Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs Rock Ruth Eckerd!

I have been a fan of lead guitarist Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers since I first saw the group live when I was a student at the University of Florida back in 1981, when Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks joined the Heartbreakers on stage to sing “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” and four or five Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks songs during the encores.

After the tragic passing of Petty in 2017, Campbell spent two years (2018-19) as the replacement for Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac, but then started his own band, The Dirty Knobs, in 2020. The new band — currently comprised of Campbell on lead guitar and most of the lead vocals, recent Eagles touring guitarist Chris Holt on guitar, keyboards and vocals, Lance Morrison on bass and former Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone — has put out three albums to date, “with a fourth one in the can,” according to Campbell last night. 

The group’s next-to-last stop on their current tour (the Dirty Knobs play in Jacksonville tonight) was at Ruth Eckerd Hall last night and they put on a show much more laden with solo Petty and Heartbreakers tunes than most of the Dirty Knobs’ previous dates — eleven in all, in fact. Although it was amazing for this 45-year Petty fan to hear so many of those old favorites, I actually would personally have been happier to hear Campbell & Co. play more of the Dirty Knobs’ own catalog.

Considering that Campbell rarely, if ever, even had a mic to sing to on stage when he was with the Heartbreakers, I absolutely love the guy’s voice and his music, as always, is solid rock with many of these songs having that Petty-esque country twang. And, although Mike is credited as a co-writer on dozens of Petty’s classic tunes, my understanding was that Mike would usually write or co-write the music, but Tom handled the majority of the lyrics. So, it’s pretty startling to hear so many songs that Campbell has written and sings himself. 

Among my favorites at last night’s show were the hard-rockin’ but melodic “Dare to Dream” and the country-infused rocker “Wicked Mind,” the super-fun “F–k That Guy,” plus “Irish Girl,” “Shake These Blues,” and “Angel of Mercy,” all of which are from the three Dirty Knobs albums. There were at least 7-8 more of those songs that I wish they played — including the almost Rolling Stones-ish title track,  the funky rocker “Sugar” and the sweet “Anna Lee” from the first Dirty Knobs album, “Wreckless Abandon.” 

Others they didn’t play that I love are the great lyrics and catchy beat of “Dirty Job,” the beautiful duet with Margo Price called “State of Mind” (which sounds like it could be Petty and Stevie Nicks together again), “It Is Written” and “Electric Gypsy” from the second album, “External Combustion,” and “Hands Are Tied,” “Innocent Man” (a completely different song than Billy Joel’s “An Innocent Man”), “Hell or High Water” and “The Greatest” from the newest album, “Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits.” 

If you like Campbell’s “minimalist” guitar from the Petty days, many of these songs are equally as addictive — at least in one editor’s opinion. 

But yes, it also was awesome to hear Campbell’s guitar riffs and belted-out, Petty-like vocals on all of the Petty and/or Heartbreakers tunes, especially on “Love Is A Long Road,” “A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me),” “Don’t Fade On Me,” “You Got Lucky,” “You Wreck Me,” “Runnin’ Down A Dream” and my favorite Heartbreakers song of the evening, “The Best Of Everything” (in duet with super-talented opening act Shannon McNally, a Grammy-nominated Long Islander from Jones Beach).  

Overall, it was an wonderful show and most of the not-quite-sold-out crowd of over 2,000 people seemed to love it as much as Jannah and I did.

Whether you were at the concert or not, if you’re a fan of the Heartbreakers, you have to read Campbell’s recently released book, Heartbreaker: A Memoir — which I was surprised to not see on sale at Ruth Eckerd. It’s an incredible read, ghost-written by Ari Surdoval, and it tells all of the stories of how Campbell came from less than nothing in Jacksonville, to getting a scholarship to the University of Florida, where he met Petty (who wasn’t a student but grew up in Gainesville), who convinced Mike to drop out of U-F, to meeting the other members of the band then-called Mudcrutch, to heading out to Los Angeles and finding stardom with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers — and everything that came since then. I’m sure it must include Campbell’s thoughts on Tom passing away in 2017 — although I haven’t finished reading the book yet. Even so, it’s honestly already one of the best non-fiction memoirs I’ve ever read.

I don’t know what’s next for Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs or when they will return to our area, but all I can say — after literally eight of them last night — is “Encore!”

Students Learning Virtually (For Now) At Excel Music

John and Sheri Thrasher opened Excel Music on Cross Creek Blvd. in 2006. They have adapted their business model to meet online student needs during the pandemic. 

For more than 14 years, Excel Music on Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa has been teaching private music lessons to students of all ages. But lately, something has been very different than “business as usual.”

Since March, all of Excel Music’s students have been taught exclusively virtually.

“The nature of in-person music lessons doesn’t permit social distancing,” says Excel Music owner John Thrasher, “so we’ve chosen to do virtual lessons.”

He says the school’s building, located in the Cory Lake Isles Professional Center on Cross Creek Blvd., has remained closed since the Covid-19 pandemic began in March. However, Excel Music’s 20 teachers and dozens of students are as active as always, teaching and learning from their homes.

John says all of Excel Music’s teachers are either university trained (many with Master of Music degrees) or they have at least 10 years of study and performing experience. 

The music school offers lessons in voice and practically every instrument, with piano, violin, guitar and drums being the most popular, according to John, and quite a few students learning brass and woodwind instruments, too, such as trumpet, tuba, saxophone and clarinet.

Students work with the same teacher week after week, so although their teachers are now only on a computer screen, the student still know them. 

“It provides some normalcy and routine in their lives, when a whole lot of normalcy and routines have been removed,” says John, who adds that the school has continued to add “a steady stream” of new students throughout the pandemic.

“Obviously, parents are just as interested in improving their children’s lives as they always have been,” John explains. “Music is still important, and virtual lessons are kind of the only way that you can do it right now.”

A Little Background Music…

John and his wife Sheri originally opened Excel Music in 2006, with the dream of providing the opportunity for young people to be trained for the kinds of careers and lives they once experienced themselves.

“We both had long careers in music, and were professional musicians who were able to make a living performing,” John says, adding that he was the drummer for country singer Mickey Gilley for many years, which gave him the opportunity to perform on TV, at the White House and for people all over the world.

In the 1990s, John and Sheri had success together with a band of their own in Japan called Tz, where he says they sold tens of thousands of CDs. They also found themselves immersed in a culture that revered teachers, which led them to start thinking about passing on the knowledge and experience they had gained to the next generation.

“We met tremendous people, saw great places, and made a living,” John says. “We started thinking, ‘What if some of the kids who come through our school can experience what we’ve experienced?’”

However, John says he and Sheri recognize that the vast majority of their students will not go on to have professional music careers. 

“Our teachers are good enough for that type of student, but most of our students will go on to have another career, such as a doctor or lawyer or something else,” he says. 

He adds that the goal at Excel Music is to provide students with an appreciation for music, plus provide the benefits of learning how to play and/or sing.

“There’s so much data about how great studying music is for your brain for spatial learning and big-picture thinking,” John explains. “There are always studies coming out saying that because music is a whole brain activity, when kids learn music, their math and other school skills improve, too.” 

Kristy Sargent, who lives in West Meadows, says her 10-year-old daughter Regan has been taking piano lessons for more than a year with Excel Music.

“Both the school and her teacher have been so amazing,” says Kristy. “They’ve been very flexible with being online. It hasn’t been easy to have everything change so much, but they’ve done a really, really good job.”

Kristy says one of her favorite things is how well the teachers communicate.  “It’s a fantastic school that feels very personal. It feels like they really care about you and your child.”

The Right Teachers, Too

John and Sheri want each one of their students to feel that way, so they carefully choose only the best instructors.

They ensure that every teacher they hire to work at Excel Music is background checked, has appropriate credentials, and truly knows both their instrument and how to teach it. John says that just because someone has a doctoral degree in music or some other accomplishment,that doesn’t mean they will relate well to teaching students.

“They have to know how to teach, which is a completely different set of skills,” explains John, who says that — over the last 14 years — he has tried to show New Tampa families that they can trust Excel Music to make great decisions about who to hire to teach for the school. 

He says two teachers have been with Excel Music since it opened in 2006, and a number of others have stayed with the Thrashers for five, six, or eight years. 

“We definitely have stability,” he says. “We’ve been doing this for a long time.”

Age Doesn’t Matter

And, while many of Excel Music’s students are kids, the opportunity to learn to sing or play an instrument is certainly not limited by your age.

“A lot of adults want lessons, too,” says John. “We get retired people who say they’ve wanted to play their whole lives, and now they’re finally going to do it.” He fondly recalls a man who came to Excel Music to learn how to play the trumpet at 86 years old!

Dylan and Diya Arun give a thumbs up to online learning with Excel Music.

John says the last few months have been extremely trying and that he and Sheri — like virtually all small business owners — are just trying day by day to make the best decisions they can for their company, their employees and their customers. However, at the end of the day, they feel really good about the nearly 15 years they’ve spent leading Excel Music in New Tampa.

“We’re putting music in people’s heads,” he says. “We’re not making widgets that end up in landfills; we’re doing this thing that’s good for our community and for the world in general.”

Excel Music, located at 10353 Cross Creek Blvd., Suite I, is open for virtual lessons only right now. For more information or visit ExcelMusic.org, call (813) 991-1177.

Music Changes Local Resident Tyler Sinckler’s Life

On a recent Sunday afternoon, the sweet sounds of a young man playing a beautiful baby grand piano fill the air in the lobby of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC).

Behind the keyboard sits Tyler Sinckler, a 15-year-old student who will enter Wesley Chapel High this fall as a freshman.

His mom, Crystal Jenkins, and stepdad, Acie Jenkins, watch as Tyler plays, bursting with pride and marveling at how far their son has come.

Before middle school, Tyler says he was only interested in video games. His parents say he was struggling academically.

Then one day — he and his mom agree that it was out of boredom — he sat down at the piano his older brother, Chad, used to play before he left for college at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Tyler started plunking the keys and listening to the notes, and managed to figure out the melody of the music from one of his favorite video games. He kept at it, and played more video game melodies.

He says he taught himself to play the theme from Super Smash Bros.

Shortly thereafter, Crystal signed her son up for piano lessons.

One thing led to another, and Tyler began playing percussion in the middle school band at John Long Middle School. He went to a camp to learn how to play electric guitar and bass.

Now, he composes original pieces for the piano. He competed in the talent show at his school — one when he was in the seventh grade at John Long, and another as an eighth grader at Weightman, after his home was rezoned from one school boundary area to the other. In both shows, he played an original composition and, in both shows, he took home second-place awards.

Acie and Crystal Jenkins are proud of their son Tyler Sinckler, who has improved his grades through his dedication to learning and playing music. He recently got to perform on the grand piano in the lobby at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel.

He says he discovered something new about himself.

“I liked being in front of an audience,” Tyler says. “I created my own songs and it went well. It was fun.”
Crystal says she’s impressed with Tyler’s innate skill. While both of her boys have a talent for music, she’s not a musician.

“I’m not sure where they get it from,” she laughs.

Tyler says becoming a musician has taught him many things.

“I’ve learned patience,” he says. “When I mess up in practice, I slow down and take my time.”
He also says he’s overcome being nervous and become more self-confident when he’s not playing an instrument.

He uses what he’s learned to encourage others to try new things, too, like when his friends wanted to enter the talent show competition, but didn’t because they were too nervous. “The more you do it, the less nervous you are,” he tried to convince them.

Crystal says Tyler’s love for music has led to improvements at school, and he is doing better in reading, writing and math.

“I think it’s because of his improved focus,” she says.

While Tyler had previously struggled with academics, he’s going into honors classes in high school.
That self-confidence he mentioned? It is now his shoulder to lean on as he takes on more difficult classes.

“I think I’m up for it,” he says.

When marching band starts this fall, he’ll play percussion. Tyler says he’s earned the role of “first vibraphone,” which means he’ll play the solos and leads, while other vibraphone players play rhythm.

Donald Scott, the band director at Weightman, says Tyler is a dedicated, hard working and perseverant student.

“He has a real deep love for music,” Donald says.
Tyler has developed skills in a variety of band formats. He excelled in the marching band (which performed at parades and middle school football games), concert band and even a little jazz band in middle school.

“He plays all the percussion and does it well,” says Donald. “He was one of my leaders.”

Donald says Tyler often showed the younger students how to play their parts. “He’s like a little percussion prodigy back there,” Donald says. “He knows his stuff.”

While he’s been a standout as a middle school percussionist, Tyler says that his real love is playing the piano.

He’s played in a nursing home, and even played an original composition at his mom and stepdad’s wedding.

Acie explains that Tyler has been looking for more opportunities to both perform and to give back to the community. So, Acie approached Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel requesting that his stepson volunteer his time and talents by playing the grand piano in the hospital’s lobby.

The family is hopeful that Tyler will be able to continue to volunteer in that way.

When asked if he still plays video games, Tyler says, “Not that much. I sold my video game consoles to make time for music.”

In the future, Donald says he can see Tyler continuing to pursue music with a passion.

“I can see him being a steady performer, doing all the percussion parts, and he would definitely be a great piano player,” Donald says. “If he wants to, he could become a music teacher. I really do see that in him.”