Text from the AOL Live Chat with Jimmy Buffett - November 10th, 1999

OnlineHost: Jimmy Buffet joins us live at 9PM ET,
OnlineHost: to introduce his latest release
OnlineHost: "Buffet Live, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays"
OnlineHost: and to answer your questions.

AOLiveMC5: Welcome Jimmy Buffet.
AOLiveMC5: It is a pleasure to welcome you here on AOL Live.
BuffetLive: We're on the air!
BuffetLive: Let's go!
AOLiveMC5: Let's get right to the questions.

Question: Jimmy, you dedicated your latest album to the "Parrot Heads". Who are
Question: the "Parrot Heads"?

BuffetLive: Parrot Heads are the loyal fans who
BuffetLive: have followed not only the music
BuffetLive: but have created their own lifestyle
BuffetLive: with our music as the background.
BuffetLive: They come religiously to shows
BuffetLive: which I appreciate very much.
BuffetLive: They are as much of a show to me
BuffetLive: as I hope I am to them.
BuffetLive: Their costumes are always interesting!

Question: How does family life with 3 children effect your life? and music?

BuffetLive: Well, I've tried to balance the two
BuffetLive: and my all my kids seem
BuffetLive: to have a good time at the show.
BuffetLive: Whenever I think about or mention
BuffetLive: the fact that I might retire at some time,
BuffetLive: they are the first to say, "Oh, no,
BuffetLive: what would we do this summer?"
BuffetLive: I enjoy exposing my children to the world
BuffetLive: from the unique vantage point as an entertainer.
BuffetLive: I always try to have fun, whatever I do.
BuffetLive: And so far I have succeeeded.

Question: At every tour stop your crew takes videos of the parking lot "fun", I
Question: was wondering if you have considered putting a video together at the
Question: end of the tour of these shots and putting it up for us to purchase?

BuffetLive: Yes, actually on the new album
BuffetLive: there is an inhanced video
BuffetLive: and a lot of that is filled with crowd shots.
BuffetLive: During the show, we dediacate
BuffetLive: at least two whole song to projecting
BuffetLive: videos of the crowd.
BuffetLive: Those are my favorite times
BuffetLive: in the show because it never ceases
BuffetLive: to amaze me how much fun
BuffetLive: people are actually having
BuffetLive: at our concerts.
BuffetLive: As far as the video,
BuffetLive: we are looking at doing something
BuffetLive: with all this video in the form
BuffetLive: of a video that would feature
BuffetLive: basically, the parking lot.
BuffetLive: If and when we do it,
BuffetLive: it will be on the website.

Question: Will you ever do a collaberation with other storytellers, like Tom T
Question: Hall or Charlie Daniels Band?

BuffetLive: Ummm....as far as songwriting,
BuffetLive: I do most of my collaboration with
BuffetLive: what I feel are great writers
BuffetLive: in my own band.
BuffetLive: I write a lot with Mack Macanally
BuffetLive: Roger Guth,
BuffetLive: Mike Utley, and Amy Lee
BuffetLive: so there is not a lot of room
BuffetLive: for collaboration with the writers
BuffetLive: you mentioned, though
BuffetLive: I am fans of their work.

Question: I heard you are writing another collection of short stories. Say its so!

BuffetLive: It is so!
BuffetLive: Tallymas will ride again!

Question: How did you come up with the name Tuesdays,Thursdays, Saturdays

BuffetLive: Those are the names of the days
BuffetLive: on which we do shows.
BuffetLive: When we tour in the summer, that is.
BuffetLive: The reason for this is that after
BuffetLive: 27 years of touring,
BuffetLive: I need a little more rest
BuffetLive: between shows.
BuffetLive: So Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays
BuffetLive: was the schedule and seemed a natural
BuffetLive: title for a live album.

Question: What avenue of life have you not explored and wish you could?

BuffetLive: Not much! LOL
BuffetLive: But, after having led a pretty interesting life,
BuffetLive: teaching intrigues me.
BuffetLive: Lately I have been doing seminars
BuffetLive: at colleges which I find
BuffetLive: very interesting.
BuffetLive: To be able to share knowledge
BuffetLive: and experience with younger artists.
BuffetLive: And I can see myself
BuffetLive: doing a lot more teaching,
BuffetLive: the older I get.

Question: jimmy,why so long in getting a 2nd live album out.since your so
Question: amazing live

BuffetLive: This album is kind of a combination
BuffetLive: of a live album and what I would call
BuffetLive: a more of the songs you know by heart collection.
BuffetLive: I also really think that the best
BuffetLive: Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band
BuffetLive: experience is at a live show.
BuffetLive: This particular album is actually
BuffetLive: a collection of live recordings
BuffetLive: that we have done over the past two years.
BuffetLive: With the incredible technological advances
BuffetLive: in portable recording and computer
BuffetLive: programs, I think we really
BuffetLive: were very lucky in waiting
BuffetLive: as long as we did to record this collection.
BuffetLive: I think we really came very close
BuffetLive: to capturing that live magic
BuffetLive: in this collection of songs.

Question: How do you come up with ieas for your lyrics...is it the place(environ)
Question: or the people you are with...or both?

BuffetLive: Traveling is always a great source
BuffetLive: of story material.
BuffetLive: When you are traveling, keeping
BuffetLive: your ears open and listening
BuffetLive: to conversations, plugs you into
BuffetLive: a lot more great story content
BuffetLive: than the words that come
BuffetLive: out of your own mouth.
BuffetLive: I always try to be a good listener
BuffetLive: because there are great stories
BuffetLive: everywhere I go.

Question: Jimmy I really liked the poem the Double life in your latest book
Question: are you planning on writing a song about that particular poem

BuffetLive: That poem was written by Don Blanding
BuffetLive: whom I am a great admirer of and
BuffetLive: own all of his books.
BuffetLive: He was a fellow traveler, tropical vagabond,
BuffetLive: back in the 30's and 40's.
BuffetLive: His work covers subjects, people,
BuffetLive: and the culture of islands from
BuffetLive: Hawaii to the Caribbean.
BuffetLive: It has always been a source of inspiration.
BuffetLive: When I was finishing the book,
BuffetLive: I was looking for a way to end it
BuffetLive: and vaguely remembered a few
BuffetLive: lines from that poem.
BuffetLive: I got my old Don Blanding book
BuffetLive: off the shelf, and turned to the
BuffetLive: right page, at the right time.
BuffetLive: I felt such a kinship to the lines of poetry
BuffetLive: that is seemed the perfect
BuffetLive: way to end the book.

Question: How much longer do you see yourself perfoming and making records?

BuffetLive: Well, as long as people want to listen
BuffetLive: to me! Retirement doesn't look
BuffetLive: too interesting to me.
BuffetLive: I am very lucky to have several
BuffetLive: veins of creativity out of which
BuffetLive: I can mine projects that are fun,
BuffetLive: and rewarding.
BuffetLive: As long as that formula continues,
BuffetLive: I see no reason to quit.

Question: where is your favorite place to play and when are playing there again?

BuffetLive: Well, we just did a show in St. Bart's
BuffetLive: last Saturday night,
BuffetLive: which was truly one of the best
BuffetLive: shows we have ever done.
BuffetLive: It was part of a celebration of LeSelect
BuffetLive: our favorite bar on the island.
BuffetLive: As part of the celebration of 50 years
BuffetLive: of Le Select, I offered to my old
BuffetLive: friend Marios to play for his party
BuffetLive: for free.
BuffetLive: I expected maybe 500 people to
BuffetLive: find their way to St. Bart's, as it is both
BuffetLive: difficult and expensive,
BuffetLive: but 5,000 people showed up!
BuffetLive: They all went away saying
BuffetLive: it was the best show they
BuffetLive: had ever seen, and I
BuffetLive: would have to agree.
BuffetLive: Impromptu shows of this kind
BuffetLive: are always the best!
BuffetLive: When I decide to do them,
BuffetLive: we'll put it up on the Net!
BuffetLive: The next show like this
BuffetLive: is the 20th of November
BuffetLive: in Sag Harbor, NY,
BuffetLive: where I am playing an acoustic
BuffetLive: show to benefit my daughter's
BuffetLive: Montessori school, but don't
BuffetLive: pull out your credit cards yet,
BuffetLive: because it is already sold out.
BuffetLive: That's the bad news....
BuffetLive: the good news is...
BuffetLive: we will broadcast it on Radio Margaritaville, Live.

Question: Are you really thinking about not touring anymore?

BuffetLive: No, I think I answered that
BuffetLive: a few questions ago! :)

Question: What inspired your Joe Merchant book? will there be a sequel? a
Question: movie?

BuffetLive: The inspiration came on a trip to Africa
BuffetLive: sitting in the bar at the
BuffetLive: Stanley Hotel in Nairobi where the
BuffetLive: only form of communication amongst
BuffetLive: fellow travelers was to leave a note
BuffetLive: pinned on the giant thornbush tree
BuffetLive: in the courtyard.
BuffetLive: It was there that I saw
BuffetLive: numerous notes addressed
BuffetLive: to Joe Merchant.
BuffetLive: One of which said, " Where is Joe Merchant?"
BuffetLive: And it sounded like a good title to me!
BuffetLive: As for the movie,
BuffetLive: we have been rewriting the screenplay
BuffetLive: for the past year and hopefully
BuffetLive: will begin production on the film
BuffetLive: within six months.

Question: Hello Jimmy Buffet.....What is your favorite song you've ever
Question: done? We love "Cheeseburger in Paradise"

BuffetLive: Favorite song? I don't have one,
BuffetLive: I have a few.
BuffetLive: I think for whatever reason,
BuffetLive: I have always really loved "Twelve Old Men"
BuffetLive: as a piece of work and as a story.
BuffetLive: You could also include
BuffetLive: "Death of an Unpopular Poet"
BuffetLive: and "False Echoes"
BuffetLive: as favorites, as well.

Question: Are you already planning the tour for Summer 2000? Are you still
Question: gonna keep to the Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays schedule?

BuffetLive: Yes, we are planning a 2000 tour,
BuffetLive: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays,
BuffetLive: but we haven't really
BuffetLive: come up with a theme yet.
BuffetLive: I have some ideas, as do my production staff,
BuffetLive: and what happens is, that we all meet
BuffetLive: in some very warm climate, in February,
BuffetLive: and create the tour theme.
BuffetLive: This method has worked great
BuffetLive: for twenty years and I hope
BuffetLive: it works again in 200.
BuffetLive: Make that 2000
BuffetLive: So far, so good!
AOLiveMC5: Thank you Jimmy Buffet for joining us this evening.
BuffetLive: Thank everyone in this large
BuffetLive: auditorium for stopping by
BuffetLive: We'll see you on the road
BuffetLive: after Y2K
BuffetLive: Good night!