The Root of Jimmy Buffet Bashing - Beyond Tiki

T tweedtone Member Temple Terrace, FL Joined: Nov 06, 2002 Posts: 199	T tweedtone Posted posted on Fri, Jan 2, 2004 8:53 AM The ever-knowledgable Tikibars makes the anology to Star Wars fans being assumed also to be Trekkies. I'll futher extend the analogy to a skirmish between Star Trek:TOS vs. Star Trek:TNG fans. Sure, I understand that the distinctions are far more marked than that ... but 99.99999% of the population doesn't see it that way so you just end up coming off like an snobbish elitist crumudgeon, turning off potential tikiphiles and that doesn't help. Things change over time, evolve and absorb new influences - that's the nature of pop culture. That's what happened with tikiana in the first place - people are complaining about the bastardization of something that was already a profound bastardization to begin with, right? How much of the Mai Kai's annual revenues comes from the wallets of Parrotheads, I wonder ... I was born and raised in Florida. Buffet, along with Skynrd, were and are just inescapable threads in the fabric of life here and you either learn to live with it or walk around with a Walkman taped to your head 24/7. To my ear, much of Buffet's '70s output is largely indistiguishable from much of what is called alt-country these days. The '80s hits I'm just weary of hearing but a friend turned me onto his early stuff and there's some real gems there. "Come Monday" is just a brilliant piece of songwriting. I will certainly agree that the whole Parrothead lound 'n' drunk thing has been off-putting but it never really impacted me personally until a few months ago and it was a very positive experience. My power pop band has a recurring Fri/Sat gig at a beachside bar here in the Tampa Bay area. We do the three-set all-nighter, half originals and half covers deal (but cool covers, like the medley from Side Two of Abbey Road). It pays well - financed our last album and tour - and the staff are super-nice. But the place is decorated in garish Margaritaville-esque neons and such - it's called the Daiquiri Deck so paint your own mental picture. Last summer, I was informed when I arrived to set up one Friday that the local Parrothead Club (yes, they have formal organizations) had selected the bar as the end point of their bar crawl the following night. I smiled politely but groaned inside, envisioning something out of the Blues Brothers movie, with shouts demanding "Cheeseburger In Paradise" punctuated by flying Margaritas. We arrived Saturday and found not the usual half-full dinner crowd but that the place was far beyond capacity with well-lubricated Parrotheads (the bar manager told me they went through a month's worth of rum that one night!) So we take the stage and politely announce that unfortunately we didn't know any Buffet tunes but we'd appreciate it if they'd give us a chance to entertain them anyhow. So we ripped into our show as usual, including the aforementioned Abbey Road, and the Parrotheads ended up being one of our best audiences in recent memory, just super-nice and totally cool. We sold a bunch of CDs and added a buttload of names to our emailing list. The whole vibe was very welcoming, non-judgemental and inclusive. So mark me down as pro Parrothead. Though I wouldn't let my daughter date one (if I had a daughter.) Some further points to ponder: If you're a carver/artist and devout anti-Buffetista and an admitted Parrothead wanted to pay the asking price for some of your work, would you refuse the sale? If you're a carver/artist and devout anti-Buffetista, would you turn down an opportunity to cross-promote your own work at a Parrothead gathering? Has anyone had any experiences, good or bad, trying to do "missionary work," guiding wayward Parrotheads to a tiki spiritual awakening? Do you people feel similarly about the surf music crowd? Just curious. tweedtone http://www.vodkanauts.com http://www.barelypink.com [ Edited by: tweedtone on 2004-01-02 08:55 ]

The ever-knowledgable Tikibars makes the anology to Star Wars fans being assumed also to be Trekkies. I'll futher extend the analogy to a skirmish between Star Trek:TOS vs. Star Trek:TNG fans. Sure, I understand that the distinctions are far more marked than that ... but 99.99999% of the population doesn't see it that way so you just end up coming off like an snobbish elitist crumudgeon, turning off potential tikiphiles and that doesn't help. Things change over time, evolve and absorb new influences - that's the nature of pop culture. That's what happened with tikiana in the first place - people are complaining about the bastardization of something that was already a profound bastardization to begin with, right? How much of the Mai Kai's annual revenues comes from the wallets of Parrotheads, I wonder ...

I was born and raised in Florida. Buffet, along with Skynrd, were and are just inescapable threads in the fabric of life here and you either learn to live with it or walk around with a Walkman taped to your head 24/7. To my ear, much of Buffet's '70s output is largely indistiguishable from much of what is called alt-country these days. The '80s hits I'm just weary of hearing but a friend turned me onto his early stuff and there's some real gems there. "Come Monday" is just a brilliant piece of songwriting.

I will certainly agree that the whole Parrothead lound 'n' drunk thing has been off-putting but it never really impacted me personally until a few months ago and it was a very positive experience.

My power pop band has a recurring Fri/Sat gig at a beachside bar here in the Tampa Bay area. We do the three-set all-nighter, half originals and half covers deal (but cool covers, like the medley from Side Two of Abbey Road). It pays well - financed our last album and tour - and the staff are super-nice. But the place is decorated in garish Margaritaville-esque neons and such - it's called the Daiquiri Deck so paint your own mental picture. Last summer, I was informed when I arrived to set up one Friday that the local Parrothead Club (yes, they have formal organizations) had selected the bar as the end point of their bar crawl the following night. I smiled politely but groaned inside, envisioning something out of the Blues Brothers movie, with shouts demanding "Cheeseburger In Paradise" punctuated by flying Margaritas.

We arrived Saturday and found not the usual half-full dinner crowd but that the place was far beyond capacity with well-lubricated Parrotheads (the bar manager told me they went through a month's worth of rum that one night!) So we take the stage and politely announce that unfortunately we didn't know any Buffet tunes but we'd appreciate it if they'd give us a chance to entertain them anyhow. So we ripped into our show as usual, including the aforementioned Abbey Road, and the Parrotheads ended up being one of our best audiences in recent memory, just super-nice and totally cool. We sold a bunch of CDs and added a buttload of names to our emailing list. The whole vibe was very welcoming, non-judgemental and inclusive.

So mark me down as pro Parrothead. Though I wouldn't let my daughter date one (if I had a daughter.)

Some further points to ponder:

If you're a carver/artist and devout anti-Buffetista and an admitted Parrothead wanted to pay the asking price for some of your work, would you refuse the sale?
If you're a carver/artist and devout anti-Buffetista, would you turn down an opportunity to cross-promote your own work at a Parrothead gathering?
Has anyone had any experiences, good or bad, trying to do "missionary work," guiding wayward Parrotheads to a tiki spiritual awakening?
Do you people feel similarly about the surf music crowd?

Just curious.

tweedtone
http://www.vodkanauts.com
http://www.barelypink.com

[ Edited by: tweedtone on 2004-01-02 08:55 ]

Post #67343 by tweedtone on Fri, Jan 2, 2004 8:53 AM