Playing with Jimmy Buffett on New Years Eve (by Evan Goodrow)
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</td><td valign="top"><font class="postbody">I heard that Jimmy lived on St. Barths, and that he sometimes frequented the club that we were playing (the Bazbar). And, if he liked the band, he would occasionally sit in. This past New Years Eve, that's exactly what happened. Sometime between 1 and 2am in the morning, the club was absolutely packed and the band was rocking a 20 minute version of C minor groove for the dancers, when I spotted the club owner flagging me for my attention. Next to him: Jimmy Buffett with telecaster in hand. </font></td></tr></table>I kicked the band out of the groove and into Ray Charles' "What I say" (some of you may remember this as the first song they used for the movie "Ray" during the opening credits). While the audience shifted dance moves I greeted Jimmy, helped him get plugged in and away we went, trading "What I say" verses as the crowd awoke to the fact that there was another singer on stage, and indeed that that singer was Jimmy Buffett.
Cameras came out and flashed away while anyone and everyone passing by on the dock or sitting outside crowded in for a glance of Buffett.
We played through song after song, "Margaritaville," 'You can't always get what you want (stones)," and even "Brown eyed girl," until well after 4am. I have small knowledge of Buffett and his parottheads (the Buffett cult following), and I had always wondered "what the big deal was." Now I know.
Playing with this guy, I couldn't help but smile. His mood, his tone, and his joy, are simply infectious. He's got something special (and no, I'm not talking about his multi-million dollar "Margaritaville" restaurant chain, although I'm sure that adds to the smile). The cat has soul.
He connects with people on a much deeper level than one might think by his song titles ("Cheeseburgers in Paradise" and "It's Five O'clock Somewhere"). To be able to experience this, upfront and personal, for this I am deeply grateful to him.
And, I learned something. There are times for me, onstage, when the music doesn't always fall into place, or things don't sound right. Or maybe, I'm just plain in a funk.
The answer? I'm going to be a little more like Jimmy (and no, that doesn't mean I'm going to wear tropical shirts). It means, that I'm going to pay a little more attention to what it is, that makes me connect to all of you. I'm going to remember to change focus, and pay more attention to "soul."
If you ever wonder why people would spend a ridiculous amount of money to be in the same stadium as this guy, I'm telling you, "soul" is the reason. The music was great. The memory is sweet. The experience was incredible.
"While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats." Mark Twain