Tuesday, October 9, 2012

What's on Rex' smart phone?

Rex Jensen reads off the songs in his smart phone. (Photo Jim Jones)
"Music lover." Not necessarily the first two words that come to mind when you mention the name Rex Jensen.

Jensen is the chief executive officer and president of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the developer of Lakewood Ranch.

Warrior, fierce advocate of free enterprise, serious business executive, and leader are some of the words I would use to describe him.

A man of his word, good family man are others.

My perception was altered just a bit Monday when Rex told reporter Nick Williams and I that he would like to bring a big, new musical festival to Lakewood Ranch, maybe as early as winter 2013. See link below for the story.

http://www.bradenton.com/2012/10/09/4231438/lakewood-ranch-looks-to-launch.html

Funny thing about the timing of the announcement, I responded to him. My Sunday column was all about my favorite rock songs. See link below.

http://www.bradenton.com/2012/10/07/4229031/eastword-column-jim-jones-asks.html

Then I asked Rex what music he had on his iPod. Actually, it was a smart phone of some kind. Rex immediately began scrolling through the bands and singers. It was a quite the hip list, too,  Wade Tatangelo, the Herald's resident entertainment writer, said later when I showed him the bands back in the newsroom. Good to know Wade, because I hadn't heard of many of them.

As Rex read off the performers, you could see a few layers of stress melt away. He was clearly enjoying the exercise.

"That's just the point," he said of the proposed Lakewood Ranch Winterfest and how much people crave live entertainment and enjoying discussing and arguing about it.

For the record, there were several hundred songs in Rex' smart phone. Here is a sampling:

Castanets

Shack Shaker

Patsy Cline

Elvis Costello

Florence and the Machine

Led Zeppelin (his favorite is the Immigrant Song)

Dylan

Stones

Lucinda Williams

U2

Johnny Cash

Kris Kristofferson

Andrea Bocelli

Rita Coolidge

Doors

Emmylou Harris

Neil Young

CCR - "As Long as I Can See the Light," and "I Put A Spell on You"



No comments:

Post a Comment