Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and The Surfin’ Raccoons give me a chance to enjoy that part of who I am while also doing what I naturally seem to do everywhere else: help organize, connect people, promote something I believe in, and make sure the details get handled.
With the Raccoons, I play rhythm guitar, sing vocals, and serve as booking manager. I also handle the band’s professional booking and management operations through Belltech Productions LLC.
That combination fits me pretty well. I enjoy being on stage, but I also enjoy the work behind the stage – the calls, scheduling, promotion, venue relationships, event coordination, and making sure the band shows up prepared and ready to give people a good time.
The Surfin’ Raccoons are rooted in Pinellas County and trace their history back to 1985. Today the band blends blues roots with beach rock, classic rock, party favorites, and the kind of music people know, sing along with, and dance to.
The Surfin’ Raccoons trace their origins to 1985, when a group of musicians gathered at a party at the Cinder Block and a beach towel featuring a raccoon on a surfboard helped inspire the band’s name.
That history matters. The band did not begin as a marketing concept created for today’s beach scene. It has real local roots, longtime musicians, and a story that has continued through different eras of the Tampa Bay music community.
The core of the band includes musicians who have played together for years, and the current lineup brings together experience, chemistry, personality, and a shared appreciation for live music that connects with a crowd.
RealLarryBell.com is meant to show the whole person, not just the business titles and board positions.
Music belongs here because it is part of who I am. It gives me a creative outlet, puts me around talented people, keeps me connected to the local music scene, and lets me be part of events that people remember because they had a good time.
It also reminds me not to make life entirely about meetings, work, and responsibility. There is value in simply playing music with friends and watching a crowd smile, dance, and sing along.
My on-stage role is rhythm guitar and vocals. I am not trying to be the person standing in front of everybody all night. A good band works because each person understands what they contribute and supports the people around them.
Rhythm guitar is a lot like that. You help hold the structure together. You listen. You stay in the pocket. You support the lead parts and the vocals. When everybody is doing their job, the entire band feels better.
That is one of the things I enjoy most about playing with experienced musicians. There is a chemistry that develops when people listen to one another instead of competing with one another.
A live band is also a business operation, especially when you’re playing restaurants, beach bars, festivals, private events, community celebrations, and larger stages.
As booking manager, I work with venues and event organizers on availability, scheduling, pricing, performance format, event details, and the practical pieces that have to come together before anyone hears the first note.
Belltech Productions LLC manages the band’s booking and professional operations. That allows me to bring my business background into the music side of my life while keeping the band’s official performance and booking information centered on SurfinRaccoons.com.
The goal is simple: make it easy for the venue or event organizer to work with us and make sure the musicians can focus on giving the audience a great show.
Over the years, Belltech has had the opportunity to work with businesses and organizations throughout Florida and beyond.
Our work has included relationships with brands and organizations such as:
Some relationships have lasted for many years.
That matters to me more than simply counting projects.
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The tools continue changing. Our responsibility is to understand those changes and help our customers use them effectively.
The Surfin’ Raccoons perform in different formats depending on the venue and event. The full band is designed for festivals, larger venues, city events, private events, and bigger stages, while the trio gives smaller bars, pubs, breweries, and lounges a more compact option.
What matters to me is matching the right experience to the event rather than forcing every venue into the same format.
That flexibility is part of being professional. A beach bar has different needs than a festival stage. A fundraiser has different needs than a private party. Understanding the event matters just as much as knowing the songs.
One reason The Surfin’ Raccoons fit naturally into my life is that the band is connected to the same coastal communities where I work, volunteer, attend events, support businesses, and spend time with family and friends.
We play places where people are there to relax, celebrate, dance, support a cause, or simply enjoy a night out. That creates a different kind of connection than a business meeting or board meeting, but it is still about people coming together.
Some of my favorite events are the ones where music becomes part of something larger – a community festival, fundraiser, benefit, local celebration, or event supporting veterans and other causes.
Those are the moments when the music side of my life overlaps naturally with the community side of my life.
The Surfin’ Raccoons are supposed to be fun. If the audience is not having a good time, we’re missing the point.
But having fun on stage does not mean being careless behind the scenes. Venues and event organizers are depending on us to communicate, arrive prepared, load in properly, respect schedules, work with staff, and deliver what was agreed upon.
My business background makes that part of the band important to me. I want people to enjoy working with us just as much as they enjoy listening to us.
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