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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

VOODOO MAN CAVE


If you know Miami, you know Iko-Iko, South Florida's premier blues band (they actually play  "urban swamp music"). 
Graham Wood Drout has led the group for thirty years with his strong voice and bluesy guitar.
Graham is large and lives large in his Pinecrest duplex.   Most nights he's making music in local clubs or going on the occasional concert tour.
We got to tour Graham's house recently and we were amazed.  There is so much more to this songster the man we've seen on stage.  
The artist has lived in what he calls "my man cave" for twenty-five years.  He told us, "When I bought it I was so happy with it being a block from the Suniland Theater.  A week after I moved in it shut down".  
Maybe that's why he created his own theater.  The TV plays a non-stop music channel and its spacious walls are covered with the works of many well-known primitive artists.   Almost half of them were created by Mr. Drout himself,  an FIU fine arts grad.
    At the entrance is a magazine rack.  He told us, "I have always loved these things .I thought I'd nice to have a rack of my own".   


His latest creations are, 1) a new song, "I Just Shot My Wife", which is based on an Orlando doctor's 911 phone message.   Graham was kind enough to play a bit for us, and,
2) a table-top painting of black birds surrounded by 900 beer bottle caps.    He explained, "I play in a lot of bars and the tapsters save them for me".   
    I think he should add a third item to this list, turning his home into a tourists attraction.   He could put a small bar next to the news stand, play a little music and watch the money roll in.  I know I'd enjoy adding a few bottle caps to his collection.

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