CELEBRATED
TRAVELER
© JULIESKARRATT
SUMMER 2012
celebratedliving.com
100
JimmyBuffett
M
Musically speaking, no twowords define summertimequite like
JimmyBuffett. For almost 40 years, the singer-songwriter has
been leading concertgoers throughhit after hit of sing-alongs
(“Margaritaville,” “Cheeseburger inParadise”) on sold-out tours.
This summer is going tobehuge forBuffett. Not only ishebare-
knee-deep inhisMargaritaville resort and casinoproperties, he’s
once again embarkingonaNorthAmerican tour topromote anew
album,
Welcome toFinCity: JimmyBuffett Live fromLasVegas
.
We caught upwith thebeach lover at hisFloridahome and
discoveredhis favoriteCaribbean island, the two thingshenever
travelswithout, and the one song that gets crowds goingabove all
of his classics.
— JAMESMAYFIELD
MYFAVORITE ISLAND INTHECARIBBEANWOULDHAVETOBE:
St.Barts. I’ve
spent thewintersonSt.Barts foralmost30years.That’swhere I’m
basedoutof… I’vegota littledaysailerandasmallplane there.So that’s
kindofstillmy favoritespot tohang frombecause it’sgot thebestof
everything. Idon’t thinkany island in theCaribbeancanbeat the food
inSt.Barts,because it’sCreole, it’sFrench,andyoudon’tfind thenum-
berofgreatplaces toeatonother islands likeyoucanonSt.Barts.
THEMARGARITAVILLEPROPERTIES I HAVE IN THEWORKS INCLUDE:
There’s
one inHollywood, Florida.We’rekindof inour raising-capital stages,
but it’s lookinggood.We’vegotapproval, sowe’redoing thefinancing
partof itnow.And thenwehaveacasino thatwill beopening this
summer inBiloxi,Mississippi, and there’sonegoingup inBossier
City, Louisiana, thatwe’restarting tobreakgroundon.
TWO THINGS I NEVER LEAVE HOMEWITHOUT:
I alwayshavemy little
travelingacousticguitarwithme, and I havemy iPad. [Laughs.] I’m
a romantic throwback to thedaysof seaplanes, but I alsohappen to
beahigh-techguy. I think the iPad’s thegreatest thing since sliced
bread, particularlyasawriter. I’vegotGarageBand, I’vegotPhoto-
shop, and I’vegotwritingprograms. It’s just so convenient.
THEONESONG INMYSET THATGETS THECROWDGOING THEMOST IS:
“Fins.”Whenyou lookoutat 16,000peopleand theyare rockin’, and
you turn the lightsupandeverybodydoes the“fins to the left”and
“fins to the right”— that’sanamazing thing.When thatmoment
occurs in theshow, I simplyneverget tiredof seeing it…or feeling it.
SOMEONE I HAVEN’TWORKEDWITH I’D STILL LIKE TO:
GuitaristMark
Knopfler [DireStraits]. I’vedonea coupleof his songsand I know
Mark, butwe’venever reallyworked togetheronaproject. I am
suchabig fanof hiswritingandhisproduction.
MYMUSICAL HERO GROWINGUPWAS:
GordonLightfoot, and Iwasa
hugeMerleHaggard fan. I had fourorfive influences, butGordon
was really thebiggest influenceasawriter, performer, anda style.
WHENPEOPLEASK, “WHENAREYOUGOINGTOSTOP, DOESN’T ITEVERGETOLD
UPTHERE?” I SAY:
Areyoukidding? Ifyouhada job likemine, doyou
thinkyou’ddo it everyday?Yeah, youwould. I’vebeen luckyenough
tofigureafinebalancebetweenworkandplay.
