What Is Trop Rock Music? Part II - Solar Power Is Not
Allowed in Key West, - Happy Holidays!!!
2015 MOTM Pit Stop Party at Popp's Motel in Key Largo.
In the last blog we looked at some of the early influences
of Trop Rock music. Specifically we looked at Martin Denny and Antonio Carlos
Jobim. We also touched on Jimmy Buffett in his early Key West stages. I
included a very early recorded piece of his that I have, Cuban Crime Of
Passion, which he recorded live at a Steve Goodman gig in Coconut Grove, on
their way back to Key West after recording the album “A White Sport Coat and a
Pink Crustacean”. Interestingly enough, when I posted that clip it had sixty
six plays and at this exact moment it has two hundred and five! It’s getting
around!
Maybe one day I can post the rest of the concert, which had
the Godman/Buffett duo covering the Hank Williams song “You Win Again”, plus,
“I Have Found Me A Home”, “Cuban Crime Of Passion”, “Death Of An Unpopular
Poet”, and “Ghost Riders in The Sky”?
I’ll get back to Mr. Buffett in a bit, but first let’s look
at a style of music that preceded Buffett and Trop rock has virtually never
acknowledged, for reasons that this writer has no understanding, and this would
be Latin Rock. The very first thing that comes to anyone’s mind when it comes
to Latin rock, is of course, Santana. Let’s face it, he invented it.
Carlos Santana grew up in Mexico and later moved to San
Francisco, where he started his group, Santana. It wasn’t long before Santana
became a household name after they played at Woodstock a short time later.
There’s no way on earth that this music couldn’t be considered as Trop Rock.
The curious thing about Santana was that the music he was
playing, was largely Afro/Cuban rooted. Santana was of course Mexican, and in
Mexican culture, Afro/Cuban music wasn’t the norm. This was an oddity.
Samba Pa Ti
For myself, I see the Latin Rock/Jazz/Salsa/Timba as an
undiscovered oasis that can easily be also carried under the Trop Rock
umbrella. The percussion itself is a particularly interesting influence to
incorporate. Hopefully some Trop radio stations will carry more Latin music in
the near future.
Many Trop Rock artists use the congas, and the congas of
course come from the Afro/Caribbean influence on Trop. Here’s one example from
my upcoming album, this is a fade in snippet to my song “Yesterday, Today, and
Tomorrow” where you can hear Tod Sheley, then of the band Homemade Wine, on the
congas.
One thing that I have forgotten to mention regarding Trop
Rock music, and music in general, is that no one has to be locked into a
particular genre. I talked about Carlos Santana earlier. If you look at his
Wikipedia profile, he’s listed as Latin Rock, Chicano Rock, Psychedelic Rock,
Blues Rock, Jazz Fusion, Tejano. Jimmy Buffett is listed as Rock, Country,
Country Pop, Folk, Gulf and Western. So being listed as multiple genres is very
acceptable. An artist doesn’t have to be locked into just one.
When Jimmy Buffett’s album “A White Sport Coat and a Pink
Crustacean” ( a tung in cheek take off of Marty Robbins’ song “A White Sport
Coat and a Pink Carnation”) came out, it
brought to light, perhaps by chance, a type of music that was focused in a
tropical island setting, namely Key West. Buffett stayed with the theme all
along and it stuck. Today, almost forty
three years after its release, Buffett is one of the world’s wealthiest musical
artists, with an estimated net worth of over $400M.
Many performers who were inspired by Buffett, fall into the
singer/songwriter category. Kelly McGuire and the late Hugo Duarte are two
prime examples. Buffett hit a chord (pun intended) with singer/songwriters on
many of his ballads, such as the aforementioned “I Have Found Me A Home” and
“Death Of An Unpopular Poet”. Many feel the ballad is his greatest forte. If
the ballad is Buffett’s greatest forte, that would make “A Pirate Looks At 40”
his greatest song.
In 1982, Bertie Higgins released his song, Key Largo. It charted #8 for that year. Higgins later
anointed the style of music he was playing as Trop Rock. The name has stuck
ever since and Bertie Higgins is the one who is credited on christening the
name.
The interesting thing about Trop Rock today is that, while
many performers are considered what’s known as “Parrotheads” (Fans of Buffett),
many are not. In its evolution, Trop Rock has taken on new artists with
influences that are not Jimmy Buffett, while some of those artists and fans
don’t even care for Buffett. Growth is always good. If something stagnates, it
will die. New influences are always part of growth, so on the one hand, while
some are surprised to hear that some musicians in Trop Rock are not fans of
Buffett, it’s expected.
To Be Continued….
Solar Power Not Allowed in Key West
Now that statement sure sounds strange, doesn’t it? The
number one reason people head to Key West is because of abundant sunshine!
Sunshine, from the Dry Tortugas to Key Biscayne, is the entire Conch Republic’s
biggest asset. One would think that city government would embrace something
like solar power, wouldn’t you?
However solar power is not permitted in Key West! Well, the
city can set up solar panels to power lighted street signs and the word on the
street says that old City Hall on Greene Street may soon become solar powered.
However, for the average citizen or business, solar power is, as the Germans
say, Verboten!*
No, I can’t attach solar panels to my roof in order to
conserve energy. God forbid, I may get more than I need and have to sell it back
to the electric company! The electric company could then sell it to say, New
Jersey, and make a profit.
The rumor mill says that the city and the electric company
have struck some kind of a deal with freezing the price of oil for an extended
period of time… a.k.a. Years?
Want to hear the biggest oddity of all? Christine Gorham was
running for the utility board as pro-solar. Her opponent, Mona Clark, who
already held the office and was against solar power, won in the October
election.
Make what you will of the voters in Key West.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
It’s the Holiday Season! The Shanty Hounds, (Dani Hoy and
myself) along with our dear friend Bobby DeVito, wrote and recorded a holiday
song “Happy Merry Christmas From Key West”!
The objective was to capture the Key West bacchanalia atmosphere!
Everyone wrote their own verse (I’m first, Dani’s second,
Bobby’s third) while Dani and I co-wrote the bridge.
The song captures the fun, partying, festive atmosphere that
is Key West and also features our dogs, Cajun and Tooloulou! Let’s also not
forget our friend Schmegly, who happened to stop by while we were recording!
This is 100% a Key West production. Everything was done
right here. The song was written and recorded at our house, The Conch Rock
Shanty, and was mixed and mastered at Private Ear Studio here in Key West by
none other than the great Dan Simpson!
If you love Key West, this will complement your Christmas
music collection perfectly.
To purchase it, here’s the link to CD Baby. It’s less than a
dollar! That’s right! $.99
So, please, help support the blog! Have a bunch of joy, fun,
and laughs and download it from CD Baby!
Thank you for reading the blog!!!
* = Verboten, of course translates quite easily to it's English cousin's word of forbidden. Use of the German word is for emphasis. ;-)
Cuban Crime Of Passion, which he recorded live at a Steve Goodman gig in Coconut Grove, cd review
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