New Conch Shell Player in town
Dave Arndt
Dave Arndt, the youngest of four siblings, grew up in the anthracite coal region of Frackville, Pennsylvania. He was recruited for the North Schuylkill High School band. Dave wanted to play drums but the music teacher said “we need trumpets” so he became a trumpet player. His grandfather was disappointed when he found out Dave was playing trumpet saying “guitar players get all the girls.”
Dave graduated from the Philadelphia Musical Academy (PMA) with a double degree in Music Performance and Music Education. After graduation, he worked the theaters in Philadelphia for years (Shubert Theater, Forrest Theater). He played with the Leonard Bernstein’s Bi-Centennial show in 1976. At age 18, he opened for Bette Midler at the Forrest Theater. Later, he played with headliners at the Valley Forge Music Theater. During the 45-week season, there were different headlines every week included Frank Sinatra, most of the Motown acts, Temptations, Spinners, Lou Rawls, Johnny Mathis and many more. He learned a lot playing those shows and by the age of 21, he had learned to sight read music very well.
He left Philly to take a job with the Venezuela government funded symphony orchestra that toured the U.S. and Canada for several years. After a massive devaluation, the symphony ended and he returned to the US. Many of his music opportunities had dried up so Dave changed tracks and broke into software development. In 1983, he was writing software in New Jersey. He walked away from his music career for over 20 years.
Like so many others, Dave tired of the snow and slush in the Northeast. Around 2018, he vacationed in the Florida Keys, spending a week in Marathon and ventured into Key West for one evening. He and his wife became almost instantly enamored with the Key West culture, everything from sights and smells to the friendliness. They returned north but quickly decided to relocate to sunny Key West in 2021.
He found it very different from the New York and New Jersey area music scenes where at a typical gig, the band leader would put the music charts on the musician’s stand and they would perform and then go home. In Key West, it’s like playing with members of your family. With Key West musicians, it’s a bit more intimate.
One of the first friends that Dave was introduce to was Larry Smith. He told Dave that he learns and performs music by using his ears not his eyes (reading charts). Dave agreed and has quickly learned to rely on his ears more than his eyes.
Dave met Chris Rehm and Dani Hoy through a mutual friend in the Northeast. Chris was discussing the music scene in Key West and said he had slowed down a bit playing only three or four times a week. Chris related that in Key West, he usually performs over 300 times annually. Dave said that in the New York or New Jersey area if you were performing twice a week, you were a very busy musician.
In Key West, music is taught in every school and Dave feels the difference here is that music is not just an extra-curricular activity. It’s woven into the student’s life and they grow up surrounded by music. Dave remembers one of the first Christmas parades that he attended and heard the Key West High School marching band perform. His expectations were very low but when he heard the quality of music performed, he was amazed that the marching band could sound so good.
Later, Dave was asked to get involved with the high school music program. He was overwhelmed when he heard their jazz band performing a complex jazz tune which sounded very good.
Dave’s favorite gig is with the Paradise Big Band.
Dave’s favorite gig is with the Paradise Big Band.
He also met Joe Dallas and was quickly recruited for the Paradise Big Band, one of his favorite music experiences. Through a combination of Joe Dallas and Larry Smith, Dave has recently experienced the Monday Jazz Jam at the American Legion Hall in Bahama Village. One of the recent jams was so well attended that it was difficult to find a seat. He is simply amazed at the number and quality of musicians that just pop in to join in the weekly jazz jam. I remember photographing 12 musicians on stage performing at one recent jazz jam.
One night while playing trumpet at Schooner Wharf during Conch Republic Days, Dave was required to play the conch shell intermittently during the evening. He thought if his friends up North had seen him, they wouldn’t have believed it. Only in Key West.
Dave Arndt is also a very accomplished vocalist.
There are no comments yet, add one below.
Leave a Reply