John Bartus - Songwriter, Lead Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
John Bartus was the Mayor of an island town in the Florida Keys (Marathon). He is or has been, at one time or another, part owner of a newspaper group, radio talk show host, partner in retail shops, record producer, city councilman, recording studio owner, voiceover talent, advertising consultant, and -- no lie -- prop man for a circus.
But what John Bartus is best known for is being one of the premier singer/songwriters in the islands Jimmy Buffett once called home. And after over a quarter-century of entertaining audiences, John is far from putting the guitar down. As he put it in a recent interview, "Long after all my other careers are through, I'll still be playing music somewhere." And even with all the other careers, John still performs approximately 200 shows each year. From opening for artists like Rick Derringer and 38 Special to headlining the Florida Keys' best St. Patrick's and Independence Day parties, John leaves even the locals wanting a bit more of the islands he calls home.
It's not just Calypso pans and reggae riddims (although you will hear the occasional steel drum in a Bartus song). Florida Keys island music is as much rock and country as Caribbean. "What people think of as 'island music' isn't exactly 'Keys music,'" Bartus says. Listening to songs John has written in the Keys and about the Keys over the last 20 years drives that point home.
As diverse as his interests outside of music have been, so too are his musical paths. There are the Taylor-, Chapin-, and Lightfoot-influenced solo acoustic guitar performances. There's the Fogelberg- and McCartney-like studio perfectionist. There's the Billy-and-Elton-influenced piano balladeer. And there's the electric band leader/lead guitarist, equal parts Neil Young, Dave Gilmour, and Mark Knopfler.
John's two recent CD releases highlight this diversity. On the 2002 Keys Disease CD, Bartus the studio rat showed just what can be done by one person in a recording studio -- "The old-fashioned way, by really playing all the parts," Bartus is quick to point out.
And John's new Live From The Florida Keys CD showcases his solo acoustic guitar and piano work in a live Florida Keys club setting. "It's as raw as the nights they were recorded, warts and all," John says. "This CD wasn't 'fixed' in the studio after the fact."
John Bartus got off the road in the Florida Keys back in the mid-1980s, just after releasing his first album with then-partner Sallie Foster. "For four years, I left home and traveled to where the people were," Bartus says with a smile. "For the past twenty, I've let them leave home and come to me. It's better for all of us that way!"
Even though John Bartus has been content in the islands for two decades, it doesn't mean that he's lost the desire to hit the road now and again. "There's something about playing to new people in new places that keeps things fresh." So don't be surprised to see John singing his own brand of Florida Keys music in places a bit further removed from those islands he calls home.