I’m beginning to think that if you’re not on Twitter, you’re not a 21st Century PH. Twitter lead me to a surprise concert as Bubba stopped by his sister’s restaurant, LuLu’s down in Gulf Shores this past Wednesday. Man, can you imagine sitting down for dinner and seeing Buffett and the Coral Reefers take the stage unannounced?
Anyway, as I walked into my hotel room after work, I checked my Twitter account (using TweetDeck of course) and noticed some of my friends “Tweeting” that you could join Jimmy at LuLu’s on Radio Margaritaville. Now, it wasn’t quite as cool as seeing Jimmy when he showed up on Greene St. in Key West for his 1st ever MOTM appearance, but it was pretty damn cool.
So, if you want to be a 21 Century PH of the highest caliber, get your ass on Twitter. You won’t miss any of the fun! And when you do, follow @ClubStSomewhere. Jimmy and many of the Reefers are hanging out there too…See you there.
From the time LuLu’s opened as a small little restaurant on a pier I was drawn to the place. Unfortunately for me, I never made it to the original location. But I did end up there at it’s great new digs in the summer of 2005 when Barbara and I took our two oldest grand-daughters, Kirsten and Autumn on a Road Trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama.
If I ever get the time, I’d love to write a whole article why visiting LuLu’s had got to be on your “List of Things to Do Today.” Until then, enjoy this article on LuLu’s Restaurant and Jimmy’s Sister. And for God’s Sake, don’t wait for me write my article before going. Just this last November, I was there on a Solo Road Dawg Trip down to Gulf Shores to hear Will Kimbrough.
Well, most of the last month has been spent with the travel and the work involved with moving from Capo Beach, Southern California to the Right Coast and our new Home in Jacksonville, Florida. All that, and making a living at my day job! It feels great to be back writing for my Blog here at Club St. Somewhere. And since I just ordered my copy of Will Kimbrough’s Wings, it’s the perfect topic to jump back on track with.
In my past Parrothead Life, I was truly blessed in the things that came my way, like:
Spending time backstage at the Tonight Show talking to Jimmy
Putting together and emceeing the first Big Parrothead Phlocking on the Left Coast, It’s Midnight and I’m Not Famous Yet
Being on Greene Street in Key West for Jimmy’s first appearance at MTOM
Singing Bob Robert’s Society Band on Tommy Rocker’s Stage in Las Vegas with Tina Gullickson
Playing Golf with Finger’s Taylor
Hosting A Well Deserved Long Over Due Binge, where we were the first to hire the Coral Reefer Horn Section and Jimmy’s “T-Shirt Guys” Tim and Wally – Not to mention doing the Shark Dance on stage with Heather Dee Perry
Sharing a microphone with Dr. Michael Utley singing Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year-Old Daughter Home
Singing Please Take Your Drunken 15 Year-Old Daughter Home with Jerry Gontang, not only on stage at the MGM Grand, but on the Pier House Beach in Key West to 2000 MOTM Parrot Heads
Drinking Beer with Amy Lee in Atlanta
Touring Chicago Jazz Clubs with TC Mitchell
Meeting past Coral Reefers Josh Leo and Larry Michael Lee
Getting a Private Rehearsal Concert from Jimmy and the Reefers in New Orleans (the only person in the audience until I went out and brought my wife in to join me) – Jimmy even sat down and talked with Barb and I after the rehearsal
Breakfast a Pepe’s with Mac McAnally
Conducting a Video Interview with Tom Corcoran
Meeting the promoter of the famous Ohio Concert where the Volcano caught on fire and hearing his story
Meeting the first concert promoters to bring Jimmy to Florida, Joe Nuzzo and Johnny Green
Going to every show of the Beach House on the Moon Tour
Being interviewed by the Today Show as a Parrot Head Author
Going backstage for the load out after the Labor Day Weekend Shows at Great Woods and getting a tour of the Tour Busses hosted by JL Jamison
Private tour of Shrimpboat Sound by JL Jamison
Touring LaLa Land in Muscle Shoals
Being asked by Mac McAnally to introduce he, Fingers and Peter at one of their concerts
And Much Much More…
But discovering a talent like Will Kimbrough at this particular stage of his career is every bit as exciting as anything I was lucky enough to do in my past Parrothead Life. Especially as it becomes apparent what a huge success and star Will is going to be. This man is such a talent, and truly one of the nicest individuals I have ever met. He deserves whatever comes his way. It will be so much fun to witness. The past months of Spontaneous Combustion I have experienced in getting to know Will and becoming familiar with his work to date has been awesome. I’m thankful to have a place to share all this with my friends.
So jump onboard the Will Kimbrough Express while the train is just now pulling out of the station. Pretty soon, thing will be going so fast it will be hard to catch up. Music is the same, but the ways in which a musician shares himself with his fans is changing. As seen with the above YouTube Videos. Please enjoy.
Wow… A Year of Good-Byes for me. The biggest, is that we’re leaving the Left Coast and heading for Jacksonville. Upon hearing the news, a friend commented… “Sheeze Jackson, I guess if Jimmy has Margaritaville, you can have Jacksonville.
Well, while not the reason for moving, it’s a nice thought. It’s simply time to leave after pretty much living here for most of my 60+ years in California. I love the South, and Jacksonville is as close as I can get for now. I’ll be trading this 180 degree view of the Pacific Ocean for this peek-a-boo view of the St. John River
I’ve spent a big portion of my Holiday Vacation at home packing up for the weekend of January 15th when we load up the Moving Van for our 2,400 mile trek east. What the hell, another adventure.
It is my Goal for 2010 to make Club St. Somewhere: Following In Jimmy Buffett’s Wake a meaningful place for discerning Parrot Heads and Jimmy Buffett Fans discuss where being a Jimmy Buffett Fan has taken them. It is my hope that we will start getting some meaningful comments and thoughts from the people that are starting to show up here. During the month of January and February I will be doing some promotion to get more people stopping by, and you all can contribute to the effort by commenting or inviting any of your friends that you think might be interested in Club St. Somewhere to stop by.
I wish you all an exciting and adventuresome New Year.
As is my habit when listening to a new Jimmy Buffett Album, I grab the the Liner Notes to not only read the lyrics, but also to check out the writing credits and to see if Jimmy has any guest musicians joining in. So it was that in 2004, when I first listened to License to Chill’s Cut #5, it was Jimmy and Toby Keith doing a cover of Will Kimbrough’s Piece of Work. The song resonated with me (my wife has called me a Piece of Work many times), so I of course did a little research on Will, only to find out that he had been the lead guitarist for Todd Snider’s Nervous Wrecks.
Then two years later, on the video for Take the Weather With You, there was Will again. This time writing and recording at Friendly Jim’s Portable Recording Studio on the friendly beaches of St. Barthelmey in the French West Indies. Only by then, he was known as “Les Nebulous.” He had joined Jimmy Buffett, Peter Mayer, and Roger Guth in the Caribbean to write songs for the upcoming album. Nice gig Will!
So it is that last month when I learned that Will had made some more contributions to Jimmy’s Hotel Buffett by supplying another cover song, and co-writing credits on three others, I had to learn more about him. To my surprise, Will had a show coming up in November down in Gulf Shores and made plans to see him in person. In the prior two short weeks I had fallen in love with his work as a solo performer, especially Nobody from Nowhere, and his collaboration with Tommy Womack in their band Daddy.
He was playing at this mystical venue named Pirate’s Cove in Josephine, Alabama. A waterfront bar and restaurant that caters not only to human clientele, but also has an open door policy to any stray dog that is curious or hungry enough to stop in. Will and I had talked on the phone, and had planned to meet at Pirate’s Cove an hour before the show, but the torrential rains being blown in from the Gulf, and lost satellite coverage for my GPS, had me arriving almost at show time. When I got there, I spent a little bit of time with Will as he greeted many a friend (he grew up in Mobile), and we had just enough time to share a beer before show time.
Pirates Cove is an old restaurant/bar with a semi-perminate (Winters) tent addition that covered the “Listenin’ Zone” where Will would be performing. I must admit that I was temporarily bummed to learn that he would be sharing the stage with another musician (I didn’t know the show was a part of the Songwriters Festival). His fellow musician turned out to be Spencer Bohren, from New Orleans. Man what a talent, and what a night. These two guys had never met, yet played together like they had been a duo for years. It was a cozy evening with about 40 to 50 people who braved the rain and thirteen dogs laying around on a collection of persian rugs… it couldn’t have been more Bohemian.
That afternoon I had purchased a new HD Camcorder, and had barely had enough time to charge the battery, which died before the last two songs of the set (he says regretting his decision to not buy a backup battery). The light was dim, and the rain was so loud at times it almost drowned out the music, but I think the video I shot matched the mood of the evening. It all turned out to be one of the most mystical musical experiences of my life.
Let’s start with the intro. Will and Spencer switched off playing one of their original through out the night, and that’s how we’ll present it here at Club St. Somewhere. I hope you enjoy it.
