sing complete songs before he could speak in complete sentences
Jack Fivecoate
Jack Fivecoate was raised in Traverse City, Michigan. Growing up in a large family with brothers and sisters, he was the only musician. He started singing in choirs when he was very young and continued a love of music. At age of thirteen, Jack learned the percussion then quickly moved to guitar and harmonica and, after a couple of years, he also studied piano.
He performed in several bands throughout high school. The first band was the Straw Hat Pirates, an experimental jam band with a Grateful Dead influence. Then came a three-part harmony group called Higher Ground. After graduating in 2006, Jack began performing with The Fundamentals, a reggae group which fit Jack’s musical love the best.
Jack’s second love is food. He opened a vegetarian restaurant, Serenity Tea Bar and Café, in Traverse City, and ran it for four years. The financial collapse of 2008 didn’t help matters and in 2011, he closed the restaurant and moved to Atlanta. In 2012, he produced an album with a heavy Reggae influence and later began touring with Matisyahu, an American singer and rapper.
Jack plays a little bit of every genre but continues his love of everything reggae and has a long running association with old high school buddies. They call themselves Snacks & Five. His parents are huge Parrotheads and love everything about Jimmy Buffett. They owned a home near the golf course and Jack visited Key West in 2017.
Although Jack had not intended to perform, he brought all of his equipment with him. The owner of Mangoes, who had acquired a copy of Jack’s Atlanta album, called and asked Jack to play at his restaurant. Jack agreed and like many other musicians, he began a love affair with Key West.
After returning to Traverse City, Jack convinced his group to join him in Key West. He returned to Key West solo in 2018. They joined him in 2019 and again in January and February 2020, just before the COVID shutdown. It was a crazy time. A gorgeous Argentine singer, Gisele (Gi) Buxdorf, asked to sit in with the group. It was love at the first song. The band returned for the 2021 winter season and Jack asked Gi to marry him. She accepted and they have been together in Key West since.
He performs in Key West over 230 times annually. He and Gi have been performing together more often. Gi is being coached by Kari Wolf and other singers and they are starting to develop an all-girls group. Jack loves how fellow musicians support each other. They help each other get established and enjoy the experiences. He and Turner Harrison share similarities in music plus their wives are from the same town in Argentina. Turner has helped open some doors for Jack, and Gi loves the opportunity to babysit the Harrisons’ new baby girl.
Jack has performed at the Marker for three years and also plays at Boondocks Grille and Kiki’s Sandbar. He recently had his first gig at Little Palm Island. Jack loved the elegance, the island vibe, the beautiful venue, and going to work by boat is very cool. Jack enjoys performing at all his venues but his solo sunset shift at the Sunset Pier is special – the view, the crowd, and fabulous sunsets make it a favorite gig. On August 28, he and Gi will be performing together at Mangoes.
Jack loves performing multiple instruments at every gig. He sets up with a keyboard, plays guitar and adds harmonica. He discovered a small electrical instrument, the Lekholm, from Sweden, a midi harmonica that can produce the sounds of a trumpet, trombone, saxophone, or flute. He takes his music to new levels with a looper and the multi-instrumental sounds combined with his increasing entertainment skills. It’s very entertaining.
Jack wrote all the songs on the album, “Feel It In the Air”, released three years ago by Snacks & Five. They have recently recorded another album with fifteen more of his songs to be released soon.
His unique passion for music began when he was a small child listening to the radio and singing along. His mother said he could sing complete songs before he could speak in complete sentences. Music is something he always wanted to do but never thought he could make a living at it. Coming from Michigan, there was always plenty of work in the warmer months, but six months out of the year it was tough for a musician.
He loved food and cooking and considers himself a former chef now making a living full-time performing music. Jack has been nominated for Best Solo Artist and Best Reggae Artist for the Key West Music Awards for the past two years. Hopefully third time will be the charm.
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