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Ruppert Blaize and his band Hard Currency provide the calypso, reggae and Top 40 at the Adam's Mark tiki bar.
By JANE BOKUN
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 1, 2001
CLEARWATER BEACH -- Ruppert Blaize traded in his CPA for a calypso band.
The 54-year-old musician has been a favorite with beachgoers since he left his career as a Price Waterhouse accountant in New York about 15 years ago.
"He brings in a good crowd," said Nick Colonna, a bartender at the Adam's Mark Caribbean Resort on Gulf Boulevard, where Blaize's band Hard Currency holds court four nights a week.
"Although I went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., for accounting, I always wanted to do this music thing," Blaize said. "My peers thought I was crazy, but it's turned out pretty well."
For several years, Blaize's group headlined the entertainment at Shephard's, another Clearwater Beach resort.
"We're going into our sixth year at the Adam's Mark Caribbean Hotel," Blaize said. From Sunday to Wednesday, the band belts out calypso, reggae and Top 40 tunes to an appreciative clientele on the beach.
It wasn't always so easy, Blaize said.
"I started playing in Clearwater in December of 1983 and started a jazz band called Hard Currency, which was not popular at the time," he said. So, the band changed its play list to include more beach-oriented music.
Blaize hung onto the original name and still hopes to return to blues and jazz someday. He is the only member of the original group left. The band now includes John Hall on bass, Eric Peters on keyboards and Julian Riffin on guitar.
"Bands are like chameleons, and they change every two or three years, so it's expected," Blaize said.
Blaize, a native of Antigua, had toyed with a music career before he left accounting, even signing a contract with a recording company that ended up going bankrupt.
He now records on his private label.
"I started recording and producing albums (and now CDs) on my own when I got to Tampa," Blaize said. His latest CD, Millennium, can be found in local record stores such as Wherehouse music in Tampa. But Blaize's most popular CD, called Happy Music 1997, is only sold at the Adams Mark Caribbean Hotel. His Web site is http://www.ruppertblaize.com. He said he does everything on his own because 'I have always shied away from managers and agents. Basically, I feel I got burned by my original record company, and now I like being on my own."
He now has 14 albums that feature some of his own music. He is married to Colleen McDaniel Blaize, and they have a 1-month-old son, Ryan Joseph.
"We've been married for five years, and we met at Shephard's," Blaize said. His new son keeps Blaize home more. "I used to go from one engagement to the next," he said. "And now I still will take weddings or engagements, but not that often."
Blaize doesn't regret his career change.
"It's a great thing that I do," he said. "I am blessed to go from accounting to reggae. Not only do I enjoy it, there's good money to be made -- and I don't have to jump on a plane to do an audit in Buffalo."
Ruppert Blaize and his band play 1-9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday at the outside tiki bar at the Adam's Mark Caribbean Gulf Resort, 430 Gulfview Blvd., Clearwater Beach. (727) 443-7584. There is no cover charge.
Some other Clearwater Beach hotels with lounge acts:
Shephard's Beach Resort: 619 S. Gulfview Blvd. (727) 442-5107.
Sheraton Sand Key Resort: 1160 Gulf Blvd. (727) 595-1611.
Hilton Resort Clearwater Beach: 400 Mandalay Ave., (727) 461-3222