Dropjaw Bertone

Dropjaw Bertone and his father Richie Bertone as The Killer B's Band belong to a unique class of local bands, which includes others like Progressive Madness and Grant Peeples: the multi-generational band.

Before he was born, Dropjaw was a musician. "When he was inside his mother, I was putting the radio up to her belly," Bertone says.

The first time father and son performed together, Dropjaw was 6 years old. His mother brought him in to Lillian's Music Store where Bertone had a regular gig.

Dropjaw played drums that night. Over the next 20 years, he picked up other instruments including guitar and piano and began recording albums of original music (his 10th album "Ten Grande" is available now). But, he always saved time to play with his dad.

"I started so young, it's all I know," Dropjaw says. In addition to performing as a duo, the Bertones also sometimes perform with a drummer or other musicians to round out the Killer B's sound.

Apart from music, Dropjaw was interested in magic from the time he was a child and would perform tricks that would make spectators' jaws drop. So, he'd introduce a trick by saying, "Here's another drop-jaw trick," and the name stuck. Now 27 years old, it is, for all intents and purposes, his name.

Being father and son, Dropjaw notes that the two have a musical connection that goes beyond words.

"We call it 'simpatico,'" he says. "We compliment each other - always have." - Gainesville Sun