James Slater his heart is in Nashville but his soul is in Key West Born in Durham, North Carolina while his father Vic Slater worked at Duke University. He was a psychiatrist from Michigan with a passion for the mandolin and sailing the ocean. He met James mother Alicia in Galveston, Texas while at the […]
Tim Mayer “Music really lives here” Tim Mayer was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, grew up near Portland, Oregon, and finished high school in San Luis Obispo, California. He learned music in elementary school and joined the school band. Mayer originally played the clarinet but at age 10, he switched to the saxophone. He […]
Nick Norman “We love what we do” While growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, Nick Norman attended a Southern Baptist Church summer camp and later, when older, became a camp counselor. Along with good friend Lee Brice, Nick started playing music and was immediately hooked. In 2004, Nick was attracted to the musical energy of […]
Harry Schroeder – “Doctor Cabbie” Harry Schroeder was born in New York City. At the age 7, he took piano lessons and did his best to ignore them. Schroeder heard Louis Armstrong for the first time when he was fourteen years old. He discovered music again. He started playing trumpet in the high school band […]
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 […]
