Randy Simmons

During the Great Depression, my Father sat around hobo camps listening to men play guitar & harmonica, their only worldly possessions. For one dollar of the five dollars Will Rogers gave him, he bought a Gibson Carson J. Robison Acoustic, some 35 years later he taught me to play it. Mother had other ideas, such as 12 years of piano, both of which I lay down and forgot for years. Like Larry Joe Taylor, “I followed Buffett to the Florida Keys,” and my love for Costal/Western/Rock music became my sanity. Two Divorces and hundreds of Jimmy Buffett Concerts later, I bought a Fender Dreadnought Acoustic Flamed Maple, Solid Spruce Top, my Holy Grail, and learned to play. I joined a group at Budro’s Rib Joint and honed my skills with the help of a lot of beer, but I yearned for more. There’s only so much Robert Earl Keen & John Prine one can stand. In Early 2008 the Powers That Be smiled on this old Altar Boy with a new lady, and if that wasn’t enough they sent a prophet. OG&E co-worker Drew Dvorak, a 6 ft 4 giant of a man with the wingspan of an eagle came to me likened only to Moses and the burning bush. “I’m starting a band. Come and add you’re Island sounds. Be the harp man and rock with us.” Margaritaville began to flow from these fingers. I am Randy Simmons. Rhythm Guitar & Harmonica for The Johnny Ball Band. Experience “My Lost Shaker of Salt.”