A 1985 Key West Vacation

These two youtube videos below were sent to me by a friend. The are the homemade travelogue of someone's (larry's) 1985 visit to The Keys.
They are just another reason to love youtube and the things that can be mined from their archives.
These are a great look back at a Key West not too long ago but sadly already beginning to lose things we took for granted then. Look for the Deli and Houseboat Row among others. On a more topical note look for the recently and instantly vanished Atlantic Shores.
To me not the least of it's appeal is the soundtrack provided solely by Larry's car radio blaring Wail 99 as he cruises around the island and up the keys.
Some sequences of the tapes can appear to have kind of a voyeuristic bent at times but we'll just chalk that up to larry's harmless curiosity and his wanting to see, as we all do, what the guy, or gal, is up to just around the next bend in the road.
Our Thanks to Dakin and Nick for passing these on.
See if you can find the Parrot's cameo on Part 3.

pt.2 Larry's 1985 Florida vacation

pt.3 Larry's 1985 Florida vacation

For Reasons Unknown, Key West TV Series to Continue at Parrot

Whether it's the rollback of drink prices to 1993 levels, the
compelling dialogue or the come-hither looks of these people on the
cover of a vintage TV Guide, our weekly screenings seem to have struck
a nerve so we want to remind viewers that the The Green Parrot will
continue to air episodes of Key West, The TV series on Tuesday
nights (coincidentally, the same night they were originally aired) at
8 pm, either until all 13 episodes are shown or until you make us
stop. This week: Season 1, Episode 3: The Great Unknown. Original Air
Date: 2 February 1993.

To recap, Key West, The TV series is the snake-bittten 1993 hour-long
television comedy-drama filmed right here in our Island City and aired
on Fox between January
and June 1993.
featuring Fisher Stevens as a factory worker who wins the lottery and
moves to Key West, Florida to follow in the footsteps of Ernest
Hemingway and become a writer.
Once there, he encounters eccentrics of every stripe, from a
Rastafarian roustabout to a muscular, mystical sheriff.

Of it's debut, the NYT said,
The conceit of this series is that everybody in Key West is eccentric
and charmingly offbeat. This is, as any visitor knows, rather unfair
but not entirely off the mark. In any event, there is an intriguing
collection of characters, including a gorgeous prostitute who serves
as local earth mother, a sheriff who has spent two years in a Buddhist
monastery and a bar owner who lives, as someone says, "out in the
ozone somewhere."
There are therapeutic dolphins, and one fantasy sequence about a
damsel in jungle distress turns out to be the dream of an alligator.
In a future episode, a female lion tamer from a circus tells the
sheriff: "I hunt, I smoke, I eat junk food, I listen to Andrew Dice
Clay and I voted for Reagan. You still want to take me to bed?" That
said "Key West" clearly has the shuddering potential of being still
another Fox "everybody-into-their-bathing-suits" caper.

Rounding out each weekly showing on our big screen will a be a music
video concert , with weekly selections to be culled from the extensive
video libraries of Patrick and Kenny. Expect the concerts to be not
unlike selections on the Parrot jukebox: an eclectic mix of retro and
contemporary music, some bordering on the obscure, with an emphasis on
blues and/or New Orleans funk with possible side trips to T Rex or
The Red Elvises. Think Govt. Mule meets George Porter Jr.
The Green Parrot Bar is your Southernmost Center for Boob Tube
Culture of All Kinds, at the corner of Southard and Whitehead
Streets.

Tony Roberts Band Debuts at Parrot

Parrot Airs Key West TV Series, Rolls Back Clock, Beer Prices, to 1993.

Here's what Fox thought a bunch of Key West "characters" would look like.


Being the repository of Key West Cultural History that it is, The
Green Parrot Bar began airing episodes of Key West, The TV
series, the snake-bittten 1993 hour-long television comedy-drama
filmed right here in our Island City and aired on Fox between January
and June 1993.

The screenings began last night at 8 PM and will
continue every Tuesday until either all episodes have been viewed or
Parrot patrons have had enough.

Local reaction to the show at the time was overwhelmingly negative -
and rightly so, but we believe that the passing years have been kind
to the short-lived series and have instilled the thirteen episodes
with some kind of kitsch and so deserve another look.
And although it certainly wont be 4 shots of tequila for a dollar, in
order to make the viewing more palatable and add to the the nostalgic
mood the Parrot will be rolling back prices on selected items during
the viewing to 1993 levels, as best we remember.

While we agree that living in Key West wasn't exactly as portrayed in
this series, it sure is fun to take a look at your neighborhood and
see what your friends looked like back in the day.

A great vehicle for a little time travel back to the early 90's, the
show used a lot of local people as extras, including local TV
celebrity Tom Luna, bagpiper Dennis Riley,trick pilot Fred Cabanas,
Capt. Finbar of The Wolf, former mayor and barkeep Capt. Tony, and
Roofman from The Half Shell among others. See how many you can spot.

An effort is being made to bring some of those extras who may still
be around down to The Parrot or the Tuesday night viewings, that is if they have
not either moved on to bigger and better things or have wound up in
the witness protection program.

Rounding out each weekly showing on our big screen will a be a music
video concert , with weekly selections to be culled from the extensive
video libraries of Patrick and Kenny. Expect the concerts to be not
unlike selections on the Parrot jukebox: an eclectic mix of retro and
contemporary music, some bordering on the obscure, with an emphasis on
blues and/or New Orleans funk with possible side trips to T Rex or
The Red Elvises. Think Govt. Mule meets George Porter Jr.
The Green Parrot Bar is your Southernmost Center for Boob Tube
Culture of All Kinds, at the corner of Southard and Whitehead
Streets.
For more information, call 294-133.

Ickes Clan

Surrounded by Parrot bric-a-brac, my old friend David Ickes and his family.
David lived in Key West in the seventies and was a loyal Parrot customer and good friend. A professional photographer he moved back to Philadelphia in 1979, soon to become the Philadelphia Phillies photographer I believe.
Whenever I would return to Philadelphia for visits I would look up David and John Travis, another Key Wester from the seventies at his bar, J.C. Dobbs at Second and South. More on Dobbs here.
David, pictured here with his beautiful family, proves once again that there is hope for all of us grizzled old guys.

Happy Birthday Vicki

Last Friday was Vicki's birthday but because of operator malfunction the post did not appear. From allof us at the bar, Happy Birthday Girl!

Excess in Moderation

This story from England could serve as a cautionary tale over here too, if not for the Parrot, certainly for the folks queing up for cuban coffee in the deli across the street.
No Double Half-Caf Venti Low-Fat Mochaccino for this bird, it appears this teenage waitress overdosed on caffeine after drinking 14 shots of espresso.
"I decided to have a double espresso to perk me up," she said. "It did the trick so I had one after another and they seemed to be working. I felt great - as if I could take on the world."
Well, yea, we all know how that goes.
By noon she was feeling unwell and crying and laughing uncontrollably in front of bewildered customers.
I think we've seen that one too.

The Gypsy Blue Aucoustic Revue

Technodread

In memory of Thomas V. Silvia, 1950 - 2007.

Our deepest sympathy goes out to our friend Brita Brooks who lost her boyfriend Tom last Friday. Tom was a member of the State Bar of Michigan with a passion and dedication to the arts and the rights of artists, Perhaps his greatest passion was Indian Law and he was one of the first hundred or so members of AIM, The American Indian Movement.
Brita recalled that her beau Tom, in 1972 when he stopped here in the process of carrying a peace pipe from Key West to Maine, and California to Rhode Island,slept on the roof of the Green Parrot.
Tom is pictured above with Brita at a Tigers game last year.
A memorial site created by his daughter Grace appears at http://tvsilvia.muchloved.com/app/?

Gypsy Jazz at The Green Parrot

Gypsy Jazz at The Green Parrot

The Gypsy Blue Acoustic Review, a seven-piece Gypsy Jazz band, will
appear at the Green Parrot on Saturday, August 11th beginning at 10 PM
and Sunday August 12th for a 5:30 PM "soundcheck".

Based in Fort Lauderdale,The Gypsy Blue Acoustic Review is dedicated
to playing and preserving the timeless music known as Gypsy Jazz, also
known as "Gypsy Swing", made popular in the 1930s and 1940s by the
famous and influential Belgium-born gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.


Combines a dark, chromatic Gypsy flavor with the swing articulation
of the jazz age, The Gypsy Blue Acoustic Review have been captivating
audiences throughout South Florida.

The goal of The Gypsy Blue Acoustic Review is to audibly transport
the listener to another place and time and to bring this great music
to people who may not to be familiar with it.

In Gypsy jazz, guitar and violin are the main solo instruments,
although clarinet and accordion are also common. The rhythm guitar is
played using a distinct percussive technique, "la pompe", that
essentially replaces the drums. An upright bass fills out the
ensembles. For their Green Parrot performance the Fort
Lauderdale-based ensemble will include all these elements and also
feature a female vocalist.

The Green Parrot Bar is your Southernmost Center for Itinerant Eastern
European Jazz Culture, at the corner of Southard and Whitehead
Streets.
For more information, call 294-133.

Technodread Brings Roots Reggae to The Green Parrot

Technodread Brings Roots Reggae to The Green Parrot

Tony Gits' Roots Reggae Band Technodread, backed by local reggae
favorites Duane "Bongo D" Scott playing percussion and keyboards,
Adel Iziman playing bass guitar, and Matthew Watson on drums will
appear at The Green Parrot on Friday night August 10th beginning at10
o'clock with a special 5:30 PM "soundcheck" on Friday afternoon.

Over the past year Techno Dread has been through several challenges
and changes but there can be no growth without change. Techno Dread is
the brain child of Tony Gits. He has kept his original vision alive
and has nurtured the concept of Techno Dread. Although many musicians
have come and gone, the musical direction and main focus of Techno
Dread has remained strong due to the unwaivering determination of Tony
Gits. Original Reggae music of a high standard and with an
international appeal has always been his aim. Techno Dread is alive
and well, kept safe in the arms of Tony.

Tony was born in Kingston, Jamaica, the Reggae capital of the world.
He is recognized as a talented actor, composer, producer, arranger,
guitarist, vocalist, and percussionist. Powered by his Rastafarian
faith Tony relocated to Canada in 1975 while touring as vocalist and
percussionist with the internationally known Ernie Smith and his band
Roots Revival. Tony later became one of the founding members of the
Reggae group "BLOOD FIRE" which performed at Reggae Sunsplash in
Jamaica in 1982.
They have played with most, if not all, of the better Reggae artists
of international stature.
The Green Parrot Bar is your Southernmost Center for Reggae Culture,
at the corner of Southard and Whitehead Streets.
For more information, call 294-133.

Home Made Donuts

It looks like I picked the wrong weekend to be out of town.

While I was gone, what was described to me over the phone as "these yeasty little pillows of air" were rising to perfection...

ready to be fried at exactly the right temperature...

to yield these..

next the chocolate glaze..

the final product...
damn, there's alot of them too...
photo credits Nick Vagnoni

Bonerama at Green Parrot "The Ultimate in Brass Balls"