Local musician plays in Amarillo for more than 20 years
By: Rachel Nelson
For Edge Monthly
A piano elegantly whispers easy-listening tunes asthe clamor of Amarillo night life unfolds around it.In the corner Bob Hopkins sits behind his favoriteinstrument with a stream of local talent flowing fromhis fingertips.
“I’ve banged on a piano since I was nine or ten years old,” Hopkins said. Creating the right atmosphere is Hopkins’ goal as hehammers away jazz, country, classic rock and bluesfavorites.
He can be spotted playing at Marty’s Restaurant and Bar a couple of times a month as wellas at Bodegas cocktail lounge on Polk Street Thursday nights. On occasion, Hopkins provides live entertainment at the Amarillo Club. Every Sunday he puts his gift to use at Hollywood Road Community Church off ofHollywood Road and Soncy.
General manager of Marty’s Becky Torres said she enjoys having Hopkins play at the restaurant.
“He’s a great guy,” she said.
Hopkins, who also plays guitar, came to the Panhandle in the early 1980’s while working with a Vegas-styleshow band out of Florida. The band played at the former Hilton Hotel in Amarillo where Hopkins got offered a job with country band Kris Karpenter andTexas.
“We were the house band at the Hilton for about two years,” Hopkins said.
In 1984, Hopkins began playing keyboard with former local rock band Krakt, named for their off-centered, crazy personalities. Krakt jammed in the Amarillo area for six years before calling it quits in 1990.
“The age-old things got to us. We partied a little too much,” Hopkins said of the breakup. “We thought long and hard about [staying together], but we were burnt out.”
Krakt gained popularity throughout the years and opened for acts such as the Doobie Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Local fans were disappointed to see the band who had at one time attracted 4,000 spectators to a gig at FunFest split up.
“The last day we played together, we announced we were breaking up. People were crying and I couldn’t believe that many people even cared. I didn’t realize it until that day, and it was our last day together,” Hopkins said.
Despite going their separate ways, all members ofKrakt remain friends. “I’d jam with those guys tomorrow,” Hopkins said.
After Krakt split up, Hopkins advanced his musical career by attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., where he graduated with honors and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in music.
According toHopkins, his playing ability went up 100% during the Berklee experience.
“Everybody there was a musician,” he said. “Even the janitors were musicians. Everybody talked music and knew music and played music.”
Hopkins went to work for the Amarillo Civic Center as a stage hand in 1995. He was promoted to event supervisor and held the position of production manager when he left in 2003.
“I just felt like I had accomplished a lot of things I wanted to accomplish and wanted to go back to playing music. I missed that.”
Most recently Hopkins was a part of the Texas Blues Rangers for two years, but left the band last year because of creative differences.
Future plans include releasing a CD next summer that will feature Hopkins playing with studio musicians. In the mean time, however, making music is at the top of this pianist’s agenda.
“I want to keep working with music in any way I can. Writing music is what I really like to do. It’s manipulating music, making music do what you want it to do,” he said.
After playing in the Panhandle for well over two decades, Hopkins has one complaint about the state of the music scene in Amarillo: there is no place for musicians to play.
“There is an upscale promotion. All the concerts go to Lubbock. The business leaders don’t support the music industry as an economic power. We could draw in huge amounts of money for the community if we supported local concerts and we had a venue the size of the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, but nobody wants to build it here just to fit in with the norms,” Hopkins said.
Be it as it may, Hopkins is available to play at any bar, restaurant or special event. He can be reachedvia e-mail at rbtjames@cox.net.
