In 1971, British comedy troupe Monty Python released And Now For Something Completely Different, its absurdist first feature film. Roughly 35 years later, percussionist Brian O'Neill formed Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica (orchestrotica.com), a group that's taken that title concept into musical terrain ever since. Featuring O'Neill on vibraphone and hand percussion, Geni Skendo … [Read more...]
West Palm drummer’s T’s Express sings jazz gospel of Corea, Hancock
In case you hadn't noticed, even though it's hard to miss, tribute acts have become all the rage by offering discounted versions of the material that lowest-common-denominator fans — especially of classic rock — can't seem to get more than enough of. As a result, tributes are sadly turning up in South Florida concert venues and clubs that in previous years booked much more … [Read more...]
Koch’s searing followup Boca gig cements his stellar reputation
Greg Koch (www.gregkoch.com) refers to himself as "one of the most famous unknown guitar players in the world" on his website. After his show last September at the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton, and the recent one there March 11, it may be time for a rewrite. Last year's performance by the singing guitarist, whose trio is rounded out by his son Dylan Koch on drums and Toby … [Read more...]
The best guitarist working today? That might be Greg Koch
To anyone who was there uninitiated, a show last September 22 at the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton likely proved to be a revelation. The Koch Marshall Trio performed two sets, featuring guitarist/vocalist Greg Koch (www.gregkoch.com), his son Dylan Koch on drums, and Toby Lee Marshall on Hammond organ and backing vocals. A near-capacity crowd sauntered in, mostly musicians in … [Read more...]
Multi-instrumentalist Regis spearheads Delray Jazz Collective
As anyone who knows him realizes, Tom Regis literally wears a lot of different hats. And as anyone familiar with his work as a musician knows, he figuratively wears even more. In his Delray Jazz Collective, the Swampscott, Mass., native and Delray Beach resident alternates between being the band's keyboardist or drummer. That involves two hats. Yet Regis also plays acoustic … [Read more...]
‘Billy’ Billingham: Lake Worth Beach’s tough guy reality TV star
Of all the things one might expect to find along an otherwise nondescript street in southern Lake Worth Beach, a reality TV star's residence would probably not be among them. But that's where Mark "Billy" Billingham (markbillybillingham.com), of the Fox network's Wednesday night show Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, lives when he's not flying around the globe for … [Read more...]
Double Roads Tavern returning to Jupiter in new year
Baby Boomer nostalgia seems to be fueling a lot of modern leisure and entertainment, especially in South Florida, but there are some things that can't be brought back. Like Double Roads, the area along the ocean north of Marcinski Road in Juno Beach. That's where teens, many of whom are now in the Boomer age bracket, once congregated from the 1960s through the 1980s. There … [Read more...]
‘Head On’: Legendary Dolphin Csonka recounts losses amid gridiron glory
It's impossible to reflect on Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Larry Csonka's new memoir Head On (Matt Holt/BenBella Books) without referencing Always On the Run (1973), the former Miami Dolphins fullback's previous book of ever-colorful exploits. As told to New York Times columnist Dave Anderson, that entertaining 50-year-old set of tall-but-true tales was authored with Csonka's … [Read more...]
Northwood entrepreneur dreams of Wynwood vibe in West Palm
Location, location, location. It's recurrently stressed as the prime factor in real estate and startup businesses, but always with an eye toward the present. Joe DeStephan, on the other hand, has both eyes fixed on the future. His Northwood Art & Music Warehouse in West Palm Beach is situated in an industrial region several blocks west of the Northwood section's … [Read more...]
‘Well of Souls’ traverses shameful histories in telling tale of the banjo
Usually, the movie follows the book. But in the case of Kristina R. Gaddy's well-researched, comprehensive chronology Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History (Norton), it follows a documentary on the same subject by 14 years. Bela Fleck & the Flecktones' namesake banjoist and bandleader covered similar territory in 2008 with Throw Down Your Heart. The Sascha … [Read more...]