Yippie Cayo Hueso - Installment 4

 

                                         YIPPIE CAYO HUESO

                                                         

Cayo Hueso is, of course, Key West's original name. In Spanish it means “Bone Key”. Pronounced Kai Oh WAYso. Cayo means Key and Hueso means Bone. When Great Britain acquired Florida from Spain in 1763 they heard the name “Cayo Hueso” and thought it meant Key West and renamed it as such. However, to this day every Spanish speaking country in the world still call it “Cayo Hueso”. In Key West it's not uncommon to hear people refer to our little island as Cayo Hueso.

Many Americans incorrectly translate it to “Bone Island”. Although I guess that could be called slang, as the translation back to Spanish would be “Isla Hueso”. The translations of many Keys are often a bit twisted, HA HA HA! If you take Islamorada, (Translation: Purple Island) that gets twisted into knots! Or Bahia Honda (Say : Ba EEa Onda it means “Deep Channel” )often comes out seriously mangled! HA HA HA!

I give this to you as a history of the area and also so that if you didn't know that Cayo Hueso is also the name for Key West, now you do, thanks to the British. :-)

With “Yippie Cayo Hueso” I was out with my friends Joe Gowran (A.K.A. Key Largo Joe) and Gary. While out ob the town, Joe came up with the saying “Yippie Cayo Hueso”. I loved it and with his approval, I wrote it and gave him credit as a co-writer. I wrote the entire song. Most writers however, do not do this. They'll write the song and give no credit to the person who gave them the inspiration.

I see it differently. This song is a good example. If Joe never said “Yippie Cayo Hueso”, the song would never exist, would it? It's only right that Joe gets a credit for co-writing it. Why? Because he did.

In songwriting I always strive to be unique and original. This is paramount for me. While I may have influences from say, Jerry Garcia, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, James Taylor, Gregg Allman, Frank Zappa... etc, the last thing I want to do is sound like any of them.

One of the ways I sound original is by writing the music first. Here in this case I already have a subject, “Yippie Cayo Hueso”. How could it be anything but?

Amazingly the chorus just rolled out:

“Yippie Cayo Hueso

Yippie Cayo Way

Yippie Cayo Hueso

An Island In The Stream”

That last line, of course is a salute to Ernest Hemingway who lived in Key West and wrote the book “Islands in the Stream”.

One of the things I love the most here in Cayo Hueso, is getting out on the water! When it got to the last line of the chorus, “An Island in the stream” that line just came out of nowhere. It just popped out! And as soon as it popped out I knew the song would be aquatic based!

So, the song bursts like it was shot out of a cannon. It's flat out, pedal to the metal, in 6^th gear!

We're approaching the 1^st chorus going flat out. This is not normal!!! Usually with a song with high energy, you save the highest energy for the ending of the song. What do we do? Lets slow it down, just a touch. As we are talking in automotive metaphors, as far as the structure of the song goes, lets call it 5^th gear. Good! It works! Plus, I came up with a cool progression to go with it. The song mow has a firm foundation, and it's both rock solid and unique

So, now that I've come up with the music, lets look for the lyrics. I know it a song about being out on the water. We had been out on a boat not too long before I started this song and we had been out near Sand Key, so I based the first verse with memories of that, complete with the dolphins that joined us!

                                                                          

1

“Sailing out to Sand Key

A little bit north of the light

A pod of dolphins started playing

Right off our port side”

Verse two carries it right along

2

“We came about and we headed south

The sea was quite serine

And that pod of dolphins showed the way

Right off of our bow”

I wanted a chorus and the music I set up for this song was very unique and somehow it worked :-O

The chorus would hit the nail right the head, underlining the fundamental message of the song, albeit with a bit of gray matter inserted on the listener's part. And that would be a subliminal “You're on vacation. You're on the water in Key West. You've sailed with dolphins today, and now you're on a sunset sail!! Back at home, everyone's all wound up. Traffic jams, crime, road rage, the list goes on and on. And here you are relaxed, perhaps enjoying a coattail with your significant other and your on a sunset sail, just off of Key West, watching the sun sink into The Gulf of Mexico. Life it good here.

                                                                            

Refrain:

“Back on the mainland they're wound so tight

Sometimes I can't believe my eyes

Just take a sail on a sunset eve

in the twilight, you can't believe”

                                                                          

                                                                              

Here it returns to the chorus underlining the theme of the song which again, subliminally says: This is the way life is supposed to be!

“Yippie Cayo Hueso

Yippie Cayo Way

Yippie Cayo Hueso

An Island In The Stream”

                                                                               

With this it goes to the instrumental portion of the song. With most, but not all instrumental segments, the majority of solos in songs are based on the verse chord progression, or in other cases the refrain or the chorus. Not in this song however. In this song the solo instrumental has it's own segment, different from the rest of the song. This is not the first time in the annals of music this was done, of course, however it is not all that common. Not only that, the solo is actually done as a rhythm guitar solo. That is certainly not common at all. Additionally, the solo is done in octaves and is actually a reverse of the refrain. The refrain goes A Maj7  - B octave, where as the solo goes B octave -  A Maj7 and while they are related, structurally they sound quite different.

(Rhythm guitar solo)

The third verse takes a fun little twist:

3)

Pelican flies like a B25

a half a foot off the waves

and when they're high they sure can fly

always carrying a smile”

                                                                               

The first two lines of this verse are a reference to The Doolittle Raid, where B25's took off from the deck of the USS Hornet and flown at a very low altitude,  to avoid being spotted by radar in WW2.

                                                                               

Pelicans likewise often fly with their wingtips about an inch off the water. This is actually another subliminal message to those visiting Cayo Hueso. For them, be they from Atlanta, Charlotte, Boston, New York, or, say Chicago, they don't have pelicans back home. However, you won't have any trouble finding them in the Keys archipelago. And mark my words Pelicans make you smile!  :-D

Here the song repeats the refrain “Back on the mainland they're wound so tight...” reminding the listener of the madhouse it can be living above the Keys and at the same time carrying a higher intensity that the earlier refrain.

To end the song we return to the chorus, albeit with actually more intensity than it had in the beginning and ending with a hard hitting crescendo

BA-BA-BA-BA     BA-BA-BA-BA     BAAAAAAAAAA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJzumCPK7wo&list=RDVJzumCPK7wo&start_radio=1

                                              YIPPIE CAYO HUESO

                                                

YIPPIE CAYO HUESO YIPPIE CAYOWAY

YIPPIE CAYO HUESO AN ISLAND IN THE STREAM

1)

SAILING OUT TO SAND KEY

A LITTLE BIT NORTH OF THE LIGHT

A POD OF DOLPHINS STARTED PLAYING

RIGHT OFF OUR PORT SIDE

2) 

WE CAME ABOUT AND HEADED SOUTH

THE THE SEA WAS QUITE SERINE

AND THAT POD OF DOLPHINS SHOWED THE WAY

RIGHT OFF OF OUR BOW

(Refrain)

BACK ON THE MAINLAND THEY'RE WOUND SO TIGHT

SOMETIMES I CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES

JUST TAKE A SAIL ON A SUNSET EVE

IN THE TWILIGHT YOU CAN'T BELIEVE 

 GO!!!

(chorus)

YIPPIE CAYO HUESO YIPPIE CAYOWAY

YIPPIE CAYO HUESO AN ISLAND IN THE STREAM

(Rhythm guitar solo)

3)

PELICAN FLIES LIKE A B25

A HALF A FOOT OFF THE WAVES

AND WHEN THEY'RE HIGH THEY SURE CAN FLY

ALWAYS CARRYING A SMILE

(SOMETIMES A FISH)

BACK ON THE MAINLAND THEY'RE WOUND SO TIGHT

SOMETIMES I CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES

JUST TAKE A SAIL ON A SUNSET EVE

IN THE TWILIGHT YOU CAN'T BELIEVE GO!!!

(chorus)

YIPPIE CAYO HUESO YIPPIE CAYOWAY

YIPPIE CAYO HUESO

YIPPIE CAYO HUESO

YIPPIE CAYO HUESO

AN ISLAND IN THE STREAM

© 2013 by Christopher R. Rehm, Joe Gowran BMI

McClure and Trowbridge Publishing, Ltd. Nashville

    

                                                                               

                                                                                    

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"Key West Chris" Rehm

The Key West Music Awards - The Iggies

 

                                                                            

The Key West Music Awards - The Iggies

Hey everyone!  

 (I'm slapping this together under the influence of Chemo, so please excuse me if I start going off the rails  HA HA HA! )

Key West is starting it's Iggy's awards, also known as The Key West Music Awards  and I figure it's high time that I get on the stick and promote myself, which I really don't do all that well, truth be told. On the flip side, if one doesn't do it themselves, it will never get done. Naturally, there's a link to vote! 

 https://keywestmusicawards.com/nominate/

As you read below, you'll see what I do is really not what other artists about town do. One artist may be a virtuoso guitar player, another may play the violin, someone else the sax. Now take these super talented artists and look at their Facebook page. When they list what they do musically the first thing they say they is that they are a guitar player, or a violinist, or a sax player.  With The Shanty Hounds I do play lead and slide guitar. and I also sing nearly 1/2 of our songs. However, if you look at what I do, the very first thing listed is "Songwriter", because primarily, that's what I am, a songwriter.

So, here are a few things that hopefully may assist in your vote!

1) I am a published songwriter. There are very few published songwriters about town. As a matter of fact, I'm  published in both Nashville and London U.K. This means very little to someone who is potentially going to cast a vote. It's certainly not their fault.  95% musicians don't get what publishing is either! It's kind of like handing the person next to you a wrench and saying to them "Oh! Here's a wrench! Can you please fix my car?" and they're reply is "Uh, I'm a flight attendant".  :-D

For starters, an artist overall doesn't go out searching for a publisher. To the contrary, a publisher searches out songwriters. The publisher's job is to search out songs that could make both parties a living. As Frank Zappa said "Never give away your publishing". Of course there is a compensation for both the publisher and the artist. Most of these are, to keep things simple, a 50/50 split these days. The publisher will try and place a song with another artist, or perhaps a commercial enterprise. Some say "Oh! Bubbling Joe sold out!". Actually Bubbling Joe didn't "sell out". When he signed with his new publisher, that gave the rights of placement to the publisher. Without that, the publisher wouldn't have signed with the artist to begin with. Think of Bob Seger's song "Like A Rock" that was use in Chevrolet pick up trucks adds for years and years. Bob Seger's publisher put that deal together. The artist doesn't put there deals together, they are too busy writing songs and being an artist. That's their strong point. Overall, the artists brain works on a creative left side of the brain, while the publisher's brain works on the right side. Consequently, publishers know both music and the music business inside and out. Their income depends on it. Over all, these people are experts in the field.

As I mentioned, I am published in in Nashville, as well as London, England. 

As far as I know, there are no artists in Key West, or in the genre that I loosely fall into, Trop Rock (among others), who are published in both North America and also Europe. 

As a matter of fact, very, very few artists are published at all. Thank you to both McClure and Trowbridge Nashville, and Millennium in London U.K.

That's important so I'll say it again, if you don't mind, as it's significant:

As far as I know, there are no songwriters in Key West, or in the genre that I loosely fall into, Trop Rock, (among others)who are published in both The United States and also Europe.: 

2) Versatility. 

The vast majority of local artists focus naturally on type of music they play. That's great for them! While they might write their own songs, their main focus may be an entertainer, a guitarist, a vocalist. For myself, my main focus is being a songwriter. For me it's a breath of fresh air to try something new! 

Here's a twist. As a songwriter I have some songs that I don't even play on!  Here's one I wrote and recorded for suicide  prevention, "Sunshine and Roses". I wrote the music. I wrote the lyrics, I did the arrangement, however, by my own design, I didn't play on the recording, nor did I sing on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiiRLjnqUi0&list=RDIiiRLjnqUi0&start_radio=1

Vitally important and imperative:

If one is a songwriter, one has to know when to check their ego at the door.

Here's another, totally different than "Sunshine and Roses", Totally different genres. "Morning Coffee" is Mediterranean jazz, while "Sunshine and Roses" is Nashville Country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TKJdpCY_FQ

Yet another style, here are The Shanty Hounds (Dani Hoy and myself) playing with "The Ramble"  house band at Key West Theater doing my song "Yippie Cayo Hueso"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A3nji9MNm0&list=RD1A3nji9MNm0&start_radio=1

 Over the years I've written in Rock, Brazilian, Blues, Country, Motown, Funk, Bahamian, Afro-Cuban., South Pacific... I do my best to keep it well rounded :-) 

https://keywestmusicawards.com/nominate/

I'll be shooting for Songwriter of the year, and with Dani and the Shanty Hounds Entertainer of the Year (Dani Hoy), Duo of the Year The Shanty Hounds), Vocalist of the year (Dani Hoy), Rock Act of the year - The Shanty Hounds

Panama Hats

 

It was in 1986 that I first bought my first Panama hat and I've been wearing them ever since. I first saw them for sale through what was a really cool store at the time, Banana Republic. I say at the time because they were bought out by The Gap, and everything eventually went to Hell in a hand basket once corporate took over. Typical story when it comes to “Corporate”. It did take several years to happen, but it did.

Banana Republic was a whimsical escapism from reality specializing in Safari themed clothing. The stores had WW II army jeeps coming out through the front windows! 

This certainly wasn't your average store. Regretfully, The Gap changed it into a boring mall store and tossed out all of the great quirks, like their monthly catalog, which was a paper catalog with drawings of their safari clothing, and fabulous anecdotes that went with them telling a fictionist stories that captivated the client. I always got a rush of excitement when I found it in my mail box every month.

 

However, I did get my first couple of hats through them before they turned into your basic, boring mall store.

Their quality was seriously good on everything, including the Panama hats. I recall their Panama's ran $89.00 for a top of the line “Fino”. Today, while the sky is the limit, a similar hat will run about $130.00.

I absolutely loved the Panama hats and when The Gap turned Banana Republic into a generic mall rat store, I went on safari in search of a new Panama. I learned a lot too!

I learned this next note earlier. Panama hats are not from Panama!

The story goes that when the Americans were building The Panama Canal, hats from Ecuador were brought in that they could shade their heads, while working digging the canal.

They were quite stylish and made from a straw, unique to Ecuador, called “Toquia” (say toe KEE a). The laborers building the canal realized they could make some money on the side selling the hats in the US, so they shipped them from Panama to San Francisco.

The retailers receiving the hats that were sent from Panama, just assumed they were from Panama and called them Panama Hats. The name stuck!

One of the cool things about Panama Hats when I bought that first one, was that they weren't all that common, so they were pretty unique. If you were wearing one and passed someone on the street who was also wearing one, you'd wave and say “Hey! Nice hat!”. It was kind of an exclusive club, without the exclusive club attitude and a fun attitude.

Over the last thirty-nine years I've had a good amount of Panamas and I loved every one! Plus, I've always had at least one. Sure, I've worn a lot of baseball caps, especially on boats where a Panama hat might go flying away with a wind gust. However, I've always had them.

Lately, at least here in Key West, things are accelerating in the Panama Hat sales. It's to the point that wearers no longer acknowledge each other any more. You'll see Panamas everywhere down here these days, it seems.

Hey, guess what? No matter what happens, I'll always have a Panama Hat at my disposal!

                          Damn! Those are seriously classy hats!

                                                      

                                                                                  

                                                                                   

Thank you for reading my blog! If you like, check out my music and books! My music is wherever you download your music from! Books are at Amazon.

Just search "Key West Chris"