If you happened to live near Mile Marker 24 and you wanted to start a band you might think of calling it anything, but were you to choose the name Mile Marker 24 you would be too late: it's taken.
Mile Marker 24 was playing at Boondocks Bar on Ramrod Key last night and to no one's surprise the place was packed. This group of friends that decided to play music full time is developing a cult following and when you listen to them its no surprise. They aren't pioneers by any stretch but they are the genuine article that Jimmy Buffet used to be and pretends to be today. The guys in the band play that brand of music that one might call island funky, the sort of sounds that mix Soca Reggae and Parrothead in equal measure and produce a sound that pleases anyone who lives or aspires to the Keys way of life as promulgated by the sainted Buffet.
Boondocks is an excellent location for the band, informal Tiki architecture, intimate seating for lots of people and a decent restaurant serving a solid serviceable menu. The seats for those not eating filled up well before the start of the concert and the T-shirt and CD stands were doing good business.
I like the music (what's not to like? A group that includes an actual trumpet and tin drums is searching for, and finding, it's true Caribbean roots), and the band sings about rum and hurricanes and tropical breezes and even if you didn't know any of them you'd know the lads sang of that which they know. They aren't pirates or millionaires (yet) they are just a bunch of dudes having fun and inviting the listeners in to enjoy their jam session. It's very effective.
Boondocks is an excellent location for the band, informal Tiki architecture, intimate seating for lots of people and a decent restaurant serving a solid serviceable menu. The seats for those not eating filled up well before the start of the concert and the T-shirt and CD stands were doing good business.I like the music (what's not to like? A group that includes an actual trumpet and tin drums is searching for, and finding, it's true Caribbean roots), and the band sings about rum and hurricanes and tropical breezes and even if you didn't know any of them you'd know the lads sang of that which they know. They aren't pirates or millionaires (yet) they are just a bunch of dudes having fun and inviting the listeners in to enjoy their jam session. It's very effective. We had a good time at Boondocks, the staff are cheerful and helpful, speedy and efficient and though Bud Lite is nowhere near what I consider to be a beer (yes, yes real beer for real yuppies please) it was a pleasant place to spend an evening. The shrimp Alfredo included lots of shrimp and truly al dente pasta and the blackened shrimp on the side were spicy and delicious. Lighting is of the "mood" variety as one can surmise from the fuzzy picture.
All this abundance of joy followed by an unfortunately short ride home on the ever delightful Bonneville. My wife finally admitted that commuting in a convertible makes her look forward to the daily drive.
We got to talking about the commute while chatting up the wife of one of the band members. We used to live in the marina she runs in Key West and now that her husband is becoming a full time musician she too has a commute from the area of...Mile Marker 24 to the marina. As a convert to the keys commuting lifestyle she told us how much she likes living in the Lower Keys outside the city.
We feel like its a secret not shared by the inmates of Key West who put up with narrow spaces, loud noises of all kinds and crazy neighbors. I enjoyed living on our Gemini catamaran while traveling but it was a tiresome in the Key West marina we called home for a couple of years. Marina living is "affordable" and for too many people its just cheap rent, say $800 a month, not a sailing lifestyle and our living aboard became a burden to us and our Labrador. Not half the burden it is on a marina manager dealing with all the petty bullshit of a bunch of malcontent liveaboards so I am pretty sure our friend will be glad to get away and become a road manager for the touring band.
All this abundance of joy followed by an unfortunately short ride home on the ever delightful Bonneville. My wife finally admitted that commuting in a convertible makes her look forward to the daily drive.We got to talking about the commute while chatting up the wife of one of the band members. We used to live in the marina she runs in Key West and now that her husband is becoming a full time musician she too has a commute from the area of...Mile Marker 24 to the marina. As a convert to the keys commuting lifestyle she told us how much she likes living in the Lower Keys outside the city.We feel like its a secret not shared by the inmates of Key West who put up with narrow spaces, loud noises of all kinds and crazy neighbors. I enjoyed living on our Gemini catamaran while traveling but it was a tiresome in the Key West marina we called home for a couple of years. Marina living is "affordable" and for too many people its just cheap rent, say $800 a month, not a sailing lifestyle and our living aboard became a burden to us and our Labrador. Not half the burden it is on a marina manager dealing with all the petty bullshit of a bunch of malcontent liveaboards so I am pretty sure our friend will be glad to get away and become a road manager for the touring band. This summer Mile Marker 24 is going on tour nationwide which is great for them and better for Parrotheads across the Mid West, but living in an RV, being on the road, and playing every night someplace different for six months is a dedicated life I do not envy.
Even though they will only be singing about hurricane watches and we will actually be living them. Oh well.
