It's Time

It's Time for a Cheesburger in Paradise

The economy is tanking, housing prices are down, the market is dropping daily, all is terrible. Everywhere you go people are depressed and upset, that’s everywhere but one place, that was Shoreline Amptheater  in Mountain View last night.

                You have to envy Jimmy Buffet, here’s a guy that admits he’s not a great musician, but he has a catalog of songs that people know by heart, he’s developed a following, called “Parrotheads”, these are people who dress up in grass skirts, coconut bras, parrot costumes and every other costume. These folks come knowing the songs better than the musicians on stage. The only problem is that Buffet changes the words to his signature songs to acknowledge the city he’s playing in or the crowd that he’s performing for.

                Wouldn’t we all like to have a job where you come to work wearing board shorts, t-shirt and flip flops? Better yet, before you enter your office, you kick off your flip flops, and work barefoot. Buffet seems to genuinely enjoy his time on stage; he seems amused by all that goes on in the audience while he’s on stage. He and his band mates appear to sharing a joke. I always feel that the band would be playing together and having a great time, even if there wasn’t an audience there.

                The audience ranges in age from 5 to 75, and no one gets upset, as we all stand up on the lawn for three hours, listening to the performance. There is singing, dancing, drinking, partying and no problems. I saw a party going on, using a colostomy bag as a beer bong, and passing it around to the group.

                One of Buffet’s lines is that we grow older, but we never grow up, and that seems to be the general consensus in the crowd. We were all rocking out, dredging up our memories as we heard each song, and loving every minute of the concert.

                Buffet isn’t a great musician, but he is an old fashioned American Troubadour. Buffet’s songs are musical poems telling the stories of his life. Before he starts a song, he tells a story that gives you the background of the song’s genesis.

                As I said, with things as dark and dingy as they’ve been lately, it was a release that just made us all feel great for a little while. Of course, there was also beer and other enhancements that helped to make the evening special, but I give Jimmy 99% of the credit for the great outlook I woke up with this morning, but of course by the time I’d watched the morning news, the feeling was starting to wear off. Maybe I’ll play hooky this weekend, and head to the Las Vegas show for a booster shot. In the meantime, I’m buying a guitar, learning to play, and write music. It’s never too late. Join me?

GOOD LUCK

It's Time to Stop Bugging Ringo

Ringo Starr doesn’t want to hear from you. The 68 year old Beatles drummer made a video, and posted it on his web site this week. Ringo told his fans that after Monday October 20^th he will no longer read fan mail, sign pictures or objects. Anything sent to any of his addresses will be tossed. Basically, he’s saying he wants to be left alone. I guess Ringo figures he has enough money to last the rest of his life, and doesn’t need the public anymore.

                Let’s face it, Ringo was never a master musician as a drummer, singer, or songwriter. His fame came as the “accidental “Beatle.  Ringo’s charm to the girls of the 60’s definitely wasn’t his looks or his musicality, it was his personality. He was the lost puppy that the girls all wanted to take in and love. He was older than the others, not as cute, and not as clever. After the Beatles. he continued to perform and write songs, but his music rarely seemed to reach superstar status. His concerts are filled with nostalgia loving folks of my age, who are there for the memories of our youth. If the public chooses to lose interest in Ringo, the personality, will he fill concert venues? Will he get more time on Gossip Girls?

                I guess my point is that when someone’s whole career and financial basis is based on personality and not on their abilities to perform; it seems that telling people you’re tired of them is really slapping them in the face. I can’t see Paris Hilton telling people to leave her alone. Most personalities work really hard to remain in the spotlight, they don’t tell people to kiss off.

                This is just another example of something that seems to growing and bugs me; that being, if you choose a career that puts you in the public eye, and you’re paid millions of dollars for that career, don’t you owe the public? I’m not talking about paparazzi chasing your car and putting your life in danger, or chasing you up and down the street, but it seems you should be willing to share yourself. We’ve seen a number of stars make deals with the press for controlled access, charged for the access, and in most instances, than giving that money to charity. Of course, they negotiate and control the access, but at least it’s done and the public gets its fix.

                I guess I have a simple philosophy on life, if you choose a profession where you deal with the public; you need to give the public their due. You can’t be a waiter and expect to not have o wait on people, you can’t be a garbage man and not deal with garbage, and you can’t be a personality and not deal with the public. Shame on you RIngo.

GOOD LUCK