Everglades Rhythm

Boogie-Woogie Pianist Rob Perkin reached out to music producer Darren Clarke to restore an old recording. Rob had a cassette tape with a lo-fi recording of him playing piano some 30 years earlier in Naples, Florida. Rob asked Darren to produce the music around the restored piano tracks by adding drums, guitar, and bass to that original recording.

When this project began at Clarke Lane Studios, little did they know that a wonderful partnership would form and that a powerful collection of great American Rock and Roll had begun. Though unconventional, with both musicians located on opposite coasts of the USA, Rob’s passion, expertise, stories, and extraordinary insight fueled Darren’s production prowess and great guitar talent. "Everglades Rhythm" was born. The name speaks to how Rob grew up visiting Naples, Florida, in the shadow of the Everglades. You can see Rob on the piano in this photo. 

The Discography

Their first release arrived in 2018 with Brookside Road, Volume 1, shortly followed by Vol. 2 in 2020. These albums paid homage to "the barbaric basic beat" (perfect for boogie-woogie fans). Next up, they released Volume 3 and 4: two collections that pay tribute to The Ventures, rammed full of the soulful sounds of surf guitar. In 2024, they released Downtown Piano—a phenomenal compilation to showcase Rob’s incredible piano talent. But they weren’t done with surf guitar from the 1960s! So Echoes of The Shadows came next.

A retro Americana catalog would not be complete without a Swamp Rock album: Evangeline. This EP contains more original tracks than any other Everglades Rhythm project (so far). Of course, this led to another sub-genre and American sound that HAD to be celebrated: The Sounds of Tulsa, which is perfect for fans of JJ Cale.

You can see Darren below in his first Studio (where they first starting recording Everglades Rhythm tracks). This was in San Luis Obispo, California (before he moved to Nashville, TN). 

The Dream Team…

Besides Executive Producer Rob Perkin, and British-born Guitarist Darren Clarke, Everglades Rhythm included a phenomenal line-up of musicians and engineers. Including; Elvis’ lead guitar player, James Burton on ‘Mystery Train,’ Lee Rocker (Stray Cats) on stand-up bass,  ‘the most recorded Horn player of all time,’ Jim Horn, and Nashville talent, Blair Masters on Keys. Every project has been grounded by Todd Sorensen’s superb drumming. They’ve also worked with two renowned mastering engineers; Alex Wharton (Abbey Road Studios, London) and Grammy award-winner, Robbie Burrell, in Nashville TN. 

Here's a photo of James Burton and Darren Clarke working on Mystery Train in Franklin, TN circa 2016 (Photo © Airtime, Inc.). 

This is Alex Wharton and Darren Clarke at Abbey Road Studios for mastering.

With the pure goal of making great music for people to enjoy, the songs are also available to license for film and TV. 

If you enjoy Boogie Woogie piano, rock and roll guitar, and instrumental music in the styles of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, J.J Cale, Link Wray, The Ventures, and The Shadows, this is music for YOU, and as Rob says...“Turn it up and stand back!”