Band at Schooner Wharf. Morris had the crowd singing along to every song, mixing his own originals with rowdy covers, like Jerry Jeff Walker's "Up Against The Wall You Redneck Mothers". Wiped out but grinning ear to ear, we called it a night - and a week. On the way back to our hotel, Georgia turned to me and said, "As soon as we get home, we're registering for next year."

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.

More From Meeting of The Minds

Highlights from Friday, November 4th

I received an email the night before from Steve Tolliver of the Trop Rock Junkies, inviting Georgia and me to a breakfast and jam session at the United Street cabins where he and his wife were staying. The hour was a little early, 9am, but a chance to see Steve and some friends play pool side on a beautiful Key West morning made it worth the earlier than usual wake up call. We arrived to find a nice spread of food and pitchers of daiquiris ready and waiting. Pulling up a couple of chairs, we chatted up some of the other invited guests, including Kelly McGuire's "Gal Friday", Sandy Drobiarz-Records, and Fred and Sara Guerrero, owners of  Isla Bella, nominated for Trop Rock Award House Concert Venue of the Year, while the musicians tuned up. Steve played some of his originals, including one of my personal favorites, "Sand In Her Shoes", and guitar-picked along with other musicians, including Trop Rock Award nominees (for Duo of The Year), Steve Johnson and Jimmy Johns, better known as Southbound.

Next stop was Duval Street for the start of the Margaritaville Street Party. We got there in time to catch the Young Rebel Goombas. The Goombas, from my old stomping grounds of Long Island, New York, got the crowd dancing with their upbeat blend of reggae, rock and ska. When they finished their set, we walked right door to La Concha to hear Brent Burns.

Walking back to our hotel to get ready for the worst kept secret on the island: Jimmy Buffett's "surprise" appearance at the Street Party - we caught a few minutes of the Sauce Boss, who was holding court at the Green Parrot.

We also ran into our new friends from the Southwest Florida Parrot Head Club; Jimbo, Tracy, and Brett. Making new, long lasting friends is an important part of MOTM and we wound up sharing many laughs - and more than a few adult beverages - with these three.

Heading back to Duval, area balconies were full and the streets overflowing, but we managed to make our way to a great spot on the side of the stage. Meeting Of The Minds, although it has evolved into a celebration of Trop Rock in general, began as a gathering of Buffett fan club members. There is Buffett music, Buffett t-shirts, and plenty of everything Buffett sings about - beaches, boats and bars. The only thing that is usually missing is Buffett himself. Not on this day. Jimmy played for almost an hour, backed by the full Coral Reefer band.

The event was originally supposed to be Mac McAnally's cd release party. That got pushed aside by Jimmy's visit, but Mac did get to play some of his own songs the next night at the Casa Marina. More on that later...

The finale of the night was the Trop Rock Music Awards back at the host hotel. Attendance seemed a little disappointing - there were, supposedly, 3500 convention attendees, but it looked like barely a third were there to see the awards being handed out. It could have been the chilly night air, or just too many other things goiing on back on the other side of town. Still, the show was fairly fast paced, speachers were short and gracious and the music in between award categories was entertaining (personal favorite was Paul Roush performing "I Wanna Be Howie" joined on stage by Brent Burns and the song's inspiration, Howard Livingston). Great job by the Margarita Mafia (which used the evening to announce they were changing the organization's name to the Trop Rock Association) and congrats to all the winners.

Meeting of the Minds: Like a Kid In A Candy Store

I mentioned in a previous post that I had promised to be diligent about blogging while here in Key West for the annual Parrot Head/Trop Rock convention called Meeting Of The Minds. The problem has been that blogging takes time. And, if you want to catch even half the artists performing on the island during the convention, while simultaneously trying to see some of the sights of Key West - like the sunset celebration on Mallory Square - maybe squeeze in a little shopping, time is in short supply....Oh, and there is that minor human requirement: food. Hear some music, tour the Hemingway House, grab a quick meal or two and next thing you know four or five days have flown by. Having been in Key West a number of times before, and as someone who can easily afford to skip a meal or two, our main focus this week was on the music. We tried to catch as much of it as we could, in as many places as we could. Here are some of the highlights:

Thursday.....


John Friday, Rum Barrel; Trop Rockers are a pretty magnanimous and supportive bunch and are usually happy to invite other performers up to do their own material. We saw it over and over again all week long. This late afternoon show on the upper deck of the Front Street bar was a revolving stage of songwriters and guitar pickers, hosted and otherwise held together by John Friday and enjoyed by a number of smiling Parrot Heads from around the country.

In between acts, I sampled a flight of top shelf Rums and, for my efforts, was awarded a "Baccalaureate of Cocktailology" from Boat Drink University.

Tropical Soul, Hog's Breath: An always entertaining band from central PA fronted by Dennis McCaughey, it also featured one of the ladies up for "Female Vocalist of the Year" at the Trop Rock Awards, Heather - whose last name I never caught. I actually didn't even get her first name right, either, because I called her "Sue" when I introduced myself after their set, thinking she was Dennis' wife, who had sent me a number of their songs for an internet radio show I'm working on. Heather was gracious, however, and - instead of correcting or reprimanding me, she handed me two of her own cd's. She is also incredibly talented, rocking a flawless version of Adele's "Rolling In The Deep".

Jimmy Parrish, Willie T's: It's always great to see Jimmy and this Jacksonville, FL based Ocean Waves Band. The house was packed, the band sounded great, much tequila was consumed - a typical Jimmy Parrish show.

Jim Morris and The Big Bamboo Band, Smokin' Tuna Saloon: This was our first chance to check out Scott Kirby's new place (see previous interview with Scott about the Tuna on this blog) and to hear Jim Morris do a full set with his band. I never heard why, but the show began with what surely must have been the longest sound check in history- "check one" became "check a hundred and one"- but, this was a party for Jim's fan club, so the place was full of folks I have a feeling would have sat through a hurricane to hear him play. And he didn't disappoint, despite the late start, runing through a long list of his original songs, plus some great covers, like Jerry Jeff Walker's "Navajo Rug".

Interesting side lights included two girls in the front row who were either auditioning for - or had just been fired from their job as - background singers. They had carefully choreographed, synchronized dance moves to EVERY SONG Morris did. There was also a visit from the Beer Fairy. Not making that last one up.

Jimmy & The Parrots, Schooner Wharf: Our last stop of the night, this one was memorable for being the biggest and most entertaining train wreck we saw all week. I had heard soem great things about Jimmy and his band and was anxious to see them rock the Wharf's outdoor stage. By the time we got there, however, the band had obviously consumed much of the bar's supply of adult beverages because it had deteriorated into a drunken mess, with people climbing on and off the stage, songs started but not finished, and songs started that shouldn't have been in the first place. The band was having a blast, though, and so were their friends up front, so chalk it up to the late hour...and blame it on the Rum. Jimmy and The Parrots more than made up for it a few nights later, opening for the Coral Reefer band at the Casa Marina Beach party.