Wastin' Away on the North Coast
 

Friday, June 15 2007

Episode 41: Oh, That Was the Night We Podcast Outside

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, June 13 2007 (10:00 PM - 11:15 PM), at Joe’s Prime Time, Brownstown MI
    “The group is kicked outside, where we discuss Barometer Soup and make fun of Greg.  Special guests: Schmoe’s kids and Elise.  Background music by AC/DC.”

    No bikers keeping us out of the back room this week.  Instead, it was a wedding rehearsal dinner.  It was nice outside, except for the mosquitoes; so big thanks to Prime Time Gina for the citronella candles.  Schmoe wanted enough to start a citronella bonfire; he took a liking to that name and wondered if he could fashion a drink for it—at the same time I was wondering if he was going to try steeping citronella in his next tequila concoction.  (And thanks to Gina for also turning down the AC/DC, later in the episode.)  Scott was unable to join us today, as he’d injured his knee last Friday, competing in the 2007 Shark Invitational.
    As mentioned, here’s Listener Sandy’s first-hand report of the Paris concert:

The trip to the concert today was great.  As soon as the taxi dropped me off at the New Morning at 6pm for the 8pm concert, there was Utley and Greenidge walking on the sidewalk next to me.  After getting in line (approx 50 at this time,) behind three guys from Chicago, we were exchanging pleasantries and all of a sudden Jimmy comes walking down the street on the way to what I think was a pre-party at the Best Western a few doors down, waving to all of us calling his name.
    After going in to the club, it reminded me of some dive bars that you find at MSU.  Red walls, a small stage , a small pit area and bistro tables and chairs.  While you were waiting for the concert all of the band members were walking back and forth thru the bar saying hi to everyone.  I got a seat approx 20ft from the stage.  Grass skirts and shark hats were everywhere.
    Jimmy and the entire Coral Reefer band comes out.  He starts with Changes in Latitudes and it only gets better from there.  He played all of the big 8 (fins, pirate,southern cross, etc.)  He also played Artour Roche, petites enfants, pencil thin mustache and woman gone on caroline street.  He ended the concert after the encore with He went to Paris.  He kept saying he was playing songs that he’s wanted to play in Paris for 30yrs.  He also said that this is not the last time he would be playing in Paris.  (I’d go back!)
    They were video taping everyone at the concert…a dvd is probably to come.  They taped everyone . they went in between rows, closeups , when you were walking in…
    The best of all….I got one of Jimmy’s guitar picks!  It was a once in a lifetime experience.  Classic Jimmy having fun.

    00:02 - according to FSGL.net, Greg’s nicknames include Oops, Gregular, Dr. Feelgood, Giggles, Veal Parmesan, Mack Daddy, DAMF, G.Love, Poison Ivy, Slingblade, Oh Shit, and Chicken Taco Guy
    03:59 - Schmoe’s aural double-take gets my vote as the highlight of the show
    04:32 - Wal-Mart’s 2007 Shareholders Meeting page.  The news about Buffett playing there comes from Blogging Stocks.com (by way of BuffettWorld.com). 
    11:10 - sorry Scott.  That was just uncalled for.
    12:21 - Schmoe is teasing Greg because a search for 1995 setlists led Greg right to my own Buffett fan site, causing Greg to e-mail us and ask if we thought the guys in the page’s photo look like us.
    12:26 - and I’m teasing Mike over his belief, back in college, that the best way to study is to sleep with your text book under your pillow, where you can learn through “osmosis”
    12:51 - don’t listen too closely to the AC/DC songs; this section of the episode was heavily edited.  But fear not, it ends at 19:00
    14:13 - the audio from Jimmy’s CompuServe upload is actually an edit.  Here’s the complete “BADHABIT.WAV” sound file, plus some historical context:  

    17:24 - We go into more detail on how I ruined “Jimmy Dreams” for Mike in Episode 32.     17:59 - We seriously need to do a Buckeye Lake podcast, but until then here are Mike’s and my parody lyrics, for “Don’t Chu-Know” and “Remittance Man”, from August 5 1995.     20:58 - here’s an excerpt from my journal for August 1995, describing Mike’s and my first listen of the Barometer Soup  CD, at Dearborn’s Blockbuster Music, on Saturday, July 30 1995:

I didn’t see Mike’s car and I didn’t spot him inside when I got to the place.  I parked on the side.  As I walked around the front to enter I spotted someone I assumed was Mike already sitting at the circular counter in the center of the store.  It still didn’t look like him, but the other two people I could see were definitely not him.  As I went inside and approached I realized it was indeed Mike.  He had shorts, a tank top, and a gray and black Caribbean Soul cap on.  The girl manning the counter said something to me but I didn’t catch it; I even had her repeat it too.  I think it might have been about my t-shirt.  She probably recognized the radiation symbol but not what the shirt meant.  [It was my red Simpsons Radioactive Man t-shirt, which I’d won in a Bongo Comics contest.]  The girl asked if she could help me and I pointed to the CD in front of Mike and told her I’d come to see it, that I had weekend visitation rights.  She promptly disappeared, replaced by some skinny tall nerdy guy.  He asked if he could help me, I asked if he had another copy of the album but sadly they didn’t.  Mike and I had to share.
    Mike told me the album was great, especially the opening title track.  He touched a flat colored button on the panel in front of him and gave me the headphones.  They were light, cheap, black Koss headphones.  There was no bass whatsoever.  We could’ve been hearing an AM broadcast on a tiny transistor radio.  The song was okay but I wasn’t as impressed as Mike.  I got so wrapped up in reading the liner notes that I hogged the headphones and almost heard all of the song.  I gave Mike back the headphones and continued to read.  He jumped around the track listing and we continued to switch shifts.  The booklet was very attractive and certainly much nicer than I’d been led to believe by those Internet descriptions [at AOL’s Parrot Head Madness, Usenet’s alt.fan.jimmy-buffett, and the Buffett listserv].  Mike was pretty harsh about those reviewers too, saying what jerks they were and how they knew nothing.  There was a sign on a stand directly in front of us bearing the cover of the album and the announcement that we could hear it in advance, starting Friday July 29, and then buy it on sale Tuesday August 1.  It was nice to see MCA was actually promoting a Buffett album.  Mike said it was a shame they didn’t allow drinking here; the counter and stools were very much like a bar, and it would be perfect to just have a margarita sitting there in front of us.
    Our panel had no kind of read out to tell us what tracks we were on so we pretty much had to guess when switching between tracks, consulting the lyrics to find out where we were.  I have little recollection now of what songs I listened to.  I do remember thinking “Don’t Chu-Know” was a standout which I instantly liked.  I couldn’t believe this had only gotten passing grades when Buffett had performed it live during his spring tour.  In order of appearance, but in no way the order I heard them: “Barometer Soup” was an instant favorite of Mike’s, but didn’t strike me as particularly special; “Barefoot Children” was a pretty obvious attempt at connecting at the young parents in the audience and I could understand why it hadn’t been received too well in the spring; we both thought it was pretty funny how “Bank of Bad Habits” sounded just as tinny now on these headphones as it sounded on our poor quality upload, there was no difference despite what we’d hoped; “Blue Heaven Rendezvous” sounded like “Pre-You” all over again, but at least was a better attempt; I remember hearing “Jimmy Dreams” but pretty much tuned it out as soon as Mike informed me, handing the headphones over again, that it was a slow one; I remember reading about the Jim Harrison/Legends of the Fall influence on “Lage Nom Ai” but don’t recall much about first hearing the song; “The Ballad of Skip Wiley” sounded like “Hey Bartender” to me: Mike thought the lyrics sounded like the explanatory tale which would begin a sitcom: “It’s ‘The Skip Wiley Show!”; “The Night I Painted the Sky” was one of the songs I desperately rushed to get to before we left—I didn’t hear much but did enjoy the lovely string introduction; Mike played “Mexico” for me and said sadly it wasn’t what he’d expected.  He said he was uncertain about the horn parts, and that it might take some getting used to.  Being unfamiliar with the original, and not knowing the extent Mike had been privately hoping Buffett would cover this song, the arrangement didn’t bother me.  I thought it was catchy and likeable, and I told Mike I doubted it would take too long for him to get used to it.
    Perhaps I should take this opportunity to include Stu Gittelman’s review from many weeks ago, since it was much on our mind during our first listen:

Subject: Barometer Soup - Comments and Critique
Date: 12 Jul 1995 20:22:52 -0500
Well, my advance copy of Barometer Soup (I can’t wait to start calling it ‘BS’ in alt.fan) came today…so, it’s time for the King of the Grumpy Old Parrotheads to speak…my overall reaction: eeehhhh.  I think this is certainly a much more *consistent* album than Fruitcakes (and somewhat better) overall.  It at least has an overall texture to it that doesn’t leave you quite as schizoid as FC.  It’s also certainly better than OTSTL, and, I guess, about the same as HW to me.  All in all, it seems JB is trying to be the King of the Ballad on this one.  That said, I’m not sure this album is that *good* either - but, after the last few, a step in the right direction.  Good points summary: less produced, more Fingers Taylor, more downscale songs, fewer covers, consistent.  Bad points summary:  silly ranting on several tracks, it ain’t A-1-A a bit dull at times.  As for the individual tracks: Barometer Soup - sets the tone pretty well: eehhh.  Nothing to dislike, nothing really to like.  The yuppies will like the part about escaping.  Barefoot Children - given the “Buffet (sic) and Terrible Twos” thread going now on alt.fan, I’m sure this’ll become a favorite for a couple of weeks over there.  A nice song, but not great.  Bank of Bad Habits - I had high hopes for this song.  Thought it might be a chance to have some fun.  Which it was, at first.  Then the crap about the seven deadly sins and the 8th deadly sin: PIZZA!  Sheesh.  Ruined a perfectly good song.  Prediction:  The pizza thing will make 5 .sig files in alt.fan w/in 1 week. Upbeat.  Remittance Man - This is a good one.  He put some thought into this one and it really shows.  Downscale, good lyrics.  Diamond as Big as the Ritz - I didn’t care for this one in concert, although it sounded better on disk.  Again, not bad, not great.  Blue Heaven Rendezvous - There’s a stinker on every album and this one is it.  Combine his awful crooing on the Sinatra duet with an idiotic song like ‘Frenchman for the Night’ and you can get the picture.  Brutal.  Jimmy Dreams - WOW!!! This one blew me away.  What an absolutely fantastic song.  This is the best song he’s done in many years, IMHO.  For the first time in a while, we’ve got an ‘honest’ song.  Jimmy wrote this one for Jimmy and not for money.  Far and away the best song on the album.  Great lyrics.  Lagie Nom Ai - We’ll need to find out what this means because I can see 20 posts a day about it.  Upbeat song - definitely the successor in the Fruitcakes genre.  Don’t You Know (Don Chu Kno) - I liked this one in concert and it still is a peppy tune.  I thought it was pretty good until the end with this silly fade into the notes of Volcano and some White Man Rap.  The killer part, for me, was when JB said “I can name that song in two notes” - and he wasn’t talking’ about God’s Own Drunk.  Spoiled an enjoyable tune for me, but that comment speaks volumes about what’s happened to his music over the years.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about here, you haven’t listened to You Had to be There lately.  Ballad of Skip Wiley - I guess I need to read the Hiasson books to really understand this one, so I’ll pass on commentary.  Decent music.  The Night I Painted the Sky - another winner.  Probaby the second best on the album.  Quiet, but very evocative.  Again, the downscale thing works well.  Mexico - not being much of a James Taylor fan (I find him depressing), I was leery of this one and was pleasantly surpried by it.  He sounds like he enjoys doing this one, whereas Uncle John’s Band sounded like he was going through the motions.  Once again, the White Man Rap at the end was totally unecessary.  I don’t know who told him this stuff was cute and funny, but it’s not.  It’s silly.
—————Stu Gittelman

    We found out the store closes earlier than we expected.  The employees started getting a little more active.  Mike told me they must close at eleven.  I had the headphones then so I quickly tried to hit every song I hadn’t heard, just for the sake of it.  After we left, we hung out in front of the store for a while, by my car.  Still talking about the album, Mike suggested getting a beer at Miller’s Bar, next door.  I of course agreed.

    23:31 - no, I don’t have an actual background in musical theater.  What I meant is that I have an interest in musical theater, stemming back to when I was a kid and my parents would play Broadway cast albums on Sunday afternoons.
    29:48 - the guys are enamored with Elise’s “fried gold” expression (among other things), but I heard it back in 2004 on the highly-recommended Spaced DVD.
    I took some photos during the postscript.  You can see them here, here, and here.

      >  Download Episode 41

Tuesday, June 12 2007

A Commercial Announcement

For those in our area…

Thursday, June 7 2007

Episode 40: Power Steering Ballads

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, June 6 2007 (10:00 PM - 11:30 PM), at Joe’s Prime Time, Brownstown MI
    “Greg takes Mike, Mickey, and Schmoe for a scenic drive through recent JB news, gets us lost while talking about tequila, and runs out of gas en route to the big finish; but at least an unanswered question from Episode 37 gets revealed.  Special appearance by Elise.”

    04:19 - Rolling Stone interview (fourth story down)
    07:39 - article on the Buffetts’ DNA testing.  (And not one mention of a baby daddy.)
    08:25 - for old times’ sake, the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon oracle
    08:49 - Greg made the mistake of admitting to us he does not have a NetFlix account, which to him means he’s stuck in the 90s
    09:16 - Margaritaville Tequila in Massachusetts
    12:32 - Elise had to wait on all the bikers in the back room, before we recorded.  She told us they’d been nice, but there had been a lot of boob jokes.
    14:43 - by “big station wagon”, I of course meant this (specifically 0:48 into it)
    18:35 - Greg’s tally of Jimmy’s references to alcohol was first revealed in Episode 14
    18:47 - wait for it ... I correct myself at 19:03
    22:14 - without trying to, without even remembering the need for it, I got Schmoe to fill in the backstory to something Scott mentioned at the end of Episode 37
    23:36 - not sure what CD Schmoe’s talking about as there’s no Cookie Monster in Elmopalooza, as far as I can tell
    25:38 - sounds to me like Schmoe says “pro shop” but the script says it’s really “approach shot”

      >  Download Episode 40

Thursday, May 31 2007

Episode 39: You Had Me At It Had To Be You There

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, May 30 2007 (10:00 PM - 12:00 AM), at Joe’s Prime Time, Brownstown MI
    “Schmoe and Mickey review You Had To Be There, Mike celebrates a birthday, Scott waits for his burger, Joe asks questions, Greg leaves early, Ashley serves us shots, DJ keeps checking his watch, and Elise tells a joke.”

    Breaking news: Mike is changing jobs and might not be able to podcast with us.  Therefore, Schmoe wants to do as many shows as possible before the change; hence, our reviewing You Had To Be There before we were prepared for it.  Need a YHTBT cheat sheet so you can play along?  Try the one at Buffett News’s discography or the one at Buffett World’s.
    Remember when we said how nicely quiet Joe’s Prime Time was last week?  That all changed this week. Evidently Joe installed a few more speakers—in our back room, and also behind us on the deck, blasting out in the empty woods beyond the bar; and when we tried to start podcasting, the noise was deafening.  I have the feeling the speakers might have been newly installed because Joe wasn’t even sure how to disable them.  He ended up forcibly yanking out the speaker wire for us!  (You can hear Joe during the show, quizzing us on tour dates; but most of this was cut.)
    Scott’s missing food order was a Western burger.  He believes it was the added barbecue sauce which threw everyone off.  In the interest of ful disclosure, the neon “Eat at Joe’s” sign was not directly behind Scott, but would be visible through the windows in the doors.  Mike’s birthday shots cost $19, for those keeping score.  We mostly had Cabo Wabo Blanco while Scott asked for Sex on the Beach.
    The “hot girl”, we believe, was Staci Swartzenberg.  [ Hi Staci!   ]    Greg also shared the story of how he tried to impress her back then by doing stunts on his bicycle, but ended up wiping out, on his face.
    One segment that arguably should have been included was when Mike’s observation (of how he got You Had To Be There a year before he ever saw Jimmy live) caused Schmoe to add that his first concert was in 1982.  Scott’s was in 1986.  And I’m fuzzy on my first concert, but I think it was 1984.  I can’t remember if we stated this so explicitly before. 
    One question I’d still like answered.  If Son of a Son of a Sailor came out in March 1978 and You Had to Be There came from the “Cheeseburger in Paradise” tour of Summer 1978, in support of the new album, why is there only one song from SOAOAS on it?  And one thing that struck me was how clean the sound is on CD.  And how quietly attentive the audience is!  I especially like the solo acoustic numbers, where you can actually tell Jimmy is looking down from the way his guitar’s sound-hole picks up his voice.
    For those not up on Internet memes, Schmoe’s “banter banter banter” accompaniment comes from the infamous “Badger Badger Badger” song.  Unaware of the litigation over “God’s Own Drunk”?  The COB,O FAQ has a brief synopsis (19^th question down or fifth from the bottom).
    We didn’t get to say much about “Dixie Diner” (one of Greg’s stated favorites, as well as a reported favorite of Mike’s mom), due to everyone being so distracted once Elise arrived.  One point of contention was whether this should be considered an instrumental, considering Fingers’s rhyming intro.  Fingers recorded this for a solo album (1996’s Harpoon Man, I believe); but since that intro was not included there, maybe the Trivia Handbook (mentioned in Episode 29) was correct after all and the track should rightly be considered an instrumental
    Addendum: DJ has a problem with his portrayal in the Show Description.  “The summary is incorrect,” he writes.  “I do not wear a watch (hence I could not be checking it).  I believe I had a mosquito bite on my wrist that was distracting me for some reason???”

      >  Download Episode 39

Friday, May 25 2007

Episode 38: Searching for Our Lost Topic of Conversation

&otShow Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, May 23 2007 (9:30 PM - 11:30 PM), at Joe’s Prime Time, Brownstown MI
    “Discussion of the many covers of Margaritaville, as our second contest ends.”

    00:04 - “God’s Juice” refers to water, or in this case ice water.  I am unaware of the derivation of this, but I have a hunch Roger Clyne is involved.  Perhaps someone will enlighten us in the Comments.
    01:36 - my out of season “Feels Like Christmas” is a reference to Muppet Christmas Carol
    02:10 - the guys will probably be ragging on Schmoe’s dinner choices for a while.  Schmoe has decided to sample all the entrees, instead of just sticking with burgers
    02:54 - it was Designated Driver, at RCPM’s Waterin’ Hole discussion board, who has a problem with our Fargo-ish accents link
    03:08 - did Scott just call us whores?
    05:04 - here’s the press release on the Biloxi casino.  My reticence stems from uneasiness that Jimmy might be part of privatizing the post-Katrina coastline, which the New Orleans mayor had warned about.  I was unaware however that this new casino replaces a previous casino at the same location
    05:23 - Buffett News has the transcript of Nadirah’s Time After Island Time interview
    10:04 - you can find our Pirate Speak translation at the right ... or you can click here
    10:20 - I think Greg is confusing pirates and Vikings
    13:02 - in my defense, I couldn’t “read” the Excel file since I don’t have Excel
    14:04 - also in my defense.  Our waitress, Ashley, dropped some change and, because of my lardassitude (and my hernia), it’s a lot easier to kneel to reach the floor than it is stoop over.
    15:15 - oops, I’m repeating myself.  My “Margarineville” joke was already used in Episode 34!
    16:28 - you guys don’t need the story about Greg’s “wireless network”, right?
    18:41 - Scott’s requested Raven Symone link
    20:19 - Schmoe’s eBay woes were first mentioned in Episode 21
    26:16 - Marching Band version.  Why not record your own?
    27:45 - “unshun”, of course, comes from the “Safety Training” episode of The Office
    29:16 - AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” provided by Joe’s Prime Time jukebox
    32:10 - Elise was vacationing in Florida, our waitress Tara had already clocked out, and the other waitress, Ashley, flat our refused to be recorded
    32:43 - it’s not over the top; it’s a hymn from St Looney Up the Cream Bun & Jam
    33:38 - Schmoe included some fine print in the script for the oil tycoon: “And did I mention I suck”

Listener Tom provided this information on some of his less recognizable album titles:

    Here’s an explanation to a few you had questions about:
    “Wireless” - This was a show I downloaded off the FTP sites when those were still running. It was from 1999, but that’s all I know about it right now.
    “Raven’s Tailgate” - This is a compilation a fellow Baltimore Raven’s Tailgater put together. It has some catchy tunes on it to get everyone ready for the game.
    “Treasure Box” - This is a compilation of rare tracks put together. It was available from the FTP site and a trading vine on BuffettNEws.com. This set is five CDs. It’s 105 rare/unreleased tracks.
    “Buffett Rarieties” - This is another compilation available on FTP. This was also available on the FTP sites and a vine on BuffettNews.com. This is only four CDs. It’s 58 rare/unreleased tracks.
    “Escape to Margaritaville” - Apparently, this is the same CD that was titled “Pitcher Perfect”. This is the promo CD that came out with Margaritaville Tequila. It has “Margaritaville” and “Tequila”. It’s a smaller CD that was attached to the bottle. I posted a picture of it on BuffettNews.com.

      >  Download Episode 38

Wednesday, May 23 2007

Mike’s Floridiary

Trip Report
I would like to say that it’s nice to be back, but I would be lying.  The truth is, I wish I didn’t have to leave.  My kids agree.  The wife?  Not so much.  But then, does this surprise anyone?  All around a great trip.  Without a doubt the fastest week in my life.  Here is a rundown, by topic:

The weather
Hot.  Humid.  Great.  Exactly what you would expect.  Only one day with any rain or significant clouds, but that was over in about an hour.  The hot, dry weather was great for us, but the locals really need some rain.  Florida, nearly the whole state, has been very dry and, like many other parts of the country right now, affected by numerous wildfires in nearly every region.  We had heard that the day before we arrived smoke from the fires was obstructing visibility and depositing ash everywhere.  This had mostly cleared out by the time we got there, but there still was some visible haze in the upper atmosphere.  It was gone the next day.

The town
Treasure Island Florida.  Just a bit north of St. Petersburg, right on the Gulf of Mexico.  The town itself is in a sort of transitional state.  Older resorts dating back to the late ‘40s and early ‘50s have been giving way to newer resort condo type developments.  There is a real mixture here.  There were a few sites that looked to be ready for new development—areas where those once quaint old places once stood.  One, right next door to our own, was closed and clearly awaiting the same fate.  Read more here: http://recentpast.org/groups/treasure/index.html

The hotel
It was in one of these older places that we stayed.  An old-style 2-story small resort right on the beach.  A nice pool with a recently updated deck area was at the center of the property.  The grounds were well kept and the rooms were clean and well equipped.  Ours was a 1 bedroom unit with a small kitchenette.  Very adequate for us.  This type of place caters mainly to locals who head to the shore on weekends.  This meant we had the place mostly to ourselves for the majority of the week.  Perfect.  There was a McD’s, Walgreen’s, gift shops and a number of bars and restaurants within walking distance.  John’s Pass, a tourist spot was a few minutes away by car or a long walk for the adventurous.

The beach
Top notch.  Wide, long and kept very clean.  The gulf water was warm.  One day it provided waves large enough to body surf and boogie board upon.  My kids were too young to remember surf like this from the time they visited Myrtle Beach a few years back.  They were amazed.  It was a highlight of the trip.

Restaurants
We went to more restaurants than we planned.  It was our original intention to barbecue right there at the resort a few nights to conserve funds.  When we made these plans we forgot about how hot it would be down there and how uncomfortable one might be preparing a meal on a charcoal grill.  The first night we went to an old family favorite: The Friendly Fisherman, right on the boardwalk at John’s Pass.  This place is a ‘can’t miss’ place if you like fresh seafood.  Much of what they serve would have been caught that day.  I had the local grouper dinner.  Fantastic.  Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well.  Another favorite was The Conch Republic in nearby North Redington Beach.  We went there for our Mother’s Day celebration as my mom was there as well as my wife and my sister.  All moms.  This is a Buffetty place for sure.  Buffett music was played constantly.  There were photos on the wall and actually laminated into some of the tables.  The wait staff claimed that Jimmy himself had been there more than once.  I liked it so much I bought a t-shirt.  The Floridian was a little Cuban sandwich joint right off the Treasure Island causeway.  I never had a Cuban sandwich before, but heard good things.  Rightfully so.  It was great.  We enjoyed ours right outside the place in a covered deck area.  2 for 1 beers that day too.  What’s not to like?  Also had dinner at Dan Marino’s in St. Petersburg.  Nice place in the newer Baywalk district.  The food was great there.  The whole crew seemed to agree.

The nightlife
Ordinarily, my vacations are spent with my own family or away from civilization.  This time, my brother Jim was with us.  Jim, being a musician himself, was interested in checking out local live entertainment at every chance.  He is also a night-owl who wakes up late and stays out later.  I made an attempt to keep up with him on a few occasions.  One of the first places we went to was called Ricky T’s right there on Gulf Blvd.  Jim had gone there for lunch earlier in the day that day we arrived and had heard there was a good live band scheduled for that evening.  I joined him to check them out.  The band was called Shark Attack.  I didn’t know what to expect.  They might have been a Buffett cover band or some other beach-music type band that is popular in the area.  But no.  These guys were mainly focused on blues and classic rock.  They were great.  3 excellent guitarists.  In one band.  Including the bassist and drummer, this was a 5 piece band in a tiny corner of the fairly small bar.  It was interesting to get my brother’s perspective on the band since he is in the same business.  Jim too, was very impressed.  Especially with their original stuff.  One tune in particular—the closer that night—was penned by guitarist/vocalist Kirk Adams ( http://www.kirkadamsmusic.com ).  The song is called (I think) “Mexican Wrestler”.  What a great tune.  It rocked and was funny too.  I’m working on getting a copy of the song.  Kirk told me that he might have a live recording of the song somewhere.

Buffett
This is truly Margaritaville around these parts.  Nearly every gift store and restaurant had Buffett music playing.  One evening, we took a dolphin watch cruise (free beer on the 7pm sunset edition) from Hubbard’s.  Buffett tunes were the backdrop of the trip.  The cruise departed from a pier at John’s Pass and traveled along the intracoastal waterway there.  Dolphins are prevalent in the area, but we only saw one then.  We did see numerous million-dollar estates along the water, many with very expensive looking large boats moored behind.  Where do these people get their money?  One place was owned by the family that founded Brach’s candy company.  ...I guess that‘s what you have to do to get that kind of money.  Anyway, the cruise continued out into the gulf where we finally did see a number of dolphins up close.  We have some video clips to prove it.  The free beer continued to flow and the Buffett tunes continued to play throughout.  In all, it was a lovely cruise.

Activities
Golf.  Twice.  Once was a course called The Tides.  My brother-in-law and I played 18 holes there.  It was a nicely laid out course.  Considering the dry weather they had been having in the area, I was surprised it was in as good shape as it was.  The greens, however, were kind of rough.  White sand could be seen between the somewhat long blades of grass.  This made putting a challenge.  Fast at first, but then the ball seemed to hit the brakes.  Strange.  When your ball would land on the green, you would see a spray of sand - this is how sandy the surface was.  The other golf outing was on a little par 3 course at the Treasure Island Golf and Tennis Club.  Very small.  9 holes - you play twice around for your 18.  A number of the greens were being refinished so you had to play to temporary greens fashioned in the fairways in front of the real ones.  They should have mentioned this before we paid, I think.  Still it was nice there and my son Brian joined us this time.
Oddly enough we happened to see more dolphins in the waters surrounding the course than we did on the dolphin cruise we took earlier in the week.

Other highlights
There is a Sloppy Joe’s restaurant and bar inside the Bilmar Hotel on Gulf Blvd.  I walked in from the beach entrance one night, but they were closing.  It was only 11pm, but that was on a Tuesday I believe.  Not much going on mid-week.  My sister and her family went there for dinner.  Mixed reviews.
We attended a Tampa Bay Devil Rays game on the Friday evening of that week.  They played in intrastate rivalry against the Marlins.  TB lost.  We saw the Marlins hit a grand slam in the first inning.  We also saw a Carlos Pena home run hit off the lights in straight away center field.  Did I mention that this was an indoor stadium.  Tropicana Field.  Much more laid back atmosphere than the Detroit Tigers games we are used to.  Fun to watch a game in another venue.  We left the game early to join the rest of the clan to see a movie in the Baywalk district nearby.  Shrek the Third.  Not good.  Even my kids complained about this.  Andrew too.

I finally tried some Landshark Lager.  It is about what I expected.  It is not a hoppy, full-bodied beer.  It is a light lager.  I think, intended to be enjoyed ice cold on a hot day.  At least that’s the way I enjoyed it.  Most places automatically serve it with a lime wedge like Corona.  In fact, it appears to be the American equivalent.  This is a non-offensive, middle-of-the-road beer.  Enjoy it as such.

Had the opportunity to sample a new hard iced-tea product from Smirnoff at a Publix supermarket in Madiera Beach.  I was originally drawn near by the attractive blonde working the table, but was interested to try a new tea product.  I had low expectations based on experiences with other competitors to my favorite, Twisted Tea, but I was very impressed.  There are 2 varieties:  Green Tea or regular with lemon.  I liked both, but the green tea was most enjoyable.  I bought some.  It is light and very tea-like.  Smooth.  No carbonation.  I think we have a winner.  You must try this in a large glass over massive amounts of ice.  Just try not to pound this drink.  I dare you.  I got a free t-shirt from the hot blonde.  My brother got carded by her just to try the sample despite the fact that he might be at least 15 years older than her.  At least.  This made his day.

I’ve been composing the above bit by bit over the last few days.  I’m sure I’m missing some things, but I figure this is enough for now.  I can bore you with more later.

Tuesday, May 8 2007

Episode 37: The Roger Clyne Interview

Show Notes:
Recorded Sunday, May 6 2007 (5:00 PM - 9:00 PM), at Casa de Mike, Canton MI
    “Attack of the Clyne podcast!  It’s trying to completely take over our Jimmy Buffett talk!  ...Thanks to all who helped set up the interview and thanks to Roger for being part of our show and for two great concerts.”

    Show opening recorded Thursday, May 3 2007 at Ferndale’s Magic Bag theater, using the same gear with which we record our podcast.
    For those keeping score, here’s Roger’s setlist for that night

Hello New Day
Counterclockwise
Banditos
Bury My Heart at the Trailer Park
Maybe We Should Fall in Love
Tell Yer Momma
Contraband
Wanted
World Ain’t Gone Crazy
¡Americano!
Mexico
Plenty
I Don’t Need Another Thrill
Hourglass
Wake Up Call
Leaky Little Boat
Junebug in July
Bottom of the Bay
Jack vs José
King of the Hill Theme
Noisy Head
Ándale
Goon Squad
Mekong
Green and Dumb
Down Together
Lemons

    Mike and Schmoe and Scott had a busy weekend, heading off to Chicago the following day for another RCPM show; and then, recording the phone interview on Sunday.
    It was Mike who got the ball rolling regarding the interview.  He contacted Patrick Steven Patterson at Lotus Nile.com, back at the beginning of April, and was able to negotiate a twenty-minute phone interview.  We had hoped to use the interview to promote Roger’s local appearance, but it didn’t work out in time.  Mike happened to meet Roger before the concert (despite what I say in the post-show gabfest), bumping into him outside the rear of Magic Bag.  Mike, once again wearing his classic “The Peacemakers” t-shirt (as seen here, from the previous year), introduced himself and we were delighted to hear Roger was not only aware of the upcoming interview but even remembered the time (4 PM CDT).  He told us he’d be calling from the back of his tour bus, between his Minneapolis and Des Moines appearances.
    So that we could all participate, we used a phone service called Free Conference.com.  This isn’t necessarily an endorsement since the results did not sound all that great.  Using individual phones backfired on us, since a lot of echo and crosstalk got picked up.  I also dialed in using Skype, and got better results that way; and the finished product is a blend between both recordings (plus plenty of tweaks and filters).
    Learn more about Circus Mexicus here.  (The name Schmoe was trying to say is “Puerto Peñasco”.)  And learn more about RCPM’s No More Beautiful World CD here.  Scott’s songwriting question refers specifically to the title track from Honky Tonk Union and “Switchblade” from ¡Americano!.  You can see the RCPM tour bus in our photo gallery.  And as long as you’re looking up RCPM CDs, here’s the link for Sonoran Hope and Madness, originally released by Margaritaville Records.  You can try meeting Roger at 3 Margaritas.  And this is the Mexican Moonshine website, but there’s not much there yet.
    Not surprisingly, the other live track, “Lemons”, also stems from the May 3 show.  You can hear Mike and Scott cheering at the beginning, over their upcoming Chicago show.  Shurman was the opening act, and you can go to their website or visit them at MySpace.  The performance here is heavily edited, for time reasons.  (There’s also a performance of it in Episode 33.

      >  Download Episode 37

Episode 37B: Special Features Bonus Disc

Show Notes:
Recorded Sunday, May 6 2007 (5:00 PM - 9:00 PM), at Casa de Mike, Canton MI
    “The Roger Clyne Podcast Strikes Back, as the boys present some deleted scenes from Episode 37.”

      >  Download Episode 37B