As most of you know, I don’t just have the greatest job in the world taking wonderful clientele off-shore fishing for world class sportfish in the pristine waters of the Gulfstream. I also get to play rock star once in a while!
Every year (well, for the past 5 of them anyway) Key West puts on a seafood lovers’ dream spread. Bayview Park is the scene – about 5 acres of grassy knoll with a big gazebo at one end dedicated to Jose Marti… he’s the Cuban guy that wrote flowery prose and participated in at least one revolution.
It all starts at 11 am with the smell of boiling shrimp, fried fish, lobster tails, stone crab, and, that favorite of condiments, Beer, wafting across the park. Every local vendor that has anything to do with fishing, boats or just a good time, is represented. Right in the middle of the chaos are row upon row of tables and chairs that fill quickly with locals and tourists alike all enjoying one of the biggest reasons we chose to live/visit this island paradise. But, my job is to keep them there.
I am responsible for keeping the entertainment going for 10 hours… straight… with no dead air. That’s a radio term for no silence. Think about what you do when your favorite radio station goes off the air while you are driving. You give it about 10 seconds and then on to another button! Whether it’s Latin funk, Cuban dance, country music, or rock and roll, we can’t afford a lapse in the entertainment. We also run a raffle, silent auction, and interview various members of the Fish and Wildlife enforcement team. It’s really quite the juggling act and I do stress about it pretty well for weeks ahead of time.
The best part of being in charge though, is that I can make my own schedule. This year, I started off playing with a band that I put together last year consisting of me on both guitar and bass (not at the same time :) ) with a 15-year-old guitar player and a 14-year-old drummer. The drummer, Chris, is actually in my wife’s gifted learning class! Yep, it’s a small town. Anyway, we played for a couple of hours, I went home and took a nap because I had a full day of fishing the next day, and then returned to the fest to play out the last 3 hours and then tear it all down… whew!
Mostly compliments were heard, but some say I should keep my day job
A good time was had by all!

