“Changing of the Guard” The changing of the guard in any music scene is a natural progression and happens often through the generations. Younger musicians learn entertaining and music skills from older musicians. Likewise, the older musicians learned these skills, when they were young, from the previous generation. In Key West, this change has been […]
Fifty Years of Dave Wegman David Wegman hails from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He never attended any music or art school but taught himself to play music and had a wonderful uncle who showed him how to mix colors in oil. In the 60s, Wegman built and raced A/Gas dragster. He raced all over the East […]
Henry Lysy – he knew immediately he had to step up his game Henry Lysy grew up in the suburbs outside of Baltimore, Maryland. His grandfather immigrated from Ukraine. His father, who was his greatest musical influence, grew up in Rhode Island and his mother Susan was from a large Italian New York family. They […]
Skipper Kripitz. – has developed his own music identity Samuel David Kripitz, lovingly known as Skipper, grew up in pre-casino Atlantic City, New Jersey during the 50’s and 60’s. His sister was a jazz groupie and inundated him with Billy Holiday, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Miles Davis, et al. Located just 50 miles […]
George Victory “Key West is like Trinidad without the mountains” Born in 1950, George Victory grew up in Five Rivers, a small village near Arouca in Trinidad. He said there was only one river but you had to cross it five times as it snaked its way down Arouca. One of George’s teachers recognized his […]
Melvin Newton, aka Toko Irie and his music family In the Spring of 1970 Melvin Newton was born on a small island near Grenada named Carriacou in the beautiful Eastern Caribbean. Life could be difficult in this beautiful paradise and you were often forced to improvise. They would sometimes make their own musical instruments. Most […]
Sandra Lee – no language barrier here Sandra Lee Resch (aka Sandra Lee) is originally from Germany, by way of Switzerland. She began playing music early in school, joined the choir and loved vocals. Her mother played guitar and sang along with Sandra and her two sisters while they were growing up. Sandra’s vocal teachers […]
Jillian Todd – pure serendipity Jillian Todd was born in 1999 near Potsdam, New York, in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, close to the Canadian border. At age 6, she began taking piano lessons from a really cool hippie lady who lived across the street. Her father, Ben, played guitar in an 80’s rock/country […]
Dave Bootle “Sing, Dance, Laugh” David Wayne Bootle, the youngest of four brothers, was born just outside of Toronto in Orangeville, Ontario in 1962. His parents were from England and immigrated to Canada. His father worked at McDonald Douglas Aircraft and was a solo pianist who played in small venues. Bootle started playing drums in […]
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 John Lynch (JL) Jamison his favorite “roadie” to Key West to help open Margaritaville. He stayed at Buffett’s house. Buffett showed Jamison […]
