Parrotheads
parrotheads, PH, parrot heads, jimmy buffett, tropical, beach, trop rock
Jerry Diaz and Hanna’s Reef, a Texas Beach Band
Jerry Diaz at Brewster Street. Photo by Gulfscapes Magazine.
A Soundtrack For Living on the Gulf Coast by Craig Rogers
If asked to describe Jerry Diaz and Hanna’s Reef, the most common response would be “Gulf Coast beach band.” But there are other descriptors. A two hour tropical vacation. Beach party in a box. Beach music by beach people for beach people. You get the idea.
The band members are all Gulf Coast born and raised, hailing from that portion of the Lone Star State east of Houston and west of Louisiana known as the Gold Triangle. That geographic area contains several musical styles – Texas roadhouse, blues, zydeco, country, rock and beach. Jerry Diaz and Hannah’s Reef has absorbed all these styles and used them to create their own songs, some that are clearly in one of these genres, and some that are unique combinations that have a genre all their own. From the country tinged “I Dreamed of Jeannie,” to the accordion and scrub-board fueled Cajun number “Let the Good Times Roll,” to the steel drum island rhythms of “Tropical Girl,” the band revels in the musical gumbo of Southeast Texas.
The band’s leader, Jerry Diaz, is the lead guitarist and songwriter. He started as the guitarist for the successful regional band Key West in the 1990’s, then transitioned into a solo performer and would occasionally join forces with a group of local musicians who would later come to be known as Hannah’s Reef (The name is from a well known reef in Galveston Bay, near Redfish Island, which we mentioned in our Spring 2010 issue). Originally wanting to be just a lead guitarist, Jerry added songwriter to his arsenal in his late 20’s. “Back then, I had no idea I would end up making CD’s and playing all over the country,” he explained. Jerry still performs a mixture of solo shows and full band gigs. He and the band are wildly popular among the Gulf Coast Parrotheads, those devoted Jimmy Buffett fans that adopt the island attitude and music as a antidote to the mundacity of everyday life.
“I was a big fan of Buffett and the calypso sound when I was growing up,” said Jerry. That influence turned out to be beneficial to marketing as well – the band receives regular airplay on Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville – which is certainly its target audience. Jerry also cites among his early musical influences traditional Texas acts such as Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson and David Allan Coe. Later came the Beach Boys, Bob Marley and most recently, Kenny Chesney.
These influences have led to the mixture of musical styles heard in the band’s sound. The content in Jerry’s lyrics, however, comes from a different source. “Lyrically, it’s really songs about places we travel. Traveling is my passion, even more so than music,” he recently confessed. “Writing music about the places we get to go to is a large part of the content. The different cultures, the characters. There’s a lot of characters in my songs. Some are actual people, some are fictitious or composites of people. Our music is really like a soundtrack for living on the Gulf Coast, everywhere from Key West to South Padre.” That’s reflected in several of his song titles, like “Rum in Pensacola,” “Gulf Coast Day,” and “Sunday Morning in New Orleans.”
Since travel fuels Jerry’s songwriting, he was planning to fill up his tank with a vacation to Jost Van Dyke, a sailing mecca in the British Virgin Islands. “A good friend of mine, Eric Stone, is living down there and plays in bars there pretty much every night of the week,” said Jerry. “We’re going to meet up with him and probably I’ll play some of the shows that he’s already got booked. When we’re not with him, we’ll probably play some other places. I say ‘we’ because I’m going with a group of about 60 people. They’re all friends and some play. The last time I went we ended up playing several local places. We’re renting 14 sailboats.” 14? “Yep.” That shouldn’t surprise, coming from a man who wrote a song titled “Beer Drinkers and Sail Raisers.”
Although the Jost Van Dyke trip is a private one, Jerry has done music themed cruise ship voyages seven or eight times. “I like those cruises. Fans come along and we have several shows on the ship and then play in the ports of call. It’s a lot of fun.” After several years of doing the themed cruises, Jerry and the band are taking this year off, but plan to be back out on the big boats for cruises in 2011.
As for the rest of this year, Jerry and Hanna’s Reef will be playing all over the Gulf Coast, from Key West to Tampa to Fairhope, AL to New Orleans to Beaumont, TX to Galveston to Port Aransas, TX. Getting around that much gives Jerry a lot of exposure to our coastal cities. What are his favorites? “I love them all. Anyplace that’s near the water is great. But I guess there are three places that stand out, probably because they’re pirate towns; Port Aransas, New Orleans and Key West.”
What type places does the band prefer? “We like to play in places that are outdoors, kinda open air, more family atmospheres, rather than in smoky bars. We really like playing in more of a casual atmosphere. The good thing is that we’ve noticed over the last few years that a lot more places are offering entertainment, a meal and a bar, where you can go have a good dinner, enjoy a couple of drinks, listen to live music and still get home by ten or eleven o’clock at night. That fits well with us. T-Bone Tom’s in Kemah, Texas is a perfect example. We’ve played there for the last 6 or 7 years. It’s a great place. There’s a huge crowd every time we play there.”
Obviously, the patrons at T-Bone Tom’s know good Gulf Coast music when they hear it. Be sure to catch some yourself when Jerry Diaz and Hanna’s Reef dock in your town.
Hannah’s Reef is:
Jerry Diaz, guitars and vocals
Chuck Willingham, drums and vocals
Troy Allan, bass and vocals
Bud Byram, percussion and vocals
Mark Mireles, steel drums and vocals
David Young, keyboards
Andy Upchurch, keyboards and vocals
Jerry Diaz’s favorite Boat Drink:
“It’s got no name. It’s four parts rum, one part Diet Coke.” Uh, don’t you have that backwards Jerry? Isn’t it four parts Diet Coke, one part rum? “No. It could actually be four and a half parts rum.” Ouch.
Jerry recommends using Mount Gay Rum from Barbados, Railean Rum from Galveston, or Callwood’s Rum from Cane Garden Bay in the British Virgin Islands.
Jerry’s recommendations for Boat Drink bars:
On the Gulf Coast – Lulu’s in Gulf Shores, AL.
Around the Caribbean – Foxy’s in Jost Van Dyke, BVI. Mezcalitos on Cozumel (It’s on the beach on the back side of the island, away from tourists. And electricity. They run the blender with a car battery. Really.)
Jerry Diaz and Hanna’s Reef Albums:
Reef Madness, 2002
Deja View, 2004
Home on the Gulf Coast, 2009
© 2011 Gulfscapes Magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | To Purchase Use Email Gulfscapes | 361-548-6804
Categories: Live Music on the Gulf, Parrotheads Tags: al, fl, Gulf Coast States, Hanna’s Reef, jerry diaz, la, live music, ms, Texas Beach Band, Trop Rock, tx
The Sauce Boss – Bill Wharton
Bill Wharton - The Sauce Boss. Photo by Cheryl Gorski/Facebook.
www.sauceboss.com | www.PlanetGumbo.org
“The sauce boss does his cookin’ on the stage, Stirrin’ and a singing for his nightly wage. Sweating and frettin’ from his head to his toe, Playin’ and swayin’ with the gumbo, Prayin’ and buffetin’ with the gumbo.” – I Will Play For Gumbo, Jimmy Buffett
What does it take to earn a mention in a Jimmy Buffett song? The Gulf Coast Dalai Lama doesn’t include just anyone in his lyrics. If he does, you must be doing something really good, or really bad. Bill Wharton, the Sauce Boss of “I Will Play For Gumbo” fame, is definitely doing the former.
Let’s be clear about what Bill does. He plays a mean blues guitar. That’s enough for most people. But Bill also makes a great hot sauce. Multi-talented. But wait, there’s more! Bill also cooks up a spectacular bowl of gumbo. And did I mention he plays and cooks, onstage, at the same time? Now that’s something you don’t see every day.
And just to make sure he stands out from any other blues musicians who cook gumbo onstage during their set, he also serves the gumbo to his audience after the show. For free. And he sits down and eats with them. Yep, he’s definitely set himself apart.
But wait, there’s still more! On his off days, Bill and the band head to the nearest homeless shelter and play (and cook) for free. Has this man no shame? Doesn’t he know how selfish he’s making the rest of us feel?
So what makes this guy tick? Why the cooking onstage? And why giving away gumbo? Bill offers by way of explanation, and as a declaration of his overriding philosophy, “We’re all a gumbo. A gumbo is more than just a dish. A gumbo is a piece of culture. The French brought the roux. The Native Americans brought the sassafras, which we call file powder. The Africans brought the okra. They put more than the ingredients in it. They put their lives in it.
“My message is we all look different, but deep down we’re all the same. If we can get together on a Friday or Saturday night and have a good time with each other and sit down and have dinner together and forget about our differences for a minute, and concentrate on what we have in common, then maybe we can work some of this stuff out.”
And work it out he has. By his count, he’s served 175,000 bowls of forget our differences gumbo. And he’s still going.
Music really starts at about 1:55 … great!
Born in Orlando before Disney took over, Bill is a self taught musician. He’s also a self taught cook. He watched his Mom in the kitchen, and had a job at a burger joint. But, he says, “I never had a gig actually cooking. This hot sauce just got me headlong into becoming a foodie and a chef.”
What about this hot sauce? How did it and the title “Sauce Boss” get started? Well first, “Sauce Boss” is a nickname given to him by friends after he created his own hot sauce. “ I wasn’t satisfied with the stuff that was out there. This was before the glut of all the sauces we have on the shelves now. There was just basically Tabasco and some Louisiana sauces and some Caribbean stuff. I just needed a better hot sauce. And I was trying to combine a couple of recipes. One was a kind of Caribbean salsa and the other was a New Orleans style sauce, and I got something that’s in between.
“People would come over to my house and eat it all up. I’d make two gallons and it’d be gone in a couple of weeks. That’s a lot of hot sauce! So I decided I was going to put a label on the bottle and sell it to my friends. I started carrying it around with me to the gigs, cause that’s where I saw people, and then they started calling me the Sauce Boss.
“And then I started cooking. It was New Year’s Eve of 1989, and I decided to showcase the sauce in a pot of gumbo. And 175,000 bowls later, here we are!”
Since that New Year’s Eve debut, Bill had refined the show. And how exactly does one cook and play blues at the same time? It starts with a rousing tune, then the band stays on the back burner while he gives a demonstration on how to cook gumbo. Then he’ll do a song for the chicken, then a song for the okra, and so on, weaving the music and the recipe together. “It becomes one thing,” Bill says. “At the end of the show, we say the blessing and eat some gumbo with everybody.”
Bill’s music is a blend all its own, just like the gumbo. It’s described as a spicy Florida slide guitar blues. “Florida’s kinda halfway between New Orleans and the Caribbean,” Bill explains, “and that’s kind of where I’m at with my hot sauce, and also with my music. It’s kind of bluesy, and has that New Orleans swagger, but it’s also got a lot of rhythm to it. Hanging out in Miami gives you a taste of that Latin-American music.”
A blues guitarist has to have some special guitars. Bill’s got ‘em. The guitar he uses on stage is a 1953 Double cut away custom Telecaster, which he calls a rare bird. Then there’s the guitar he uses only in studio, a 1933 National steel guitar. Where did he find it? “It was in my front yard one morning when I woke up.” Kind of like manna from heaven; free food for the musical soul.
That guitar was as free as a bowl of Bill’s gumbo. “We’ve never charged a penny for our gumbo. That’s another part of my message. Sharing. And whenever we have a day off, we take the show to a homeless shelter. We’ve played all over the country. You know where the largest homeless shelter in the country is? Washington, D.C., three blocks off the mall.” Bill has a non-profit organization, the Planet Gumbo Foundation, to help gather support for his homeless shows. PlanetGumbo.org is the website for the foundation.
Bill has a separate website, www.sauceboss.com, for his music and hot sauce. There, you can order one of his 11 albums. His latest is Hot n’ Heavy, a 2010 release full of gumbo inspired tunes and the instant classic, “Get Naked and Surf”. The band members are from Pensacola: Johnny Paradise – guitar, Jassen Wilbur – bass, and Justin Headley – drums.
You can also pick up some of his hot sauce at the website. Has three sauces now. The original, Liquid Summer, uses the relatively rare datil pepper (he buys them from growers in St. Augustine and Tallahassee) for a unique flavor. He’s added Liquid Summer Habanero which is a little hotter due to the habaneros. And he has Hot N Heavy Peach sauce.
But you can’t buy his gumbo. It’s only available at the shows. The source of his gumbo recipe is Shirley Neal, from Baton Rouge. “I knew her son and her husband. Her son is Kenney Neal who is a blues player. His father, Raful, is big in the Louisiana swamp blues scene. Shirley’s been cooking gumbo forever. We were in the studio at the same time once and she was in the kitchen cooking the whole time and I watched her like a hawk.”
Bill has refined his gumbo over the years, and occasionally adds different ingredients. But the core stays the same. “My hot sauce is a major part of my gumbo. The datil pepper is amazing. It’s not just hot, it has a lot of flavor in it. It bridges the taste gap between the chicken and seafood and the vegetables, making it one thing.
“That’s the thing about gumbo. It’s a lot of different things that come together to make something that’s good. Like people. It happens every time we play music. People come from all over the place, all different backgrounds, all kinds of religions, all kinds of races, all kinds of people. And there’s not a problem. Because we give each other respect, and sit down and eat with each other and treat each other as neighbors.”
Ever run out of gumbo? “It’s really weird the way it seems to work out. When I first started out, I made it in this little tiny pot and it was amazing how far the gumbo would go. I mean, I fed a lot of people. It got to where it was kind of scary-creepy. It was like fishes and loaves. Somehow it worked out.”
And things continue to work out for the Sauce Boss, as he crosses the country promoting a confluence of music and food. “We’re just a multi-sensory, soul-shouting picnic of rock and roll brotherhood,” said Bill. So that’s all it takes to get mentioned in a Buffett tune!
© 2011 Gulfscapes Magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | To Purchase Use Email Gulfscapes | 361-548-6804
Categories: Featured story, Live Music on the Gulf, Parrotheads Tags: al, bill wharton, fl, Gulf Coast States, gumbo, la, ms, music, Parrotheads, sauce boss, tx
Parrotheads and Trop Rock on the Gulf Coast
I told someone today that I was lucky enough to write an article about Parrotheads and Trop Rock music. She let it go the first time, but on the second pass of the word “Parrothead,” she cocked her head to one side and asked the famous question: “Just what is a Parrothead?”
And that will be the first topic of this column I’m privileged to share with you. Just what is a Parrothead and what about that Trop Rock business? As a dedicated follower of Jimmy Buffett and all things coastal, it’s a pleasure to inform you about these things, if you aren’t already aware.
Cindy Bates
First of all, I wan to reference some quotes from Doug Hall of the Central Texas Parrothead Club. He states that Parrotheads love the water, skies and palm trees, and while not many of us get to live in such an environment, it’s still a part of their souls. They are also very giving individuals, whether it is their time, money and supplies to various charities, or just to lend a helping hand to a friend in need.
I love that he also maintains that a Parrothead never really grows up. I can attest that if you ask a true Parrothead how they are, the answer will almost always be positive. They look to the sunny side of life and tend to experience all the zest life has to offer.
Gulfscapes Magazine recently had a contest for favorite gulf coastal towns. Pensacola, Florida came in with the top number of votes and I contacted the Parrotheads of Pensacola to discover a few of their favorite things. They thrive at their monthly meetings at The Oar House. Many enjoy “phlocking” to Landshark Landing, also. Owned by Jimmy Buffett, this open air beach bar would naturally attract Parrotheads.
And what it this thing with Parrotheads creating new words with “ph” instead of good old “f?” This is something to which I still need to get to the bottom, but my first guess would be that “PH” (ParrotHead) invites natural creativity with words. Hence, “phlock,”
“phins,” “phabulous”…. You get the picture!
Another gulf coastal town voted in the top ten is Orange Beach/ Gulf Shores, Alabama. Actually, these are two separate towns, but when I visited there last summer, I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. The Lower Alabama Parrothead Club relayed to me that Lulu’s and the Flora-Bama are two favorite Parrothead haunts in the area. But, of course! Lulu’s is owned my Jimmy Buffett’s baby sister, Lucy, and is also a wonderful Trop Rock venue. The Flora-Bama has existed on the state line between Alabama and Florida for decades. This place is always busy, having survived hurricanes and been touted in Buffett songs.
Moving to my home state of Texas, Galveston and Port Aransas also made the top ten towns. The Galveston Bay Parrothead Club is no stranger to hurricanes, either. Their resilient area Parrotheads enjoy monthly meetings at Noah’s Ark in Bacliff and also T-Bone Tom’s in nearby Kemah. After Hurricane Ike struck a few years ago, the “coconut telegraph” was buzzing with updates on local Parrotheads and their well-being after the storm. Again, we are a very caring group!
My second home is Port Aransas, Texas, part of the Texas Redneck Riviera. The Parrotheads of Port Aransas are an equal opportunity bunch and enjoy a variety of libation venues in the area. As a charter member of this group, one of my favorite locales is The Back Porch. Open March through October, they showcase a variety of musical acts, many with a Trop Rock feel. Built on the edge of the Port A marina, who couldn’t feel totally coastal with a salt-tinged breeze blowing, seagulls screeching nearby and a cold one in front of you?
Parrothead clubs work tirelessly for philanthropic purposes. Scott Bates likes to call it “philantropic,” and I agree. They dedicate thousands of volunteer hours and raise mega-bucks for such groups as food pantries, animal shelters, wildlife rescues and sanctuaries, zoos, volunteer fire departments, highway cleanups, and battered women’s shelters. Communities have recognized what a vast contribution their local Parrothead club can be to their charitable endeavors. “Party With A Purpose” is the national mantra for Parrotheads!
Now that you know much more about Parrotheads, I’ll tackle Trop Rock briefly. Jimmy Buffett is the father of the trend, of course, but basically, it’s a mixture of rock-n-roll and country music, blended with an island style theme and lyrics. Thanks to DJ DK, from Island Time Radio, for that definition.
Jerry Diaz, Trop Rock musician from Beaumont, Texas, feels the lyrics are key: tropical, nautical and escapism themes. Who isn’t ready for a virtual island escape through music? Jerry is a standard performer at many Trop Rock weekends and festivals and was featured in the Winter 2010 issue of Gulfscapes.
Brent Burns hold the recent title of “Trop Rock Entertainer of the Year.” Brent, who hails from “LA,” (that’s lower Alabama!) feels that Trop Rock is original music about the beach and beach life. He was writing and performing this music genre before it was named. He states “as long as you have the beach attitude, that’s all it takes.”
So have we learned something, boys and girls? Time for me to smooth on a little sunscreen, sip on something frosty and crank up the tunes. Til next time, keep it between the navigational beacons!
About the writer: Cindy Bates, Parrothead Extraordinaire – The coconut bra and hula skirt wearers have spoken, and we’ve listened! Those avid supporters of Jimmy Buffett, known as Parrotheads, asked for a regular columnist to keep them up to date on Parrothead happenings. And we’ve found the perfect writer, Cindy Bates, whose Port Aransas home is a living memorial to all things Buffett, which is unquestionable proof of her Parrothead credentials. Cindy will explore the native habitat of the head Parrot, Mr. Buffett, who hails from Mobile, AL and proudly sports his Gulf Coast heritage. If it’s Parrothead related, Cindy will cover it. Look for her regular column in our next issue and get ready for some phlockling phun.
© 2011 Gulfscapes Magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | To Purchase Use Email Gulfscapes | 361-548-6804
Categories: Live Music on the Gulf, New Issue, Parrotheads Tags: Cindy Bates, Gulf Coast States, jerry diaz, kelly mcguire, Parrotheads, Trop Rock
