Mr. Whitekeys, also known as W. Keys, is a musician, recording artist, entrepreneur, writer, media personality and ornithologist in the U.S. state of Alaska. He was the owner and operator of a nightclub called the Fly By Night Club, located in the Spenard neighborhood of Anchorage, from 1980 to 2006. In part due to his flamboyant public persona and penchant for humor (and to a more limited extent, penchant for self-promotion), he figures prominently in the modern history and folklore of Spenard. [1] He has released sporadic recordings starting in 1972, mostly under the band name The Fabulous Spamtones.
Mr. Whitekeys spent his early years living in South Dakota, Iowa, and Arizona. He graduated Duke University and came to Alaska in 1970 with a friend. [1] He began working as a bar band musician, particularly for Mike Gordon at his new Spenard establishment Chilkoot Charlie's. He coined what became Chilkoot Charlie's slogan, "We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you." [2] Gordon's success with this bar led to a short-lived attempt on his part to expand into Girdwood and Fairbanks during the mid-1970s. Whitekeys originally came to Fairbanks as part of this expansion where he played in "Two Street" bars during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the economic boom which accompanied it.[ citation needed ]
After playing throughout Alaska, and later a short-lived stint in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, he started his own nightclub, the Fly By Night Club, which opened for business on July 31, 1980. [3] The Fly By Night Club, along with the Flying Machine, were the last occupants in a historic building on the eastern shore of Lake Spenard, originally the home of the Idle Hour Supper Club and not far from the site of Joe Spenard's original resort. The building was demolished in 1984 to make way for a large hotel, currently the Lakefront Hotel. [3]
Whitekeys moved the club further up Spenard Road, one block north of Spenard's post office. Both locations of the club were described in advertisements featuring an extensive list of past building occupants, with the motto "Going out of business regularly in the same location for over 30 years." [3] Described by Whitekeys as an effort to be different, the primary attractions of the club were a food menu heavily based on Spam dishes and shows such as Springtime In Spenard, The Whale Fat Follies, The Freeze-Up Follies and Christmas In Spenard. [4]
The Whale Fat Follies was performed from June to September and was largely geared towards tourists, being advertised as "the Alaskan show The Department Of Tourism does NOT want you to see." The off-season shows tended to be more topical, catering to locals. The club operated until September 9, 2006. [1] Whitekeys sold the establishment to Allen Choy, the owner of a popular South Anchorage nightclub, and his partner Jeff Matosky. They reopened the club as Players House of Rock.[ citation needed ]
Following the sale of the Fly By Night Club, Whitekeys performed at private events and professional conferences. Between 2011 and 2019 he resumed the Whale of Fat Follies first at a bar called Taproot and later at the Hard Rock Cafe. [1]
Whitekeys has contributed commentaries to The Alaska Almanac: Facts About Alaska, Alaska magazine and the newscasts of Anchorage television station KTUU.[ citation needed ] He is also the president of the Anchorage Audubon Society. [1] In 2024, Whitekeys published The Voyage of The Alaska Union, about a 19th century Alaskan gold rush expedition. [5]
This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2021) |
Song Tracks
1. Viva Spenard
2. I'm My Own Grandpa
3. My Favorite Things
4. Schedule D
5. The History of Cereal
6. Blame It On El Nino
7. The Wrestling Song
8. Martha Goes Camping
9. Ride On Loren Leman
10. There's No Nuggets Like Moose Nuggets
11. Jewel
12. Here Comes Menopause
13. The Lewinsky Sisters'
14. The Moose Nugget Blues
15. Don't Let Me Go To Costco
16. Fishita
17. Orange Blossom Special
Walter Joseph Hickel was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994, as well as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. He worked as a construction worker and eventually became a construction company operator during Alaska's territorial days. Following World War II, Hickel became heavily involved with real estate development, building residential subdivisions, shopping centers and hotels. Hickel entered politics in the 1950s during Alaska's battle for statehood and remained politically active for the rest of his life.
Jay Sterner Hammond was an American politician of the Republican Party, who served as the fourth governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982. Hammond was born in Troy, New York and served as a Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II with the Black Sheep Squadron. In 1946, he moved to Alaska where he worked as a bush pilot. Hammond served as a state representative from 1959 to 1965 and as a state senator from 1967 to 1973. From 1972 until 1974 he was the mayor of the Bristol Bay Borough. Then, in 1974, he was elected governor of Alaska.
Michael Anthony Stepovich was an American lawyer and politician who served as the last non-acting Governor of the Territory of Alaska. Stepovich served as Territorial Governor from 1957 to 1958, and Alaska was given U.S. statehood in 1959.
Spenard is a neighborhood in the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, United States and was historically a separate city from Anchorage. Spenard maintains the flavor of a separate community today, with "Spenardi Gras" being its primary community celebration that encourages a sense of solidarity and separation from the rest of Anchorage. Spenard is a central focus of bohemian lifestyle practitioners and artists and writers, and is well known for its numerous poetry jams, bicycle parties, and other similar events.
The music of Alaska is a broad artistic field incorporating many cultures in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Jamie Smith credited as James T. Smith, is an Alaskan painter, printmaker, cartoonist and creator of the comic strips "Freeze-Frame" and "Nuggets".
Wien Air Alaska (IATA: WC) was a United States airline that was the result of a merger of Northern Consolidated Airlines(NCA) and Wien Alaska Airways (WE). It initially used the name Wien Consolidated Airlines (WC) following the merger in April 1, 1968. In August 1, 1973, Wien Consolidated became Wien Air Alaska. The company was famous for being the first airline in Alaska, and one of the first in the United States. It ceased operations on 23 November 1984, at which point it was operating as Wien Airlines.
KYUR is a television station in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Vision Alaska LLC, which maintains joint sales and shared services agreements with Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC, owner of Fox affiliate KTBY, for the provision of advertising sales and other services. The two stations share studios on East Tudor Road in Anchorage; KYUR's transmitter is located in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. KYUR and KTBY, alongside KATN in Fairbanks and KJUD in Juneau, provide ABC, Fox, and The CW programming throughout Alaska.
The Anchorage Times was a daily newspaper published in Anchorage, Alaska, that became known for the pro-business political stance of longtime publisher and editor, Robert Atwood. Competition from the McClatchy-owned Anchorage Daily News forced it out of business in 1992.
Noel Wien was an American pioneer aviator. He was the founder of Wien Alaska Airways.
The lieutenant governor of Alaska is the deputy elected official to the governor of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unlike most lieutenant governors in the U.S., the office also maintains the duties of a secretary of state, and indeed was named such until August 25, 1970. Prior to statehood, the territorial-era Secretary of Alaska, who was appointed by the president of the United States like the governor, functioned as an acting governor or successor-in-waiting. Currently, the lieutenant governor accedes to the governorship in case of a vacancy. The lieutenant governor runs together with the governor in both the primary and the general election as a slate.
Joan Arend Kickbush was a popular Alaskan artist. Her paintings and illustrations featured Alaska Native children, Yupik villagers and Arctic wildlife. She painted in watercolor and oil.
George Murray Sullivan was an American politician who served as the 26th mayor of the City of Anchorage from 1967 to 1975 and the 1st mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage from 1975 to 1981.
In 2006, Sarah Palin was elected governor of Alaska. Running on a clean-government platform, Palin defeated incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary election in August. She then went on to win the general election in November, defeating former Governor Tony Knowles 48.3% to 40.9%. Her running mate was State Senator Sean Parnell.
The Lakefront Anchorage Hotel, formerly known as The Millennium Alaska Hotel, is the only lakeside hotel in Anchorage situated on the shores of scenic Lake Hood, one mile from Anchorage International Airport and four miles from downtown Anchorage. The Lakefront Anchorage Hotel is operated as part of the Millennium & Copthorne Hotels chain. It has 248 guest rooms, laundry services, multiple meeting and events facilities, exercise room, and 2 restaurants known as "The Flying Machine", which serves breakfast all year, and dinner in the summer, and the "Fancy Moose Lounge" which serves lunch and dinner all year long. During the summer months they open up the deck area for guest to sit and dine, all while watching the float planes fly by.
Edgar Walker was an American veteran of World War II, businessman, publisher and writer. Walker was the penultimate surviving member of "Castner's Cutthroats", a regiment consisting of sixty-five men who performed reconnaissance missions in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Castner's Cutthroats was the unofficial name of the 1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon.
The history of the Jews in Alaska began before the Alaska Purchase in 1867. Jews from Imperial Russia lived there periodically as fur traders, and a Jewish community has existed since the 1880s. The Klondike and Nome gold rushes attracted Jews to Alaska to seek their fortunes as miners and businessmen and resulted in the first organized Jewish communities. In the Nazi period, Jewish refugee resettlement in Alaska was seriously considered by the government, but after facing backlash, never came to be. Alaskan Jews played a significant role in business and politics before and after statehood, and have included mayors, judges, senators and governors. Today, there are Jews living in every urban area of the state.
This is a list of George Floyd protests in Alaska, United States. Protests occurred in at least thirteen various communities in the state.
Laura Mae Bergt was an Iñupiaq athlete, model, politician, and activist for the Iñupiat and other Indigenous Alaskans. Born in the Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska to bi-racial parents, she grew up in Nome and Kotzebue before attending high school in Sitka. Involved in the Native Olympic movement, she was both a nine-times winner of the Arctic Circle blanket toss event and served as chair of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics in 1966. She worked as a promoter for the new state of Alaska attending trade shows and making marketing appearances as a spokeswoman and guest on radio and television programs. From the 1960s, she worked in various policy positions at the tribal, local, state, and national level to address issues like disability, education, employment opportunities, housing, and poverty, and promoting the rights of Indigenous people.