Randy & Family

Hey, nice shirt.

Give Up?

Well, let me flesh out the scene a little here. It's wall-to-wall for the Fiddlers' Contest, The Weary Boys have just sung Happy Birthday, The crowd is whipped up, Scotty has just deposited a birthday cake on the counter in front of the stage and birthday-girl Chicken, in the center of the frame in the orange shirt, appears to be running away from the cake like it was a live grenade. What it was, is she was working and didn't have time to even blow out a candle, let alone cut a slice or offer a few words. Happy Birthday Chicken.

Happy Birthday

Guess which Green Parrot bartender is celebrating a birthday today.
Happy Birthday from all of us.

Where'n The Hell Did These Boys Come From

The Weary Boys

The Weary Boys at The Green Parrot or "The Stanley Brothers Meet The Clash"


The Weary Boys, the alt. country quintet from Austin, Texas make their
much anticipated return to The Green Parrot on Friday and Saturday,
April 27th and 28th beginning at 10 0'clock. The Weary Boys will
also make a special appearances at 5:30 P.M. "sound checks" on
Friday, and Sunday, .
Five men in black taking Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe, Lefty Frizell et
al., and spewing it back out with the fire and reflexivity of a bunch
of punks playing with a reckless spirit that's the very definition
of "alternative country".
The Weary Boys dress and look like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band circa
1971 and play their instruments like it's 1947. There's little of the
sound of Texas to them; in fact, they sound like much less a Texas
country band than a Kentucky hillbilly band that happens to call the
Lone Star State home.
The quintet, with a repertoire that includes chestnuts from Ralph
Stanley, Bill Monroe, and Lefty Frizzell, features fiddle, stand-up
bass, a brushed snare and high lonesome tenors from guitarists Mario
Matteoli and Darren Hoff.
They are an act that can convincingly turn out hard-core, traditional
country fare with a flair that owes as much to the Stanley Brothers as
to the Clash.

The Green Parrot, your Southermost Center for Culture of All Kinds at
the corner of Southard and Whitehead Streets. For more information
call The Green Parrot at 294-6133.

Kate's Birthday

Appearing to hold court with her wand, Kate presides over the party in the back bar on Friday.

Another great cake by Pockets.

This was the Fort Zachary Taylor cake because it, like the civil war fort down the street from the bar, is also missing its' top level.

Robert Albury sings Happy Birthday to Kate.

Hendricks Gin w/ Mint & Lime

After my last post of a Hendrick's Gin and Tonic I received a comment from a gentleman describing a Hendricks with muddled mint and lemon juice. Well, here's another mint recipes, this time using lime and with a blender instead of a muddler as the main tool.

Hendrick's Gin,Fresh mint, key limes if available, simple syrup and Cointreau....

Piled highlike a sorbet in a frozen martini glass, the color of the sea, flecked with mint.

Cheers.

More Spam Allstar photos

Just Hours Ago

GNILLEVINS ON

A new addition to our archives crafted by our friend Pete.

Frankie Mo's Birthday

Frankie questions the wisdom of having a shot AND a beer on his birthday

Heavy is the head that wear the crown.

Oh, well, you're only 25 once.

After seeing Frankie's cake, Pockets let's us in on his recipe for Friday's Birthday Cake.
Stand By.

The Next Few Days...

As kind of a snapshot of wnat's happening in the next few day...Fergie's Makeover, Robert Albury's "soundcheck", Two pelvis-grinding nights of the Spam Allstars, an all-day music festival with A Chicken & Waffle Gospel/Soul Brunch, a Fats Navarro Tribute....

The Hackensaw Boys: High-Octane Barn Burners

The Hackensaw Boys really had 'em goin' here last month.
Old Time music played with zeal and intensity. You can bet they'll be back. Look for more of their clips on this blog via Youtube.

More Culture Than Pat's Refrigerator

Here's a copy of a new ad for the Florida Keys Council of the Arts "Who,What,When" brochure
I hope Pat doesn't mind that I used his refrigerator as a shill for The Parrot.
And I always loved Vicki's quip.

Delicous Vinyl

Latin Grammy-nominated DJ Le Spam & the Spam Allstars Play Goombay at The Parrot

Blending latin, funk, hip hop and dub The Spam Allstars will make
their first Green Parrot appearance on Saturday and Sunday October
21st and 22nd beginning at 10 P.M. with a special 5:30 P.M.
"soundcheck" on Sunday afternoon.
Well known in Miami for their innovative sound, the Spam Allstars
have become the true Miami sound machine, giving South Florida a
premium blend of nostalgic, obscure, and retro sounds which has been
described as retro-Cuban and even as deconstructed rumba.



Spam Allstars include DJ Le Spam (Andrew Yeomanson) on turntables and
samplers, Adam Zimmon on guitar, Tomas Diaz on timbales and vox,
Lazaro Alfonso on congas, AJ Hill and Steve Welsh on saxes, Mercedes
Abal on flute, and Chad Bernstein on trombone.

Photofriday Challenge: "Blues" Eddie Kirkland, "Gypsy of the Blues"

Many may have already seen this post.I thought the picture and subject matter apropos this week's Photofriday Challenge.

Ah, the life of Eddie Kirkland.
Though his name may not sound as familiar as B.B. King or Robert Johnson, Eddie Kirkland's life with the blues matches, at the very least, any other blues artist.
He was born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Alabama. At the age of twelve, when The Sugar Girls Medicine Show came through his town, he ran away from home by hiding in one of the tent trucks and was soon playing the harmonica in their show and dancing in their chorus line.
By the age of nineteen, he had landed in Detroit and it was there that he began touring and recording with seminal bluesman John Lee Hooker. "We were like brothers", Kirkland said. The two made a solid team until parting ways in the 60's.
Kirkland then moved to Macon, Georgia where he began a three-year stint as bandleader for perhaps the greatest soul man ever, Otis Redding.
Continuous road tours followed with Ruth Brown, Little Richard, Ben King and Little Johnnie Taylor and many more greats.
Then Eddie recorded what is considered by many to be one of the most powerful records in blues history: "It's The Blues, Man" with The King Curtis Band.
At age 84, respected as one of the very best soul blues and soul artists ever, Kirkland continues to tour 42 weeks per year earning him the title "Gypsy of the Blues".

Remembering Clutch

Clutch was one Krazy Kiwi. We'll set a bottle of Corona on the bar today in his memory. NO LIME!

Meet you in the whare nui in the sky.

He puna wai e utuhia, he wai kei aku kamo.
Te pua korau e ruia, e tipu i te waru.
(Nga Moteatea 134 )
-Whai Ngata

Like the spring well are the tears from my eyes,
Like the nectar shaken free, in the summer breeze.
(Nga Moteatea 134 )
-Whai Ngata

update: Here's a recently-received photo of Clutch's family in New Zealand.

Hi, Guys! We miss you.

Easter at The Parrot

With Fossum playing Jimmy Stewart to Richard's Harvey, it was business as usual at The Parrot