Rudy Applewhite Entertainment-Production   

Michael Blaylock

MUL 1010 Music Appreciation

Interview with a Musician

 

 

 

Rudy “Sonny” Applewhite is a fifty-something year old man who was born in the West Indian island of Trinidad-Tobago. The first musical instrument Rudy was exposed to was a “mouth organ” (harmonica).  This is when he found out that he had musical talent, and wanted to be a musician. Then, his mouth organ got stolen, and that was the end of his mouth organ career. Of course, this event led in time to his exposure to steel drums, and the rest is history. By the time Rudy came to the United States at the age of 18 in 1970, he was considered an accomplished steel drum player, having played with some of the best steel drum players in the islands. When Rudy arrived in San Diego, Ca, he did course work in music theory and writing. Rudy has been a professional musician for over 40 years, beginning in the early 70’s when he toured with a 30 piece orchestra playing the college and university circuit. The orchestra played with Liberace, the Serendipity Singers, Ike and Tina turner, and many other acts. The group also played classical music at various venues. Over the years, Rudy has had several bands which he led, and played in several others. Rudy currently performs as a solo artist, playing 3 days a week at Tommy Bahamas Restaurant in San Destin, Fl. Rudy auditioned for them over two years ago, and has been playing there ever since. An average crowd for the night tends to be in the range of 100-200 people. He can be located on the Tommy Bahamas in San Destin, Fl website. The Tommy Bahamas restaurant chain has steel drum players at each of their restaurants around the country including Las Vegas, Orlando, Hawaii, and South Carolina. Rudy also plays for weddings (including mine in 1988), private parties, and conventions, and county fairs. He has played with some of the leading steel drum players in the country, including Robert Greenidge (Jimmy Buffet band steel drum player) He also has recorded with jazz artists William Aura and Ted Shumate. Rudy’s plays a Calypso-Jazz fusion style of music, but is able to play any genre.