Key West Florida Weekly

MUSIC SCENE

The Naturals



Pete Jarvis is the band’s newest addition and bass player. COURTESY PHOTOS

Pete Jarvis is the band’s newest addition and bass player. COURTESY PHOTOS

There is something to be said about a dedicated group of people with one common goal of making good music and having a good time doing it and doing it naturally.

These guys are fun. They are quirky, talented and without any trace of ego. If you ask them, they are all equal and no one is more important than the other. .

“We are living the life as a band,” Pete Jarvis tells me. “That’s the thing about the four of us — we are a band.”

Meet, the Naturals. Pete is the bass player, James Whitehead the acoustic guitarist, Derik Reay the percussionist and Daryl Brooke plays the steel guitar. All of them sing, sometimes all at once, and all are equally responsible for the writing of original tunes, usually with James starting off with the melody, Pete contributing the lyrics, Derik adding in the harmony and Daryl providing them with that unique edge that gives these hometown rock stars their air of mystery.

From left, Daryl Brooke, James Whitehead and Derik Reay show off their fun personalities during a photo shoot.

From left, Daryl Brooke, James Whitehead and Derik Reay show off their fun personalities during a photo shoot.

“I try every day to send the guys something that I wrote,” Pete says..

“Well, I’m obviously the looks,” Derik jokes, then adds “I watched ‘Almost Famous’ last night so that I could get ready for this interview.”

Derik also doesn’t hesitate to mention his own business endeavor of cheese stuffed, potato covered chicken bites called Chicktatoes that he sells at artisan markets. Furthermore, it would be a crime to talk about Derik’s personal aspirations without including James’s career as a soloist, Daryl’s guitar shop, the Grateful Guitar, or Pete’s past accomplishments. For now, let’s get back to focusing on the Naturals and how they came to be in the first place..

It all started about two years ago when as the backup band for local celebrity musician Nick Norman, that Nick, Derik, Daryl and James took to calling themselves Nick and the Naturals until Nick went to record in Nashville, Tenn., leaving behind the Naturals. They decided to continue on. One day while the three of them were playing a gig at Smokin’ Tuna Saloon, in walked Pete Jarvis and just like that they were back to four.

“They needed a bass player,” Pete tells me. Pete must have had an immediate connection to the sound because up until then he had declared himself pretty much retired after years of the Pete and Wayne Show, a Tenacious D meets Smothers Brothers lyrical comedy performance.

A solid year has passed officially playing as the quartet they are today. Describing themselves as Americana with a hint of country twang thanks to the exclusive addition of steel guitar, the Naturals mix in a blend of “cover songs you know, but that you don’t hear everywhere else” and songs that they have written on their own. There’s the song about a girl one of them was let’s say, casually dating for a while called “Jump in, jump on, jump off” and one that was inspired by a bumper sticker that read “the older I get, the better I was.”

The humorous songs can be heard every Monday at the Hard Rock Café from 7 to 9 p.m., Wednesdays and Fridays at Dante’s Key West Pool Bar & Restaurant from 6 to 9 p.m. and Sundays at Duval Central from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Now and then you can find the Naturals performing at other venues across town, or as a duo or a trio creating a whole new different experience for the audi- ence to groove to.

Perhaps their favorite memory as a band was when they played their first show after Hurricane Irma at the famous Sloppy Joe’s. It just happened to be the same day that Tom Petty passed away. Even though the news hadn’t reached them yet, they were inspired to play “The Sky is Crying.” Then suddenly in true Key West fashion it started pouring rain outside and as soon as the song had ended the sun came right back out. Later they would find out that right around the time that they were performing was also the approximate time that Petty took his last breath. A perfectly aligned coincidence..

“It was one of those mystical moments that just kind of happened” they recall.

As the Naturals continue to polish off tunes for their anticipated first album, check out their Facebook page @theNaturalsKW or find them around town. ¦

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