Captain Quint

The popular Trop-rock ensemble, Captain Quint, appeared as the headlining act in Annapolis, Maryland, at the Rams Head Tavern on Friday, July 30, 2004. Begun as a tribute band in honor of Jimmy Buffett and his brand of music, Captain Quint have branched into creating their own musical style of original compositions.

Captain Quint are Jim Bowley on vocals & guitar, Kevin Johnston on keyboards, Mike "Kufelbear" Kufel on drums, John Patti on Steel Drums, Kenny Polcak on bass, and Kaare Wieneke on Harmonica. The band recently underwent some personnel changes earlier in the year after deciding to commit to a permanent professional schedule of performances.

A cinematic audio clip from the film Jaws set the scene for the band's stage entrance. The voice of Captain Quint inspired the band to name themselves after the fictional movie character. The Quint opened with "If All Hope Isn't Lost", a jaunty melody, to get the evening started. Wieneke's harmonica kept the tune moving.

Bowley made mention of the fact that Captain Quint re-released their first disc, re-titling it Pineapple Jam V2. Their album track "On The Rocks" has become a recurring request on the web-based CoveRunner radio program. The catchy-Island pop tune was higlighted by Johnston's keyboard solo.

Captain Quint's Annapolis performance included many Jimmy Buffett favorites such as "Come Monday", "Margarittaville", "Why Don't We Get Drunk?", and "Fins", just to name a few. Trop-rock is a funtastic form of musical entertainment with a growing audience.

Annapolis setlist: If All Hope Isn't Lost * Jamaica Farewell * Coconut Telegraph * Come Monday * Desperation Samba * Everybody's Got A Cousin * On The Rocks * It's 5 O'clock Somewhere * Rock Steady And Rum * I Will Play For Gumbo * One Particular Harbor * Son Of A Son Of A Sailor * Cheeseburger In Paradise * intermission * Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open * The Weather Is Here * Volcano * A Pirate Looks At 40 * My Mind Paints Pictures * The Wino And I Know * Margaritaville * Livingston Saturday Night * Boat Drink - Rockontour.net

By Ryan Saxton
Staff Reporter
If the Bethany bandstand sounds a little more tropical than usual this Sunday, don’t be alarmed. For their fourth year, the now eight-piece Maryland band Captain Quint will be gracing the stage to bring some island flavor to southern Delaware.

Headed by founder and keyboardist Kevin Johnston, Captain Quint has been mixing sounds of rock, reggae, calypso, Americana and Latin flavors since 2000, though they’re most notably recognized for their impeccable homage to barefoot guitar-strummer Jimmy Buffett.

The group originally began as a tribute band for Margaritaville man and has since hit the studios with their original music. In addition to recording their ownl tracks, compiled on two albums, Captain Quint has opened for Buffett himself eight times.

“It’s a wonderful feeling when we’re playing with him,” said Johnston. “We’re playing in front of our market, and it’s always a great response.”

The band hails from towns throughout the state of Maryland, from Bethesda, Colesville, Baltimore and Annapolis. In addition to Johnston, members include (Kaare Wieneke on harmonica, guitarists' Michael Bearry, Chris Sacks and Mark Mavris, David Drumm on bass and the return of Michael "kufelbear" on drums.) Grochowski on lead vocals, They frequent clubs and restaurants throughout the state, including venues in Ocean City and the popular Springfest.

Their music might conjure up images of coconut daiquiris and Caribbean dreams, but Johnston said there’s a lot more than that to their songs.

“We’ve got a pretty unique sound,” he said, claiming they’re not just your everyday tropical band. The group melds Buffett’s sound with influences from Gordon Lightfoot, Warren Zevon, Bob Marley and Paul Simon to develop a style that has been appropriately dubbed “tropical and nautical rock-and-roll,” or simply, “trop-rock.”

Starting up the group seven years ago was a simple decision for Johnston, who took a liking to music 20 years prior.

“I started in the international transportation business,” he said, “but music was a big part of my life. I went for a huge career change, and it just took off.”

The Bethany bandstand overlooking the Atlantic is one of Johnston’s favorite spots to play.

“There’s always an excellent crowd there,” he said, “and everyone’s really receptive. What makes it the most fun, though, is that when we’re playing there, it’s the closest you can actually get to the ocean. It really gets you into the music.”

The tunes will kick off on Sunday, July 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the bandstand. Listeners can expect relaxing tunes, including Buffett favorites, said Johnston, such as “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Come Monday,” and “Fins.” - Coastal Point

Author: Matt Lake
It was one of those research trips: At noon, you're in the reading room of a historical society, and two hours later, you're lying facedown in a cemetery. Stories like these don't come up every day but when they do, you have to ride them through to their natural conclusion. And this tale begins like a variant on a well worn joke theme: A genealogist, an author, and a rock star walk into a historical society...
I first became aware of their conversation when a man I later knew as Hank Peden uttered the words, "Perhaps he just had a bottle of rum with him when he got buried." His comments were directed at a younger guy with cool hair and soul patch beard, who said. "You've seen the pictures. The coffin looks like a boat made out of sailcloth. I just wish I could see some evidence of the chains."
Now you can't let a conversation like this pass, so I had to join in. And after an hour's conversation over lunch, the elements hung together into a great story. The younger guy, local rocker, Kevin Johnston, had been fired up to finally learn the truth about Harford County's most storied grave site, and Hank, a genealogist who's fixture at the Harford County Historical Society, was helping him. The grave was the final resting place of John Clark Monk, better known as the Hanging Sailor of Perryman. You could say this old sea dog is buried at the Spesutia Church of St. George's Parish in Abingdon in Abingdon, Harford County, but he's not buried in the traditional sense of the word. Before he died, Monk made it clear he didn't want his body to touch dry ground. So the story went that his crew members lowered their captain into an underground vault and suspended him from the ceiling by chains. Tensure that the casket didn't rot away, it was made of steel (some say it was a lead shroud) and he was soaked in rum. And because the underground vault was topped with four spaced-out stone slabs, the coffin was open to the elements and would swing in the breeze. On top of the slabs stands a six-foot stone sarcophagus containing the remains of the sailor's daughter. To get a good look at the seaman's plot, however, you need to lie facedown at one of the gaps between the stones, shield your eyes from the glare, and wait until your eyes get used to the darkness. Down there beneath the ground are two stone shelves reaching across the chamber, about halfway above the leaf-strewn floor. Perched on both shelves is a strange container that looks like a sculpture of sailcloth wrapped around a canoe. It's impossible to see the whole thing at once, but by sliding along between the cracks, it becomes clear that it's roughly coffin-sized. But what it's made of is anyone's guess. The weird thing is that you can see bones on the floor of the chamber. Amid the rusting flashlights dropped by nighttime visitors and sticking up from the leaves that nature contributed to the chamber floor, there are ribs and what looks like a skull.
Kevin Johnston is so taken with the story of the land-fearing sailor that he's been in touch with surviving descendants of John Monk to restore the swinging coffin to its original subterranean glory. There are no objections to the project from the church or the cemetery caretaker, but as yet, the plan is only in its initial stages. So perhaps the swinging sailor will rock once more in his underground lair. Until then, the only thing about John Monk that rocks is the song Kevin wrote about his legend called "The Swinging Sailor of Perryman" which his band, Captain Quint performs. Given that they are trop-rockers(as in tropical), we're not sure whether their audiences are soaked in rum or just carrying a bottle. - Sterling Publishing