D.J. Ortega - About

General Info

My name is D.J. Ortega, and I am from Pasco County, Florida. I am a historian of Pasco County, an archivist of old Florida Folk, a photographer, and a guitarist.

Music

I have been studying guitar with my teacher Greg Evers at Guitar Lab since about March of 2024. Greg was taught by Duke Michalak for 7 years in St. Louis, another student of Duke was Peter Mayer (Lead Guitarist for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band since 1988). He has taught me the importance of Music Theory and how important it is in music. I have also picked up Scruggs style banjo in early 2026 and I am teaching myself how to play. You can view all of my instruments here.

The music that influences me is 1970's Country. The artists that I enjoy in that genre most are Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, Don Williams, Jerry Reed, and Kris Kristofferson. I also heavily enjoy Florida Folk music, stuff like Will McLean, Jim Ballew, Bobby Hicks, Okefenokee Joe, and Gamble Rogers. I am also into jazz as it is a major building block for a lot of music, I like guys like Django Reinhardt, Louis Prima, and Dean Martin. You can view more of my influences here.

Archival Work

I mostly try to archive Florida Folk music. I also archive old documents and pictures. I archived Jim Ballew's album "Roll On Manatee." I also try to contribute to major archives to make things more widely accessible. You can view some of what I've archived here.

Photography

My photography mostly consists of the Florida Landscape. However I take pictures of anything that I think will look good. I usually use a Minolta SRT-101 with film but I will occasionally do digital. You can view more info about my photography here.

Other Info

I am a bit into skateboarding and I am also friends with Ed Selego's son, Jewel, he plays the electric guitar, I am also friends with David Allan Coe's nephew Joel Ray Coe.