Thom LaFond “An art of time” Thom LaFond grew up in Albany, New York and began playing music on his mother’s guitar when he was nine years old. By the age of thirteen Thom was committed to being a professional musician. He had musical relatives that lived in New York City and across the river […]
Tom Luna “Infected by the Key West virus” A southern boy, Tom Luna was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1952. He jokingly says they were a totally homophobic bigoted family. At age seven, he saw the Bolshoi Ballet on the Ed Sullivan Show and told his parents he wanted to be a ballet dancer. He […]
James Slater – Key West is his soulful wild sister James Slater was born in Durham, North Carolina. His father was employed at Duke University. His mother, who is Bolivian/British, wanted to move to some place warm. They moved to Miami, FL for a year and then to the Panama Canal Zone where lived from […]
Peter Diamond “The most important thing is always the next song.” Peter Diamond Ilacqua was born in central New York near Syracuse. At age 6, he moved to Key West to live with his father. Peter graduated from Key West High School in 1961. He later went to school in Miami and became […]
Paulie Walterson Music is family. Born in 1945, Paulie Walterson is a fifth-generation Key West Conch. His father worked for the Navy, and they lived in a house next to Harris Elementary School. His family originated in Spanish Wells, on the northern end of Eleuthera Island, in the Bahamas. His cousin, Armond Walterson, was married […]
Shrimpboat Sound Studio “A Key West treasure” At the end of a tour in Hawaii, Jimmy Buffett announced he was planning to open a club in Key West. In 1986, Buffett brought his favorite “roadie”, John Lynch (aka JL) Jamison to Key West to help open Margaritaville. He stayed at Buffett’s house and Buffett showed […]
Kristen McNamara “In Key West, there’s room for all of us.” Kristen McNamara was born in San Louis Obispo, California and raised in the natural beauty of the serene Napa Valley on scenic Howell Mountain. Her grandmother Shirley McNamara sold guitars and pianos and inspired her to sing. When she was very young, her family […]
Jonathan Skiffington aka Jon Skiff Jon says that his “genetic disposition for music came from both mom and dad.” Music runs deep in the family. A grandfather was said to be a traveling musician in the 19th century. He sang and played bass (just like Jon) and traveled between venues with his band on trains like groups did back […]
Rich “In Spirit” McKay – Keys, Counterculture, and an American Hippie Rich McKay grew up in City Island in the Bronx in New York City. His family discouraged music study but Rich and his brother insisted. He graduated from Mount Saint Michael’s High School in 1962. McKay started playing guitar while attending Marist College in […]
Mick Kilgos: ” …music is the glue that holds Key West together.” Often introduced by Ericson Holt as ‘the pride of Kankakee’, Mick Kilgos was born in Kankakee, Illinois, a small town 45 miles south of Chicago. When he was 14 years old, Mick starting playing music. His life mirrors the story of that legendary […]
