By Christopher Gavin
newhydepark@antonnews.com
For Paul Cuthbert, the beach is never far away and it isn’t because he lives in Oceanside. As the guitarist, lead singer and manager known onstage as Jimmy Kenny for his tribute band, the musician is constantly working to ease the minds and erase the worries of audience members.
Despite temperatures reaching almost 90 degrees during the day, New Hyde Park residents gathered in Memorial Park on the evening of June 18 to kick off the Summer Concert Series and hear the easy-going music of Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown as played by Jimmy Kenny and the Pirate Beach Band.
Although the group has been working on gaining a reputation on Long Island over the last four years, it was the first time they played in New Hyde Park, Cuthbert said.
“Whether they’re sitting in lawn chairs or they’re dancing like crazy people in front of us,” Cuthbert said, adding there were a few hundred people in attendance, “it’s always the same response: that they love the music, they love the vibe and they had a great time,” he said.
But the seven piece band,—made up of singer Lady Colleen, drummer Nick Rinaldi, guitarist Louis Rios, bassist Dan Ehlrich, keyboardist Frank Stainkamp and fiddle player Yan Izquierdo in addition to
Cuthbert—can also be found playing venues such as BB King’s Blues Club in New York City or on one of their nearly 12 sold-out cruises around Manhattan, jamming to keep what Cuthbert calls a “cowboy on the beach theme” going.
Members of the group have been playing together on and off for the last 20 years, according to Cuthbert. Even though Cuthbert said the band is hoping to release some original songs at the end of the summer, they perform covers in their usual sets.
“The way the industry is going these days, especially local music wise, the most successful music acts, in terms of, you know, what it comes down to with making money is you need a tribute,” he said.
Cuthbert, a graphic designer by day, had the idea of taking up the new direction in music about four years ago and got the other musicians on board, he said.
“Being from Long Island and everything else and being big fans of summer and Buffettt and everything,” Cuthbert said, “primarily we put together a beach party, Jimmy Buffett-like tribute.”
Phil LoNigro, a photographer, has been following the band since its beginning. He first met Cuthbert when he was playing a benefit show for the Lynbrook Fire Department, LoNigro said. He then began helping the band organize its social media and public relations outlets.
“They put a lot of energy into their shows,” LoNigro said. “They get fans interacting with the shows. They get everybody up dancing. They do a great job.”
LoNigro said he’s heard great reviews from others in the audience as well, including questions about where concertgoers can catch them next.
“Most definitely,” LoNigro said when asked if the group is worth the money, especially at gigs like the Manhattan cruises. “But it also depends on if you like that kind of music too, you know?”
The Pirate Beach Band does not play strictly country though, a genre label Cuthbert rejected, even if he can be seen wearing his signature cowboy hat when performing. The idea is to create an easygoing, acoustic, soft rock feel, he said, since its a little harder to find solely country fanatics in New York. The group can also pull out hits from classic artists such as Credence Clearwater Revival and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.
“We get hired to play just Zac Brown,” he said, “and some nights we get hired to play Jimmy Buffett and we’ve just done a [solely] Chesney tribute as well.”
But since Buffett, Brown and Chesney are all still playing shows and releasing new albums, Cuthbert said the band constantly learns the latest hits upon their releases, keeping his vocal styling in constant
flux and their monthly rehearsals fresh.
“That’s the other thing that’s really exciting with this band, that all three artists are really relevant and they’re very busy,” Cuthbert said. “Zac’s touring, you know, Jimmy’s always touring- he’s not retiring
anytime soon…We’re trying to bring something different to the table.”
While they keep the sound new, Cuthbert hopes that one day the band can move beyond Long Island and New York City, eyeing potentially casinos, but only after releasing a Buffett-esque singles first.
“If you get to play one place, somebody hears about it [and] you get to move on to the next one and the next,” he said. “But the great thing is that we’re making a really great home out here in our home.”
