KEY WEST LEGENDS VOLUME ONE
M U SI C MAGAZINE
YOUR GUIDE TO THE KEY WEST MUSIC SCENE | VOLUME 3 | NO 2 | 2026
5TH ANNUAL KEY WEST MUSIC AWARDS
THE IGGIES
A LEGEND TOLD AGAIN AND AGAIN
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listen up To live a musical life. To discover, at some point, that without creating, life seemed to have little meaning. Realizing that any other successes in life will be tainted with the failure to follow that voice inside saying, “You don’t have a band, you haven’t written a song in years, you have done nothing.” For most of us, recording that creation is the way in which we have in our hands, literally or figuratively, something we made, something that would not exist without the effort and talent of its creators. Though there are definitely people I have met who do not care to share their work with the world, most artists hope people will enjoy their creation. You play it for your friends and family, sell a few downloads, get some likes and some streams, and then it feels like you brought a drop of water and a grain of sand with you to the beach. You head home thinking your product just isn’t special enough. There are, of course, superstars. The top 1 percent of artists that 90 percent of us have either heard of, or can hear of, without really trying. Start doing a bit of math and that seems like a great number of people over even just the last 100 years of music. Imagine what the number of unheard songs and unknown musicians over that same time must be. Unfathomable, really. And though I have never been paid to be a critic, I must imagine at least one of those songs was “pretty, pretty, pretty good.”
MIND ALTERING LUBRICANTS FOR SOCIAL INTERCOURSE
CHEERS TO WINNING
BEST MARTINI AGAIN IN 2025!!
An example of a successful career may be that of our own Bill Blue. Not every moment of his career was considered glamorous, but he achieved recognition for his work and built a reputation as an authentic, accomplished player, and as a person who was genuinely liked and respected. Even after his passing, his music lives on. His name is still spoken, pictures and paintings of him remain displayed, and, perhaps most importantly, his music is still played. The story of the unknown artists is both sad and beautiful. It shows the need for humans, at a basic level, to express themselves, regardless of accolades and attention. Yet at the same time it shows that the desire for fame and the quest to separate from the crowd will always fuel creation. It shows the dichotomy: how the struggling of artists to be heard and to support themselves through their art breeds creation and how the success of that creation can alleviate the struggle and stifle creation. It also shows the strength and love it takes to live a musical life. Check out keywestmusicmagazine.com for more features and a daily schedule. Ray West Publisher
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ABOUT THIS ISSUE Publisher Ray West keywestmusicmagazine@gmail.com keywestmusicmagazine.com Contributors Ralph De Palma Ian Shaw Dani Hoy Kim Walsh Yleana Denis Bill Klipp Kit Carson Smith Jeff Dalton Photographers Ralph De Palma Bill Klipp Cole Griffith Photography Key West Music Magazine Logo David Jones Art
S R E N I L D HEAEST MUSIC MAGAZINE KEY W
LUE REWS B D N A IAM 10 WILL ONSOLE EC 14 ATITTHH IAN SHAW W S INFO 16 IGGIE ST WANDERINGS WE 18 KEITYH BILL KLIPP W LEASES CAL RE O L 2 2 DENNIS 24 MIKE KIT ITH 26 SIT W
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By Ralph De Palma
A LEGEN DA RY S TO RY THAT W ILL BE TOL D A N D RE TOLD FO RE V ER Once in a while a special person comes along and has an effect on your life, music and everything special. Bill Blue affected everything and everyone he touched. On July 14, 2022, we lost this extraordinary talented and well-loved blues musician. William Andrews Blue was born in Aberdeen, North Carolina on July 23, 1946. The family moved to Yorktown, Virginia when Bill was very young. His life was changed forever on Sept. 9, 1956 when Elvis Presley appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Like millions of other young men, Bill was amazed by Presley and started playing the guitar. (The Monday after Presley’s appearance, Gibson guitars had their best sales day ever.) One night several years later, in Richmond in 1964, a very scared young Bill Blue got on stage for the first time at the Crossroads Coffee House and played a few of his own songs. He was very young and very good. He went on to make a living playing guitar all of his adult life — he even got to meet Presley.
Bill’s life changed again when he met Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, who wrote, “That’s All Right, Mama”, the first song Presley ever recorded. Big Boy also wrote “Rock Me Mama,” which Led Zeppelin recorded. Crudup was living in a shack in a migrant worker camp (aka “truck farm”). Bill and Crudup put a band together and started performing locally. Around the same time, Bonnie Raitt’s new manager, Dick Waterman, was gathering old blues musicians to tour. Crudup got a call and was asked if he could put a band together and join their tour. The following week, Bill Blue was playing with Crudup while touring with Bonnie Raitt. Crudup, who passed away in 1974, never received any royalties for his work. Bill wrote a song about Crudup called “On the Road for Big Boy”. He played it at almost every gig. Bill began touring on his own, sharing the stage with B.B. King, ZZ Top, the Allman Brothers and countless others. His first musical gig in Key West was at Sloppy Joe’s on July 4, 1979. Bill was going through some tough personal times and touring had taken its toll. He returned to Richmond, told his band he was moving to Key West, offered them the opportunity to join him. They all thought he was absolutely crazy. In early 1981, after years of touring and a failed marriage, Key West became a safe harbor, a port in a storm that lasted for over 40 years.
When Bill arrived in town, he hooked up with a group of musicians and formed a band called “Bill Blue & the Nervous Guys.” Regular gigs at Sloppy Joe’s put the group on the music map in Key West. In the mid-’80s, Bill had a houseguest for six weeks — St. Petey Twig, known today as Barry Cuda. The two had met while touring Northern Europe. On his way to New Orleans, Cuda stopped in Key West to see Bill and play a few gigs. He never made it to New Orleans. One night in 1994, while Bill was performing at Sloppy Joe’s, his high school sweetheart walked through the front door. Bill and Beverly immediately made eye contact. On a break, they spoke, reconnected, and began to fall back in love. Coffee Butler performed at their wedding — Bill’s fourth. They lived on a small houseboat. Beverly sang backup at Bill’s gigs. She dove for lobsters behind Garrison Bight. It was an amazing 25-year love story. The Green Parrot was hallowed ground for Bill. He was the first to play music, in 1983, at this most famous venue. He probably performed on the Green Parrot stage hundreds of times to tens of thousands of adoring fans. It’s a magical cathedral of Bill Blue music. Bill Blue had been working on his first new release in over 20 years, “Mojolation,” an album of original blues. He asked me to plan the album cover a year in advance. Bill suggested the shoot be in the Key West graveyard on a gray overcast day and asked me to locate statuary of angels there. I wanted to get the best cover photo for my good friend, so I surveyed the entire graveyard, and located all the angels. It didn’t work. We shot hundreds of photos at the graveyard and three other locations. Nothing was working. Continued on the next page
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Photo by Ralph De Palma/soul-of-keywest.com keywestmusicmagazine.com 11
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Bill was getting frustrated and tired. We drove around Key West, past a home on Whitehead Street Bill lost in a divorce settlement. We continued down Whitehead past the Green Parrot. It was about 10 a.m. They had just opened the side doors by the back bar, showing the caricature art of blues legend Robert Johnson by local artist Dave Wegman. We looked at each other and both had the same idea at the same time. This was the shot! Bill called the Green Parrot’s John Vagnoni. I parked the car. As Bill and I walked into an eerily still and empty Green Parrot and casually strolled past the stage, you could feel a ghostly chill from his thousands of fans in this special place. We both instantly knew we would get the album cover photograph we needed. Bill loved the Green Parrot stage and especially his sound-check fans. Caffeine Carl would often perform with him, and they would both rip up the stage. Carl performed Bill’s song, “Hunker Down,” at the recent Key West Blues Festival, and someone posted a video of the performance on Facebook. Bill saw it and sent Carl a message, “Thanks for doing my song…made me feel better…love you buddy.” Nothing could have made Carl feel better. One morning we were having breakfast and our server, who was a friend of Bill’s, asked if he had heard the news about Marilyn “Chicken” Moyer. Chicken was a longtime friend of Bill’s and service worker who knew everyone in town. Ironically, she had been going through cancer treatments and needed a little help. Bill said he would make some calls and host a fundraiser for Chicken. He told his friend as she turned and walked away, “I’m always good for $10,000.” Bill hosted a big fundraiser with many others for Chicken at the Green Parrot and raised over $15,000. His life was one big extended blues music set at an amazing gig. He could entertain a small group in a club or a huge crowd of thousands. Bill could master a solo acoustic ballad or rip up the stage with slide guitar magic. Over the years, Bill Blue was always ready to help a friend
in need. I’ve joked that he raised enough money to buy Miami – probably not too far off. Bill had a sense of self that was confident but not overbearing. Bill Blue was a member of the board of directors of the Bahama Village Music Program for over four years. He helped raise thousands for the music program with tireless efforts. Quite fittingly, Bill Blue’s last performance in Key West was at a Green Parrot soundcheck when he released his last album, “King of Crazytown,” March 12, 2020. Five days later, the world shut down from COVID. Bill Blue’s life was a series of legendary and sometimes outlandish stories that will be told and retold forever. An entire column could be written about how he wrote his famous hurricane song “Hunker Down” during a raging Category 4 Hurricane Francis, to calm his daughter Molly. After his passing, I traveled to Richmond to attend the celebration of Bill Blue’s life. Bill left Richmond in 1981 and lived most of the rest of his life in Key West. He is a Key West legend. This trip to his hometown opened up a new perspective on this legendary blues man. He hadn’t lived in Richmond for 40 years but he occasionally performed there for festivals and special performances and rarely with his old Bill Blue Band mates. In spite of that 40-year separation, the love for Bill Blue in Richmond remained profound. I attended the rehearsal in the cavernous Canal Club where Bill had performed many times. Every musician rehearsing had a Bill Blue story to share. They spoke of Bill as though he was as close a friend as he was to his Key West band mates — like they had gigged together every day, even though they hadn’t really made music with him regularly for over 40 years. Bill Blue’s lifelong friend and fellow guitarist Mike McAdam organized and produced the sixhour celebration — it sold out to over 600 Bill Blue fans. Bill Blue Band vocalist, Sharon Garland, said we needed to learn how to talk about Bill without being sad. I’m still working on it.
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1. Bill points to a life size version of his younger self still on display on the ladies room door at the Green Parrot in Key West. 2. Bills steely stare. 3. Bill playing the blues on his silver Dobrow. 4. Jamming at the Green Parrot with one of his consummate partners Caffeine Carl. 5. Bills high school sweetheart Beverly, reunited to complete an 25 year love story.
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e h at t ole s n o c A B OU T O TALK T G IN GO DINGS RECOR ION, I’M E IT U L D E B T WILL BILL THIS G , THA T NE W A IN E IX R G M HED ONTHS SOME TO 6 M ST FINIS 5 U J T E X V E N THAT I’ E R T HE DS. SED OV A RECOR E L N E R W O T BE H NC ON CO OR SO,
As many of you know, sadly, Bill Blue passed away in 2022, probably one of the last of a line of back porch blues singers and guitarists, who played with and hung out with the blues greats. I was lucky enough to get to make two records with Bill between 2012 and 2018, “Mojolation” and “The King Of Crazy Town.” Over the next months, new recordings of Bill Blue will be released. Six of the seven new studio tracks were recorded during the making of these two records. The first single coming late July, early August is a song called “Gris Gris.” A Gris Gris is a Cajun charm that can work good or evil. It’s a high energy blues stomp, and it was nearly the opening track on “King Of Crazy Town,” but at the time, I wasn’t totally happy with the mix. This is a remix with some extra keyboards by Ericson Holt. Indeed, most of the new songs have had some overdubs added to finish them. 14 KEY WEST MUSIC
W ITH IAN SH AW
Probably the most interesting song from a recording standpoint, is called “Amos McGee.” All I had of this tune was a demo that Bill made at my studio one evening, a year or so after we finished “The King Of Crazy Town.” It was him playing guitar plugged into the mixing desk and singing at the same time, and we overdubbed some harmonica licks. When we decided to include it on the new set of releases, using studio technology, we Frankenstein’d it into a complete band song. We got Randy Morrow to play drums; Matt Backer added another guitar, a solo and bass; Ericson played Hammond organ; and Marjory sang backing vocals. We’ve ended up with a pretty cool rocking tune that I think Bill would have been pleased with. The other songs include a cover of “Little Sister,” a perennial favorite live track in Bill’s show, and an Eddie Hinton song. Bill was a Hinton fan, and “Brand New Man” on “Mojolation” and “I Want It All” on “Crazy Town” are also Hinton songs.
There’s a long-ish 12-bar slow blues song with Richard Crooks on drums, an acoustic song recorded live in my living room with Larry Baeder, and one other tune that wasn’t part of Bill’s live repertoire. The release is likely to be made available on vinyl, and Conch Town may add a couple of live recordings from a gig at the Hard Rock Café with Matt Backer in November 2013 to finish it out. Stay tuned for release dates, and a likely party gig at the Green Parrot in October on Bill Blue Day, to celebrate the new record. Ian Shaw is a British record producer who relocated to Key West. Warmfuzz Productions offers live recording of gigs directly to ProTools and studio-based production and mixing.
Warmfuzz Productions ian.shaw@warmfuzz.com
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By Ray West
IGGIES INFO
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE KEY WEST MUSIC AWARDS
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The Local Stars and the Awards are aligned for this years Iggies.
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On Jan. 12th, the Key West Theater will host the fourth annual Key West Music Awards. As in years past there will be several performances by some of the city’s best and brightest. This year includes David Bryce Warren Jack Fivecoate and Gi Buxford, Meghan Barter, Caffeine Carl, Nick Norman and Jeff Clark & Britt Meyers will be the co-host and the house band is back, led by Jeff Dalton. The awards show consists of 24 categories, including Songwriter of the Year, Fan of the Year, Mentor of the Year, Rock Act of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. A Lifetime Appreciation Award is also given out annually. Winners are determined from nominations chosen by you, the people. After the public nominations are complete, the totals will be counted and recounted. The top nominees in each category become our finalists. From there they will go to a panel of seven judges. These judges have no knowledge of the number of nominations received or who received the least or the most. The judges are anonymous and unknown to each other. They range from music professionals and teachers to fans who see an exceptional amount of local music. The night features the Key West red carpet with plenty of sequins and leather. It’s a packed house as local celebrities present the awards throughout the evening. Musical guests join the live band between celebrations and give a glimpse of the talent this town attracts. Many Key West musicians end up at one place, which rarely happens in this working town. At its heart, the Iggies is a registered 501(c) (3) in service to its community. The key West Community. All proceeds from the show go directly to help other organizations and individuals. This is accomplished through gifts and grants and fundraising efforts. The show starts at 8 p.m. with the official after-party at the Alamo for some late-night jams. If you would like to become a sponsor, donate, or get tickets, go to keywestmusicawards.com.
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W ITH B I L L KL I P P
Leave the crowds and $5 T-shirts on lower Duval Street behind and wander or pedal down Petronia Street into the heart of Key West’s Bahama Village. On the right night you might stumble upon some of the sights and sounds or scents of a more laidback vibe reminiscent of old Key West. It is here you will find a hidden set of musical gems, reminders of Key West’s funky and eclectic past, a place where the local musicians often come to hear music. RAMS HEAD SOUTHERNMOST COCKTAILS, FOOD, LIVE MUSIC The first music venue you will come across is Rams Head Southernmost at the corner of Whitehead and Petronia streets, home to a bar-restaurant along with two musical stages. On the bar stage you will find a local artist or two playing classic songs for the restaurant and bar. Wander out back and we find new life has been given to an old venue. The Bahama Village Truck Stage is where Rams Head has been hosting a music series highlighting local musicians and bands on the backyard truck bed stage. Here you might find some Key West favorites like Colette Campbell, Reggae Lou & the Kind Budz, Ross Brown, Dallas Remington, Nick Norman, Mike Stack, 18 KEY WEST MUSIC
Andy Westcott Trio or Cayman & Friends, to name a few. With lots of outdoor space and an elevated stage, the Truck Stage also hosts a parade of musicians during the Key West Songwriters Festival and other special events. BLUE HEAVEN CLASSIC KEY WEST Continue down Petronia another block,into the heart of Bahama Village, and you will bump into a cluster of music venues, starting with the iconic Blue Heaven restaurant. Here among the wandering local chickens and roosters you can count on finding live music every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It could be jazz, reggae, pop, folk or original tunes, so just cozy up to the bar while you wait for your table or just wander in for a cocktail and enjoy the music. THE BORDELLO IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW Tucked upstairs in Blue Heaven you will find a little-known music secret. Back in the day this was the spot where the “ladies of the night” plied their craft in “the Bordello.” Decades later, the working Ladies are gone but their closet- sized offices still exist. The space is now better known as a funky listening room where local and visiting musicians can play their original
music to an attentive crowd with seating for about 50 people. The Bordello is for the late-night crowd with 10 p.m. shows popping up a couple of times per month. These are typically low-priced sold-out ticketed events that you often need to be in the know to attend. ANDY’S CABANA A FUNKY STEP BACK IN TIME Just across Petronia Street from Blue Heaven you will find Andy’s Cabana, a little classic Key West conch-style house that used to be the go-to place for fresh homemade conch fritters. Today you will find a small stage, hidden under an old parachute draped from the overhanging trees. A collection of local characters and traveling troubadours gather to collaborate on Key West’s only open acoustic stage at one of those “Only in Key West”-type scenes. Hosted by the owners of Blue Heaven and founded by long term Key West salty character David Wegman, a well-known, artist, musician, global sailor and puppeteer (the guy with the funky hat, braided beard and mini-banjo). On any given Thursday there might be just a handful of diehard locals hanging out and jamming away, or maybe the place is spilling out into the street. Bring or borrow an instrument, share your voice, a poem, a short story or just sit back with a cocktail and relax and watch what unfolds on and around the stage. You never know what might happen or what surprise guest might show up. (Was that
really Kenny Chesney? It sure was.) One thing is for sure: You are guaranteed a truly unique Key West experience. While the main event is a classic musical jam session, the evening is diverse, with poetry, puppet shows, storytelling and good old creative fun. On other nights, the stage hosts a number of locals musicians for special events such as Jimmy Buffett tribute shows, the Pirates Ball, Bastille Day, or regular gigs by artists such as Sam Carlson or local favorite Cayman Smith-Martin doing some of his classic reggae and island music. During the day Andy’s is mostly used as an overflow waiting area for Blue Heaven, often with local musicians using the stage to rehearse their gigs while playing only for tips. VIV WINE BISTRO FINE WINE AND FINE LIVE MUSIC To find good Jazz on the island you used to have only one choice, the Little Room Jazz Club on Duval Street. Not anymore — just wander next door from Andy’s Cabana to Viv Wine Bistro. One of the changes COVID times brought to Bahama Village was the addition of more music venues to this sleepy street. Julie, the owner of Viv, says over the years she got to know some of the musicians playing next door at Blue Heaven and Andy’s Cabana and invited a few to play in her European-themed Bistro. It is now a favorite gathering spot a few nights a week for wine, cheese, food and music lovers. Here in a tiny intimate setting, you will mostly hear the many sounds of jazz, with artists like the multi-talented Channing Lynn and her Key West Jazz Society or Martin Sedlak and his magical violin with Dmitriy Bolotny on piano doing some gypsy jazz with vibrant rhythms or Howdy ’Bout That with their distinctive old-time sounds of American gypsy and folk, country or bluegrass.
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WILLIAM WEECH AMERICAN LEGION POST 168 - A HISTORIC MUSICAL VENUE Keep wandering down Petronia to Emma Street and you will come across a large non-descript historic building with a long history of appearances by musical greats like James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Etta James, and B. B. King. After a long keywestmusicmagazine.com 19
period of dormancy, music is coming back to this expansive hall with its giant dance floor, large elevated stage and reasonably priced drinks. Recently we caught River Seine and his brother Tiger Maximus belting out some familiar songs, Marshal Morlock Band with their high energy rock and roll, Genevieve with her upbeat powerful voice, DJ Dance Party, Terri White, Larry Baeder and Clayton Lopez and Friends. LOCAL’S TIP Our strategy is to sit for a meal at Blue Heaven or Ram’s Head Southernmost, then with a to-go cup in hand we wander from one music venue to another, catching different acts and sounds and when it’s all over around 11 p.m. just take a short wander over to the Green Parrot for their late night music set. Got to love music town in paradise.
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BILL KLIPP - THE DOCUMENTARIAN When home in Key West, internationally recognized wildlife photographer Bill Klipp strays from his normal natural world subject matter to capture the everyday happenings in and around our island paradise. Klipp’s daily photo forays into Key West’s own “wildlife” is best known on social media as “Key West Wanderings,” where he has used his camera and keen eye to capture images of local events and items of community interest. Recently voted “Fan of the Year” at the Key West Music Awards, Klipp is known for using his photographic skills to document and promote the activities of our extensive music community. To see more of his local photography, check his Facebook Group called “@ Key West Wanderings” or his website at www.wildlifephotos.me By the way, next time you are at a music event and you see a guy wearing a distinctive fedora lurking in the shadows or darting about with a camera, wander over and introduce yourself, as that would most likely be Klipp.
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MUSIC SP OT LIGHT
local releases
VERMILLION SANDS BY LEE VENTERS
I’LL SEE MYSELF OUT BY CHRIS THOMAS Released in September of 2022, the debut album of Key West musician Chris Thomas contains 9 original rockoriented compositions. The majority of the album was recorded at Chris’ home studio in Key West during COVID with finishing touches and over dubs done at Ian Shaw’s Warmfuzz Studio in Key West in 2021 and 2022.
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Lee composed, produced, and arranged, Vermillion Sands and performed multiple instruments which was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia in 2001. VS featured the late great Kofi Burbridge flutist and keyboards with (Derek Trucks Susan Tedeschi as well as ARU Aquarian rescue Unit) along with The late percussionist extraordinaire Count Umbuto on Congas formally with the Allman Brothers Band and the Derek Trucks Band. Lee’s influences as a composer are heavily influenced by contemporary jazz with an emphasis in Latin and Brazilian rhythms and song structure.
LOVE AND TIME BY JOCKEY JORD Key West based singer-songwriter Jockey Jord put out another selfproduced project in February called, “Love & Time”. All the tracks were written, recorded, and produced by him outside of track 9 “Close the World at Five” which was written by Jimmy Buffett in 1969. This album is about growth and is shows. Jordan is in the process of working on his next project which will be his first studio release. This project is dedicated to Heather Marcotte.
7 SIDED CIRCLE BY RICK NORMAN Rick Norman’s latest collection of seven original songs 7-SIDED CIRCLE was recorded in Nashville over the course of the year 2023 - 2024 and released in November of 2024.... All the songs on “7 Sided Circle” communicate some form of love, lovers, brothers, and the world at large.
10 YEARS IN 5 BY HAL HOWLAND 10 Years in 5 is an recording combining atmospheric ECM-style jazz, blues, a waltz, a samba (Tom’s “Riddle Witch” is probably the best overall performance on the CD), a ballad, an Art Blakey-style sextet, mixed-meter funk, and a Leonard Bernstein-flavored flute song. Everything except the sleeve was produced in D.C. The cover art is by former Key West painter Janet Mueller, who relocated to Miami Beach several years ago.
HUMAN JUKEBOX BY MEGHAN BARTER With the help of grants from the Anne McKee Artist Fund and the Florida Keys Council of the Arts, Meghan was able to bring her vision to life— hiring producer Jeff Dalton and an incredible lineup of musicians (Daniel Clark on drums, Jeremy Dalton on acoustic guitar, Ross Brown on electric guitar and congas, Izzy Zaidman on electric guitar, Billy Ruegger on electric guitar, Steve Molnar on pedal steel guitar, Mark Rose on saxophone and harmonica, and Jeff Dalton on bass, keys, shaker, and synth). The record was tracked at Sunrise Studios in Marathon in early 2025 and will be released October 10th, 2025, on Spotify and Apple Music.
TRAINING WHEELS BY GARY HEMPSEY Training Wheels LP is a collection of short stories put to, a true definition of singer/ songwriter material with acoustic guitar / piano and fiddle being the main body of the. Recorded in L.A. at the séance room, the sound quality and performance put you in the middle of the sessions, not just through a speaker. There are also 11 videos that accompany the record (all on YouTube). This is Gary’s 4th LP on Conch Town Records label
APPLE BY JESSE AND JILL “Apple” was recorded in August of 2025 at Echo Mountain Recording Studio in Asheville, NC. Jess and Jill recorded most of a forthcoming album there, just before the studio closed its doors for good in October. Musicians on the track include Keith Snyder on bass, Ryan Ptaznik on drums, Bud Burrows on Mandolin, Jackson Delaney on dobro, Calien Campbell on fiddle, Jillian Todd on guitar and vocals, and Jesse Wagner on guitar and vocals. “Apple” can be heard exclusively on YouTube now. A full release to all streaming platforms will be available in the new year.
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s e t o n d s od w e n z z ja NEVERGUY S A W ENNISIN AND OUT MIKE D KING A CLOC
Born and raised in Seneca Falls, New York, he took piano lessons from Pop Curry, a local man who taught him how to make chords and listen for the intervals. He played his first gig for money in Geneva, New York in 1959. Eventually, he went off to college, after which he worked in New York and Houston in advertising. His mom and dad thought he was set. Instead, he walked out of the structured environment of steady income for a competitive and uncertain career as a pianist. One evening in Houston in 1973, he flipped on the TV and the screen exploded with the piano music of Mac Rebennack, aka Dr. John, playing the rhythms and melodies of New Orleans. Mike had never heard the piano played like that. A few years had gone by since he had sat down at a piano until that night. After that, for six months, two hours a day, seven days a week, he practiced with Rebennack’s album 24 KEY WEST MUSIC
playing right next to him on the bench to his newly-rented piano. He knew he would never again return to the traditional 9-to-5 job. That’s when he decided where he would spend his time and energy and it was the most important decision of his life. In October 1973, he played his first gig as a professional at the Lakeway Inn in Austin, Texas, where he stayed for five weeks partnered with a guitarist, and for the next several decades, he followed music wherever it took him. He did extensive road work and built up several years of Texas honkytonk experience, preparing him for his eventual move to Nashville. While there, he toured with country music stars and did a lot of recording work before getting a break he never expected. In 1985 while visiting New Orleans for JazzFest, he sat in at a Bourbon Street hotel piano bar, only he played rock ’n’ roll rather than traditional piano bar music. He was immediately offered a good-paying job. He took it
and stayed there for 6½ years, playing occasional gigs in far-flung places like Honduras, Trinidad and Zimbabwe. He moved to Key West in late 1991, quickly falling in love with the place. He settled in and there he stayed until he and his lovely wife Yleana bought a second home in Panamá. They now divide their time between the two places. Mike has played a lot in Panamá, after having converted to jazz in 2019. Currently, he is playing various clubs around Key West, including a regular Monday jazz slot at the American Legion Post 168, often finishing up with the nostalgia-drenched “Those Were The Days.” Mike Dennis chose wandering the world in search of the next piano, rejecting the constraints of a standard job to connect with people through the universal language of music. His piano playing is the core of his musical identity, tapping into the powerful memories of a simpler time, organic sound of classic American music that he carries with him on his endless journey, as he clawed his way up to the small time.
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My name is Kit Carson Smith, owner of Angelina’s. Many people know me as the “Pizza Man” or the “Earl of Pizza.” I’m from a small town in southeast Georgia and moved to Key West in 1986 after I graduated from Troy University. When I founded Angelina’s in 1988, my goal was to have a fantastic place to work every day where I could listen to rock ’n’ roll, play pinball and have fun with my friends.
So many great interviews and I end them all the same way, “Before you run off, I need to ask you one tough question. It’s one of those hard-hitting questions to which the answer can affect entire careers:”
And oh yeah, eat a lot of delicious pizza! I’ve been knocking that goal out of the ballpark ever since! I think I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Every night I get to hang out here on Duval Street in beautiful Key West listening to awesome live music, eating pizza with all my friends and meeting some of the craziest and nicest people on the planet!
Carolyn Guarini: “Cheese. You know ... cheese.” Spogga: “Hawaiian ... yeah baby that’s the jam.” Tony Baltimore: “Neapolitan.” Caffeine Carl: “Pepperoni and extra mushrooms baby ... Right here at Angelina’s.” John Lamere: ”I would probably be a plain cheese pizza ... man.” Ron Gregoric: “I’m probably gonna get a lot of @#$% from my Jersey friends ... but I’d be Hawaiian.” Mike Stack: “I’m going pineapple and ham. See your boy tomorrow.” Lee Sharp: “Yeah there are five cheeses and in a perfect world, hamburger.“ Michael Hal: “Chicken, bacon, ranch.” Justin Angelo: “Booberry.”
A year ago, with the invaluable assistance of “TV Tim,” I started a YouTube channel called “Sit With Kit” and it’s really taken off. There are so many unique and interesting characters on our island and I want to hear all their stories. So, each week, in front of Angelina’s under the “Reserved Parking for Sit With Kit” sign, I sit down with the rock stars, heroes and gods of Duval Street to learn more about them and how they contribute to the Key West way of life and listen to wild tales about their outlandish adventures. No two stories are the same and I never know what’s going to happen!
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IF YOU WERE A PIZZA, WHAT KIND OF PIZZA WOULD YOU BE?
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th e c i s u m n o s l es
W ITH J EFF DA LTO N
? CHORD A S I T WHA
We’ve all heard it: “What are the chords?” or “How do I play a C7b9 chord?” What does that all mean? A “chord” is defined in music theory as “multiple notes played or sung at the same time with a pleasing effect.” A chord is typically made up of three or more related notes based on the key in which the song is being played. To describe chord structures, we need to use a little math (ugh). The root note of a musical scale is “1” and the ending note is “7.” The most common chord is a “major triad” (a threenote chord) and is made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th elements of that scale. In the key of C, the notes of the C major triad are C-E-G, or 1-3-5. To hear a song played almost entirely with major triads, listen to Jon Denver’s “Sunshine on my Shoulders.” http://bit.ly/42IDwJi. We also have minor triads (created by lowering the 3rd element by ½ step, or one fret or key). Minor triads often sound “sad,” but can also be cool. Check out “Oye Como Va” by Tito Puente to hear it: https://bit.ly/3GE0x8G. Sometimes artists take songs with major chords and change them to minor to make the song sound sad or poignant. Sheryl Crow’s rendition of Cole 28 KEY WEST MUSIC
Porter’s joyous but devastating “Begin the Beguine” completely changes the vibe of the song by switching to minor: https://bit.ly/4lPM3ms. A lot of beautiful music can be made with triads. Most popular music is composed that way. Some Key West standouts with this style include Collette Cambell, Jillian Todd, Meghan Barter and more. Triads aren’t the only kind of chords though. There are four-, fiveand six-note chords, and even more. Those larger chords use simple math to add extensions to the triad. A common 4-note chord is the 7th chord, which adds the 7th element of the scale to the basic triad. You will recognize the seventh chord as a “blues chord,” because it has that raw, “bluesy” sound. There are a lot of great blues players here in town who really know how to use these chords, including RB Tolar, Larry Baeder and Andy Wescott, among others. We also have 9th, 11th and 13th chords. For these, we go beyond 1-7, and count up from the root to add the desired notes. Few players use all of those notes in a chord, but use “voicings” to pick and choose which of the 5-6 notes in the chord they want to play based on the vibe, and what other
notes players in the band are playing (Note to pianists: no reason to play the root notes when there is a bass player! It makes us crazy!) For mastery of tasteful and interesting chord voicings, check out Key West’s own Mike Emerson, Billy Rueger, Izzie Zaidman and more. To learn more about complex chords, and to listen to music theory guru Rick Beato talk about the “chord solos” of Wes Montgomery: https://bit.ly/3Yk2Rb5. For the ultimate chord in popular music, check out the instantly recognizable introduction to “Hard Day’s Night,” by the Beatles. While it’s technically a “polychord,” it’s a great example of chords beyond the basic triad. The theory behind that famous chord is presented here: https://bit.ly/4jtL2yY. Many guitar and piano players learn by hand “shapes,” without any need to delve into music theory, and there is great music made like that every day right here in Key West. But learning the mechanics behind chord and scale structures will expand your abilities and take your compositions, playing and opportunities to new heights. So learn to love the math!
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MUSICIA N SP OT LIGHT By Ralph De Palma
Key West is like Trinidad without the mountains
Friends Gather to Honor the Passing of George Victory with music at the Schooner Wharf.
George Victory was born Feb 7, 1950 and grew up in Five Rivers, a small village in the Arouca area of Trinidad. There was only one river but it curved around so much through this village that you had to cross it five times. George’s mother sang in the church choir. George said if you closed your eyes and heard his father sing, you would have thought you were listening to Al Green. When he was 5 years old, George also started singing in the choir. In 1959, friend Victor Lynch took several photos of 9-yearold George Victory singing and playing a guitar. He sent the photos to a friend who worked at the local newspaper. George was invited to perform in a Sunday evening competition. He performed Elvis Presley’s song, “Return to Sender” and won the competition. His photos were all over the local papers, with the caption “a young Elvis Presley.” George’s father and uncles surprised him with his first guitar. He was allowed to practice after he had fed all the animals on their small farm. He quickly taught himself to play a Louis Armstrong tune, “That Ole Black Magic.” His father was impressed and encouraged George to learn 30 KEY WEST MUSIC
five new songs, by Andy Williams and Nat King Cole, all in one day. He practiced very hard and learned the new music. When his father came home from work that day, George was waiting for him, smiling. His father knew why he was smiling and said “back me up” and he started singing “Sentimental Reasons.” George started to play his guitar and began adding a few chords. His father stopped him, saying, “You have to understand the basic chord, not just play them”. He told George to “feel them corazon.” His father spoke a little Spanish and meant “feel them in your heart.” His father went on to say there are notes in a basic chord that you had to feel as you run your fingers over the strings. George played the chords over and over and would use the bass string on the side. He credits his father for giving him this great insight that he continued to use throughout his career. George ended up in a military school, trying to learn welding. He remembers the bugle blowing early in the morning. The discipline was good but music was George’s first calling, and he quickly moved on to performing. After a successful audition, George’s first musical touring
began with the Mighty Sparrow in Trinidad. He would soon travel all over the world between 1968 and 1977. He also played with Jimmy Cliff during this same period. In the mid 70s, he began playing with a group led by another Trinidad musician/saxophonist, Roy Cape All Stars. They opened for Ike and Tina Turner in Madison Square Garden. Victory opened for the Commodores’ 1980 North American tour, then the Spinners, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Aretha Franklin. While touring, he avoided the pitfalls of touring, like drug abuse. The drug-related death of a good friend, Fred Demery, had hit very hard. In 1995, George got a call from a Daytona Beach friend asking him to sit in on guitar for a few weeks. George gave up some very lucrative commercial work in New York and played spring break on the beach. They did not want him to leave and made him a very good offer. George stayed and ended up buying a house in Daytona Beach. In 2001, George was called by another friend in Key West whose guitarist was sick. After two weeks of playing in what is now Dante’s, the manager also made George a very good offer and by then George had fallen in love with Key West. He frequently traveled to Daytona, New York, and occasionally Tampa to perform. George once told me that Key West was like “Trinidad without the mountains.” He loved the small island community with less hustle and bustle. He formed a small local group, the Observant Lion, and played regularly. As he matured over the years, George still loved rock and roll, soul, calypso and other genres, but developed an understanding and a pronounced appreciation for the “warmth” of the blues. Once while performing at the Key West Musicians Festival George said it was like a “rising Woodstock.” More musicians are coming into Key West and George says they bring different attributes and musical phrasing and contribute to the local tapestry. George and the Key West Soul Man Robert Albury would perform together almost every week. Their vocals were epic. George would especially look forward to playing music for almost any reason with his “guitar buddies,” the late Yvan Agbo, and Rolando Rojas. George’s favorite gig for over a decade was playing for King Rashaad of Morocco for New Years, and birthday parties. The king would fly him to Morocco and he would perform in the palace, not a bad gig. George Victory lost a long battle with heart disease in July 2016. A celebration of his life was held at Schooner Wharf Bar in October 2016 attended by many of his friends. He is survived by his wife, Claudette; four children, Gregory, Kerensha, Cegee, and Hussain; and 12 grandchildren. His daughter Cegee is a clarinet player with a great voice (like her father) and tours with the Wailers.
George Victory traveled the world playing his music. From 1968 thru 1979 before coming to Key West. Photos by Ralph De Palma/soul-of-keywest.com keywestmusicmagazine.com 31
T RO P ROCK CO RNER
THE WORLD OF TROP ROCK Tropical music songwriters arrive in Key West the week after Fantasy Fest to showcase their music at some local venues. Why does this happen? What’s the story behind this? This is where things might begin to seem esoteric. After the Parrothead convention known as Meeting of the Minds (MOTM) moved to Gulf Shores, Alabama, some folks were interested in keeping a more trop rock-oriented event in Key West about the same time each year as MOTM. MOTM is a festival created for Parrotheads, or Jimmy Buffett fans. This “new” post-MOTM trop rock event would be more of an original music festival with songwriters who are influenced by Jimmy Buffett and the tropical lifestyle but not necessarily Parrothead-related. During MOTM, many offspring events were created outside of the venue where MOTM was held, which was the Casa Marina. Most of these events featured Florida, Texas and Nashville talent. They are songwriter showcases for the artists to promote their music and brand. One of the most successful so far is the Tiki Man Radio Showcase “Key West Bound” run by Tiki 32 KEY WEST MUSIC
W I TH DA N I HOY
Man Radio entrepreneur Danny Lynn and Nautical Americana artists B-Man and miShell (Brian Fields and Michelle Tafoya, a married couple who live in Key West) plus a host of awesome volunteers and sponsors. The event features many great artists throughout the day. Also, money raised goes to local charities. It’s free and open to the public and so much fun to be a part of. They have also made it a point to pay the musicians, which makes sense when you want to attract artists who are working hard to get people to hear their original music and have to travel long distances with no guarantee of gigs or a place to stay. A newcomer to the scene, while also being one of the founding trop rock radio stations of the genre, is Beachfront Radio. In the absence of MOTM, Beachfront Radio has created an event known as “Trop Rock’n Duval.” Spearheaded by Andy Forsyth, the owner of Beachfront Radio (beachfrontradio.com), Trop Rock’n Duval is picking up steam, forming relationships with a variety of local establishments to spread out the music up and down Duval Street. They offer a “passport,” which saves you money on a variety of items around Key West, plus it helps pay the artists who are traveling long distances to play and stay in Key West. They are adding new venues all the time including the Key West Theatre on Eaton Street. There are ticketed shows that will be well worth
the price. The artists have included Will Kimbrough, a 20-year songwriting veteran with Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers. He is credited with writing five songs on Buffett’s final album, “Equal Strain on All Parts.” As a local artist who has been here for several years, I’ve straddled the line between being a Key West musician and supporting the trop rock friends and musicians visiting here. In 2011 and subsequent years I came to Key West to perform during the MOTM festival, not as part of the main event but to showcase my songs at other events around town. It was very encouraging to share my original music and work on my show. I played in galleries, bars and restaurants. I fell in love with Key West over time and made it my home at the end of 2013. I still participate in the trop rock songwriter showcases alongside my regular gigs with Chris Rehm. With four CDs under my belt and some new songs in the works I have enough original material to make a fun show for people who love original artists and their songs. I’m grateful to have an opportunity to play my original music to people who are hungry for it. We all are. We play covers because a lot of folks love the music that is familiar and makes them reminisce about their earlier years. But original music, for those that appreciate it, is of great interest to a lot of people, especially the Parrotheads and trop rock lovers who can’t wait to hear new material.
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d n u a ro
k l a w n w o t
W ITH KIM WA L SH
G NOTHIN S I E N E SC SIC MUSIC VE MU T I S L E E W H T KEY DAY O! OF THE GIVEN E Y R IONS D N U T L A A B N I L O THE GIC THE OF MA RLY AS A E S A SHORT G FLOWIN STARTS
The lure of the Key West music scene is nothing short of magic on any given day. The live music starts flowing as early as the libations do. Starting as early as 9 a.m. till the wee hours of the next day, it is possible to visit dozens of music venues: restaurants, festivals featuring live music, boating trips with live music, buskers on Duval Street, and local talent can be found at our world-famous spectacular sunset spots, Mallory Square and Sunset Pier. Recently I counted 37 establishments on Duval Street where you can catch great music, over a dozen music festivals every year, seven boat trips that offer live music, and there are currently over two dozen local buskers playing music throughout the day and evening as you make your way down Duval Street. Every day of the year you will find three or four music makers at Mallory Square when everyone gathers to watch the sun sink behind the horizon. When I arrived in Key West in 1988 the music scene was as lively and vibrant as it is today, and it seems like there is some kind of invisible thread
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connecting the hundreds of musicians who have graced the stages over the years. Today’s Walk Around Town will bring you to some of the legendary MoJo holding stages that one of our all time favorite Key West legends, the late Bill Blue, played on. Chances are, if you’re a music lover, especially of the blues, and you’ve visited Key West anytime between 1979 and 2022 you may have heard the sweets sounds from a passionate and instantly captivating guitar-playing local icon, spilling out onto the sidewalks from one of the cool clubs that William Andrews Blue, aka Bill Blue, aka, the King of Crazy Town, has played in. Once in a while, a special person comes along and has an effect on your life, music and everything special. Bill Blue affected everything and everyone he touched, especially the music makers and fans in Key West. His first musical gig in Key West was at Sloppy Joe’s on July 4, 1979. Bill was going through some tough personal times, and found some magic in Key West and a musical community that he quickly fell into. The blues master moved to the island from Virginia in the early 1980s, when he started his journey to becoming the modern-
day godfather of the Key West music scene. Over the decades, Blue entertained thousands of locals and tourists. One of the world’s best slide guitarists, he dazzled crowds from the Green Parrot to the Key West Theater while playing every venue along the way. His memorable performances as part of the Sunday Ramble, as well as his full band performances at the Key West Theater, are legendary. Blue’s lasting influence on Key West’s musical story takes a backseat to no one. National touring had taken its toll on Bill and Key West became a safe harbor, a port in a storm that lasted for more than 35 years. When Bill arrived in town, he hooked up with a group of musicians and formed a band called “Bill Blue & the Nervous Guys.” Regular gigs at Sloppy Joe’s put the group on the music map in Key West. In the mid-1980s, Bill had a houseguest for six weeks — St. Petey Twig, known today as Barry Cuda. The two had met while touring Northern Europe. On his way to New Orleans, Cuda stopped in Key West to see Bill and play a few gigs. He began rolling a 350-pound upright piano to and from gigs around Key West and never made it to New Orleans. Take a couple of hours and enjoy a musical walk around town to check out
the regular hot spots where Bill loved to take the stage! Start off in the Historic Seaport District at one of my personal outdoor spots to grab a bite and cold libation and hear great local music, the Schooner Wharf Bar. From there, head down to Caroline Street and make a right on Duval; a few blocks down will bring you to the corner of Duval and Greene Street and one of the most fun bars in town, Sloppy Joe’s. The Key West institution, boasts a rich history, including being a favorite watering hole of Ernest Hemingway, and is known for its lively atmosphere, live music and is a fun spot or locals and tourists to come together and share some great music. After a few tunes at Sloppy’s, head down the block to Captain Tony’s, another favorite stop on my list of cool spots for live local music. Captain Tony’s Saloon is famous for its storied history, including its past as a morgue and the “Hanging Tree” within the bar, as well as for being a favorite watering hole of Hemingway, Jimmy Buffett, Truman Capote and other notable figures! The little estate in the back of the house has hosted Bill. Continue on down to Whitehead Street, turn left and and end your night at what was Bill’s favorite stage to play on, the world-famous Green Parrot. The Green Parrot (“A Sunny Place for Shady People”) is a do-not-miss stop when visiting Key West for the first time or your thousandth. Bill Blue loved this music venue so much that he hosted his last CD release party there for the “King of Crazy Town” in March 2020. I was there and as I recall, most of Key West was there for some day-dancing in the streets. If you make it to the Green Parrot, there is a lifesized cardboard cut out of Bill and his guitar, a fun photo op for Bill Blue fans. If you find yourself at the Parrot during a live music set break, check out the King of Crazy Town on the best Southernmost Jukebox and make sure to play my favorite song on the CD, “Carolina Time.” It’s a great popcorn-munching and sipping song.
f the roo raising e lu B l nd Bil e Carl a Caffein
om ey west.c oul-of-k /s a lm a h De P by Ralp t. Photo o rr a P reen at the G
From 1977-1993 the Full Moon Saloon was the place to hang in Key West and listen to the music of bands such as Bill Blue and the Nervous Guys or the Pacific Orchestra. The moon was dark, the AC and the beer were always cold, and the music was the best in town. The crowds were mostly locals and included the famous and some of the infamous. When they moved from United Street to 1202 Simonton (current location of Camille’s) Jimmy Buffett opened the new venue and returned to sit in often. It closed July 18, 1993, and Bill Blue played until 2 p.m. the next day. Bill Blue and the Nervous Guys and Kahn Johnson and the Pacific Orchestra were the soundtrack to those raucous days when smugglers drank with customs agents by night at the “Moon” and eluded them by day. The Full Moon is long gone but the memories of the music lives on. Here’s another cool photo op for you if you’re an old timer and a fan of those wild Full Moon Saloon days. Here’s a hint: when you’re at the Green Parrot and exercising the Excess in Moderation motto, remember to keep looking up. The Key West music community loved Bill Blue and still loves his music, if you like smoking hot blues, you will too. I asked
his dear friend and music partner, the one and only Caffeine Carl, what it was like to play with Bill. This is his response: “It was positively exhilarating. I was playing with one of my heroes, one of my idols and later, what I’m most proud of is that I was playing with one of my friends. I learned so much from my Uncle Bill and I’ll forever miss him. Bill Blue exuded that ‘Mojo’ and being on stage with him, he would pull you in and anoint you with that very ‘Mojo.’ He would strap on his bastardized Telecaster, strike that big ‘ol open E chord, slam that slide on the 12th fret and ... HAVE MERCY! We miss you Uncle Bill!” And we all really do miss him! You can find Bill’s music, the “King of Crazy Town” and “Mojolation” on Amazon Music. Thank you for taking the Walk Around Town with Walsh, Kimmer Glimmer Tour. We hope you enjoyed it.
Kim Walsh is a versatile musician and producer of the Cayo Hueso Original Music Series in Key West.
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V ENUE SP OT LIGHT WILLIAM WEECH AMERICAN LEGION POST 168
NANCY MOULTON
COMMANDER OF THE HISTORIC AMERICAN LEGION POST 168
She is a self proclaimed “fix-it” person trying to promote the historic site, which in 2012 was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Nancy Moulton is the commander of American Legion Post 168 located at 803 Emma St. in Bahama Village. It has been termed by the long-time residents of Bahama Village as the “Black Town Hall” and the hub of every important community event. Nancy has been a life-long project manager and Bahama Village resident. She worked mostly for the Army and Pentagon, and is using her skills and experience to support this beloved community project. Nancy feels a strong bond with the community and the struggles of the veterans and their families. She admires the drive and determination that built Post 168. The rich history of American Legion Post 168 starts with its namesake, William Weech, a black Key Wester who perished aboard the Coast Guard cutter Tampa, sunk off the coast of Wales during World War I. Key West had paid a high price for a small community during that war and would later pay an even higher price in World War II. The American Legion was in its infancy and a very segregated society. The black veterans formed the “Colored Veterans of World War I.” It wasn’t until after World War II that the American Legion granted them a charter for American Legion Post 168, which saw membership triple. Its members back then consisted of carpenters, plumbers and such. Many worked for the Navy at the sub base during the day and later would work on the new
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Post 168 at night. Work was completed at the current location at 803 Emma St., on Dec. 11, 1952, a little more than 34 years after William Weech had been killed. Segregation was alive and well in the 1950s Key West. The ties between veterans would often transcend these cultural barriers. It became the home of both American Legion Post 168 and VFW Post 6021 and support often came from the white-only VFW Post in Key West. During these segregated times, the “Chitlin Circuit” would quite often bring famous black entertainers to Key West, who would perform to black audiences that were not allowed in the all-white theaters. Robert Albury and Coffee Butler both confirmed that Louis Armstrong performed at the VFW (a name that was often used for the American Legion Post 168). Many other famous performers would venture to Key West and find themselves in the Bahama Village Post 168. A 49-year member and former post commander, Glenwood Lopez (yes Clayton’s brother) kept a list of many of the stars that graced the stage of this venue. According to Glenwood, B.B. King, James Brown (several visits), Otis Redding, Debbie Wright, Della Humpfrey, Ben E. King, Sam and Dave, Millie Jackson, and the great Etta James all performed at Post 168. Glenwood has been a member of the post since 1976, long after the Chitlin Circuit, but remembers peeking in the window to watch these entertainers when he was too young to enter. In the early years, Bahama Village was the center of music in Key West. There are probably many other famous entertainers like Louis Armstrong from the 1950s who performed at Post 168. I heard rumors Duke Ellington fit a portion of his band on that stage. In any case, the post has a very storied history. Post 168 was located next to the former Lincoln Theater that
The stage still in use today has seen performances form BB King and James Brown. Photo by Ralph De Palma/soul-of-keywest.
showed movies in Bahama Village (now John Martini’s Studio). The Post has fallen on hard times and it’s been difficult to keep the doors open. Commander Moulton has asked the community for suggestions. One was a movie night they tried for several weeks, with not much success. Several have scheduled private parties. The Bahama Village Redevelopment Advisory Committee (BVRAC) and the City of Key West provided enough support to renovate and reopen the Post. In 2002 the post was the host of the dedication of the Bahama Village Music Program Band Room in honor of Miss Ellen Welters Sanchez. After renovations Post 168 was reopened by Coffee Butler on Feb. 22, 2020, just before COVID shut the world down. It was a great night of music and fun with a dozen or more Key West musicians coming out to support this reopening to a packed house. Post 168 can boast the largest and probably best dance floor of any venue in Key West. They have installed new stage lighting and a very good sound system. It’s very inexpensive to rent the Post for a private event. Contact Moulton at 703-626-0600 for pricing and schedule. She is also working on the kitchen to be able to cater food. Anyone considering a birthday party or other event should consider renting American Legion Post 168.
American Legion Post 168, 803 Emma Street, Key West Monday, Wednesday-Saturday: 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
NEW: NOW OPEN MONDAYS FOR JAZZ JAM 6 P.M. TO 11:30 P.M. Ralph DePalma
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IN PICTURES by Cole Griffith Photography
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1. Mark King performs with e house band Ignacious and the Lizards. 2. Wayne Sorbelli present the Mentor of the Year Award with his usual flourish. 3. Co-host Zack Seemiller eyes the crowd between jokes. 4. Claire Sawyer Caplan held no punches during her lovingly presented roasting of a few local musicians. 5. Tony Roberts ends the show with a rendition of his song Rise. 6. Kit Carson interviews Reggae Lou during the after party at The Alamo. 7. The crowd showd some love as Jon Skiff presented the Rising Star Award to Sharese Nicole. 8 Mac McAnnally takes a moment from his schedule tojoin the Iggies via Skype to present the Songwriter of the Year Award 9. A Key West Favorite Cliff Cody was named Country Act of the Year. 10. Rnb/Rap Act of the Year winner Mike Stack letting us know he is most definitely from Key West! 11. A great supporter of Art in Key West George Fernandez is a mainstay at the Iggies. 12. Jesse and Jill take home Duo of the Year Honors. 13. Reggae Lou and the Kind Buds colorfully
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handling the Reggae Act Of the Year accolades. 14. Tony Baltimore performs with the help of Bria Ansara and Belle Jampol. 15. Besides receiving nominations for Entertainer and Duo of the Year, Elle Haley brings home the Iggy for Vocalist of the Year. 16. Paulie Walterson gratefully accepting his Lifetime Appreciation Award. 17. Marjorie Lee serenades the crowd. 18. Entertainer of the Year Marshall Morlock gives his usual high energy performance with his father Scott Morlock. 19. Bill and Linda Klipp celebrate their Fan of the Year Award. 20. Gary Hempsey took home Song and Album of the Year as well as the coveted Songwriter of the Year award. 21. The energy reached began to Rise as Tony Roberst introduced his talented back up singers .
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