Strickland publishes 2nd novel about adventures of a local musician/private eye

Strickland publishes 2nd novel about adventures of a local musician/private eye

By Fran Thompson
Local author Larry Strickland has self published the second of a planned three part trilogy about Strick-9, a musician at a local dive on the Alabama-Florida border by night and a private investigator by day.
Just released, The Weather Cannon, follows Redbeard’s Revenge, which Strickland self published in 2018.
Redbeard’s Revenge begins when a pirate, Redbeard, loses a treasure filled ship in Perdido Pass during a hurricane that shifted the Pass two miles west of the present day Flora-Bama. Redbeard puts a curse on the treasure before going under the guillotine. A couple hundred years later, fishermen and beach strollers start finding coins washing up on the Flora-Bama beach. Gold fever ensues. People get murdered. Strick-9 investigates.
In The Weather Cannon, the U.S. Navy has hired an old friend of Strick-9’s, Blakeli Weiss, to work on a top secret project being developed at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Strick-9 finds himself thrown into a world of mayhem, as Blakeli and her boy are targeted by a group of Taliban terrorists hell bent on stealing the secret formula.
Strickland is already seven chapters into the final novel in the series, Black Insidious. “It’s about a serial killer that Strick-9 has to take down – or not,’’ he said.
Strick-9 was Strickland’s nickname even before he was added to the Flora-Bama possible-probable list as the keyboardist for Jezebel’s Chillin’ back around 1992. Yes, the protagonist is self inspired.
“Strick-9 lives in Boystowne. He is a honky tonk keyboard player at the Flora-Bama, and he’s a private investigator. So, there you have it,’’ Strickland said while standing by a rocking chair in his two room cottage east of the Flora-Bama Yacht Club at the AL/FL line. His crib looks out upon Old River near what used to be Boystowne and includes a raised bed garden and a wine bottle tree just outside the front door.
An RV Park mostly for wayward musicians, Boystowne was a mass of maybe a dozen campers, broken down vans, tents and the occasional abandoned 5th wheel. It even had a mayor, Dennis Arsenault, Captain D in Strickland’s books.
The one-two punch of Rusty McHugh & Mike Fincher and Jezebel’s Chill’n, Strickland’s band with Donna Slater and Cathy Pace, traded sets in the Flora-Bama main room during many legendary weekend afternoons at the Lounge On The Line in the 1990’s.
Strickland last played on stage in March of 2018 with Men of Leisure, a combo he formed with soulful sax and keyboard player Downtown Larry Brown.
He said he now only plays keyboards at home when the grandkids are over for a Christmas or birthday party.
“What we were doing with Men of Leisure was not what you would call family friendly stuff anyway, and we had no desire to play anything but original music,’’ he said. “Not that there is anything wrong with playing the hits for people. I’ve done it all my life.
“I had a good run with music and then I discovered that I enjoyed writing. That’s my passion now,’’ he added.
Strickland still works a few hours a day at the Flora-Bama making sure there is recorded music playing from all three stages when the bars open at 11 a.m. He also sets up the bingo mics for caller Sam Morgan and handles whatever other sound tech issues come up while he is in the building.
He can also be found behind a table in the a Flora-Bama entry hallway selling copies of his two novels, his children’s coloring book and his memoir, Tales From The Davenport. Strickland describes his memoir as “revealing,” which does not seem to say quite enough about a book full of graphic stories that you just can’t make up. Also on the table is his Men of Leisure CD. They are all available at larrystrickland.net.
A graduate of Pensacola High (1969), Strickland first played at the Flora-Bama around 1985. Impressed by Joe Gilchrist’s love for original music and musicianship, he decided to make playing at the world famous beach dive a priority and, eventually, Boystowne his home base.
“I’d never met a bar owner like Joe before – a guy that encouraged us to play original music,’’ he said. “I thought, wow, this guy is incredible. This is where I want to work, and that’s what I did, thank God.’’
Just like Boystowne, circa 1993, Strickland’s two novels are filled with various musicians, artists, bartenders and vagabonds. He said he has only to look out his window or sit on his porch to get inspired.
According to Strickland, that same porch is all that was left of Boystowne following Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
When John McInnis III rebuilt the Flora-bama and eventually turned that old Boystowne area into the Flora-Bama Yacht Club, he moved Strickland into a camper behind the liquor store for four months.
“John said as soon as the Yacht Club was up and running, he’d move me back down here,” Strickland said. “He didn’t have to do that. But he is a man of his word. John put his arm around me and said I don’t ever have to worry about moving anywhere.”
And that is just fine with Strickland.
“I really enjoy what I am doing,’’ he said. “Being an author has opened up a whole new way to express myself.  I used to do it through music. Now I can do it through books and ideas and telling stories.’’

Pictured: Larry Strickland outside of his two-room cabin on Old River.