Throughout the years music has been an important part of Family Shoe Repairs’ daily operations. When the 214 2nd Street location was open it was uncommon not to find various musicians gathered in the front room either talking about or playing music.
John’s played in multiple bands in his time in Juneau, including the Tropicats, The BlueJays (almost all their names started with the letter J), Antiques Roadshow, and Los Bandido’s del Norte, to name a few. He’s taken part in almost every Alaska Folk Festival since they began, sometimes taking part in more than one act per Festival. It’s unfortunate that the Festival has done away with the “Golden Ham” award, as he was in contention for the prize a few times.
Check out an Alaska State Folk Festival set by the Tropicats here!