TequilaGram!!!
Hoo-woo!!!
Another week has come and gone. It’s amazing how fast time flies when you are
practically unemployed. I think I finally figured out what I want to be when I
grow up….A Southwest Florida weather man. “Yeah folks, it’s gonna be sunny and
80 for the next three months, with little to no chance of rain.” Tough gig, you
lazy bastards. Even I work harder than those guys.
Greetings to all friends and relations back north! The weather is here, wish you were beautiful! Hehehehe… Come on down and visit. There’s a brand new beautiful Hampton Inn just down the road a lick. I bet the help hasn’t even had the time to cut in any peepholes yet.
This week I have added two new features to the TequilaGram. I have added a local
musician/band highlight, along with a weekly fishing report titled “Fishin’ with
Booty”. Booty is a very good friend of mine, Terry Trombetti. I’ll just call him
Captain Terry, because he probably doesn’t care for the nickname Booty…..Sorry,
pal. On a more serious note, the musician/band highlight will include a review
and interview of a different local musician or band every week.
As I stated last week, we are raising money at The Dek for the grandchildren of
Lizurd, a regular customer who was killed several weeks ago in a motorcycle
accident. This past Sunday we raised another $202.00 by selling shaker eggs for
a buck apiece. That brings the 2 week total to $342.00.
Thank you to all who bought the goofy eggs! Next week we will be selling eggs
again, but with a nice twist! The owners of The Dek, Christine and Cliff Davis,
handed me a $100.00 bill and told me to put it in one of the eggs. I will be
selling the eggs 2 for $3.00 this time. The eggs will be handed out at 5:30 P.M.
At this time, we will have an egg-cracking ceremony to see who won the C-note!
The winner might want to take that hundred bucks and invest it in this next
deal.
A 2003 Harley Davidson is being raffled off, as well. Only 250 tickets are being
sold, at $100.00 a piece. Oh yeah, the other option is a $10,000.00 cash payout
instead of the motorcycle. $5,000.00 will be donated to the grandchildren. Way
Cool! Tickets will be available this Wednesday, March 15th at The
Dek. The drawing will be held on Saturday, March 25th, the day of the
bike run for Lizurd at The Dek.
My schedule is the same this week again, it is as follows:
Wednesday Night
Brixz On Macgregor Blvd. Ft. Myers, on the golf course. 7 pm to 11 pm.
Friday and Saturday Night
Key West Cantina located on Hancock bridge parkway, north fort myers, ¼ mile
West of Rt. 41 (look for the big hot air balloon out front!) 6 pm to 10 pm
Sunday Afternoon
The Dek Located at the corner of SE 15th Ave and SE 47th St in Cape Coral. 2 pm to 6 pm
Tequila Tom’s Pub Crawl
Where Tequila Tom can be found on his day off!
Monday
Gatorz in Port Charlotte – Tim and Rosanne – Excellent dance and party music
Tuesday
The Twisted Conch in Cape Coral - Open Mic night with Cindy Walsh
Brixz in Ft. Myers – Patrick- Acoustic Rock
Pinchers Crab Shack, North Ft. Myers - The Yard Dogs - Cajun Zydeco Hillbilly Redneck music – Unbelievable good time!!!
March 14th and 28th – Tim and Rosanne at the Slip Knot in Punta Gorda
Wednesday
Me at Brixz – get your ass THERE!!!!
The outrigger at Ft. Myers Beach - Symon
Bert’s in Matlacha – The Yard Dogs
ABSOLUTE MUST SEE!!! David Johnson and his band Adrenalinn – The Brick Bar
Martini’s – Cape Coral Pkwy – Liquor Box – Killer Classic Rock
City Tavern – Downtown Ft. Myers – The Heather Brooks Band – Excellent originals
Wally’s Waterfront – Tim Goodman’s open mic Jazz Jam – An awesome collection of musicians
Thursday
Hurricane Harry’s – Symon – Great Rock and Country!
The Brick Bar – David Johnson Solo
The Slip Knot in Punta Gorda on 41 – Andy and Rosanne... Great rock and dance music
Tequila Tom’s name here, some cool bar’s name here
Friday
Me at Key West Cantina
Hurricane Harry’s - David Johnson
The Dek – Deb and the Dynamics…Another Must SEE!!!! Rock and Blues
Brixz – Symon
Wally’s Waterfront – Tim and Rosanne – Dance and Party music
Saturday
Me at Key West Cantina
Hurricane Harry’s – David Johnson
The Dek – Deb and the Dynamics
Wally’s Waterfront – Tim and Rosanne – Dance and Party music
Sunday
The only game in town that I recommend…..ME at The Dek!!!!!!!
Loggerheads - Ft. Myers Beach – Symon - www.symonmusic.com
Fishin’ with Booty!!
Welcome to the first installment of “Fishin’ with Booty!” Captain Terry and I try to get out once a week and “fish”. This will be a chronicle of our endeavors on the water. We will review hotspots, tips, tackle and techniques.
I arrived at La Casa de Booty at 9A.M. this past Saturday to be greeted by
breakfast in a brown bottle. A most excellent meal, I must say. Off we went to
the bait shop in Captain Terry’s beautiful 21 ft. flats boat, which, might I
add, we did not ground ONCE the entire day! (It was a first). Of course, the
bait shop was out of live shrimp, so we spent our bait money on beer and squid.
We should have just walked next door to Rumrunner’s and had beer and squid
there. Their squid is much tastier than the squid at the bait shop, and
apparently they even cook it for you. Wow.
Captain Terry and I hit several of our sure-shot spots, and basically, um, got
skunked. I caught a non-keeper blue claw crab and Terry limited out on
star-fish. Taking into consideration the time of year and the time of day, the
tide and the water temperature, we determined that A) there is not a single fish
left in the Gulf of
Mexico or B) we absolutely suck at fishing in
Southwest Florida.
A final determination has not yet been made. We did, however, catch an
incredible buzz, along with a second degree sunburn that is going to take a week
to completely peel. Should you come across a guy that looks like he is molting
like a snake, don’t go running and screaming in the other direction. It’s just
me.
Well, that’ll wrap up my first installment of Fishin’ with Booty! Hopefully next
week there will be fish to talk about. Until then, may your lines be tight, and
your beers be cold!
Tequila Tom’s Local Music Spotlight
This is a new segment to review and interview a local musical artist who I feel deserves more attention. We are blessed in SW Florida to be surrounded by an amazing amount of talent. Each week, I will pick a different entertainer or band and review them and then interview them. My pick for this week is…….
David C. Johnson
For those of you who have not seen David play, get off your asses and GO! It is difficult to describe with words how well he does what he does. I have not seen any solo act to date that performs as David can. I have had the pleasure of seeing him every Friday and Saturday night for over a year, watching him play from 9 PM to 1AM at Hurricane Harry’s in North Fort Myers. Even after a year, there is always something new and cool that I hear for the first time.
David’s music is a mix of Funk, R&B, Jazz and Rock. He is primarily a bassist,
but plays guitar and keyboards better than most! I love watching people watch
David for the first time. Their jaws just drop down, while they blink their eyes
to make sure they are seeing it right. “Holy SH* T!!!” are typically the first
words uttered after one finally puts it all together. Blending blistering bass
lines, soul touching guitar work, beautifully melodic keyboard chops and a
powerful voice that will shake the room, David is really is a ‘you gotta see it
to believe it’ performer. Girls, if you wanna do some serious ‘Rump-Shakin!’
David is the man!
Now I need to talk about his band. David’s band, Adrenalinn, performs every
Wednesday at The Brick Bar in Downtown Fort Myers. Adrenalinn is a 4 piece act
that will blow your mind! Mike Goods (keys), Ray Nesbit (guitar, vocals) and
Richie Alexander (drums, vocals) accompany David in this wall-shaking project.
These are all ‘A’ level players, any of whom could be doing studio work in N.Y.,
Memphis or L.A., or
touring with any national act. The level of musicianship in this band is obvious
to even the most casual of listeners.
The band plays a lot of David’s solo material along with many pleasant surprises
that you just never saw coming. David does the lion’s share of lead vocals.
However, let me say this. Ray Nesbit has a voice like thunder! That boy can belt
out a tune while just shredding that Stratocaster of his! Between Richie
Alexander and David, the rhythm section couldn’t be tighter. Obviously these two
have played together for years. Now, how Mike Goods gets those fingers to move
on those keyboards the way he does is beyond me. There is nothing petite about
Mike, except for his touch on those keys. Unbelievable chops!!!! Combine these
four top-shelf musicians and the energy level is through the roof! Their musical
abilities are complemented perfectly by their excellent stage presence. It is
very obvious that they are having an absolute blast, doing what they do best,
creating incredible music! Adrenalinn is a MUST
SEE!!!!
The following is my one on one interview with David Johnson
Where are you from originally??
Detroit.
How long have you been playing music???
33 years.
How long have you been in Florida???
17 years.
You play multiple instruments. What do you play? What is your primary instrument?
My primary instrument is Bass. I also play keyboards, guitar, and drums.
Who were and /or are your musical influences/ heroes???
There are too many to mention here. So I'll give you five: Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Donny Hathatway, Quincy Jones, Chick Corea.
You’ve played with some serious musicians over the years. Feel free to name drop a bit, and talk about one of your more memorable moments.
As a young boy I got to sing with Ella Fitzgerald at one of her concerts. That to me was my biggest moment to date. I've been lucky enough to share the stage with the Meters, the Neville Bros., members of Little Feat, Dr. John, Fats Domino, Smokey Robinson, Clarence Carter, Delbert McClinton, Buddy Guy, George Clinton and P-Funk, Kanye West, John Legend, Robert Cray, John Fogerty and others.
You’ve appeared on television quite a bit. What shows have you been on?
I have appeared on David Letterman, Jay Leno, The Today Show, Crag Kilborn, The Jacksonville Jazz Festival (PBS, 2000), and New Orleans Jazzfest 2000 (VH-1, A&E, Bravo) and C-SPAN.
C-SPAN? What the hell was that about???
The C-SPAN airing was a performance at the Kennedy Center w/Aaron Neville in honor of Colin Powell done by Georgetown University on MLK Jr.'s Birthday of 2005. President Bush and the First Lady were in attendance.
Your live solo project has some very impressive background music to complement your playing. Do you generate all of your own background music or does someone do it for you?
All of my music is done by hand track by track by yours truly. No Karaoke or MIDI files are used at all.
You have an amazing band that you play with on Wednesday nights. Talk about them for a bit, and what else do you guys have going on.
You are right in saying that the band is amazing. The band is called Adrenalinn featuring Mike Goods (keys), Ray Nesbit (guitar, vocals), Richie Alexander (drums, vocals), and myself on bass and vocals. We do a mixture of Funk and Rock with everything else in between. It's an opportunity to stretch out and REALLY play and be creative and push the envelope keeping the whole thing tight. It's fun to watch and listen to and a rare S.W. Florida treat. We are also Vonzell (Baby V) Solomon's back-up band. So touring and CD projects are on the horizon.
Your new CD, “Dave’s Faves”, is absolutely killer. It is primarily cover tunes that we grew up listening to. Would you consider these to be your ‘Desert Island’ tunes, so to speak? If you could have only one CD to listen to, would these be those songs?
This collection of songs on this CD are some of my stand out favorites that I perform live on my solo gigs. Some feature the bass, and others focus on my arrangements and me paying homage to some of the greatest musicians/artists of all time.
Your original CD, “Songs About You and Me” is very diverse. You go from beautiful ballads to some serious ass-kicking on it! Do you have anymore original projects in the works???
Yes. My next two personal projects will be an instrumental album and an adult contemporary R&B album.
Have you worked on projects for other artists? Where else can your work be heard?
I have recorded with the following local artists:
R&B Connection (Brick Bar Blues)
Chris Workman (Cakes 'n' Ale)
Jo List (Natural Girl)
Paul Rozmus (Rhythm of Love, On The Funky Side)
The Mambo Brothers (Night Owl, Merry X-Mas, We've Got It Going On, Child Support)
Lynn Richardson (The Real Me)
The Vee/ Magsax Project (Souled Out)
Father Jerry Kaywell (Beyond The Clouds, Miracle Of Life)
Mario Infanti (Bird In A Hand)
John Bernier (From The Heart, Christmas Is)
The "Best Of Everything" Commercial (Bass)
Where can your CD’s be purchased?
At my performances, Brent's Music Headquarters on Courtney Drive across from the Edison Mall or my website www.davidjohnsonmusic.com which will direct you to all other online retailers that carry them.
What’s next for David Johnson??
Simply making the best music I can…
Tequila Tom’s Restaurant of the Week
My restaurant of the week is….Bubba’s Roadhouse and Saloon….
Bubba’s is located on Pine Island Road in the Northwest Cape.
While I would not refer to Bubba’s as fine dining, the dining certainly was fine! The atmosphere at Bubba’s is very ummm….. relaxed. Vibrating lobsters and peanut shells are some of the items you can find adorning the bar top and floor. We sat at the bar, enjoying the service and banter of two of Bubba’s finest bartenders, Kelly and Kimberly, who shall remain nameless, so as to protect their identity.
We started with a nice fresh salad served in large stainless steel bowls. The salads are huge! For dinner I had a N.Y. strip steak grilled to perfection, accompanied by sautéed onions, white rice and black beans, while my companion, had the prime rib special with a baked potato large enough to launch through someone’s windshield. We both took home a sizable doggy bag. Bubba’s is the ONLY steakhouse on Pine Island Road worth stopping at!! I won’t even mention those other lame-ass chain joints in the vicinity of the only real-deal in this section of the Cape. Puleeeze... While Bubba’s menu consists primarily of steaks, chicken and ribs, there is a nice seafood selection to choose from as well. I cannot comment on the dessert menu, as I started drinking Grand Marnier, herein referred to as Grandma, immediately following dinner. I might have had dessert, I just don’t remember! I’m sure it was good. Hell, after 4 Grandmas and 4 beers, you wouldn’t remember dessert either! HOOWOO!!
But seriously, if you’re ready for a laid back, good ol’ boy kinda chowin’ down dining experience, swing by Bubba’s. Excellent food, excellent service! I give Bubba’s 4.75 out of 5 Rolaids. The only reason they didn’t get a perfect score is because I used to date one of the nameless bartenders, and she DUMPED ME!!!!!!! Can you imagine??? ME!!! I mean, was she insane?? Out of her mind!!!?? What is not sexy about a bald-headed, beer-bellied mini-van drivin’ kinda guy?? Well, she can explain to Jay Johnson, the owner of this FINE establishment, why she cost him 25% of a Rolaid. Well nameless bartender, are you happy now???! Hehehehe…. This is too much damned fun. Thanks for an awesome place, Jay!!!
Tequila Tom’s Top Ten List
Top Ten Reasons Why Beer Is Better Than Coffee
10. No one recycles coffee cups. They are an ecological disaster, taking up priceless landfill space.
9. You never need to wait for a fresh pot of beer.
8. Coffee doesn’t have any cool commercials in the Super Bowl.
7. Juan Valdez has a donkey, while Budweiser has Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
6. You don’t need to add milk or sugar to beer, it’s already perfect.
5. Does it ever piss you off when your beer gets cold? I didn’t think so.
4. Playing quarter-bounce with coffee is just stupid.
3. You will never burn your crotch and crash your car if you spill your beer on your way to work.
2. Coffee makes you jumpy and irritable, while beer has no nasty after-effects.
1. If hillbillies drank coffee instead of beer, the show ‘COPS’ would really suck!