BUZZ Magazine 4-2016

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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
Dear Tampa Bay Musicians and Fans,
As I was describing the Bay Buzz recently to a friend who
had not yet seen the website, I was asked, "So how is
Bay Buzz different from any other music website here in
Tampa Bay?" This got me thinking about what we can do
that would stand out above the other music sites, and
not be just another calendar showing listings of local
artist shows. When we ran The Bay Buzz from 2010 to
2013, we did have a calendar of shows; but we were also
known for our interviews of local artists and people
involved in the scene, and our CD reviews. Since those
were things that our audience loved, we're going to
continue those features. But what else can we do that is
going to reach out to readers and want them to come
back? Well, in addition to the content on the Bay Buzz
website, we've decided to also give you a monthly
electronic magazine that will be jam-packed with even
more interviews, fun articles, tips, fun facts and more!
The one thing we want more than anything is for the
people of the Tampa Bay music scene to become
involved and send us their stories, ideas, and news.
We are very excited and working hard to bring you the
best of local music news.
That being said, this year we are excited to announce
the very first "Best of the Buzz", where you can
nominate your favorite band or solo artists. Voting will
take place over several weeks and our winners will be
recognized at this years annual Buzz Fest. We hope you
play a part in this and help make the nominee list long
with the many talented musicians out there.
Personally, I am very thrilled to bring the Bay
Buzz back to Tampa Bay. It was something that
brought me great pleasure and I hope you find it
as a great musical resource.
We'll be working hard on the May Issue of
"Buzz", so please send in any stories you'd like to
share before then.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
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Home Recording Studios
What was once a dream now
becomes an affordable reality.
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Home Recording Shopping List
Everything you need to get started
recording at home!
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JCT 27 & The Joe Milligan
Project CD Release at
Pro Star Recording Studio
Photos by Jennifer Lane
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Daisy & The Drivers
A new band in St. Pete with a passion
for country, the heart of rock
and the soul of the party!
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4
April, 2016

Publishers & Editors
Constance Hilton
Bob Feckner
Contributing Writers
Jennifer Lane
Contributing Photographers
Jennifer Lane
Marketing & Advertising
Living The Dream
From bartender to full time musician,
Barry Ertel is a lucky man!
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BAY BUZZ RELAUNCH
Why I Brought It Back!
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ON THE COVER Barry Ertel photographed by
David Hopkins at The State Theater in St. Petersburg,
Florida. Photo used with permission.
Constance Hilton
Pam Wills
President - Constance Hilton
Event Coordinator - Pam Wills
The Bay Buzz
St. Petersburg, FL
(727) 422-2427
baybuzzmusic@gmail.com
BUZZ MAGAZINE IS
A BAY BUZZ
PUBLICATION
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Most musicians cannot wait to record their
original music and create a CD. Many seek
out a professional recording studio,
looking for the best price with the best quality; and
there are many to choose from. But more and more
musicians are trying their hands at home recording.
The technology is more available than ever before, at
prices that would surprise you with their
affordabilty.
There are a lot of questions you might ask about
setting up a home studio - What would you need?
How much money is it going to take? Will it take
more time or less than a professional studio with a
professional engineer? We wanted to share with you
four different home studios, from basic to
extravagant, so we found four local musicians who
do their recording from the comfort of their homes
and asked them the same questions to give you a
variety in answers. Their stories may inspire you to
make the investment!
We first spoke with Phil Traynor from Clearwater, a
contemporary jazz artist who has recorded four of
his CDs.
What made you decide to start recording at home?
I had been writing songs since the early 1980s; and
for a long time had no way to hear performed, much
less get them recorded. Back then, the notion of
gong into a recording studio was something only
reserved for the elite with a lot of cash. I got a
cassette 4-track in the late 80s and began making
crude, rudimentary recordings of some of my book;
but those recordings had neither the instrumental
finesse nor the production values to be viable. I sort
of gave up on it as the 90s came around; I got married
and my prioritise changed. Then, in 1999, my
best friend passed away suddenly of heart failure at
34. I was reminded that I needed to use my gifts
while they were mine to use.
How long have you been home recording? I’ve been
doing it seriously since 2000. The technology moved
along so much since the cassette 4-track days; it
became affordable to produce

ecordings of reasonable fidelity to market them, so I
started reworking the old book and recording new
compositions as well.
Do you just record yourself, or do you record others
as well? Lately, I’ve been recording other people more
than myself. I’ve been in a bit of a compositional rut,
so I take commercial clients to keep my ears exercised
and my skills sharp. As new material emerges, I record
it. It’s not nearly as much as I’d like, both my work and
recording others.
What input device do you use? I use a MOTU (Mark of
the Unicorn) 8pre. It’s a rack mounted mic preamp and
input device. It connects to my computer via Firewire,
and allows me to record up to 8 inputs simultaneously.
It has nice, warm preamps and flexible controls.
SO YOU WANT TO
RECORD AT HOME
The main feature article showcases the existing home studios
of four local artists. Even with all that information, it
can still be mind boggling to try and decide how to get
started for yourself. The lower your budget is, the harder it
is to find a good solution.
Thankfully, you really can get started for what amounts to a
fairly small investment. There are a few basic components
you have to purchase to build a recording rig (besides the
computer, of course). The key elements of any home recording
rig are:
You need a microphone, unless you are an instrumental musician
and all your instruments plug in. A large diaphragm condenser mic
is what you want for clean vocal parts, and they are suitable for recording
acoustic guitars as well.
Is your recording rig a Windows PC, a Mac, or something
else? Now, it’s a Windows PC. Back in the 2000s,
when I first got back into this world, I was using a couple
of dedicated hard disk recorders; they were like a
mixing console with a hard drive in them. I had a Roland
VS-880EX 8-track, and then a Korg D1600 16
track. They worked, but had limitations. I did my first
CD on the Korg; its preamps were not of particularly
high quality, so the recordings didn’t sound as good as
they could. The advent of decent recording software,
and affordable input devices moved me to a PC environment.
My current rig is a Windows 7 PC that I built
with 32GB of RAM, a fast Core i7 processor, a terabyte
of solid state drive to record to and quite a lot more
space for secondary storage.
What recording software do you use? I started on
Cool Edit Pro, which became Adobe Audition when
Adobe bought out Syntrillium. I used Audition from
2000 till 2012, upgrading as different versions came
along. Then, through a recording
You need some way to get the signals cleanly from your microphone
and instruments into your computer. Your PC’s mic input
is neither fast enough nor clean enough to get the job done. The
input device will have the mic plugged into it, and you can also
plug in electric guitars, keyboards, drum machines, etc.
You need a way to actually record and manipulate the audio files
that you play or sing. You also need a way to master the finished
mix.
You need a way to ACCURATELY hear the sounds you’ve recorded,
to ensure that your mix and master are as sonically accurate
as possible. You can listen through studio monitors (preferred)
or very high quality headphones (good, but headphones can give
you a false sense of the width of the sound field and trick you
into creating overly wide or narrow mixes.
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class I took with Grammy® winning Nashville songwriter
and producer Jon Vezner, I discovered Presonus Studio
One. It is incredibly feature rich and powerful; it includes
its own mastering suite, and supports all manner of plugins
and native extensions. It rivals the power of ProTools
easily, and yet costs less than $500. Its interface is exceptionally
easy to understand, and they have a free version
that you can download to try out. It is fully enabled, you
can save recordings, and it’s not a timed trial; it just lacks
some of the advanced bells and whistles of the Professional
and Artist versions. Those features unlock with a key; so
the same free version you start with can become Professional
with no reinstallation; just purchase and enter the
key. www.presonus.com
What plugins do you use? One of the things Studio One
does is support Melodyne natively. Melodyne is advanced
pitch, timing, and event control software. Think of it like
AutoTune, only good. It allows completely artifact free
manipulation of a track’s pitch, timing, volume, and other
elements down to the note level and below. It is polyphonic,
so you could play a guitar track, and Melodyne will
hear and separate all six strings into their individual notes;
allowing you to account for a pitch repair if the guitarist
had one string out of tune. It is granular, powerful, and
incredibly easy to use. You can re-time a percussion track,
quantizing and slicing down to the note level and beyond,
with complete manual control. Think of it like the audio
equivalent of Photoshop. www.celemony.com
Studio One Professional ships with Melodyne Essentials,
which I immediately upgraded to the full Editor suite; and
S1 also ships with a very large suite of virtual instruments,
drum loops, and effects plugins, including EQs, reverbs,
compressors, expanders, guitar amp modeling, and many
more. I also still use Audition for some of the final mastering;
and I have older legacy plugins from Waves I use in
that environment because I still like them; and they don’t
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work under the new industry standards for plugins (Studio
One only supports VST 2.4 and above, and these are 2.0).
I also have the Composers Collection from EastWest, including
Hollywood Strings Gold, and the equivalents in
brass, woodwind and percussion, they are an incredible
library of samples. http://www.soundsonline.com/
For my piano, I use Pianoteq; is is unlike anything else in
that it’s not samples; it’s a modeler. I’ve never heard a
better, more accurate piano. www.pianoteq.com.
Can you record a full band at once? Not really. My room
is much smaller than it used to be since I moved homes
about a year ago; and I do not have an isolation booth. I
can record folk and other stuff that doesn’t require simultaneous
plugin and open mic recording; but my environment
is more suited to multitracking. My typical process is
to use a drum loop to keep time, record rhythm guitar,
bass, and keyboard parts; and then circle back and record
the real drums. I come in with 8 tracks on the drums, so I
can get really accurate capture of the drum set working
that way. Playing to the drum loop/click track has made
me a much more disciplined drummer, which is a nice side
benefit. After the rhythm section is recorded, then any
vocal parts or solos get tracked.
Do you mix and master your own recordings, or have
someone else do that part? I “roll my own”, as it were. J
I have a very accurate monitoring setup, and one of the
skills I’ve developed most over the years is the production
end; hearing mixes, understanding sound field and mastering.
I dare say that my learned abilities on the
production side can make up for whatever shortcomings I
have as a player. I know how to hide things in a mix, I can
make corrections that 5-10 years ago would have been
impossible in even a state of the art studio.

Plus, I’m mostly a control freak and wouldn’t
trust someone else to do my mastering.
Who are your influences as a recording
engineer/producer? On the production side, I
tend to go for those “sound prissy” bands like
Steely Dan, Supertramp, and the like. I go for a
pristine and transparent soundscape. So, guys
like Roger Nichols and Gary Katz are my
influences there. As a producer, I know my job is
to get the best possible performance from the
artist; know when to make them do another
take, when to suggest a change, when to get
Chinese food. So there, I gotta go with Phil
Ramone, who has produced countless artists;
preeminently producing Billy Joel’s best work in
the late 70s and early 80s, and acts like James
Taylor, Paul Simon, Elton John, Madonna, Sir
Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, and
many many more. I’m also a big fan of Quincy
Jones’ producing…
PHIL TRAYNOR - CLEARWATER, FL
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Now we'll take a look at a home
recording studio that is not computer
based, but more old school. Meet
Paul Anthony, a musician well known in
Gulfport.
What made you decide to start recording at
home? I was in a very popular hard rock band
back in the early 90s, called Real Steel. We had
a recording contract wtih Cleveland Based
Auburn Records. The band put together a real
nice analog recording studio in the band
apartment. Ever since those days, I knew
owning my own studio was something that
really had to hapen for me. Once the digital
thing happened and really nice recording gear
became affordable, I was able to make it a
reality for me.
How long have you been home recording? I
would say a good twenty-five years.
Do you just record yourself, or do you record
others as well? I have recorded three of my
own CDs that can be listened to or purchased
from my website. I have recorded tons of
demos and quite a few full CDs for bands as well
.
What input device do you use? I use the
inputs on my 2480 Roland Board.
Nothing too fancy. A few nice outboard
preamps help to warm things up nicely.
Being that I have two of them, I can
record up to 32 tracks at once. In all my
years of recording, Iv'e never had to use
anything close to that many tracks.
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What recording rig do you use? I have two
Roland 2480 recorders that I thought were the
best of the stand alone recording
workstsations. (24 bit 96k.) That's the
important feature of a digital recorder.
Although they may be considered a bit out
dated by today's standards, they truly get the
job done for me. The effects and inserts have
plenty of tools for me. I'm truly glad I came up
in the analog days. You owned a couple of good
effects and made it happen; we didn't need
1000 of them.
Paul Anthony is a professional musician
and recording artist since the age of 15.
The Paul Anthony Band is a full time
working band based in the Tampa Bay
area. They play a variety of music and
many originals off their 4-album
catalog.
www.thepaulanthonyband.com
What plugins do you use? Roland based. VS
Series.
Can you record a full band at once? Absolutely
- a good size band!
Do you mix and master your own recordings,
or have someone else do that part? I mix and
master my own music. I do like to get the
professional opinions of other egineers though.
My ears are always open to try and learn
something new.
PAUL ANTHONY - GULFPORT
Who are your influences as a recording
engineer/producer? The guys who did
their own records back in the day.
Rodger Glover (Deep Purple), Pink Floyd,
Jimmy Page, etc.
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Atrue professional and a long time musician in
the Tampa’s local music scene, Rob Kosinski
shares his home recording studio with us.
What made you decide to start recording at home?
Back in the late 90s, I was recording on a Fostex R8
8-track reel-to-reel recorder. While having a computer
and a laptop in the house at my disposal, it began
to occur to me that I ought to be able to record
digitally. It appeared (to me anyway… I don’t know if
there was any scientific basis for my thought) that
processing power had finally gotten high enough for
me to transition to a digital solution. I was only really
concerned with recording one track at a time. After
some investigation, I made the “investment” in the
recording software Cakewalk LE (for $29). I ran it on
a Mac Powerbook G3 Lombard. My I/O consisted of
the built in line-in and the headphone output. As far
as outboard gear goes, I had a Mackie CR-1604 mixer
for my audio input and a MOTO MIDI interface to
drive two external keyboard modules and an Alesis
D4 drum module. This allowed me to NOT actually
have to record keyboards and drums to audio…
thereby allowing me more processing power and
tracks for vocals, guitar and bass.
How long have you been home recording?
I’ve been home recording since the late 1980s with a
cassette tape-based Tascam Porta-01 as my first
multi-track recorder.
Do you just record yourself, or do you record others
as well? My home studio is primarily for my own use.
Occasionally I will help out a friend. I do not advertise
or bring people into my home sight-unseen.
What input device do you use? I use an Edirol FireWire
AudioCapture FA-101 10x10 interface. In front of that is a
Mackie 1642 VLZ-Pro mixer.
Is your recording rig a Windows PC, a Mac, or something
else? Mac. Always has been, always will be.
Why do you prefer Mac over Windows? I don't know if it's
a big a factor today as it was 10 years ago, but back in the
day Macs we're just simply more reliable. Windows people
had to tweak out a dedicated machine just for recording
and use it JUST for that. Once it was working "don't mess
with it" was what I heard a lot. Macs didn't have hardware
drivers issues to contend with and they simply worked. I
could also use the same Mac for email/internet, graphic
design, light gaming etc… still do.
What recording software do you use? As I indicated earlier,
I started with Cakewalk LE, stepped up to Cubase
VST/32, and then finally to Apple Logic as it became affordable
a few years ago.

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What plugins do you use? Aside from the stock
processing plugins, I use Waves Gold and Celemony
Melodyne. As far as instruments go, I
couldn’t live without my Modartt Pianoteq 5, my
Native Instruments Studio Drummer and an oldschool
sampler plugin called VSamp… which allows
me a Fairlight sample that is just “to die
for”!
Can you record a full band at once? I am currently
set up to record eight tracks simultaneously. I
often record my “band” rehearsals along with Go-
Pro video and upload them to YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/user/robkosinski
Do you mix and master your own recordings, or
have someone else do that part? I do it all …to
the best of my ability.
Who are your influences as a recording
engineer/producer? Well, my biggest engineering
influences happen to be two people I personally
know. George Harris currently works at Creative
World Recording
(http://creativeworldrecording.com). I interned
with George in the late 90s, and he taught me everything
I know about critical listening. Then
there’s Keith Leedham, who I’ve known for at
least 20 years. The guy just craps out gold and I’d
sell my soul for what he comes by naturally
(http://keithleedham.com).
When it comes to production, there’s no one I
can specifically name. I will just say I like a “live”
sounding mix.
ROB KOSINSKI - TAMPA BAY
Visit Rob on Facebook!
www.robkmusic.com

Brian Merrill, from St. Petersburg, is a down to earth, easy going guy with a passion and lover of
sounds!
What made you decide to start recording at home? I always felt rushed when I would pay by the hour for
recording time. I wanted to be able to record my vocals without having to watch the clock. So, when I saw that
home recording equipment was becoming more affordable, I decided to go for it and I haven’t looked back
since.
How long have you been home recording? I have had a fascination with recording sounds since I was very
young. I used to use a stereo cassette recorder. When I began playing in bands, I started doing some home
demo recording on 4-track cassette in the early 90’s. In 1999, Digidesign release the Digi001. I immediately
bought it and set up a studio in the front bedroom of my house.
Do you just record yourself, or do you record others as well? I have clients. I do not advertise. It’s all word of
mouth.
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What input device do you use? I have a Pro Tools HD2 Rig
with Apogee 800’s and a Cranesong HEDD 192 for A/D and
D/A Conversion.
Is your recording rig a Windows PC, a Mac, or something
else? I am all Mac!
What recording software do you use? Pro tools and Logic.
What plugins do you use? My go to plugins are the Sonnox
Oxford EQ, Massey Plugins and UAD.
Brian Merrill - St. Petersburg
Can you record a full band at once? Yes, while my studio is
small, I often record full bands all at once. Live recording is
one of my favourites ways to record.
Do you mix and master your own recordings, or have someone
else do that part? I mix and master my own recordings,
but will sometimes send out my band recordings to a
mastering engineer. I mainly do this to get fresh ears on my
mixes.
Who are your influences as a recording engineer/producer?
Tchad Blake (Arctic Monkeys, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel,
Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Sheryl Crow, etc.)
Sir George Henry Martin (Beatles and much more), Eric
Sarafin's (AKA Mixerman)
Visit Brian Merrill
on Facebook!
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Home Studio Shopping List
…So You Want To Record At Home
Here would be a good shopping list for a budget recording setup from the ground up:
1. Presonus Audiobox USB 2x2 system – This two channel USB input device features
flexible inputs and super clean, warm preamps. It’s enough to record two
tracks at once (a plugged in guitar and a vocal part if you want to track them
together, for example) It also includes Studio One Artist Edition from Presonus
(a $99 value!), a terrific recording suite that is easy to learn, and upgradable to
Pro features just by purchasing and entering a license key - $99
2. KRK Rockit 5 G3s - these powered studio monitors sound unbelievably good,
especially for their compact size, and with a robust 50w of bi-amped power,
you’ll have no shortage of big sound. They are accurate, with a solid low end
and crisp, transparents highs. - $149 each
3. MXL 990XL Large Diaphragm Condenser Mic - this 32mm capsule condenser
mic includes a shock mount, and is ideal for capturing a vocal track or an
acoustic guitar - $99
4. Mogami Silver 15’ mic cable - $22
5. Two 10’ balanced cables for monitors - $16 each
6. Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro headphones - These are some of the most accurate
phones you’ll find at ANY price. It is extremely important to have accurate
monitoring, so this is where you want to put a little bit of money - $229
All of that totals up to $779 plus tax; and you’re well on your way to making great
sounding home recordings. Add the mic stand of your choice, and any accessories you
want! You could get away with lesser headphones, but get the absolute best ones you
can afford. Audition them in the store and listen well - bring a song that you know it is
supposed to sound.
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Also, if you don’t like Studio One, the open source community has created and
embraced a freeware recording suite called Reaper. It has a loyal and active user
community online.

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BARRY
When The Bay Buzz first met
Barry in 2010, he was the
lead singer of the band
Tropical Disturbance and a
full time bartender. Since
that time, Barry made some
serious life changes and we
wanted to catch up with him
to see how things are going.
So Barry, you are no longer a
bartender, are you? No. Playing
music is my only job now.
What made you decide to give
that up and go full time with
music, knowing that it might be a
risky choice? Well, first off, I got
fired from my last bartending job.
(A story for another time.) So
instead of running right out to find
another run of the mill J.O.B., I
decided to put my skills as a
musician to the test. The ony risk
to me was not giving it a try. My
awesome girlfriend, Jess, has
always been in full support of me
followng my dream of playing
music full time. As I manage
myself, she also at times helps me
with this and that. We really
support each other as she recently
changed careers herself.
What is a typical day/week like
for you now? I am an early
riser...even if I do go to bed late.
My sweet dog, Baily, makes sure
of that. Then I am right to it. I get
online to see what today’s catch
might be. I do a lot of my booking
this way. Then it’s time to do the
artwork for my fliers for shows
that day or week. Lunch, walk the
dog and get things ready for the
show that night.
My week? Please keep in mind
how blessed I feel. (I am one of the
lucky ones.) I work 4 to 5 days a
week - doing music. That says a
lot. My week starts on Tuesdays
hosting an open mic at the
Treasure Island Tap House and I
also host an open mic every
Wednesday at The Sawgrass Tiki
Bar & Tea House in St. Petersburg.
I play every other Thursday night
at The Swigwam Beach Bar on St.
Pete Beach. And I also have a
standing gig nearly every weekend
at the Post Card Inn on St. Pete
Beach. Other days are filled up by
the many other places I play.
While being a solo artist, you still
have the band, Tropical
Disturbance. Is it difficult to
balance both? LOL, I am a tropical
disturbance! My band is one of the
things I love most in my life. My
band mates are all incredible in
their own right. Chris Gilmer is our
lead guitarist, Evan Trainor on
drums and Stevie Emery on bass. I
always tell everyone that they
make me sound good.
It’s not hard to balance something
you love. Both have rewards that
the other can’t satisfy. When I play
solo, I get the feeling of
accomplishment of being able to
hold down a whole show myself.
But the band is sure to get the
crowd dancing and I love watching
people dance when we play!
Do you have any recordings?
Tropical Disturbance just recorded
a CD called, “Ebb & Flow”. It
basically means the balance of life.
The tide comes in, the tides goes
out.
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ERTEL
How would you describe your
music? I call it, “Rock - Reggae
Alternative”. Every song I play
falls into one of those three
genres. I also say I play music
wth a little latitude. I consider
myself a modern day Jimmy
Buffet, but not playing Jimmy
Buffet kind of songs. Of course I
perform my original music, but I
play the “now” beach music
such as covers by Sublime,
Slightly Stupid and Dirty Heads.
I have a very successful solo
career playing on the beach
without playing one Jimmy
Buffet song, which is something
you couldn’t get away with in
the late 90s.
What do you like most and
least about being a solo artist?
Being my own boss, which
means I control my destiny. On
the other hand, there is no one
to help bail if the ship is taking
on water.
Would you say you have
achieved your goals? Or is
there more you want to do? It
is awesome what I have
accomplished already. I have
achieved some of my goals but
there are so many more hurdles
to traverse. I am always learning
and will continue to drive for
the next big break.
Is there anything you had to
sacrifice in order to do this full
time? Living for ones craft is all
about sacrifice. I am not one to
sit around and complain. Just
know that I have given blood for
my music and would do it all
over again.
Are there periods of time you
are out of work? I have been
lucky. I have been doing this for
three years now and have had
steady work since. I put in the
work to make sure my calendar
stays full. It isn’t difficult to find
steady work if you are giving
them what they want.
How do you get people to take
you serious as a full time
professional musician? You
need to be professional with
your words and attire. Image is
important in this business and
you have to find a way to stand
out.
What personal advice would
you give someone wanting to
become a full time musician?
Be confidnet in yourself.
Practice a lot. Have some
money saved up before you
begin. It helps to have your own
gear and PA system. Play songs
that will please the crowd.
How can fans find where you
are playing or hosting an open
mic? Best to visit my music page
on Facebook. Or you can always
check the Bay Buzz website.
Visit Barry
Ertel on
Facebook!
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JCT 27 OPENS FOR THE JO
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https://www.reverbnation.com/jct27

E MILLIGAN PROJECT
The CD release party for The Joe Milligan Project
was hosted by
Rebecca Michela - Ukulele & Vocals
Joe Krivanek - Ukulele & Vocals
Russell Roush - Bass Ukulele
Bill LaGrandier - Percussion
Joe Milligan - Guitar & Vocals
Bill Legrandier - Percussion
Amanda Gerttula - Violin
Russell Roush - Bass
Douglas Lichterman - Lead Guitar
Mandy Frick - Background Vocals
Photos by Jennifer Lane, JenMusePhoto ©2016
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THE JOE MILLI
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http://www.thejoemilliganproject.com

31
GAN PROJECT
Photos by Jennifer Lane,
JenMusePhoto ©2016

DAISY AND
The first time Paul Caruthers became involved
with The Bay Buzz was back in
2012 when we began our CD compilation
project, when he was playing bass for the band,
“Avenue 43.” And when we announced that
The Bay Buzz was making a return to the local
music scene in Tampa Bay, Paul wasted no time
to inform me he started his own band, “Daisy
and The Drivers”! They are stirring things up in
St. Petersburg, and we wanted to know more!
Paul Caruthers, who was born and raised in
central Maine learned at an early age the respect
for Mother Nature and the wonders that
she has to offer. His musical interest began at
the ripe age of 8, where family tradition dictated
that learning to play the piano was the first
step to becoming a musician. It was guitar
though that was Paul’s love and he found an
even deeper love for the bass guitar. “I love a
bass line you can feel in your chest.” he tells us.
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THE DRIVERS
Paul started this band with the
desire to bring something different
to the table. “I didn’t want it
to be just another bar band. It took
some time to build this band and I was
determined to find musicians that were
unique.” He met Jack Harris through a
mutual friend who recommended him
for the band. He remembers saying to
Jack, “I hear you’re a man in need of a
band.” And Jack answered, “ And I am
a man in need of a band.” Paul immediately
liked Jack’s unique style and
brought him on board.
Finding a lead singer would prove to be
a thing of patience. “It took us several
months to fill the lead singer role,” Paul
said, “I remembered Jenny from a previous
band and she struck me as being
someone I could play music with.” They
brought her in for an audition and even
though she had a cold at the time, she
rose to the occasion. “We were totally
smitten with her and there was no
doubt she was what we were looking
for.”
Daisy and The Drivers started out with
drummer, Andy Serritella, who played
along with Paul in a previous band. As
the group started to take shape, Andy
decided he was looking for something
different and decided to leave the
band. After an amicable split the search
began for a new drummer. Many auditions
later, enter Keith MacBay, who
Paul describes as a ‘one solid drummer’.
Keith has a handle on the need
for dynamics and volume control.
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The band members come from different
backgrounds, especially when it comes to
music. While Paul was being taught piano
(because it was the first step to musicianship),
Jenny came from a family where everyone had
music in their blood. Her father, a drummer, plays
in a local band in Elk River, Minnesota. Her mother
is a singer and her brother also sings as well as
plays guitar. “I was fortunate to have access to
any and all instruments growing up, but singing
has always been my favourite!” She tells us,
“There are home videos from when I’m no older
than two attempting to belt out “Twinkle Twinkle
Little Star”. But my first performance that I can
remember would be at my mother’s 40 th birthday
party where I sang “I Will Survive” by Gloria
Gaynor. “I must have been 8-years old. I was
hooked from then on!”
Keith comes from a musical family of horn players.
Both his father and brother played trumpet.
Jack played trombone from the 4 th grade to the
9 th grade, and even though he learned from this
experience, he tells us his school musical career
was not positive. In the 7 th grade he asked for
bongos and received a ukulele instead. A year
later, he asked for a wet suit, but received a
guitar. And even though he was mad and left the
guitar in the corner for almost a year, it eventually
took over his life.
“I have been in many bands over the years and
my best friends come from those bands,” Jack
says, “Overcoming the friction of everyone’s limitations,
watching each member’s talents grow
stronger, facing down the obstacles that every
band endures (club owners, long drives and long
nights, etc.) and learning to trust and lean on each
other - all of these things create bonds that endure.
Daisy and The Drivers has been together a
short while, but we already feel those bonds
forming.”
While many bands come together in
hopes of a promising career, Paul never
intended music to be his career. “I
love music. I love to play. Music is my escape from
reality. It allows me the freedom to do something
not everyone else can do. We all have a career
but music is what we do for us, for fun and it gives
us something to share between us and with our
friends.”
“Music will always be more of a passion than a
career for me,” Jenny adds. “Music brings me
away from the real world. I mean, how many jobs
do you actually get applauded for?”
However for Jack and Keith, they realized early in
life that music was the only thing they wanted to
do
While the band mainly plays Top 40 hits, Jack
enjoys writing music. “I’ve written folk, funk, reggae,
world, country, and rock music with even a
bit of jazzy polychordal, multi-time signature instrumentals,”
he explains, “Whether our band
will perform them is unknown to me because
right now our focus is on being a “commercial”
band doing covers. But who knows?”
In late February, Daisy and The Drivers performed
at Woody’s River Roo in Ellenton. Their hope is
while they take the stage, people will see friends
having a great time playing some great music.
“We like to be part of the party, not just the
entertainment.” Paul says. “You can count on us
being approachable and interested in what you
have to say about us and our music. We are not
flashy, nor do we put on the illusion of rock star
wanna-be’s. We are everyday people doing what
we love.”
“I hope they see a tight band with strong vocals
and a good groove having fun!” Jack says.

Family is important and Daisy and The Drivers
have a strong family support system.
“Ask anyone in the band and they will tell you
that my dad is our biggest fan! Both my parents
are always sharing and re-posting the bands
efforts. My family has always been a huge support.
I definitely got my love of music from
them!” Jenny says. “I’m pretty fortunate (I think
we all are, actually). My wife is very supportive
of what I’m doing,” Paul says, “She knows it is
something I love to do and has continued to
support me whether that is coming to gigs or
just being there when I need to talk about the
band. She is my number one fan and toughest
critic. I would not have it any other way.”
Jack understand this as he adds, “My wife is a
musician and knows what I’m about.”
Keith’s wife is also very supportive and he’s had
influence on his nephew, who is a drummer in
New York. “We talk about music all the time!”
As this driven band, appropriately named Daisy
and The Drivers, make themselves known in St.
Petersburg, I wondered about their goals and
upcoming shows. “Well I’m just getting started,”
Jenny says, “ My main goals are to get more
comfortable performing. Practice, Practice,
Practice until the notes and words become second
nature so I can focus on the message and
the performance.”
“To become the best that we can be and play as
often as we want!” Paul sums it up.
You can catch a Daisy and The Drivers live show
at The Ringside Cafe, located at 16 2 nd Street
North in St. Petersburg on the 14 th of April. To
find out more shows, please continue to check
the events page at www.baybuzz.org.
about them, their music and shows on their
Facebook page.
“Bay Buzz has been a great resource for me in
the past and I will continue to use them and
send people I know to this website!” Paul Caruthers
adds.
“Music brings
me away from
the real world.
I mean, how
many jobs do
you actually
get applauded
for? - Jenny Dugger
While the band plans on putting together a
website in the near future, fans can learn more
35

Ihad to make a choice. After leaving a job I
loved, I sat facing the question anyone would
ask themselves, “What’s next?”. Two things
came to mind: finding another job or bringing back
The Bay Buzz (and everything that goes with it). To
find out if it was something in Tampa Bay that
people missed, I sent out a Facebook post asking
this very question. I was happy at the response I
received from many musicians.... “YES!”.
Still I had to think long and hard about this as
starting a business can be risky. One day shortly
thereafter, my son met me for lunch and I discussed
with him this decision. He then asked me a
serious question - “What makes you happy?”
I smiled at this. I smiled at my amazing son for
making it so simple. It was decided right then and
there, in that Greek restaurant, that I was bringing
the Bay Buzz back! I went home and got started
right away.
The Bay Buzz began back in 2010 with a bee, I’m
sure we all remember. Now six years later, we’ve
put that bee to rest and came up with a whole new
look and concept.
“I want it to be clean, crisp and sharp looking!” I
remember telling my partner Pam Wills. I got busy
on the website and created a whole new feel. “I
want the Bay in Bay Buzz to represent Tampa Bay!”
After setting up the ground work and talking with
new musicians and old friends, we decided to bring
it back with a celebration.
Cherie, from CJ’s on the Island, did not hesitate to
say yes when asked if we could hold our celebration
there. Then I began to get emails from a handful
of bands asking if they can be one of the bands
that play at the party. It’s really hard to say no to
musicians, but when you only have a certain
amount of time, you have to be selective.
Buzz Magazine is a companion of Bay Buzz, so that
we can bring Tampa Bay even more content regarding
the local music scene. We want to hear
from our readers and the musicians about what
they want to read about. Your comments and suggestions
are always welcomed.
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The website will always be changing with up to
date current news and a fun page for musicians to
share their favourite recipes, hang-out places, stories
and of course, music. And we’ll keep our online
calendar of upcoming shows, so we encourage
local bands to submit their calendars.
Soon we’ll be getting involved in radio along with
Music Tampa Bay and getting “The Best of the
Buzz” nominations going soon!
We’re excited about the year ahead of us! And we
want you to be part in it.
There is an invitation to the Bay Buzz Relaunch
Celebration on Facebook, so click “Going” and
we’ll see you at CJ’s On The Island on April 17 th .
You’re chance to see five amazing local bands and
to win something in our raffles and the famous
booze barrel.
Bay Buzz would like to give a warm thank you to
the musicians and business owners that placed an
Ad in our first issue of BUZZ Magazine. Thank you
for letting us reach out to Tampa on your behalf
and for supporting us!
Until then - Catch The Buzz!

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Catch The Buzz
www.baybuzz.org
baybuzzmusic@gmail.com