HIP TO THE SCENE: IN SEARCH OF A SPROCKET
Instant access to and availability of new products is one of the more challenging aspects of living in the Keys. For musicians, the need for gear is...
HIP TO THE SCENE: PLAYING THROUGH THE PAIN
Yesterday I found myself shopping for a chair to use for solo acoustic gigs. What should have been a “find a cheap chair and be done with...
HIP TO THE SCENE: AUTO-TUNE — STANDARDIZING PERFECTION
The year is 1998. The Mars Rover hits the news — and a rock — and Cher comes out with an autotune-saturated song called “Believe.” The effect...
KEY WEST MUSIC COLUMN: WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SING SYLLABLES
You’re driving down the road singing along to a song you know most of the words to, and somewhere in the middle of a “get down boogie...
HIP TO THE SCENE: MONEY TALKS, SO SHOP LOCAL
As residents of this tiny island, we all eventually come to realize we can’t always get what we want. Or even, sometimes, what we need — at...
HIP TO THE SCENE: CRAFTING A SONG
Recently while doing some late-night research,I found myself watching a video for a song called “Night Flight” by local troubadour Gary Hempsey. For me, videos, while they...
HIP TO THE SCENE: IT’S ALL ABOUT HARMONY
Harmony: the sound of more than one note played simultaneously. The definition seems simple enough, but harmony and its effects on the brain have been the subject...
HIP TO THE SCENE: WHO WON THIS YEAR’S KEY WEST MUSIC AWARDS?
Winners of the 2024 Key West Music Awards
Entertainer of the Year: Bria Ansara
Song of the Year: Gary Hempsey
Album of the Year: Tony Baltimore
Songwriter of the Year:Tony Baltimore
Rising...
HIP TO THE SCENE: DISTORTION — THE ART OF NOISE
Distortion is something to be avoided — in most applications. It’s viewed as a plague, a deal-breaker. But in rock music distortion is the signature, the benchmark...
HIP TO THE SCENE: THE RENEWED STATE OF REGGAE
Reggae Lou had always intended to make it to Key West. Leaving his home in San Diego, he and his family worked and lived in Lake Worth, Florida...
