HIP TO THE SCENE: NICKY’S CELEBRATION ON FEB. 29 RECALLS A LIFE CUT SHORT
On Thursday, Feb. 29, Nicky’s Celebration will take place at the Key West Theater.
Now in its sixth year, the event raises money to help...
HIP TO THE SCENE: FOR THE LOVE OF ORIGINAL MUSIC
The passing of Jimmy Buffett affected everyone on this island. For a few days, even those of us who weren’t necessarily fans couldn’t help...
HIP TO THE SCENE: A SONG IS A SNAPSHOT
Writing a song. Creating something from nothing. Crafting something tangible to encapsulate, represent and communicate an intangible quality that’s difficult to measure but easy...
HIP TO THE SCENE: THE ANATOMY OF THE ANTHEM
“We will, we will rock you.”
Most of us perk up a bit the moment we hear those six words. Our head starts to nod...
HIP TO THE SCENE: ALL ABOUT THAT BASS
The bass player. To many people they are simply another guitar player. Though they rarely seem to be the main focus of the band,...
HIP TO THE SCENE: RELATIVELY PITCH PERFECT
A bat, a wolf, a dog, a gerbil, a bird and one person out of 10,000 all walk into a bar. A band is...
HIP TO THE SCENE: 45 MINUTES TO ROCK
It’s a typical Monday night in your average, mid- to large-sized city, in your average-sized dive bar with local music every night. There are...
HIP TO THE SCENE: GETTING OFF THE ROCK
This is the time of year that many musicians tend to get off the rock for a bit and play music as far away...
HIP TO THE SCENE: REPETITION, REPEATED
On the occasions I have given lessons to young guitarists, I’ve repeated the lesson that in their favorite guitar player’s life there was a...
HIP TO THE SCENE: STRANGERS ‘TIL TONIGHT
By Ray West
One of the musical questions I most frequently encounter is, “How do people who have never played together, play together?” It is...
