Have you seen and heard the Key West Island Junkanoos? This is not Coffee Butler's group, but a new incarnation of the original. Caroline Cash has put together a delightful band of players. They lead processions and play weddings. You might have seen them at the Hilton, and they'll be at the Pier House this week. They are definitely different. If you want to book something different for a wedding or an event, give Caroline a call!
When I reviewed Melvin Newton I asked about his baby. Melvin and his beautiful wife are thrilled silly with their eleven-month-old son who is already walking and talking, making sentences! Hey, what do you expect? Intelligence does run in the family.
You won't want to miss Scarlett Runner at the Green Parrot this weekend. This band was the runner-up in the Jimi Hendrix contest in Seattle. Should be fun! But is that enough for manager John Vagnoni? No indeedy! John has Rosie Flores coming in on Sunday and Monday. I'll see you at the Parrot!
Salute, the restaurant at Higgs Beach will present some groovy jazz for you afficionados. On Wednesday nights the Josh Breakstone Trio will play. That's Josh, Lonnie Jacobson, and Hal Howland. They're wonderful.
It's good to see Scott Kirby back at the Pier House. He was there before the Buffett tours and is great for the Beach Bar. I love his songs, especially the one that claims, "We ain't got no bars on our windows, we ain't got no windows on our bars", but I also love his beautiful love songs. He's one of ours who should be famous, like his buddy Peter Mayer.
Have you heard Endangered Species? As the popular country song says, `me neither', but I plan to correct that very soon. My old friend Phil Embry has put this group together, and he is one hell of a player. He's using excellent musicians to complete the band. There are more great players in Big Pine than you could imagine, many of the Prime Movers, Group Therapy, and the wonderful Key Lime Pie Band, to name a few. I'll let you know where Endangered Species is playing so you can check them out.
Ray Spence has a new group called Change that is playing around town. Like Phil, Ray always has something very good going. Go see them too!
On a serious note, I sent Geico a check for my car insurance around December 20. On January 21, I was notified that my check never arrived and my insurancehad been cancelled January 6 without notification. They assured me they never got my check.
I got new insurance with another company after they were very rude. But on February 7, they cashed the December check they claimed did not arrive. Their excuse for a great deal of trouble was that they use the post office in the D.C. area that had the anthrax scare, so their mail was late. Bull feathers! If you deal with them, overnight your correspondance, return receipt requested to be sure it gets there.