Jay
Whitney
(continued)
“You gotta hear this,” he was saying, as the sound of Van
Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” drifted into the
streets. “Man, they’re awesome. They’re the real deal.”
The dog-walking couple looked in the windows. He grabbed her and twirled
her around (with some impressive maneuvering of the leash); he played
a bit of air guitar. Do you remember when we used to sing, sha la la la
la la la la la la la di dah…..sha la la….
Without setting eyes on the band, I could hear the unmistakable sound
of Big Mouth, as familiar to Door County-ites as a glimpse of the bluff,
the blaze of a fish boil boil-over, or the view of Eagle Harbor in mid-July.
Were I to walk inside, I was certain to see some configuration of the
usual Big Mouth band members – with or without the Power Horn Tools
(a nine piece brass section), but most certainly and as always, with Jay
Whitney as front man, lead vocalist, and all-around Big Mouth icon.
Whitney would likely blush to be called the county’s most recognizable
musician, though it’s more true than not. It’s a toss-up as
to which characteristic is most notable: his gravelly, perfect-for-blues
voice or his six-foot four-inch frame, usually dressed in jeans and sneakers
with a jaunt that, from a distance, one could mistake for that of a teenager.
Though not officially a “local” (Whitney is from Watertown,
Wisconsin), he’s lived in Door County for almost two decades. If
my calculations are right, that’s over a thousand nights of weekend
gigs.
Whitney’s connection to the county has always been musical. He first
visited while playing with the Houston-based band, Blue Blazes, at Florian’s
II in Baileys Harbor. The first local musician Whitney met was (the late)
John Redmann, then a teenager who was playing at the Common House with
Mark Paffrath in the legendary Marvin & the Dogs. Redmann would walk
over on his breaks and sit in with Whitney’s band. The two men began
a friendship that in part convinced Whitney and his family to make Door
County their home. In 1989, Whitney broke into the local music scene on
his own, assembling a three-piece band called the Straight Up Blues Band.
Redmann eventually invited Whitney to join Pat Judy, Mike Judy and Paul
Sowinski in The Amnesians, and Whitney became part of a musical family,
firmly entrenched in the Door County music scene.
Watching and listening to Whitney is deceptive; he makes it look easy.
But Whitney’s proficiency, and his decision to make music his profession,
hasn’t been without effort and sacrifice. In his early 20s, he spent
almost two years at the University of Wisconsin-West Bend extension, concentrating
on musical theory and making musical connections. And he has, in his own
words (and rather tongue-in-cheek), “been practicing every day since.”
In addition to playing music, Whitney is also a lyricist and composer,
a booking agent, and a recording artist. In the majority of his ventures,
he is in charge, making it all happen. “Music is my addiction,”
he says, “And if that’s the case, it usually required one
to do a little of everything to make it make sense.”
While Door County is a Midwest Mecca for all sorts of classical musicians
(Peninsula Music Festival), young musicians (Birch Creek), and folk musicians
(American Folklore Theatre, Camp David), Whitney and his current band,
Big Mouth and The Power Tool Horns, fills a particular niche somewhere
between blues, jazz and rock n’ roll. Whitney originally started
Big Mouth in Flint, Michigan and the band found early success playing
festivals and local clubs. As members left to pursue other ventures, the
group disbanded. When Whitney resurrected Big Mouth here in Door County
in 1990, he engaged bassist Paul Sowinski, drummer Pat Judy, and sax player
and vocalist Woody Mankowski. Whitney, Sowinski and Judy have been the
band’s backbone, while Mankowski has moved in a different direction,
but still sits in on occasion. As the band’s popularity grew, they
added the Power Tool Horns, which started as a four-piece brass section
and has grown to a nine-piece band.
“Big Mouth is a sure thing,” says Mara Lowney, manager of
the Bayside Tavern in Fish Creek. “Sometimes bands tire out their
audience, or for whatever reason fail to draw in the crowds. This has
never been true of Big Mouth. They have a varied play list that appeals
to a younger, edgier patron as well as older, stick-to-the-standards audiences.
Their appeal is non-generational. Plus, they’re energetic and fun.
And Jay Whitney – I mean, can you find a nicer, easier guy to do
business with?”
I’ve been playing music as long as I can remember,” says Whitney.
“Junior high and high school band, of course. And from then on it
was a combination of self-teaching, just hanging out with friends and
jamming, and some formal training.”
“It’s hard to remember a time when music wasn’t part
of my life. It’s a natural fit for me. Most of my friends are connected
to me through music. I met my wife because I played with her brother-in-law,
and my kids are both accomplished musicians. I guess you can say it’s
a musical life.”
