"MY HEART MATTERS DEVOTIONAL" BY TAMIKA A. TAYLOR

Here is my latest “Woman in Action” article that appears in “The Punch” on page 15 today about Tamika A. Taylor, who is releasing her first official publication, “My Heart Matters Devotional”, on July 14^th. Tamika is a Gospel Singer, Musician, Songwriter and Educator.

The Punch features an outstanding local woman in their “Woman in Action” column every Thursday, with my articles usually appearing every other Thursday.

SONGS BY ERSKINE KNOWLES!

My husband Erskine is a great guitarist and vocalist (I think I’m permitted to say that!). He started playing guitar at the age of fifteen, but played the kettle drum before that (once he was in a wedding procession on Long Island as a small boy, playing the drums!). He also learned to play the accordion.

When we met in 1965 he was playing in a band called “The Invaders” in the old Lisbon Club on Bay Street, downtown Nassau. See my blog post Bahamian Music is Blowing in the Wind.

Since then he’s jammed with a lot of musicians over the years in The Bahamas and England. He’s played with Jay Mitchell’s band in the British Colonial Hotel, Nassau; “Little Joe Cartwright” in Count Basie Square, Freeport, Grand Bahama; Count Bernadino and his daughter Nita Ellis at Westwinds II, Nassau; musicians in a pub in Exmouth, England; pubs around Exeter, England (with me singing along with him); entertained on the SS Oronsay on the way to England; formed a two man band with our son Gavin called “Roadblock” while we were living in Long Island (with other musicians coming down to join them at gigs around the island); the former Holiday Inn, Paradise Island, with Buddy Rae; and at the former “Buzz” night club and Crazy Johnny’s on East Bay Street, Nassau, with such musicians as the late Berkley Van Byrd.

Here's a short video of Erskine singing and playing Roy Orbison's song "Pretty Woman" at “Crazy Johnny’s”, Nassau, Bahamas (formerly “The Buzz”) in 2009 - "Pretty Woman".

Now he’s writing his own songs. You can hear some of them on soundcloud.com at the following links:

YOUNG HEARTS
Lyrics, music, guitar and vocals by Erskine Knowles
(Based on true events when Erskine first met me!)
© 2015 Erskine Knowles

CLICK HERE FOR YOUNG HEARTS

THE WRITER’S PRAYER
Lyrics by Fay Knowles
Music, guitar and vocals by Erskine Knowles
© 2014 Erskine Knowles

CLICK HERE FOR THE WRITER'S PRAYER

BORN AGAIN
Lyrics, music, guitar and vocals by Erskine Knowles
(Inspired by spiritual events and dreams!)
© 2015 Erskine Knowles

CLICK HERE FOR BORN AGAIN

It’s a great joy being married to a musician!

RAMBLINGS ABOUT TOOLOOSE ART AND POPULAR BAHAMIAN VENUES!

Steve Holden, "Artist, Musician, Storyteller - a true Island Renaissance Man”, who has lived in The Bahamas for many years, recently asked on his Facebook page if anyone remembered The Old Le Shack, Montague Beach. Steve had found some prints of the piece he did for that casual old hang out.

Steve creates these amazing works of art, which feature popular restaurants along with caricatures of their patrons. What is so unusual about his art work is that the people depicted in his paintings have no faces, yet it’s clearly obvious who each person is! And if you don’t know them, their personalities still shine through. We have one of Steve's prints from his painting of the old "Buzz" nightclub, where musicians (including Erskine) used to jam together. 

Steve is commissioned to do the paintings by proprietors or by people who frequent the establishments. Then he also sells the prints. This is only one of his art forms though. More information about his art is on his website at

TOOLOOSE ART

and at 

D'AGUILAR ART FOUNDATION

(a little about Steve's music is mentioned at this second link).

Going back to Steve’s Facebook question, which prompted me to write about him, in 1992 I wrote a feature article for Le Shack when it moved from Montague Beach to a location near the bridge that goes over to Paradise Island (the “newest” bridge). Le Shack is now “Green Parrot”. Here’s the old article:-