Trop Rock Corner

The World of Trop Rock

Trop rock. Surely you’ve heard of this musical genre, particularly in Key West.

Trop, of course, is short for tropical. Think of all those songs by Jimmy Buffett, Zac Brown, Kenny Chesney and others that mention beaches, boats, palm trees, sunshine, flip flops, pirates, margaritas and other warm-weather subjects.

The rock part of the genre is a bit more wobbly, as the music can take many forms from rock and country to reggae and more. I’ll just say, the definition boils down to “Americana music with an escapist theme.” Americana in itself is very loosely defined and is kind of a blend of outlaw country and folk. Instrumentation has a lot to do with the sound of Americana, using American folk instruments such as banjos, mandolins and harmonicas.

In trop rock you’re more likely to hear ukuleles and steel drums. Radio stations on the web as well as land-based stations include the genre in their playlists and some streamers offer an exclusive trop rock playlist based on their own algorithm.

Let’s take a look at the world of trop rock in Key West. Many of you may be familiar with the Parrot Heads, as fans of Jimmy Buffett call themselves. For many years, the flocked to Key West for a gathering every November. Over the years, the Parrot Head phenomenon spawned many trop rock bands, with most tracing their roots back to Buffett.

Tribute bands gave way to independent songwriters and bands that created their own Buffett-inspired music. Year after year more musicians, including Nashville songwriters, discovered the world and appeal of trop rock, made the trek to Key West, and found themselves a niche fanbase.

While living in Pennsylvania as a member of a local Parrot Head club, we had our own club band, Tropical Soul, which has also played at the Hog’s Breath Saloon here in Key West over the years. The first time I heard Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band was at a fundraiser for Myasthenia Gravis in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Who knew tropical music could be found so far from Florida? I was listening to Beachfront Radio online (and Margaritaville Radio, too) back in 2010 when I felt inspired to try writing my own songs.

Learning to write music in my mind is kind of like poetry set to music. I wrote my first song, “Tropical Man,” with this in mind, creating a setting and a story in parts. It took a lot of working with my producer before it turned into a decent song: “He’s got Buffett’s bank account / Papa Hemingway’s style / Captain Tony’s sex drive / and Jack Johnson’s smile,” to start.

That was over 12 years and four CDs ago.

My fans/friends who have supported me — and my music — over the years come from many backgrounds. I’m grateful for them all and for the fact that I live here in Key West, playing music with Chris Rehm as one half of The Shanty Hounds. Like most local musicians, we play a lot of different styles, but our original music can be considered trop rock. We love to write what we know — life on an island.

In our next column we’ll delve into more of what’s going on in the trop rock scene here in Key West and beyond.