still delivering it
Randy Stindt “still delivering it”
Born and raised in Fresno, California, Randy had a younger brother, Paul and sister, Ashley but he was the only one in the family with an interest in music. An aunt gave him an acoustic guitar and he began teaching himself songs. Along with other friends, they started a garage band in the 8th grade and annoyed most of the neighbors. He joined the drum line in the high school band. He also learned percussion, piano, and continued learning guitar
Stindt graduated from California State – Fresno in 2005 with a degree in music performance with emphasis on percussion. He quickly began performing with four different bands, mostly blues bands.
In 2009, he left Fresno and moved to Colorado, living along the front range in the Boulder- Denver area. While living in Westminster, Colorado, Randy quickly became a band member of Gang Forward who recorded an album titled Oblivion in 2012.
Later, the band broke up and his life hit a rough patch – music gigs dried up, he broke off an engagement. He moved in with an aunt and got a job at the post office delivering mail. He liked the job but missed music.
His friend, Rock Solomon, who he had met earlier in Boulder, was living in Key West. Rock advised Randy to come to Key West as there was plenty of work. Randy arrived in November 2017 while the cleanup from Hurricane Irma was still underway. His first night in town, Rock had set up a wedding gig at the Key West Theater with a big band.
One of Stindt’s early gigs was playing solo guitar on Sundays at Kiki’s Sandbar on Little Torch Key. His first Key West steady gig was in 2019, singing with Allison Mayer and the Fabulous Spectrelles – four nights a week in a gold sequin jacket (two nights at La Te Da and two nights at The Bull). They sang a lot of Motown Soul hits which Randy loved. The gig lasted over two years.
As a drummer, Stindt gets to perform with everyone. He began quickly connecting with other musicians and was able to jam a few songs with Caffeine Carl. He did a lot of recording session work with Ian Shaw, recording songs with Tony Baltimore (“Let’s All Go Insane”), Gary Hempsey, Kim Jade Fry, Tony Roberts, and others. Drummers and bass players are always in demand. He started performing with Kim Jade Fry and her band, The Good Thing – his first Key West band.
Randy and bassist Jon Skiff met while performing with Ross Brown. They became musical partners and formed the Swerves around 2022. The Swerves performed at Durty Harry’s backstage on Tuesday nights. They became a popular band. Jon played bass and provided great vocals with Randy on drums and vocals. They had cool gigs at Virgilio’s and Martini Mondays – this became one of Randy’s favorite clubs and gigs.
Jon Skiff was a close friend as well as musical collaborator. They spent time together barbecuing or out on the ocean. Jon began having some strange medical issues and began having great difficulty singing. Later, his breathing became difficult and in March 2024, Jon Skiff was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The Key West music scene is a very close knit group and this was devastating news for all.
Stindt has performed with the King of Key West Soul, Robert Albury along with Fritz Sigler and Francois Gehin. He also performed with Bluesman Jersey Slim (George Cook) in Key West and in Marathon. He loved that Jersey attitude and all the funny banter between Jersey and the band. He was a regular with the Marshall Morlock Band for almost two years. On Wednesday nights at General Horseplay, they would play a high energy loud rock-n-roll sound that was a favorite.
Randy grew up in the 90s with progressive rock, loving the experimental stuff that requires a special audience. Once in a while he gets to unleash some Nirvana, Soundgarden, and even a little Smashing Pumpkins music. He feels the trend towards music tourism in Key West is attracting more sophisticated audiences, opening up some freedom to venture outside of the box with less cookie cutter or “cruise ship” set list songs.
For the most part, Key West musicians keep their egos in check and there is much more comradery with very little, if any, cutthroat attitude. Randy says after seven years in Key West, he feels “people compete with respect.”
He has been writing music and is planning to produce an album in 2025. Kim Walsh produced the Key West Singer Songwriter Concert at the Key West Theater which showcases original Key West music. It was a ‘listening’ audience that was paying attention to every original song. Randy performed a song, “Paulie” which was about his younger brother who passed away tragically a few years ago. It was the first time that he could bring himself to perform that song in public.
Proud to call Randy my brother. So talented and I love him so much. Way to follow your dreams Randy. Keep on rockin.
Randy is a formally educated musician, whose love of music resonates in every one of his performances. Besides his vast talents as a musician, he has a heart of gold. He is thoughtful and caring, just the type of person anyone would be lucky to have as a friend. His journey in life and music just keeps getting better. Catch a performance by him whenever you can. You are guaranteed an excellent night of music.