Text (c) Millie Taylor & Tammy Camp. Artwork (c) Dave McKenney
New Trop Rock CD: “Four Hour Lunch Break” by Dave McKenney
Grab a cold one and laze around in your hammock, it’s time to take your “Four Hour Lunch Break” away from the daily grind with Dave McKenney’s new Trop Rock album.
Dave has an easy listening voice as he sings out what all Trop Rock fans want to hear – beaches, booze and permanent vacation. Along with a jazzy tropical flare and country style mixed in, you’ll be drawn in for the next song.
“Florida Kind of Sunday” is reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett’s “Cuban Crime of Passion.” The music takes me back to the good ‘ol Buffett days, but I’m more drawn into the story with Dave’s Trop Rock lyrics. A day on the water, wrapping up at the Tiki bar, is far better than a missing piano player. If you live near the ocean, you’ll easily relate to spending your Sundays passing the time rafting up near a sand bar. For those of you landlocked, this song will make you jealous of the miles of water along the Florida coast.
Living stories through music makes us all laugh and remember our good times. Dave had me smiling, thinking back on my own stories with “Never Made it to Mardi Gras.” I could just imagine how Dave’s trip down Bourbon Street played out. Seems he had a good time in the Quarter without seeing a single parade. You know that’s hard to do during Mardi Gras. Hopefully, we’ll get the full story behind this tale in Key West. Dave has a number of gigs on the island and my suggestion is to head to Island Dogs on Wed (Oct. 30th) at 4:30pm. Great venue to ask Dave about his inspiration (or experience?) behind these lyrics.
Dave brings us back to the Trop Rock beach with “Stupid People.” Relax with this southern style of clean humor and don’t forget your “I don’t really care cause we’re at the beach” attitude. Well played Dave.
The album title “Four Hour Lunch Break” is a play on the lyrics from Dave’s jazzy tune “Lazy.” Who doesn’t want to live the lazy life? Flip flops, chores being ignored and a life mantra of “I don’t want to work, I just want to have fun.” Dave obviously knows his Trop Rock fans well. This is exactly what we love to hear.
With 9 of the 10 songs written by Dave himself, he proves he can tell a captivating story in a song. To sum up this Trop Rock CD, I’d say a touch of Santana mingles with Buffet. Easy listening tunes with tropical images across an ocean background.
If you’re not able to catch up with Dave down in Key West next week, grab your copy of “Four Hour Lunch Break” in the BeachFront Radio Music Hut.