Gary Hernandez “Music is for everyone.” Gary Hernandez is a “true Conch”, born and raised in Key West, FL. He began studying piano while in Horace O’Bryan Middle School and continued his music education through high school, playing various instruments. While in high school, Gary played the trombone with Joe Dallas and the Paradise Big […]
Bill Huckel “A good natured hippie” In the 60s Counter Culture Era, the Navy was closing the submarine base and Key West was becoming a haven for the Hippie movement. Bill Huckel was one of the first to arrive and became very entrepreneurial and successful. He was part of the local environmental supporters with a […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Jesse Wagner – He and the Happy Dog band just stopped leaving Jesse Wagner was born and raised in Montgomery County which is located between Allentown and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He considers himself part of the “Philly Mafia” of the Key West music scene along with Gary Hempsey, Ross Brown, and several others. Around 1985, Jesse’s […]
