Certain musical gigs that were once frequent have become rare in South Florida. The area nightclub scene is now mostly dominated by open mics, jam nights, karaoke, trivia, stand-up comedy, and singing guitarists who are sometimes accompanied by pre-recorded backing tracks. In essence, anything that club owners and managers can think of where they only have to pay one host or performer.
Quality acts ranging from duos to full bands used to get house gigs, or residencies, by playing at the same venue anywhere from one to five nights a week. Most of those nights are now occupied by the cost-cutting elements described above. Yet exceptions are still made for exceptional talents such as Twocan Blue (twocanblue.com), the weekly Friday happy hour entertainment at the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton.
That venue just celebrated its 13th anniversary in mid-July, and Twocan Blue has been there for 12 of those years. Their free 5-7 p.m. Friday appearances usually occur before shows by ticketed featured artists, with only occasional nights off whenever the club presents a rare two-show format (at 6 and 9 p.m.) by such touring acts.
Twocan Blue is in its 30th year, and the Boynton Beach-based duo of keyboardist/vocalist Tess Schmidt and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Richie Schmidt were a literal duo even earlier, having married in 1990. Theirs is a true Florida tale, one of Fargo, North Dakota, native Tess meeting New York City-born Richie on the road before they relocated to the Sunshine State to pursue further musical endeavors. The rest is history (and hers).
“We actually met in Minnesota,” Richie says. “A vacancy had opened up in the band I was in there, and Tess joined before we migrated down to Florida in 1983 when the guy who was running things said he had some family in Hialeah.”
“That band was called Mystique,” says Tess. “It was the ’80s Top 40 act that introduced us, and we were part of it for about six years.”
Now a fixture at the Funky Biscuit, Richie (who’s appeared on stage there singing and playing guitar, flute, harmonica, mandolin and violin) is also part of the club’s talented house band, which hosts Monday night jams featuring special guests. The Funky Biscuit Allstars will even headline on August 10, and his long-standing blues band The Fabulous Fleetwoods, with Tess guesting, stars in its Old Boca Music Fest 11 on August 17.
The couple is also part of a new venture called Blue Eyed Souls, which makes its debut playing vintage Motown and Stax Records material across town on August 25 at the Boca Black Box Center for the Arts.
In Twocan Blue, Richie is the primary vocalist and soloist, with Tess mostly providing backing vocals; atmospheric piano, organ and synthesizer chords on her Yamaha keyboard, and essential left-hand bass lines that make the duo sound like more than two people.
“Tess has such great skill with her left hand,” Richie says. “We’ve had lots of players, including several very respected bassists, come up and comment on how well she plays those bass lines.”
Drawing from an estimated 300 songs, Twocan Blue performances showcase a variety of influences from The Beatles (cited by both) to Richie’s mentions of blues titans the three Kings (Albert, B.B. and Freddie), fusion guitar icon Allan Holdsworth, progressive rock members of Yes (Steve Howe) and Genesis (Peter Gabriel), and seemingly immortal rocker Keith Richards. Tess’s additional nods include her five musical brothers while growing up, plus a member of both The Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Graham Nash), pianistic pop singer Carole King, iconic soul artists Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder, and Steely Dan leader Donald Fagen.
As part of the Funky Biscuit’s 13th anniversary weekend, Twocan Blue showcased many such influences and beyond, including songs by Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, The Kinks, Taj Mahal, the Doobie Brothers, and Keb Mo. The versatile duo covered ground where most twosomes would fear to tread, including The Fab Four’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” and Paul McCartney’s “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” medley. Later, Richie would simultaneously sing and play guitar and harmonica on The Beatles’ “I’m a Loser,” and alternate between guitar and flute on the Blues Project instrumental “Flute Thing.”
The CSN&Y medley of “Just a Song,” “Carry On” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” closed the first set with a flourish of the Schmidts’ vocal harmonies and Richie’s feverish picking. The couple sang traded lead lines on King’s composition “Up On the Roof,” and Tess torched a rare lead vocal of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon,” with Richie dropping in tongue-in-cheek snippets of Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” during his solo. A rousing medley by The Who of “Pinball Wizard,” “Sparks,” “I Can See for Miles” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” closed the second set, coaxing a well-deserved encore of The Band’s “The Weight.”
The cover-song duo also delves into original songwriting, the latest results of which could be made available soon.
“I just broke through some technical hurdles to get our home studio functioning,” says Richie. “We’re putting some time in and hope to have some songs to present. We’ll just hand them out to the people who keep putting money in our tip jar.”
“We’re terrible marketers, so any recordings will be gifts to family and friends,” Tess says. “Years ago, we had T-shirts and hats made with our logo, and we just ended up giving them away.”
If You Go
Twocan Blue plays Friday happy hours at the Funky Biscuit, 303 S.E. Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton.
When: 5-7 p.m. August 9, 23 and 30
Info: 561-395-2929, funkybiscuit.com