Mr. Whitekeys

Douglas J. Haggar (born ca. 1947), popularly known by the stage name Mr. Whitekeys and occasionally publicly as W. Keys, is a musician, recording artist, entrepreneur, media personality and ornithologist in the U.S. state of Alaska. He figures prominently in the modern history and folklore of the Spenard section of Anchorage.

Biography

After spending his youth living in South Dakota, Iowa, and Arizona, Doug Haggar came to Alaska in 1970. He spent the following decade working as a bar band musician, particularly for Mike Gordon as Gordon attempted to expand the Spenard establishment Chilkoot Charlie's into a statewide empire. He coined what became Chilkoot Charlie's slogan, "We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you." This gig brought him to Fairbanks during the mid 1970s, where he played in numerous "Two Street" bars during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

After many years spent playing throughout Alaska, he started his own nightclub, the Fly By Night Club, which opened for business on July 31, 1980. 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 Millennium Alaskan Hotel.

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." The primary attractions of the club, described by Whitekeys in terms of the need to be different, were a food menu heavily based on Spam dishes and a schedule throughout the year of shows such as Springtime In Spenard, The Whale Fat Follies, The Freeze-Up Follies and Christmas In Spenard.

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. 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.

Whitekeys maintains a steady public presence, at least in Anchorage. He regularly contributes humor-tinged commentaries to The Alaska Almanac: Facts About Alaska, Alaska magazine and the newscasts of Anchorage television station KTUU. He is also the president of the Anchorage Audubon Society, listed on their website as "W. Keys." He performs with various musical acts in the Anchorage area as a keyboard player.

Discography

• (as Mr. Whitekeys & The Fabulous Spamtones)
  • Mr. Whitekeys & The Fabulous Spamtones
  • The Whale Fat Follies!
  • It's Not Easy Bein' Sleazy
• (as Mr. Whitekeys featuring Kenny Blackwell)
  • The Bluesaholics
• (as Dick & Dubya)
  • "The Liar Sleeps Tonight" single (2004). This song became popular that year on Dr. Demento's show.
• (on various artists compilations)
  • Livin' In Rhythm: Alaska Celebrates "Sourdough" Mike McDonald
  • Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes 9 (2001) contains "Martha Goes Camping"

Bibliography

• Mr. Whitekeys' Alaska Bizarre: Direct from the Whale Fat Follies Revue
• DVD: Alaska: The First 10,000 Years (2008)

External links

• Official website
• Archive of Fly By Night Club website
• YouTube - Whitekeys and "Sarah Palin" star in "Girls Just Wanna Have Guns"