By Mike Sales I first saw Chris Otto perform, when I was at a gig, on break, taking a walk and heard the most amazing guitar-shredding solos echoing over the water from across the marina. I HAD to go see who and what was making that sound, so I borrowed my venue’s golf cart and […]
Or this morning??… Siesta John (Sollazzo) Revisited by Mike Sales Two very cool things happen on Sunday mornings; I get to sleep in and enjoy another glorious day of summer hiatus and the Siesta Key Farmer’s Market, in Davidson’s Plaza, is once again, open for business. While the fruit and vegetable stand is the market's […]
By Mike Sales My favorite interviews are with artists of whom I’m already a fan before I write about them. I first heard Lenny’s name when he was recommended as the “go to” guy to solve a problem I was having with my new-to-me Fender Stratocaster. I met him at his Twinkle gig to drop […]
A few months ago, while setting up to play a party in one of the private rooms at the Polo Grill, I heard a band on the other side of the wall playing country music for a wedding in the banquet hall. The music sounded so good and the songs were so well chosen that […]
By Mike Sales It probably comes as no surprise that my favorite part of Siesta Key is the impressive pool of talent on display at the many live music venues in the relatively small area of the village where I can always count on discovering another favorite. TJ Hitt, was playing just across the street […]
By Mike Sales A little over a year ago, I had the privilege of playing New Year’s Eve with a husband and wife duo at The Hub. Sammy “Barefoot” Warren, who plays percussion, interviewed for the Nov. issue of the Siesta Sand Newspaper and in the time since then, I’ve seen and heard some beautiful […]
By Mike Sales The April 2013 edition of the Siesta Sand Newspaper launched the “Who’s Playing Tonight” article and featured singer, songwriter; Ben Hammond.In that time I’ve had the privilege of interviewing, and getting to know dozens of local area musicians and their music. Don’t tell anyone you saw a songwriter use a cliché, but […]
By Mike Sales If you enjoy live music and feel a little adventurous, you can get a lot of entertainment at one of Siesta Key’s weekly open mic nights. Siesta Key Oyster Bar’s Nick LeValley hosts an open mic every Tuesday and Matt Gerhardt hosts his Thursday night at the Lelu Coffee Lounge. The wide […]
An interview with Sammy “Barefoot” Warren By Mike Sales Toward the end of last year, I got one of those calls I love to get; an offer to play a New Year’s Eve pick-up gig after I got done playing earlier…an NYE double! I was told there would be two other musicians there and that they […]
…an interview with James “Sunny Jim” White by Mike Sales One of the perks of writing this article, other than getting to know artists I may not otherwise meet, is the opportunity to interview musicians who are further along in their careers than I am and get a first-hand glance of what their stage of […]
An interview with RPM By Mike Sales You may recall an interview from the Siesta Sand January issue, of this year, which featured RPM’s Mark Waelti. During that interview, I learned that the duo, consisting of Mark on bass and vocals and Randy Marsh on guitar and vocals had been together for 30 years […]
An interview with Rodney Shenk by Mike Sales One of the cool things about writing this article is that it requires me to seek out musicians to write about. I wind up listening to and learning about artists who play when I do and would otherwise never hit my radar. So, when a customer came […]
