Ft Rock Sunday April 14

(FORT MYERS, FLORIDA) Sure the beaches and the golf courses will be packed this Sunday all over Southwest Florida but east of I-75 on the grounds at Jet Blue Park, 14 bands will play on two stages at  Fort Rock, the biggest rock concert ever in the 239.

The lineup for the inaugural Fort Rock Festival features some of the biggest  ‘active rock’ bands with several ‘headliner’ acts and the concert is already drawing attention from across the nation.Three of the hottest rock tours of 2013 will converge in the town that is now known as ”Dunk City’ when The Offspring, 3 Doors Down and Stone Sour all play at Fort Rock.

Danny Wimmer Presents and AEG Live created Fort Rock and they represent part of the team that has produced several successful festivals  including Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio, Charlotte, North Carolina’s,  Carolina Rebellion and the the Welcome to Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Florida.

Seven bands will perform on the ‘Monster’ Main Stage and  in addition to The Offspring, 3 Doors Down and Stone Sour, the main stage will host Papa Roach, Volbeat, Pop Evil and Danko Jones.

‘Girl on Fire‘ kicks off the festival at 11:50 am on the ‘Jägermeister’ Second Stage. Also performing will be  In This Moment, Escape The Fate, Device (with David Draiman), Otherwise, Hell Highwater and  Gemini Syndrome.

Gates open Sunday April 14 at 11 am and the first band starts before noon for the event that will have continuous live music until 11 pm in the shadows of ‘Little Fenway’ in Fort Myers, Florida. Several ticket options are still available including the very reasonable $44.50 General Admission tickets.

Danny Wimmer said in a recent interview, “AEG and I have found another market with a strong rock culture and influential rock station–99X–that is starving for a big rock festival. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner or location. We’ve been thinking long and hard about creating a festival in this area and now we’re ready to pull the trigger,” Wimmer added.

Nervous Nellie’s Hosts 4 Great Bands at Spring Fling

(FORT MYERS BEACH, FLORIDA)- Four Pop-Rock Bands will perform this Saturday Afternoon April 13 at Nervous Nellie’s Waterfront Eatery in Fort Myers Beach Florida in the 2013 ’Spring Fling’ Concert presented by 96.9 Wink-FM.

Lifehouse headlines the concert that will also features the band Junior Doctor along with solo artists Matt Hires and Ginny Blackmore.  Doors Open at 12:30 Pm and the Spring Fling Concert will begin at 2 PM. Tickets for the show are only $15 in advance and $20 at  the door. Purchase Tickets HERE.

 Lifehouse is the California based band who first charted in 2001 with the hit song “Hanging by the Moment”, which was named Billboard’s Hot 100 ‘Single of the Year’ in 2001.  The band features lead singer and guitarist Jason Wade, drummer Rick Woolstenhulme, bassist Bryce Soderberg and lead guitarist Ben Carey and is touring with the release of their sixth LP entitled ‘Almeria’.The new album debuted in late 2012 with the song ‘Between the Raindrops’, and features Brit-pop singer Natasha Bedingfield, as well as classic rocker Peter Frampton who appeared on the track ‘Right Back Home’ playing his vintage Gibson Les Paul guitar.

The concert has a strong supporting lineup, all of which have songs on the charts including Junior Doctor, the Power Pop trio from Cocoa Beach Florida. Junior Doctor has been entertaining Florida’s Space Coast that has burst on the National Music scene with their hit ‘Uh Oh’.

Singer/songwriter Matt Hires is also a Florida native who made his recording debut at the age of 22,  with his critically acclaimed ‘Live from the Hotel Cafe’ EP. Matt Hires has released his most recent EP entitled ‘Forever’ and is charting with the song ‘Restless Heart’. In addition to his tour dates with Lifehouse and Junior Doctor, Matt Hires is opening for The Dave Matthew Band.

Cocoa Beach Florida’s ‘Junior Doctor’ Sings ‘Uh Oh’ at the Spring Fling Concert

The four star lineup also includes Ginny Blackmore once a a struggling singer and songwriter from Auckland, New Zealand who has become one of Epic Records’ most captivating pop newcomers with her vulnerable but powerful debut song Bones.

Spring Fling
96.9 Wink-FM
Nervous Nellie’s
1131 1st Street, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931
Saturday April 13, 2013
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door
Gates open at 12:30 show starts at 2pm-10pm
LifeHouse, Junior Doctor, Matt Hires and Ginny Blackmore

Local 239 Media Celebs ‘Dance for The Cure’

The Southwest Florida Chapter of Susan G. Koman for the Cure  raised over $625,000  in events leading up to and including the Race for the Cure, the 5K Run/Walk that’s held the second Saturday of March at the Coconut Point Mall in Estero.

As a prelude to the Race, the  annual ‘Dancing Like the Stars’ competition was held Sunday March 3, 2013 and the Stars of Southwest Florida’s Network Media joined the Fort Myers Chapter of Fred Astaire Dance Studios to raise money for the fight against breast cancer in Naples.

Heather Turco and Robert Van Winkle of NBC-2 were the hosts for the evening which  included dinner and a night of entertainment.   Eight couples competed and four local media anchors and reporters from NBC, CBS and ABC affiliates and was hosted by .  The Celebrity dancers were trained and anchored by Fred Astaire instructors and competition performers.

The event was held at the Hilton of Naples and the celebrities included Kelly Creswell of NBC-2, Allyson Rae of ABC-7, Stephanie Susskind of CBS-WINK-TV and Robert Burns of CBS-WINK-TV along Pamela Belford a local Interior designer, Frederick Blaze who owns a local Furniture business, hair stylist Louis Bruno and Craig Jones of Chico’s International.

Dave Elliott Radio talk show host of WGUF-FM 98.9 ‘ Naples Talk FM’ was one of the three judges along with  Gayla Wright and Larry ‘Smokey’ Genta. Wright  is the local sales manager for WBBH-TV as well as a Board Member of Susan G. Koman and  ‘Smokey’ Genta, hosts and edits the Beverage Underground Network and 239Buzz.com.  

The winning dance team was led by Robert Burns,  the weekend sports anchor for WINK-TV, the local CBS affiliate and his partner Carly Ann Guerra who danced ‘Jive’ to Ray Charles’ song,  ‘ Shake Your tail Feather’ .   Burns had prior ballroom dancing experience and Guerra  has been a part of the Ft. Myers Fred Astaire Dance Team for two and a half years.

Theo Derleth led the team of Fred Astaire Dance Professionals and was joined by Carly Goellner, Alexander Ivanov, Russell Perkins, Ioana Piscu, Lyndsay Ridenour, Stephan Zhivkov and Guerra.

A silent auction as well as raffles and a live auction by Paradise Jewelers for a diamond bracelet all contributed to the fund raising efforts coordinated by The Pink Ribbon  Friends of Susan G. Komen.

Over 200 attended the cocktail party and dinner show and this year’s  ‘Dancing Like the Stars’ event also featured award winning ventriloquist Chelsi Murphy and Friends, Entertainer Andy Spaulding and DJ Tony Jandoli.

Marcum Enfield (L) is hysterical after hearing his father Andy (R) decided to uproot his family for a football school in California

Guess we’re supposed to say, “Thanks Andy”.

Thanks for putting us on the map.

Thanks for the dream week of college sports in the land of duffers and deep sea charters.

Thanks for showing that a T-shirt other than one by Guy Harvey or from Sloppy Joe’s can still sell in Florida.

Thanks…but so you know…we know that you didn’t have to do this…and now you can gather up your things and head out, because we’ve been telling ourselves and each other that you were somehow different than the ones we only read about before this.

This area of the country doesn’t get snubbed too much, and ask the real year round residents here, and they’ll tell you that they really don’t want any publicity or increases in flights to RSW.

We have elite golf courses and unbelievable beaches, fine dining and both theater and opera. Miami and Mickey are just a short drive away and we get our share of celebrities but they usually like to visit, stay and then come back often. 

We thought you were grounded and secure enough to know that you could do something monumental here. You could have been our Digger Phelps, our Dean Smith…hell, Coach K equals Duke and you were being added up and worked into every equation.

See our real  ‘dunk city’ is one that people dream of being a part of. 

This area has much to offer that others don’t and SWFL  adopted you after a 3-big game win streak. A community rallied and showed more than just bandwagon support. A thankful University and an entire area was ready to hand you the keys to three counties and find ways to get you money on the come.

This past Sunday in some churches locals stood and applauded Andy and his team while in others they prayed he’d stay.

the 239 was buzzing and the prophets from the bars to the gyms were all had reasons Andy might stay.  Some centered on him being a ‘multimillionaire’ but the core remained that he was a ‘family man’ that had it all. Great wife, three kids and the love and respect of an entire area.

After all it isn’t always about the money is it?  It’s USC Andy…not the hallowed ground of UCLA, there won’t be any Dead concerts with Walton and no comparisons with Wooden.

It’s USC Andy…. OJ’s Alma Mater and Todd Marinovich’s too.

It’s a film school, a school rich in tradition of NCAA violations, and from this fans perspective great basketball players don’t go to football schools like USC, they go to Basketball Schools like Gonzaga, Georgetown and Syracuse…. just like football players don’t go to Kentucky, North Carolina or Duke.

Andy…you let us down and signed up for the first shiny lure.  Go do your thing… we’ll say we knew you before you went to  #punkcityusc

Dunk City Fever Hits the Bars

(FORT MYERS, FLORIDA) It still will be known as ‘The City of Palms‘, but Fort Myers Florida and the entire Gulf of Mexico paradise of Southwest Florida and the 239 area code is experiencing a ‘hometown’ pride never imagined.

Easter and Spring Break always make this a big ‘resort and tourist’ weekend. But it’s the end of March, and the final games and final cuts for our ‘hometown’ spring training teams the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays have been bumped off the front page.

Because everyone…is watching  and rooting for the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles as they continue to be the ‘babyface’ Cinderella who made history on the court and put a star on the left side of every map of the State of Florida in the NCAA Basketball Tourney.

SEE the ‘DUNK CITY COCKTAILS’ That are being featured at ‘The Tipsy Tarpon’

The party has started and by Friday Night after all the ‘Early Birds’ are tucked into bed, the bars and restaurants in the 239 will shut down bands and DJ’s to focus on being one of 16 teams that the entire nation is still in the race for a National title.

‘The Tipsy Tarpon’ Restaurant just minutes from the FGCU Campus and mixed up some ‘DUNK CITY COCKTAILS’ in time for their ‘sweet 16’ appearance.  The refreshing and tropical cocktails will be available at the Tipsy Tarpon and all three feature the popular new All-American ‘Organic Spirit’ known as American Harvest.

It is a bit bittersweet that the upstart FGCU Eagles will face The University of Florida Gators...which is the ‘second favorite’ team of most everyone in this area. Because even though The U of M is alot closer….Fort Myers is way more like Gainesville than Miami.

But everyone will be welcome at The Tipsy Tarpon, which is the best and closest location to the FGCU campus for Fresh Florida Seafood and Tropical Cocktails. The restaurant features both outside and inside bars and seated areas and a four-sided scoreboard type cluster of big screen TV’s. Located in the Miromar Outlet Mall, The Tipsy Tarpon is a favorite for before and after games at both FGCU’s Alico Arena and The Germain Arena which is home for the Florida Everblades and the largest concert venue in Southwest Florida.

Outrageous Cocktails from DUNK CITY

In the past the NCAA Tournament was just an ‘also ran’ on the minds of residents and even most visitors to Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties.  It’s not that basketball wasn’t important to our winter friends from Terre Haute, IN and Lexington, KY but after all Southwest Florida typically has great weather and the best beaches in America.

The Party has reached the Beach from Marco Island to Captiva Island and Legend of Andy Enfield has begun…right here…in Dunk City, Florida

239BUZZ is ALL FGCU

Florida Gulf Coast Basketball is the Sweetest thing that has ever happened to Southwest Florida and from Marco Island to Matlacha they are dancing on the beach and all over the 239!  Come Down to Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Naples and Sanibel Island too…we Need more ‘Junior Citizens’!!!

See the video that is blowin up below!

‘New Look’ BOND Emerges as Premier Venue for Dinner Tribute Shows and Upscale Concerts

BOND Restaurant Hosts Debut Concert for ‘This Was’ Saturday March 23, 2013

For the past several months in a warehouse in North Naples, four musicians have bonded over a love to listen, play and perform the music of one of Rock & Roll’s Legendary British Bands, Jethro Tull.

On March 23, 2013 the band ‘This Was’ will make their debut close to home in Naples Florida at Bond Restaurant & Bar in what should prove to be an ideal venue for a Dinner and Concert Tribute Show that will showcase the unforgettable music that includes Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, Living In the Past, Locomotive Breath, Bungle In the Jungle and more.  Tickets on Sale at BOND Friday March 15!

Multi-talented musician, composer, artist and photographer and 1973 Naples High Graduate, John Pomeroy leads the band ‘This Was’ and his passion excels from vocals to performance in this stage celebration of live music that is often played but never covered. Pomeroy sings lead and plays flute and sax as well as both acoustic and electric guitar. Rob Carter plays Keyboards, Lead Guitar and Vocals with Alex Lazcano on Bass and vocals and Mark Staker on Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals.

Tickets will be available Friday, March 15 for the first show of This Was: Jethro Tull Tribute Dinner and Show for just $30.  The event includes preferred seating, a choice of five entrée selections and the 8 PM concert which promises to entertain as well as introduce both a great new band and a great ‘new’ performance venue.  ‘Show Only’ Tickets to the Concert will also be available for $15 with admittance at 7:30 PM.

BOND can now change the look of the restaurant and lively bar that is known for dinners, happy hours and dancing and now have centered their stage and made it more adaptable to add to it for live entertainment with added staging, sound and lighting.  Sight lines have been upgraded and the acoustics have been improved.

American Harvest Organic Spirit will also be introduced at BOND to all that attend the concert. American Harvest is the critically acclaimed All-American Vodka handcrafted in small batches from organic American wheat, certified organic ingredients and water from deep beneath the Snake River Plain. All tickets holders will be offered samples of the distinctly smooth and silky spirit with a choice of 100 % Florida Juice Indian River Select Orange and Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice.

John Pomeroy Leads ‘This Was’ in a Tribute and Celebration of Ian Anderson and the Music of Jethro Tull

Since 1969 Jethro Tull is remembered from the stage presence of Ian Anderson the lead vocalist who is known for his range of flute solos and as the band that has sold over 60 million albums worldwide with a unique fusion of rock, classical, jazz and acoustic production rock.

The changes at BOND have given them added dimension beyond their established happy hour and dinner hours for featured performance entertainment as well as late night dance parties. The changes welcome varied entertainment and varied events from comedy nights to club or corporate luncheons and private events.

 BOND has maintained their well equipped kitchen but the additional stage and dance floor will open the venue for a variety of national, regional and local performers.  BOND is expected to announce more events for April and May in the coming week.

Find BOND NAPLES HERE
Find THIS WAS HERE
Find March 23 Concert Info on Facebook  HERE

‘REAL’ Irish Whiskey Seminar Thursday at iiwii Beach

The Thursday Night Party at iiwii Beach Bar & Grill gets even better this week with a 3-course Irish Dinner and Two- Course Irish Whiskey Sampler as the Naples Showcase Live series welcomes Michael Collins Whiskey and the big sound of the Kim Page Blues Band

This Thursday March 14 from 6-8 pm,  iiwii Beach Bar & Grille has the perfect way to start the festivities for the First Annual ‘It Is What It Is’ St Patrick’s Day Weekend Jam as they host an Irish Whiskey Seminar, complete with an authentic Irish Dinner and Exclusive Aged Irish Whiskey Tasting for on $20 per person.

Reservations for the Michael Collins Irish Dinner can be made now by calling iiwii Beach Bar & Grille at 239-325-8108.  Dinner begins at 6 PM and includes 3 courses and The Irish Whiskey Seminar includes two whiskies. Must be 21-Years-old

iiwii Beach Bar & Grille are the first to offer an Irish Dinner with Homemade ‘first quality’ Corned Beef & Fresh Cabbage along with Irish potatoes, salad and Michael Collins Bread Pudding while representatives offer sips, samples and show you how to savor Michael Collins Blended 8 year-old Irish Whiskey and their exquisite 10-year Michael Collins Single Malt whiskey.

The Irish Dinner and Seminar will also assure you of the best seat for local favorite Kim Page Band whose resonant Blues vocals will keep the dance floor hot and the toes-tappin’.  What ‘is’ happening is…’it is what it is’ is and the hidden bar with the ‘tavern’ sign is quickly becoming the thing to do in the 239 on Thursday Night.  Local musicians have found an ‘original stage’ in Naples at iiwii through the newly formed Naples Showcase Live!

Kim Page Belts her ‘Original’ Blues at Naples Showcase Live!

Thursday’s ‘Spring into Originals’ concerts are hosted by John Sochor who co-founded Naples Showcase Live! as both the MC and  with his band Lost Tres’ who opens the weekly showcase for a wide range of musical genres that are all local and all original on Thursday’s on the iiwii stage.

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey is distilled in the only remaining Irish-owned independent distillery and the whiskey is as distinctive as Michael Collins himself.  Michael Collins Whiskey has been called ‘The Patriot’s Irish Whiskey’ and for the past several years is getting critical acclaim and is showing repeat sales and loyalty throughout the growing Irish Whiskey category. Michael Collins himself was called ‘The Big Fellow’ and is remembered for his bicycle rides through the streets of Dublin secretly delivering messages of strategy for a new Ireland. 

Many respect and revere Michael ‘Mick’ Collins as a true Irish hero who may have been the most important man in the quest for freedom from the British Empire. He knew that secrecy was important to his cause and he maintained as many as 30 ‘safe houses’ throughout Dublin was spreading the word of an independent direction for Ireland. The battle continued long after his death and while Irish historians remember ‘Mick’ Collins as a true hero, in Irish Pubs and households Michael Collins… the whiskey, is a perfect tribute.

USA All American Organic Spirit Launches in Florida

American Harvest Organic Spirit is further proof that Vodka doesn’t have to be foreign to be excellent.

Once you sip the final effort that starts with Americans gathering small batches of All-American Organic Winter Wheat from an American owned farm and then having Americans distill it with care using water from aquifers deep beneath the Snake River in Rigby, Idaho, you may get a bolt of patriotism and feeling of pride that once again…’Made in the USA’ means something great.

 American Harvest is finally coming to Florida as the supply of this super clean and All-American spirit has increased since it was first launched in just seven states back in May 2011. After critical acclaim and consumer approval in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon and South Carolina the brand has satisfied production demands and has made it to Florida just in time for ‘season’.

American Harvest is the creation of Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc., a third generation family business that is 100% US owned and operated and the development of this ultra-smooth neutral spirit with a proprietary blend of organic ingredients  has created a unique specialty vodka profile.

It’s got a clean nose and very light hint of sweetness and vanilla flavor that delivers soft and lush with enough wheat and heat to balance as it rolls over the palate.

 Sidney Frank was the man, and still is the company that built the biggest Vodka Empire in history when they created the concept of Grey Goose Vodka back in 1997.  Grey Goose was an idea of Sidney Frank himself who chose France to be the home of his vodka that was priced over $30 and that had more cache than Absolut or Stolichnaya.

Frank sold the Grey Goose brand to Bacardi in 2004 for the record breaking and staggering sum of $2.2 billion just two years before he passed away at the age of 86.  Sidney Frank was a visionary who brought such brands as Jagermeister and Gekkeikan Sake to popular and iconic stature in the United States  

The Sidney Frank Importing Company Inc. continues to be run by his family, but because of the terms of the Bacardi deal, the Sidney Frank family was prohibited from going back into the vodka biz – until American Harvest.  But now it’s All-American and not French and while Bacardi has Grey Goose priced up around $40, this organic and patriotic American Harvest Vodka will taste even better at a $25 price.

Naples Showcase Live Every Thursday Musical Orange Juice 02/21/2013 (photo Chelsea Wieland)

American Harvest has been developed with great care for the quality, organic nature and sustainable growing practices of all of its ingredients.  Bill Henderson, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising at Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc. said, “American Harvest was built on a promise; from field to bottle, to create the finest quality product, without compromise to the environment or our nation’s natural resources. American Harvest is crafted with the same American values that this country was built on and that continue to drive the country forward today. Integrity, opportunity, independence, hard work, innovation and pride,” Henderson added. 

American Harvest Organic Spirit
Special Introduction Pricing featuring Indian River Select Juices

It is what it isn’t…But It’s Changing?

Calls and emails came into the BeverageUnderground mailbox after Maker’s Mark Bourbon announced through their ‘Ambassador’s Embassy’ that they will be forced to dilute their Kentucky Bourbon just a ‘lil bit in order to handle the increasing demand for their American Whiskey.

Consumer reaction ranges from outrage to boycott and industry contacts agree that it will both save…and make the brand money immediately.

The cut is far from drastic as the award-winning bourbon will go from 45 percent alcohol by volume to 42 percent, or 90 proof to 84 proof and it’s all due to the popularity and growth of the brand over the last two years, according to Bill Samuels Jr. the son of the brand’s founder.

“I was the forecaster in chief around here. … I must have been asleep at the wheel,” Samuels said.

Maker’s Mark  is distilled in Loretto, Kentucky and is distinctively known for its red dipped wax seal and the current distiller Rob Samuels, the third generation distiller said Maker’s Mark’s growth, and the growth of the category over the last 1.5 to 2 years, was “significantly greater than we had ever experienced as a brand.”

All true, and there is merit and what seems to be accuracy in the notion that more people are drinking bourbon these days…but did you see where this would be just a temporary ‘watering down’?

But what was added to the press machine was that there would be no changes to Maker’s 46.

Lest we remember that the more expensive Maker’s 46 is not only a name it is also the percentage of alcohol by volume,  and  the94-proof offshoot of the main brand that is aged longer and for even more flavor it aged inside seared French Oak barrels.

So it makes drinking sense to separate the two brands in proof to create a gap in potency and flavor, but it also makes sense financially as the yield increases for the new 84 proof version.  Beverage alcohol taxes are governed by proof and there will also be tax savings by taking the current sales number and savings on federal and state taxes.

But industry experts also see it spiking sales immediately as Maker’s Mark drinkers run to buy up the now ‘collector’s item 90 proof ‘original’ while others will gravitate to the Maker’s 46 which has experienced sluggish sales and erratic placements.

Jack Daniels’ did the same kind of thing twice over the years. Jack Daniels’ Black Label ‘Old No. 7’ was once bottled at 90 proof and it’s lesser quality and priced Green Label was 80 proof.

In 1987 Jack Daniels’ Black Label dropped to 86 proof and in 2004, during the thirty dollar vodka decade, it found new life at 80 proof and a price point over $30. During that same time Brown-Forman and the Jack Daniels’ distillery debuted their 94 proof “Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel” in February 1997.

Maker’s Mark was acquired by Deerfield, Ill.-based Beam Inc. in 2005 and the company went in to spin mode by first announcing it to their ‘ambassadors’ online with Bill Samuels Jr. addressing ‘many of you that you’ve been having difficulty finding Maker’s Mark in your local stores’, by saying that they have ‘worked carefully to reduce the alcohol by volume (ABV) by just 3%’.

Rob Samuels who apparently is taking the bullet for Beam Inc. said he’s still “fully accountable” for the business, and it was his idea to dilute the bourbon.  Rob Samuels  also said that the change “will be permanent, and it should address any future supply shortages as the company works to make more bourbon”. 

Representatives of two other Kentucky premium bourbons, Woodford Reserve and Four Roses, said they have the supply to meet demand and don’t plan changes to their whiskies.