FEATURED ARTICLE
OCTOBER 2007 - Margartita Mafia Artist Of The Month
Georgia-Based, TropRock Artist, Jeff Pike, is best known as Lead Singer of the “Official and Original Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show”, A1A, but there’s a lot more to this guitar and keyboard playing band leader. While A1A may be known as a tribute band, the group has also released a CD of original music and is currently working on a second original project.
Like many of the Margarita Mafia’s Artist members, Jeff is a promoter of not only his own band’s music and his solo music but of the entire TropRock genre, performing double duty as co-producer and engineer of the weekly TropRock Internet Radio Show, “Time After Island Time”.
A lot has changed since Jeff and former partner Scott Nickerson appeared as A1A at the first National Jimmy Buffett Convention, and Jeff has been there through it all. With the 16th Annual Convention, “Meeting of the Minds”, being held next month in Key West, we thought it would be a great time to hear what Jeff had to say about Jimmy Buffett, “Meeting of the Minds”, A1A and the future of TropRock.
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Obviously, you are a long-time fan of Jimmy Buffett’s music. Do you remember the first time you heard a Jimmy Buffett song?
When I was 16 years old my good friend Ken Mercer turned me on to the music of Jimmy Buffett. I met Ken in the sixth grade in the fall of 1972 and he is still one of my dearest friends and musical partners. The year was 1978 and I was a junior in high school at Woodward Academy in Hapeville, Georgia.
I had been playing and studying acoustic guitar through private lessons since 1971. Influences in my very early and formative years were the likes of Johnny Rivers, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, The Monkees, The Partridge Family, Neil Diamond, John Denver, Don McClean, Jim Croce, The Beatles, Elton John and last but not least, believe it or not….Alice Cooper. I formed my first band in 1974 and literally overnight rock and roll and my new electric guitar (A 1974 Cherry Red Epiphone ES 335) relentlessly invaded my soul. It was all I lived for until May of 1978. It was then while on a school choir trip in Mobile, Alabama that I first heard Dan Fogelberg’s album “Souvenirs.” It was one of those very few defining moments in my life that hit me like a ton of bricks. It literally changed my life forever. I came home from my trip, purchased every Dan Fogelberg album that existed, acquired my first Ovation guitar through my parents, started formal piano lessons and dove deeply into the singer/songwriter genre.
My friend Ken and I immediately started an acoustic duo, which was basically a “Dan Fogelberg Tribute Show.” Of course we didn’t call it that, we just played all of our favorite songs, which happened to be 90% Dan Fogelberg! That is until Ken came home one day with an album entitled, “You Had To Be There” by a raucous looking young man with a broken leg by the name of Jimmy Buffett.
Ken had lost his Father several years early and the song “Captain and The Kid” meant a lot to him. So that was the first Jimmy Buffett song that I ever heard. Hmm….now that I think about it I do not believe I have ever shared that memory with anyone before. Thanks for asking! That album became my next “Souvenirs.” We learned every song on it backwards and forwards and I know I have gone through several copies (8-tracks too!) over the years. One of my prized possessions is my original album autographed by the band. That album is very special to me and it is still one of my all time favorites of Jimmy’s amazing body of work. It will always have a special place in my heart.
What prompted the decision to form a tribute band and when was A1A formed?
Oddly enough it was something that I fell into by accident. Throughout the 1980’s I made my living as a solo acoustic guitarist and playing keyboards in a large touring rock and roll band. Through the course of events from life on the road I found myself in January of 1988 back in Atlanta, Ga. without a band or a duo partner. But instead of being down I was actually very excited. During my stint with the band I had studied hard the art of programming synthesizers, drum machines and real time sequencing. Something that was very new at the time and very, very, few people were using live. So I locked myself away and put together one helluva one man show and was quickly working as much as I wanted to around the Atlanta area.
By the summer of 1989 I had acquired an enormous following of people who would come out to my shows JUST to hear my versions of Jimmy Buffett songs.
One evening on the patio of a club called Pufferbellys a friend of mine named Rich Norton showed me an advertisement that he had cut out of the paper. The add was written by a man named Scott Nickerson and he was looking for members to join a community, charity and fun loving Jimmy Buffett Parrot Head Club. Rich thought that I should contact him to see if I might be able to get some gigs.
I called Scott, he came to see me play one evening and we hit it off right from the start. When I joined the first Parrot Head Club in Atlanta in the summer of 1989 we had about 30 members. I was a fulltime musician and Scott worked in the hotel industry so I would play the seasonal parties for The Atlanta Parrot Head Club and continue with the rest of my performances throughout the year. Scott started sitting in occasionally on electronic drums and harmonica at my shows around town. Over time the sound we created together, also backed by my own performance sequences I had recorded started to gel. The club was getting bigger, Scott was in the process of talking to people about starting out of town clubs and we had fun playing together.
Up until around late 1991 or early 1992 ( I can’t remember exactly) all of the shows were just billed as Jeff Pike. However, it was obvious that my own solo shows and the now Parrot Head Party shows I performed by myself and with Scott were vastly different. After little discussion we both agreed that we needed to have a name when we performed together. I forget the lady who suggested A1A, (Scott can tell you) but once she said it we knew we need look no further. So I suppose it was around that time that A1A was “officially” formed.
But to answer your question as to why we formed a tribute band? At first it was just for the fun and good times that we were all having with our friends and family known as The Atlanta Parrot Head Club. We never had any intention in the beginning of taking it further than we did. Neither Scott nor I in our wildest dreams could have imagined then the road we were about to embark on and where his Parrot Head Club and my music would take us. It was a very wonderful time in my life and I have an ocean of fond memories of those early years that I will treasure forever.
Do you remember A1A’s first performance?
I can’t recall the “official” bands first performance, but the first time that Scott and I ever performed together was at the 1st Anniversary party of The Atlanta Parrot Head Club in the summer of 1989. I remember about 30 people were in attendance and Scott played his big yellow set of acoustic drums and I did my regular Buffett Show. I remember at that time I didn’t even know he played. I was setting up and he pulls up in his little Red Honda packed to the gills with drums!
A1A began as a duo with National Parrot Head Club Founder, Scott Nickerson on drums. It’s hard to imagine life as a Trop Rock Artist without Parrot Head Clubs. In those early years, how did you find work?
That is a very good point. Jimmy Buffett’s popularity and the expansion of the Parrot Head Club phenomenon has evolved so much that I have actually met countless people who think there has always been a Parrot Head Club and that Jimmy Buffett even started it. It is absolutely mind boggling at how huge it has become. So as time goes on and Trop Rock continues to grow I feel it is very important for everyone to know where the grass roots of ALL of this Parrot Head Trop Rock madness began. Of course first and foremost there was Jimmy Buffett. In 1988 Scott started the first Parrot Head Club, I was performing a tribute to Jimmy Buffett in Atlanta and in 1989 we started playing together. In 1991 A1A was born and from our long-standing success a platform and precedent was built for all of the other bands that have followed. Of course we did not perform original material at the time but I was known for my own unique approach and interpretation of Jimmy’s music, usually with a more rocking edge. Trop Rock baby…. Parrot Head Clubs grew thanks to Scott’s hard work and for well over 5 years or more A1A was the only game in town. Work was never hard to find. It came to us in droves. Especially when the internet hit back in the mid nineties. Of course it helped a lot that Mr. Buffett, his band and his organization were friends and behind us 100%. I am very grateful and proud of that fact. Throughout my career I have been fortunate enough to play all over the world, cruise the Caribbean seas many times and perform for thousands upon thousands of wonderful Parrot Heads and make more good friends than most people meet in a lifetime. I have been very blessed.
How has A1A evolved and expanded over the years?
A1A began as strictly a Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show and for years upon years it has remained tried and true. I am very proud of the legacy and reputation we have earned through the years. Also, since I have always made my living as a musician I have never seen the sense of changing horses in midstream, so to speak. (Also, to quote Dan Fogelberg…J )
A1A was formed in 1991 and remained a duo up until around the late nineties when we started having fellow musician friends sit in with us. We wanted the band to grow but could never quite get a lineup together at the time that could work fulltime. So friends like Howard Parks, Jerry McCollum, Darwin Conort, Koney Ferrell, Chaz McDonald and James Cobb would sit in with us from time to time. These wonderful musical moments we shared onstage with our friends was the catalyst for our second CD that we released in 2000. “A1A and Friends Live at Hemingways.”
In April of 2002 Scott underwent major surgery and had to get off the road and leave the band. He now lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with his wife Angie where he plays with several local bands, including Sunny Jim and is currently working on a book about his experience with the entire Parrot Head phenomenon. It was after Scott’s departure that I brought Koney Ferrell into the band as a fulltime member. I had played on and off with Koney since 1983 and he had already logged hundreds of hours onstage with Scott and I. So it really was a no brainer. “The Kone” is an amazingly versatile musician and in A1A plays mandolin, lap steel, bass guitar and sings backup vocals. He and I were responsible for writing most of our first all original A1A album together. “Ship Happens!!!” which was released in 2003.
2004 saw the addition of Laurie Ann Barbier and Chaz McDonald. Laurie was a supreme female vocalist and songwriter who left the band in the summer of 2005 to devote time to her new husband and to pursue her own career. She now has a very successful band in the Atlanta area called “Lectric Mayhem.” I am pleased to announce though that she will be a guest vocalist and songwriter on the forthcoming A1A CD “Beachwrecked.”
Chaz McDonald is a supreme guitarist, an even finer bass player, a rocking vocalist and an excellent showman. I first met Chaz back in 1986 when he played bass in the touring rock and roll band I was in and we have played in all kinds of carnations together over the years.
2005 saw the addition of James Cobb. James is an extremely trained and accomplished classical and jazz guitarist, harmonica player, audio engineer and composer who was first only brought on to play harmonica. Now he jokes when he picks up his harmonica case that it was a lot easier when that was all he had to bring to load in!
2005 also saw the addition of drummer Paul O’ Daniel, percussion player James Hammons and Saxophone/keyboardist/audio guru Vance Kelly. Paul, James H., Koney and James C. have known each other for many, many years as have Vance and Chaz. So it is REALLY like having a family now with A1A.
I am amazingly blessed to have been fortunate enough to surround myself with such dedicated, professional top-notch musicians and soloists. Every year the band has gotten better and our crowds have gotten larger. We continuously break attendance records at most of our regular seasonal outdoor shows every year and I just am beside myself half the time. I have never had a band this good in my life and I can’t wait to see what next year brings.
2006 brought into our family one Mr. Ansley Segraves. Mr. Segraves is an old friend of Vance Kelly’s who along with Vance is now in charge of our quite large and extensive A1A Audio Production Company. As our shows became larger we found ourselves more and more dissatisfied with the sound companies our clients were supplying us with. So after much discussion and a very large investment we are proud to announce that A1A/Segraves Productions can provide complete concert audio and light production for just about any size event. And I have heard NO sound system that sounds better.
Last but by no means least, I am very, very proud to announce that my daughter Ashton Taylor Pike is now part of the band during the summer season on certain large-scale performances. Ashton is a talented percussionist and vocalist and the joy I get from looking over and having her onstage with me is a feeling that I will never, ever be able to put into words.
What is the band’s current lineup? (edited to reflect current 2009 lineup)
JEFF PIKE – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Programming
RICH MEEDER – Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Lap Steel Guitar and vocals.
JAMES COBB – Pan Steel Guitar, Classical Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica
and vocals
CHAZ MCDONALD – Lead Guitar, Vocals and Production
VANCE KELLY – Keyboards, Saxophone and Production
WAYNE VIAR – Drums
CHAD STEWART and ANSLEY SEGRAVES– Audio and Light Production
A1A appeared at the first National Parrot Head Convention. How has the convention changed since its inception 16 years ago?
Well first I need to correct you in saying that A1A first performed at the 2nd National Parrot Head Convention in New Orleans, not the first. We were at the first convention but did not perform. If memory serves me right there were only around 92 people registered. A1A went on to headline The Annual Meeting of The Minds from 1993-1999 and loved every single second of it.
I still keep in touch with the majority of the people and founders who were around in the beginning and occasionally we do discuss how things have changed over the years. Sadly, we pretty much all agree that very little of it has been for the better. When MOTM was first organized and during a lot of the formative years there was camaraderie, a sense of belonging, purpose, friendship and family with everyone who was involved with the event. Everyone was open-minded, honest, giving and there were no problems. It was generally a very happy time for everyone concerned. I know without a doubt that I speak for a vast majority of the people when I say that sadly a lot of that has been lost. Many have witnessed first hand how the destructive powers of politics, personal agendas, greed, nepotism, apathy and in many cases ignorance have infested a good hearted event and tainted it for a lot of people and artist’s. On the other side of the coin though, history shows that as numbers grow large in any organization that the possibility for disorder, chaos and dishonesty grow. That’s just how it rolls.
But please don’t get me all-wrong. Almost 4,000 people are descending upon Key West every year to hear original Trop Rock music. That is a GOOD thing and something I am glad to be a part of. I still have a fantastic time every year that I attend. I just feel that maybe we are getting too big for the island and that there needs to be some restructuring on how musicians are booked and how and what events are planned as the numbers grow. I have had a love affair with Key West since Scott and I won the Jimmy Buffett sound alike contest for Margaritaville Records back in 1992 and they sent us to Key West on their dime. I have had many memories there and I always treasure the opportunity to visit my old haunts and catch up with old friends. But when it gets too much for me I just pull up a chair at the back of The Pier House and watch the sun go down. With any luck you will see me down there again this year, always hoping for the best!
For years, A1A has been recognized as “the Official and Original Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band”. Why the decision to incorporate original music into the show?
Right before A1A started moving fast in the summer of 1991 I had just released my first CD of all original material and was in the process of putting a band together to promote it. I had no idea at the time but my plans for my career were a lot different than what lay in store for me. Anyway, the A1A express train took over my life rapidly and for many reasons I lost track of my original inspiration for wanting to be a musician in the first place, and it has taken quite some time to get back to it. I had studied guitar, voice, piano, and composition for most of my life and as the years went by I found it extremely frustrating personally and professionally to be limited to just strumming a guitar and playing cover music. But you gotta make a living. You know? ( I DO LOVE to play cover music, so don’t take that statement wrong) But heck, to be honest with you a lot of people didn’t, and some still don’t take me seriously as a musician. This has been horribly frustrating and depressing for me at times.
I have written music in other genres, played on countless CDs and released CDs of my own over the years but as life gets more complicated and A1A has gone on I find less and less time to devote to it. It is a very big concern and problem in my musical and spiritual life and it is a problem I feel I really need to address before much more time goes by. If for not other reason than my own peace of mind.
For a positive response however I give this. Through producing my radio show Time After Island Time I have not been able to help but notice that the number of original Trop Rock artists recording today is increasing rapidly and I felt that now was the time to test the waters of making A1A an original project as well. So we will see how it goes!
You play both guitar and piano/keyboard. In the band, you play acoustic guitar. Do you prefer one instrument over the other when it comes to songwriting?
The approach I take to composing on the piano, electronic keyboard and the guitar are all completely different. I am generally inclined to write in a certain style on each given instrument. I am sure that most musicians would feel the same. Or in other words, I feel and hear chord progressions differently when I am writing on a guitar than I would if I were writing the same song on the piano or on a synthesizer. A lot of it has to do with the physical way each of the instruments is laid out. Also, on a synthesizer you have the luxury of an endless pallet of sounds. Each sound can take you into a different compositional direction at any moment based on mood, feeling or instinct of style. I compose on all three and could really not pick one over the other. It all depends on my mood and what kind of direction I want to take the song. (And I have been told I am very moody. J )
As a person who’s been there virtually from the beginning of the TropRock movement, it seems like you would be a great person to ask this question, “What makes a TropRock song?”
I have never been one to be fond of music “categories.” New Wave, Alternative, Hip-Hop, etc., for there are so very few that can actually live up to their title. Music is SO diverse that while I do see the need to put a label on a certain style I have found often that it does more harm than good and only confuses listeners.
However; and see if you can follow me here. I think that since Trop Rock is in it’s infancy as a recognized musical style we have an amazing opportunity at this time in history to mold and shape where we want it to go.
Personally, I think that the vast majority of the Trop Rock musical community needs to be more experimental with their resources and influences when it comes to creating new Trop Rock. I feel we have a responsibility. In my opinion, I think that if you ask the layman on the Key West street what makes a good Trop Rock song they will tell you steel drums, congas and a lyrical topic that centers around some kind of relaxation in the islands that almost certainly involves a palm tree and an alcoholic beverage. I have written some of these myself, I know. There is nothing wrong with this but it seems we are getting an awful lot of them these days. We need to experiment a little more. Jazz, Bosa Nova, deep reggae combined with rock could all make for a good trop rock song.
I feel that a trop rock song on the edge could lyrically be about anything that the lyricist wishes to write about but yet still has at least the hint of an island, reggae or ska rhythm. Put that against a rocking four on the floor drum kit, some screaming guitar and you could still have recipe for trop rock.
But what makes a good trop rock song for me? I go for emotion. I am a Cancer and very emotional anyway. J If I can close my eyes and feel content, relaxed, rocked, soothed, carefree and imagine myself in any sort of tropical setting listening to this song and smiling, then that is a good trop rock song to me. Doesn’t matter what it’s about or what kind of instrumentation you have. For me it is all about feeling at one with your island soul. Those in this world who have one know what I mean and those who don’t have one never will. A good Trop Rock song will take you there no matter what.
The band has one CD of original music and a second in the works. When can we expect a new A1A CD with new Original music?
I really must apologize for the delay in the release of the new A1A CD Beachwrecked. It was actually scheduled for release in 2004. At that time Laurie Ann Barbier was in the band and we were writing and recording songs to take the band in a direction that could best be described as Miami Sound Machine meets Jimmy Buffett. She was to be featured vocalist on a lot of the songs as we tried to forge a new sound and direction for A1A’s original music. Well, Laurie got married and decided to leave the band, come off the road and devote more time to her marriage and her own music. So this put the project on hold for quite some time and we had to start from scratch and go back to the drawing board.
I was starting to make some headway when in August of 2005 my daughter Ashton and I lost her Mother and we have had to spend the majority of the past two years getting our lives back together. During that time I experienced an enormous case of writers block and disinterest in recording. But all is well now and I am looking forward to finishing up and releasing Beachwrecked on the first day of spring 2008. I had initially planned on having a MOTM release party but A1A’s schedule this summer made it too difficult to finish up in time. I will let you know when and where the party will be. Everyone is invited!
You are one of the few artists who have appeared with Jimmy Buffett and members of his Coral Reefer Band. What was that like?
I have been extremely fortunate to have the experiences with Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band that I have had over the years. I have always been a HUGE fan and obsessed groupie with my heroes and Jimmy Buffett and the band were no exception. I was a teen when I started listening and playing his music so years later when I was able to play, jam, drink and talk with them on their level, having earned their respect….well….I would pinch myself, laugh, smile and cry at the same time. That kind of full circle experience for a musician such as myself is what we got into this crazy business for in the first place. What was it like? Like having a childhood dream come true. I recommend it for everyone.
You have shared the stage with many other artists as well: Jerry Lee Lewis, Bertie Higgins, The Marshall Tucker Band, to name a few. Who is your favorite?
Oddly enough the nicest guys I ever did a show with were Rick Springfield and David Allan Coe. They both treated me extremely well and were VERY nice, polite and professional to my entourage and me at the time. David Allan Coe’s management even paid for everybodys food, drinks, and even took us out on the town.
Any interesting stories you can share?
I was playing a smoking rock and roll opening act slot for Ricky Medlock and Blackfoot back in the early nineties. Most know that Ricky is an amazing guitarist, founding member of Blackfoot and the original guitarist in Lynyrd Skynyrd with whom he has long since rejoined. Well, I grew up copping his chops so I was really nervous and pushing it that night. Friends of mine backstage said Ricky stopped the conversation and the party while I was doing my version of the classic Jimi Hendrix/Robin Trower tune “Rock Me Baby”. Ricky told everyone that this guy is hot and that he wanted to meet me. Well….lets just say I didn’t sleep for weeks off of that high.
I got to perform with Toy Caldwell of The Marshall Tucker Band at one of his very last performances. He was a true Southern Gentleman and one helluva guitar player. I remember his daughter was the sweetest girl in the world and picked up our HUGE tab. After the show we hung out with Toy in the limo and went out on the town. Another night I will never remember. Sadly he died 6 months later. Whew……I could go on and on with these. Meet me at The Bull in Key West and I will tell you some more. J
Like many Trop Rock acts, you work as both as solo artists and with a band. Which do you prefer and why?
I started out my music career as a solo artist and will always have a large place in my heart for that kind of performing. In fact, I know I will do it till I die. I love the pressure and challenge of being alone onstage and having to work to make the audience yours, never knowing what is going to happen next. I love entertaining people one on one and sometimes I just love singing and playing for hours and hours. In fact, those who have worked with me know I am famous (and sometimes hated) for playing hours and hours without a break.
Then on the other hand there is nothing like the feeling of being with a fantastic band onstage with a large audience in the palm of our hand, the speakers loud, the lights bright and the adrenaline pumping. In all honesty I could not pick one over the other. Again, it just depends on my mood
In addition to your onstage career, you have also worked many years behind the scene as co-producer and engineer of the weekly Internet Radio Show, “Time After Island Time”. Tell us about the show.
Paul Leslie and I started Time After Island Time in October of 2003 on RadioMargaritaville.com. At the time not very many people believed in what we were doing for our format was different. But as you can see we proved a lot of people wrong and have come to be a prominent force in the future of internet Trop Rock radio and Internet radio in general.
What has set us apart from all of the other stations out there is that we feature a different artist on every show that we air. When I say feature I do not mean that we just play their music. No, we interview them either in our studio, live on location or over the phone and build a musical show around their music, theme, history and personal taste. Sometimes we have been lucky enough to have live unplugged recording sessions directly on our show. We go to an enormous amount of trouble to acquire interviews and put together shows that make ours stand out above the rest.
We started Time After Island Time to specifically promote Trop Rock Artist who we felt were not getting their fare share of airplay and artists that we personally thought needed to be heard.
But what has transpired since then I can only best analogize to the start of my career with A1A. Paul and I never dreamed where TAIT would take us in just three short years. Through our perseverance and dedication many major artists, both screen and music, are now seeking us out to be on our show. That is the beautiful thing about Time After Island Time. It appears to have no boundaries. We have interviewed a lot of people and we have some BIG SURPRISES coming soon!! I am not going to tell you about it here!! Visit the website and listen. I am extremely excited about the future of TAIT, and all Trop Rock musicians and fans should be too.
Why is your show, and others like it, so important to the future of the TropRock?
Internet radio is the radio of the future. Pure and simple. Real radio is horrible, corporate and dead. More people are turning to Internet radio every day and the entertainment industry is noticing. Believe me. Like I mentioned before, Trop Rock is in its infancy so we have an opportunity here to create the music we want and present it however we want. But I feel we have a responsibility to do it with class, originality, professionalism and showmanship. Something a lot of the Internet radio stations lack. That is just another reason I feel that TAIT is a founding father in the long scheme of Trop Rock Things, much like A1A was. It excites me to see other stations cropping up too. The more good stations that are out there the more exposure Trop Rock will get, and you can never have too much exposure. Well, unless your Phil Collins of course…J
Jimmy Buffett has always had difficulty getting airplay. What do you think needs to happen in order for the “Music Industry” to recognize Trop Rock music?
The music industry and the recording industry has changed more for the worst even from back in the days of the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. Those were the best of times and Jimmy still could not get airplay.
The days of getting the big record deal and becoming a rich and famous star are over. Long gone. The industry just does not work like that anymore. An act has to be well established, road proven, successful, and selling a LOT of product before a label will even look at them. But Trop Rock is not a popular genre. Heck, it isn’t even a recognized genre at this point. To even make a dent in the industries armor we will need many independent successful artist’s. Artist’s that tour successfully, who are self sufficient, have a large national fan base and are moving a lot of product on a regular basis. In my opinion Jim Morris is as close as any of us in this genre have gotten to that kind of success, and no disrespect to Jim but there is still a very long way to go and I don’t think it will be fast in coming. We also need the fans to support artist’s more by buying CDs and merch, supporting websites, fan clubs and getting the word out on the street to local music newspapers, radios, etc. I think we have finally shoved off from the dock but I feel that our journey is one that might take us around the world before it pays off. But I sure hope I am wrong.
The Margarita Mafia’s goal is to establish Trop Rock as a legitimate style of music alongside Rock and Roll, Country, Pop, etc…. Do you think that by establishing TropRock as a musical style, there will be more opportunities for TropRock Artists to be heard?
Yes, without a doubt. I applaud The Margaritaville Mafia’s persistence in pushing for Trop Rock as a style on sites like CD Baby. Our goal should be for every online CD Store to have Trop Rock as a style.
Parrothead Clubs have long provided much needed exposure to Artists on the “Sunburn Circuit”. How can we create more live music venues?
Yes, that is very true. I don’t think enough credit can be given to all of the Parrot Head Clubs across the nation who welcome original Trop Rock music with open arms. As for creating new venues I really don’t have an answer for that one. Living in Atlanta, Ga. we see the number of live venues dropping all the time. It is quite a scary site. My advice would be to find a local venue that already exists and hound them to book your favorite Trop Rock artist. Of course, the club does need to make sure that the venue is packed when the artist plays though or all is lost. That is a start I believe.
What can fans do to promote TropRock?
Tell everyone and anyone you know about your favorite Trop Rock Artists. GO SEE LIVE MUSIC. PROMOTE LIVE MUSIC. Buy CDs. Promote your artist’s website. Start a tribute Myspace site to your favorite Trop Rock Artist.
Where do you think TropRock music will be in 10 years?
I believe in ten years we will be a well-recognized genre and a small force in the musical sea of life. I don’t think they will be handing out Grammies yet, but who knows? I believe it all depends on the youth of tomorrow getting turned on to what we already know and having the guts to get out there and blaze a trail.
Is there anything we haven’t covered that you think people would like to know?
Yes, that I am still a bad ass lead guitar player and very few Parrot Heads know it……J Ask Fingers Taylor….see what he says…J..lol
Where can folks go to find out more about you, A1A and the radio show, “Time After Island Time”?
I encourage everyone to please check out our websites and to shoot me an e-mail or even call me if you want with any comments, questions or suggestions you may have. Thanks To The Mafia for all that they do. I had a great time doing this interview and am honored to be part of such an amazing team.
Fins up!
Jeff Pike
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