The Story of My Musical Journey: From Ybor City to New York and Beyond
In 1979, I met Rev. Ralph in Ybor City. The next eight years would prove to be some of the most creative of my life. Writing songs and recording constantly with Ralph and other musicians, it was a wonderfully mad time that truly shaped who I am as an artist. In 1984, I met and fell in love with Jennifer MacDuffee, a classically trained pianist, with whom I wrote many songs. We lived in Hyde Park, and during those years, there was always a piano in the house. Most of my writing during this time was done on that piano.
It was around 1985 that I met Steve Martin-Caro, the former lead singer of The Left Banke, famous for the hit "Walk Away Renee." Steve and I became good friends, and he spent a lot of time at our place. He had become disillusioned with the music business but had a great time jamming with Jennifer and me. We recorded a lot, and I’ll be including some of those tapes in this collection.
I acquired my first 4-Track cassette deck in 1987, but before that, all recording was done with whatever was available—old reel-to-reel decks, Walkmans, and cassette decks. Some of it even made it into a recording studio. I have hours of recordings from this period, and I'm compiling them chronologically into a comprehensive document that captures the magic of that eight-year journey, starting in Ybor City, continuing through Hyde Park, and culminating in the creation of ARTS ALIVE! in Ybor City.
The Birth of ARTS ALIVE!
It all started with a wild idea—I wanted to rent a storefront and open a little beatnik-style coffeehouse, and I called it ARTS ALIVE! When I told Jennifer about the idea, she asked, "How are you going to do that? You only have eighty dollars in your pocket."
In the end, I left the comfortable 'apartment on the river' lifestyle I’d been living with Jennifer for the past four years. I rented my own storefront and began living my bohemian musician lifestyle. I rented the space to local bands during the week as rehearsal space and opened it as a coffeehouse on weekends to help cover the rent—although I never actually paid the rent. Still, I was in business and loving every minute of it!
ARTS ALIVE! caught on quickly and was even voted 'Hip Pick of the Week' by Creative Loafing, a local entertainment magazine. It became a gathering place for old hippies with their wooden flutes, neo-beatniks sharing their cosmic subversive poetry, sculptors, painters, and every other creative type you could imagine. It was a place where art in all its forms was presented to an audience who were also a part of the unfolding spectacle.
There was a constant flow of musicians, artists, and poets bringing their unique energy to the space. I had my first experience recording and collaborating with people like Marty Sheyer, who wanted to write the world's first "Rap Opera," which he dubbed a "Rappera." His dedication was as intense as his ideas were wild.
One of my most memorable experiences was the "Love Feast," where the Hare Krishnas would bring "Prasadam," holy food, to share. Every Friday at 4:00 pm, I’d play an Evening Raga by Ravi Shankar as the priest floated to the stage. We would all gather, chant, and feast, while my fellow misfits—whether they were neo-beatnik poets or punk blues bands—created an experience unlike any other.
Moving to New York: Nineteen Eighty-Nine
In the summer of 1989, I left Ybor City. I packed what few things meant anything to me—mostly notebooks full of lyrics and tapes of my music—and climbed into a beat-up station wagon with Czech Mike and Tony. We headed for New York City, where a whole new chapter in my musical journey awaited.
My first couple of months in New York are captured in a song I wrote, aptly titled "Nineteen Eighty-Nine." It reflects my experiences of moving to a city that was unlike anything I had ever known.
Here are the lyrics to the song:
Nineteen Eighty-Nine
I left no friends and family in nineteen eighty-nine
I had a quarter in my pocket when I came to New York City in nineteen eighty-nine
I was standing on a corner with a friend of a butcher who was no friend of mine
He fileted a ballerina and he made a soup in nineteen eighty-nine
This dude was selling a cannabis plant, it must've been five feet high
Where I'd just come from, one can get ten to life just for standing nearby
I thought, "Oh my God, what am I doing here? I'm only twenty-nine"
I was gonna live forever in nineteen eighty-nine
Nineteen Eighty-Nine, Nineteen Eighty-Nine
I was gonna live forever in nineteen eighty-nine
I met David Peel on Max Yasgur’s Farm in nineteen eighty-nine
I made love with Luna on a hill under the moon—she was like the finest of wines
I had a pad on St. Mark, it was right by the park in nineteen eighty-nine
I was makin' a record on the Lower East Side in nineteen eighty-nine
Campfires were blazin' in the park where I was sleepin' in nineteen eighty-nine
The losers and the winners and the nomads and the sinners all seemed like pretty nice guys
I wasn't gonna join 'em, I was havin' a good time livin' my life in my prime
I was gonna live forever in nineteen eighty-nine
The Bookstore
In the Spring of 1990, I began selling books on the sidewalks of New York City. During my time as a sidewalk bookseller, I would occasionally get a 'real job' just to take a break from bookselling. But no matter what, I always returned to the streets to sell books. It was my own version of freedom.
I opened The Bookstore—a humble little spot that became a neighborhood institution. It wasn’t fancy. In fact, it had a color TV above the entrance, where I played VHS tapes of classic rock concerts and films. The Bookstore became a gathering place for musicians, potheads, writers, and the creatively lost. People who had nowhere else to go found a home there.
One of the things I’ll never forget was Rex’s suggestion to sell coffee for a dollar a cup. I went out and got everything we needed for the setup, but Rex was the only one who drank the free coffee, and I never sold a single cup. The idea quickly died, but it didn’t matter. The Bookstore was thriving with its own kind of magic.
Continuing the Journey
This is just a snapshot of the first few years of my musical journey. Every project, every story, every song is a piece of the larger picture of my creative life. I’m constantly documenting, writing, recording, and reflecting on these times as I work to preserve them before the inevitable passage of time takes its toll.
Through the ups and downs, the wild adventures, and the many projects that have come and gone, I’ve never been bored. There’s always something to create, something to explore, and a story to tell. This journey, the music, the people, the places, and the projects—it's all part of a life that I continue to live with passion and gratitude.
Thank you for joining me on this ride.
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