Ray West – the Pied Piper affect Born in California in 1967, Ray moved around a lot but calls Minneapolis, Minnesota home. He had a more difficult childhood than most, living in foster care for a number of years. He was born Monty Dean West and adopted as Raymond Blydenburg but later discovered the adoption […]
Zack Seemiller – “The consummate entertainer” From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Zack Seemiller was born in 1968 to Joe and Theresa Seemiller. He graduated from high school in 1986. He had no formal music training until 1991 when he ventured to Hollywood, California to study vocals and music at the Music Institute of Technology (MIT). Many famous […]
Mark Rose – a life of musical adventures Everyone knows how much I love horns and this week will include one of my favorites. Mark Rose was born and raised in front of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the son of Trudy and Forrest Rose. His mother was a piano teacher and taught […]
Remembering Mike Gillis John Michael Gillis has passed. He now performs on a much bigger stage – you know they got a helluva band. We lost a lot of music in Key West in 2022 and none more impactful than Mike Gillis. I visited Mike a dozen or so times at his Kennedy Avenue apartment […]
Turner Harrison – attracted to vintage cars and vintage music Turner Harrison was born in Nashville in 1984 to Jim and Connie Harrison, a country music family that play in some famous country bands. Every generation grows and changes – his parents did not try to encourage Turner or his brother, Miller to learn or […]
Cliff Sawyer … the King of Key West cool Cliff Sawyer was born to Robert and Naomi Saunders Sawyer. He along with brothers Randy, Lloyd, Thomas, Robert, and sister, Ruth were raised in Key West’s Bahama Village. Cliff has been singing since he was four years old. He remembers hearing street corner bands in the […]
Brian Roberts … I always feels joy when leaving for a gig Brian Roberts is originally from Manahawkin, New Jersey. His parents, Ron and Linda Roberts had a pest control business in New Jersey and owned a winter home on Big Pine Key. During the winter, Brian attended Sugarloaf school and would then return to […]
Ross Brown “The warmth and closeness of the music brotherhood is uplifting.” Ross Brown grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His father and grandfather were musicians. His father always seemed to have a Blues band. Ross has been playing music all his life. He graduated from Drexel University, in Philadelphia with a degree in Computer Science. […]
William Andrews Blue – “one big Blues music set at an amazing gig” Once in a while a special person comes along and has an impact on your life, music, and everything special. Bill Blue impacted everything and everyone he touched. On July 14, 2022, we lost this extraordinary talented and well-loved blues musician. William […]
Buena Vista Social Club – a love story of Cuban music Twenty five years ago, June 1997, a group of veteran Cuban musicians released an album that forever changed music, Cuba, and the world. The Buena Vista Social Club produced a phenomenon, and it happened at the perfect time. The music world took notice. On […]
