| Cross Harp Chronicle
Read the great interview. "A
Shoe Is a Shoe"
Bee Publications
Catch the very talented Al "Coffee"
McDaniel doing his songs in that wonderful baritone.
An added fillip to Al's performance is that it is alfresco,
right out there on the boardwalk. Al is great on pop
and rock and does the Sinatra stuff as well, too. The
music gets you feeling real good - what more could you
ask for?
October 14 - 20, 1999 Bee Publications
Page 15
Al "Coffee" McDaniel has become
the singing sensation of Sand Key, playing at The Columbia
Restaurant Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, 6:30
to 10:30 p.m. He has developed a following of locals
who enjoy that fine, strong baritone voice, and the
visitors love him, too. Like that happy group from Ireland
that cheered, sang, danced and swayed to every number
last Friday evening.
November 25 - December 1, 1999
Bee Publications Page 12
Al "Coffee" McDaniel, the wonderful
singer who entertains at the Sand Key Columbia Restaurant,
has a gospel CD coming out Nov. 30, just in time for
holiday shopping. He has set up a Web site, www.cparecords.com,
where you can sample six of the 13 cuts. With Al's rich
baritone voice, this CD should be awesome. He plays
Thursday through Saturday, 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the
Columbia.
April 27 - May 3, 2000 Bee publications
Page 12
Singer Al "Coffee" McDaniel's
uplifting gospel CD. Pick it up at The Columbia Restaurant
on Sand Key, where the popular baritone sings pop, blues,
jazz and R & B Thursday through Saturday, from 6:30
to 10:30 p.m.
Gospel / Christian
"Coffee" - A Special Blend: by Georgi Proteau
Racing north along Gulf Boulevard in hopes
of catching most of the first set, we arrived at the
Columbia Restaurant in Clearwater a little past 7:00
p.m. welcomed by an atmosphere so totally different
than the Columbia stand at Tropicana Field where I worked
the first couple Devil Ray seasons - a beautiful wide
open panoramic view of the intercoastal waterway, a
delightful breeze, alfresco, and a familiar melody.
. . "Give me the beat boys and free my soul - I
wanna get lost in your rock and roll - and drift away
. . ."
As my daughter and I sat down at a table
close to the stage set up; Al McDaniel splashed a genuine
smile from across the room at us, as if he had known
us forever.
Although we had missed a couple songs,
we caught most of the set, including "My Girl",
"Sugar Pie Honey", "You're gonna Miss
My Lovin'", "Can't get Enough of Your Love",
"Me and Mrs. Jones", among others. I felt
beneath my skin, a nostalgic rush of memories from days
gone by - flashbacks of my Chicago days at old Navy
Pier, Oak Street Beach, racing along Lake Shore Drive
with the radio blasting - a place in time now revived
by these songs which were, then, songs engrained in
my soul, songs I was raised on - and the songs Al "Coffee"
McDaniel was raised on too . . . songs he admired, musicians
who inspired him - Frank Sinatra, Barry White, George
Benson, Marvin Gaye, Billy Joel and so on . . .
"I've been singing since I was 5
and 6 years old, all over Georgia with my three siblings
and a cousin. We had our own family Gospel group and
played wherever we could." Coffee related to me
during a brief phone interview earlier that afternoon.
He learned to play guitar around the age of twelve and
at fourteen, after his mother died; he played less Gospel
and learned some of the more popular tunes. He played
with the Sunbeam Singers in Mississippi and when he
was in the air force, played with several bands throughout
the Netherlands and Thailand. When Coffee left the air
force in 1982, he remembers attending a talent competition
in Wichita, Kansas, where he tied for third place with
the comedian Sinbad and regrets that they lost touch
over the years. Coffee continued with his music during
his 15 years of employment with the U.S. Post Office,
12 of those years in management, until he decided to
pursue a full-time music career.
After his first set, he sat down at the
table with us and handed me a package with copies of
his two Gospel CD's, "Be Prayed Up" just released
3/27/01 and "Message to Deliver" released
6/3/00 and a copy of his music video featuring "Is
There Anything Too Hard for God?" which has been
aired on The Word Network. In this video, some seemingly
overwhelming situations are highlighted - a young man
incarcerated, a young girl diligently practicing her
dance exercises, and a woman stressed out over what
appears to be almost infinite paperwork - and all of
them, miraculously, become totally liberated from their
burdens through the power of prayer. In the newer Gospel
CD, "Be Prayed Up" powerful testimonies simmer
in upbeat spices including a pinch of rap and a dash
of reggae.
His other CD, "COFFEE" Performing
the Most Requested Greatest Oldies", includes most
of his favorites. "Can't Get Enough of Your Love",
"What's Goin' On?", "Drink of Tanquerey",
"Me and Mrs. Jones", "Try a Little Tenderness",
"You're Gonna Miss My Lovin", "Fly Me
To The Moon", "I Worry About You", "Walkin'
the Dog", "The Summer Wind", "The
Thrill Is Gone", "New York, New York",
"My Way" and "Summertime" Coffee
plans on releasing another CD in the Fall.
"So Coffee," I asked, "tell
me about your beads and your guitar." His eyes
lit up and another smile rolled in. "Well, my guitar
is an Epiphone, Joe Pass Edition and the beads are from
Hawaii. They are good luck beads called "kukui"
"he responded. My 13 year old daughter, Athena,
repeated the word "kukui" and sounded like
a tropical mocking bird. I was even more embarrassed
as she then interrupted the conversation with her personal
inquiry: "Where are your other band members?"
"I'm a one man band" he replied,
very patiently, treating her with equal respect as if
an adult had asked.
"A long time ago," he continued
explaining," bands consisted of as many as 12 musicians.
But with modern technology, I can use a drum machine,
a rack, a mixer and any other equipment to produce the
effects I desire. My one man band can do it all."
He explained to her the difficulties, petty professional
jealousies, and other conflicting situations that often
occur in the entertainment field when too many chiefs
and not enough Indians are involved in the performance
aspect - especially egos, not to neglect the division
of profit, if any, the scheduling and personality clashes
and overall spiritual/lifestyle/ personal value differences
that evolve in what could become a dog-eat-dog situation.
So Athena did gain an understanding of why a one-man
band can be successful.
"So what advice would you give to
musicians who only do their original songs and wouldn't
be caught dead doings covers. How do they get recognized
and get long term gigs?" I probed.
"I admire anybody who does his own
music - that should make the music even more desired
because it is original - especially if it's good. But,
in general, people like to hear what they are familiar
with." Coffee advises that individuals who go solo
with their own stuff learn a few good covers for a common
denominator, like hors d'oeuvres, then the main dish
- the originals - and see what the response is, then
go from there. "Coffee" McDaniel admits he
is a crowd pleaser as well as an individual, a singer,
a guitarist, an arranger, a composer, a producer.
His relatively recent return to his gospel
"roots" is a personal choice as that was the
foundation of his music - an old, yet new, chapter -
where he can be himself express his emotions, his bare
soul, his individual love, respect and devotion to the
Grand Creator of all and give hope, insight and inspiration
to others. Although there will always be a demand for
the good old fashioned revival of the oldies, Coffee
believes that the industry is changing and that Gospel
music is increasing in popularity.
Although the performance consisted of
R&B and Good "old fashioned" Motown soul,
Coffee doesn't like to be categorized as playing only
one style. He was able to play most of the requests
including one of mine, "Pappa Was a Rolling Stone"
while he emphasized his expertise as a guitar player
and vocalist. His strings vibrated and trembled like
. . . yea like . . . Coffee percolating! Then I remembered
what he told me earlier that afternoon during our little
phone interview, when I asked him how he got the name
"Coffee" : "I guess I was in my 20's
and everybody had a name - Mine is Coffee - because
I grind so fine." Coffee stresses that it is important
that one loves his work. "What else do you love?"
I asked.
"Well, I love to fish when I have
time." He says he often catches Redfish, Trout
and Jacks. He also said he loves his family, his grown
children and his wife Gerri who helps him with the business
and occasionally travels with him. He mentioned looking
forward to his upcoming Nashville trip, May 4th &
5th to be followed by the May 6th & 7th Bobby Jones
International Gospel Show/Artist Retreat in Las Vegas.
Of all the places in the U.S., he would most like to
perform in Vegas at the MGM. No matter where Coffee
performs, he captures the attention of his audience
and fills them with music. While preserving the spirit
of the original artists, Coffee revives their songs
in a personal way, polishing them, enhancing them, customizing
them with his own added touches, making each song as,
if not more, beautiful than its original version. He
performs at the Columbia on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Coffee also performs on Wednesday
on U.S. 19 at Famous Cigars. He has his own record label,
CPA Records, Coffee's Productions & Associates in
Tampa, where he now resides.
Talented, gifted and blessed, Coffee says
he will never forget his friends who've been there for
him along his ventures. Al McDaniel is a deciple of
the Masters and a Master of new deciples - he is himself,
a unique blend - Maybe "Coffee of the Day"
of Coffee "A Special Blend" will be the title
of his next CD.
When he finished playing "Turn Your
Love Around" and started up "Mustang Sally",
I remembered my old Mustang parked outside in need of
an oil change and the inside looking like a gypsy camp.
I tipped the waiter, tipped Coffee, and grabbed Athena's
hand promising to come again, thankful for a truly special
encounter with a soul eternal. . .
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