Joel Nelson: Moved To Key West Because “I Didn’t Have A Lot Of Ambition.”

 

By Rick Boettger

 

Joel Nelson started playing music in garage bands as a teenager in Richmond, Virginia.  The Virginia music scene was alive with talent that included our own Bill Blue, Debra and Patrick Lawler, Bill Goldner, Robert “Bubba Low Notes” Barton, and Ericson Holt. 

 

 

Joel says he came to Key West because he didn’t have a lot of ambition.  Joel is not a Type “A” personality and was not looking to relocate to a town with traffic, congestion, and other issues.  His musical relocation choices seemed to be Key West, Nashville, and New York.  His sister had been living in Key West for several years. So it was a simple choice for Joel. He chose “the weather and the work.”

 

 

Joel arrived in Key West some thirty years ago from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He says one of the best things he noticed about Key West when he arrived is that he could play really “off  the wall stuff and be accepted—and be hired.” Arriving in1982, he missed most of the counter-culture, hippie era but says that “some of my best friends are old hippies.”

 

 

Joel worked as a host on a local Key West  radio station, WIRS. David Freeman, the son of the owner, would frequently come into the station with a friend and Joel took time to show David and his friend a few chords on the guitar.  David’s friend’s name was (Caffeine) Carl Wagoner, and to this day, Carl credits Joel with getting him started playing the guitar.  Today Caffeine Carl is considered by many as the best guitar player in Key West.  An understating Joel says “I can still play the same chords I taught Carl and that’s about it.”

 

 

Today Joel plays a solo gigs at the Hogs Breath Saloon and the Pier House Beach Bar but playing with the Paul Cotton Band is Joel’s favorite music experience. Joel grew up singing and idolizing the music that Paul made famous with Poco, and Illinois Speed Press.  Getting the opportunity to perform with a real legend like Paul Cotton is made even more special because it’s happening in such a great music scene, Key West.

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