PHINS UP to the Salt Lake Parrotheads!

[pbans]

http://www.sltrib.com/sugarhouse/ci_3008316#






Buffett boosters
Wasatch Mountain Parrothead Club pays tribute to laid-back singer
By Frances Johnson
Close-Up Staff

Jimmy Buffett fans belonging to the Wasatch Mountain Parrothead Club gather each month at Lumpy's, 3000 S. Highland Drive, to socialize and plan concerts and charity fundraisers. (Danny Chan La/The Salt Lake Tribune)

For fans of Jimmy Buffett, the phrase "birds of a feather flock together" is a serious call to action.
The Hawaiian shirt-wearing, Margarita-drinking Buffett devotees, known as Parrotheads, flock to over 200 official fan groups around the country. Most are drawn in by the "no worries" philosophy portrayed in Buffett's music, and life.
"I think it's his laid-back lifestyle," said Shannon Thatcher, vice president of the Wasatch Mountain Parrothead Club, the only of its kind in Utah. "I mean, everyone would love to live on the beach and have a Margarita."
For Parrothead Anna Bennett it's more than lyrics. It's an escape.
"It's not just his music but the whole idea of his music, the fun of it and the fantasy," she said. "My idea my whole life of heaven is to die and go to a tropical island."
Parrotheads needn't die to get to their heaven. They are doing their best to create it right here. Salt Lake City Parrotheads gather each month at Lumpy's, 3000 S. Highland Drive, where beer and laughter flow freely. They sport colorful shirts and Hawaiian leis, sometimes even outlandish hats and grass skirts.
"My actual personal favorite thing is that I can walk into a room wearing flamingos and parrots and I'm not the only one. Because for years I was the only one," Bennett said.
At a recent Lumpy's gathering, Bennett didn't stick out at all in her bright pink, sequined cardigan and dangling earrings shaped like flamingos.
Cody and Karen Jensen sit across from each other in the back room of Lumpy's where the Parrotheads usually meet. Karen wears a blue striped shirt with colorful appliqué parrots adorning the front. Cody, his graying hair tied back in a long ponytail, wears a baseball cap and orange shirt, both emblazoned with "Margaritaville," the name of one of Buffett's greatest hits. The Jensens have been Buffett fans since the 1970s.
"Once you go to your first show and see the crowd and realize the show is a whole other aspect of it, you just kind of get hooked on it," Cody said. "We go to as many shows as we can."
Buffett concerts amount to tailgate parties that last days, Thatcher said. Parrotheads come from all over, fully decked out, to enjoy the music and each other's company. Wasatch Mountain Parrothead Club president Troy Kapinos constructed a large wooden shark fin, a tribute to Buffett's song "Feeding Frenzy," which he transports in the bed of his red Toyota Tacoma pickup truck to all the concerts. One side is adorned with the painted slogan "Milk sucks. Got margaritas?" A "Jimmy Buffett for President" sticker graces the other.
But, free-flowing margaritas notwithstanding, the Parrotheads are really a friendly bunch. Karen said you can often see four, even five generations of families at a concert. The Jensens and Thatchers converted their children to the Parrothead way of life.
"There's a sense of community there," said musician Bob Karwin. "I've never been to an event where there were that many people drinking that much alcohol and not have a problem with each other."
Karwin, who works as a Los Angeles attorney by day, travels the country by night playing Jimmy Buffett-style music.
"The best way to describe it is tropical folk," he said. "There's a humor to it, it's upbeat. There's a tropical theme running through the lyrics."
Invited by the Salt Lake City Parrotheads, Karwin plays at Lumpy's on Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.
"I really enjoy playing for these people because they actually enjoy the music," Karwin said.
But Thatcher is quick to point out that being a Parrothead is not just fun and drinking. These birds flock together for another, more important reason. Parrothead organizations around the country, and the Wasatch Mountain Parrothead Club is no exception, are dedicated to service.
"Jimmy requires it," Thatcher said.
Bennett, along with her husband, Rod, serves as the charity coordinator for the Wasatch Mountain Parrotheads. In July, she organized a massive yard sale with all the proceeds going to Hoofbeats to Healing, an organization that benefits mentally and physically disabled children through therapeutic horseback riding. Other Utah Parrotheads service projects include adopting a highway and a lake, Kapinos said. Karwin's concert includes a raffle and silent auction with proceeds going to relief fund for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"What was originally going to be a party has turned into a relief concert," Kapinos said. "The more people we can get to show up, the more help we can offer."
All the money raised will be split between the Red Cross and other, similar relief organizations.
"It's kind of small-scale, but we're trying," Bennett said.
While monthly meetings include plenty of drinking and fun, they take on a very serious note when talk turns to what cause the Parrotheads will take on next. Most members agree that parties and concerts are fun, but helping those in need is better.
"It really is a place of heart, that's why I stay with it," Bennett said. "The bigger picture is what keeps me there."

[phjrsaunt]

Way to go!!

[jackiesic]

Beautiful!