Oren Polak – loves the new friends he makes every day Born in upstate New York and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Oren Polak started singing at a very young age. He learned piano early on and later, began playing guitar in high school. Oren went to George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia, graduating […]
Hunker Down “…that’s what that TV man said” Anyone living in the Florida Keys during Hurricane season has probably heard the famous hurricane song by Bill Blue, officially titled “Hunker Down”. It’s an anthem that describes living through a hurricane only the way Bill Blue could describe it – in a song. Bill related his […]
Fritz Sigler – a quiet important part of Key West music Fritz Sigler grew up in rural Clinton, New Jersey. His interest in music began with The Rolling Stones and their song, “Satisfaction”. He took piano lessons as a child but his love was the guitar. Fritz had a younger brother who played keyboard and, […]
Steve Mello amazing, sad and bittersweet Born March 10, 1954, Steve Mello was originally from Bermuda where his father owned several grocery stores. He had two sisters and a wonderful mother with strong family roots. The family moved to Melbourne, Florida where he finished school, graduating from Melbourne High School. Growing up, he listened to his […]
Coffee Butler Amphitheater – the missing piece of the puzzle The story behind the Coffee Butler Amphitheater starts about twelve years ago with a Mason jar of blackberry moonshine and two guys floating in a pool at a campground on Sugarloaf Key. Real Estate mogul Joe Cleghorn and good friend and musician Howard Livingston were […]
Izzy Zaidman – Izak Gabriel Zaidman (aka Izzy) was born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. His father was a professional guitarist, teaching and performing roots blues and ragtime in the New York area. Izzy was twelve years old when his father bought him his first guitar. He attended Charles Evans Hughes […]
Tantra Grillo “…….. practices gratitude a lot” Tantra Grillo, a Southern California girl from a small suburb of Tustin near Santa Anna, began writing poetry at age fourteen. She was influenced by the pain and poetry of Tupac. She started recording at Hot Tracks Studio but the head of the studio told her that it […]
John Vagnoni ” The management works tirelessly avoiding progress.” John Vagnoni grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and graduated from Temple University in 1969. He arrived in Key West in 1972, after the Navy had closed the submarine base (now Truman Annex) and Key West’s economy was devastated. Duval Street was mostly boarded up, rents were cheap, […]
Les Greene ”Sam Cooke saved his life.” Les Greene, youngest of three brothers and one sister, was born in Baltimore, Maryland but his family moved to Guyana where he lived until age nine and then, they returned to Baltimore. His mother, Pinky Greene, home schooled him. Interestingly, Guyana television stations did not broadcast commercials. Instead […]
Raven Cooper “Singing is like a natural high” Raven Cooper grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas and was a competitive freestyle and butterfly swimmer and diver in high school. She began listening to Janis Joplin at an early age, and it was a major music influence. Her grandmother bought her a classical guitar while on a […]
