Paulie Walterson To Paulie Music Is “Family”

 

By Ralph DePalma

 

Paulie is a fifth generation Key West Conch, born here in 1945.  His family came to Key West from Spanish Wells on the northern end of Eluthera Island in the Bahamas.  Paulie’s father worked for the Navy and his grandfather was a blacksmith whose was located on Caroline Street at the present site of Pepe’s Cafe. Paulie was born in 1945 and raised next door to the Harris Elementary School in Key West.  When Paulie was about ten, the school started  an elementary school band.  Paulie’s older brother had already taught him to play drums, and Paulie learned the basics of playing the drums at Harris.  His brother teased him “the sticks were bigger than I was.”  Paulie’s mother would go to every gig he played.  She loved music and was his biggest supporter.

 

When Paulie was fourteen,  he and a friend Bruno Seriff were struck by a car.  Bruno was killed instantly and Paulie was seriously injured and spent almost a year in a body cast.  He was told by doctors that he might not be able to walk again and worse yet, that he’d probably never play music.  A Navy doctor who knew Paulie’s father and was concerned about Paulie’s diagnosis, asked if he could take a look and see what he could do.  He helped Paulie with medicine and physical therapy for months.  Paulie had one leg and one arm outside the body cast and his father set up his drums next to his bed so that Paulie could practice.  After almost a year in a body cast, plus months of rehabilitation, Paulie recovered.

 

Paulie and a high school friend, Andy Johnson, whose father was a Commander at the Navy Base, started a band called the Cavemen. The band would rehearse in old bunkers on the base.

 

His first break came when a band called the Wanderers had a big gig at the NCO Club. Their drummer, Gary Moore, was unable to play and the band leader asked Paulie if he would sit in. Paulie had to borrow Gary’s drums to play the gig.  The next day the band leader called and said they wanted him to replace Gary in the band.  Paulie said no he wouldn’t do that.  A couple of days later Gary called him and told him the band really wanted him and he should take the job.  He even unselfishly told Paulie he could use his drums.  To this day Gary and Paulie are best of friends and every time Gary comes to one of Paulie’s gigs, Paulie  introduces Gary and tells the audience that Gary was responsible for Paulie’s success.

 

Paulie found himself in New York by happenstance playing at the Cafe’ Wha in late 1960’s Greenwich Village, a twenty four hour a day live music venue.   When they played during the day they would come back at 11 pm just to hear this very special guitar player who later became a super star. The guitarist’s name was Jimi Hendrix.

 

The Bamboo Room on Applerouth Lane, across from present-day Virgilio’s ,was a big band jazz venue in the early 1960’s.  Key West musicians Coffee Butler, Duke Yannacone, and  Bobby Lowe, played the Bamboo Room,

 

According to Paulie the changes in Key West music over the years can be attributed to the changes of music audience in Key West.  An example he cited is most old Key Westers are of Bahamian origin they enjoyed Bahamian junaknoo at Goombay Festival. In the 1960’s people would dress up when they went for an evening on Duval Street most of the clubs were enclosed, and had doors and windows. Today Paulie hosts the annual “Conch Fest Street Party”.

 

Paulie started the band the Bubba System around 2000.  Their first gig was at Finnegan’s Wake.  Initially the band had four pieces, then grew to six then to eight pieces.  They played Sloppy Joe’s every Sunday for six years.  Sloppy Joe’s had rules for bands.  They had a house “play list,” no original music. Bands couldn’t play too loud, and so on.  Paulie and the Bubba System broke every one of those rules.  Caffeine Carl Wagoner started playing with the Bubba System and brought a special sound to the group with heart and energy.

 

Paulie got permission from the agent of Jerry and the Pacemakers to redo the song “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying.”  Paulie and Carl Wagoner worked on the song in the studio and then Paulie took the music home to work on it.  He played it over and over for a couple of days.  Paulie noticed his pet canary named Pinky was singing the song perfectly.  He recorded Pinky and went back to the studio and included the recording of  Pinky along with Paulie and the Bubba System’s recording on their CD.  The canary passed away not long after the CD was released.  Whenever they would play “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying” Paulie would dedicate the song to a former band member who had passed: Pinky.

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