Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band kicked off their summer tour on April 26th, appropriately in Nashville, Tennessee. Home to several of the band members including two Voyage-Air Guitar endorsers, the show at Bridgestone Arena was sold out and was a crazy maze of coconut bras and parrot hats. Oddly enough, it's mostly men that wear the coconut bras, a frightening site, indeed!
I was always a Jimmy Buffett fan (although I never donned the bra OR the hat!), My daughter thought that I wrote Margaritaville when she was 11 and I began to recite it to her in the hospital waiting room after she tripped on a pop top. I let her believe that for a few years, I must admit.
Jimmy's first encounter with Voyage-Air was at Bonnaroo Music Festival a few years ago. I was actually trying to get this job, and having known Jimmy through mutual friends, I was able to introduce him to the company guys that attended that year. Jimmy was blown away by our guitar. He first strummed it in the open position and was really digging it. Then when I folded it and he saw the back pack he quickly called his entourage of 20 some odd people over to check it out. He now keeps a Voyage-Air Guitar on his yaught on St. Barths.
I was delighted to meet the Mayer Brothers. Peter and Jim have been with Jimmy for over 23 years. The lead guitar player and bassist, respectively, it was Jim that I met first. Although he plays bass on stage with the band, he needed an acoustic for travel, writing and his very popular side project called Uncle Jim Rocks! With 20 nieces and nephews, Jim saw the prevalence of bullying and began this program for anti-bullying. His songs bring much joy to the kids and I have to say, much humor to the parents. My favorite, "Funky as a Diaper", is quite a catchy tune and an award winner. It's embarrassing to say that I found myself unable to get this song out of my head. It's just one of those.
Peter came along a bit later and being an electric player, decided to take on our electric BelAir guitar in TV yellow. Actually, he's our first electric endorser since the electrics came out a few years after the acoustics. Peter also has a side project that tours when he's off the road with Buffett. Taking along several of his Buffett band mates, he does many charitable events throughout the year. Interestingly enough, Peter and Jim play "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere" on stage with Jimmy at every show, which is a song penned by another Voyage-Air Guitar endorser, Jim "Moose" Brown. The boys had never met each other, so it was fun to have them all up in the Penthouse Suite at the Hotel Indigo and watch them perform together for my Tuesday Nights Live! event.
Much fun was had seeing Peter play our guitar on stage with not only Jimmy Buffett but the legendary Mac McAnally. What an honor to have our guitar on stage with such massive talent!
Keep an eye out for Jimmy and the boys at a show near you, here's the tour schedule, http://www.margaritaville.com/tourdates.html.
Also check out their personal project sites at, UncleJimRocks.com & PeterMayer.com
Peter Mayer talks about the BelAir
Fins: San Jose, CA Show
Peter & Jim Mayer with Jim Moose Brown Play "5 O clock Somewhere"
Park Chisolm is a guitarist, songwriter, producer, and member of Kevin Costner's band Modern West. Since moving to Nashville in 1996, Park has toured and recorded with rock, pop, and country artists such as Jo Dee Messina, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Emerson Hart of Tonic, and David Gates of Bread. For the past seven years he has toured, written, and recorded with Costner and Modern West. He co-produced their most recent album Famous For Killing Each Other, which features music written for and inspired by the Emmy Award winning mini-series Hatfields and McCoys.