MUMBO JUMBO – January 2011
January 2011
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER COLLECTION OF ADVENTURES
First of all, I have to admit that the title of this month’s Mumbo Jumbo was lifted directly from the cover of the 2011 Eastport Yacht Calendar. And yes, that’s me on the cover fishing off the open transom of an Eastport 32 in the Boca Grande channel, about 20 miles west of Key West on a picture perfect day last winter! Having travelled most of the country by highway last year, and sitting here planning another coast to coast tour for this summer, it seemed like the perfect title for the first newsletter of 2011.
After such a hectic summer and fall on the road, the winter months are definitely my quiet time. I don’t stray too far from the Keys unless it’s to go up to New Hampshire to write, which I hope to do in March. I am going to be playing many weekends solo at THE PIER HOUSE BEACH BAR and Dave and I have a number of engagements over the winter at MARGARITAVILLE in Key West, and SNAPPERS in Key Largo, so it’s not like we’re loafing! Also Terry Lederer and I will be starting to book the 2011 tour in the coming weeks, which requires a great deal of time and planning.
These are the months I try to get on the water as much as possible and enjoy the beautiful scenery surrounding Key West. My friends Tom and Regan Weaver are here in Key West to participate in the annual Key West sailing regatta on “Rhum Punch,” the family Farr 30, so you can imagine the jump in liquor sales with a thousand or more professional sailors in town! In addition to sailing in numerous transatlantic and round the world races and running an America’s Cup team, Tom is the co-designer /owner of Eastport Yachts in Annapolis. Fortunately, one of Tom’s Eastport 32’s happens to be in Key West again this winter, and we were lucky enough to get on the water for a few hours last Friday and landed this 35 lb. Kingfish, which fed the entire crew and support staff of “Rhum Punch!”
2011 SUMMER TOUR
For those of you interesting in booking us, it looks like we will be leaving Key West the first week of June and heading up the east coast to New England, then headed west through the upper mid west, arriving in Seattle the second week of July. From there, it’s down through Oregon and California, then across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Alabama, then back up through the Mid-Atlantic States to New England. By next month we should start to have a better idea of more specific dates!
We performed in a bunch of new places in the west last year and hope to further expand to some new venues out there this year. There were some states I travelled through but did not get to perform in, such as Minnesota, Colorado and Idaho, and would also like to book more gigs in Texas, so if you have any ideas for music venues in your area or increasingly popular house concerts, please e mail us at scott@scottkirby.com or terry@scottkirby.com and we will try to get to your neighborhood.
TALES BEHIND THE TUNES!
“Guys Like Us” available on iTunes
Many of you have asked me over the years where the inspiration comes from for certain songs of mine. In the past I have included a little blurb each month in an attempt to let you into the mind of a deranged songwriter. Why anyone would want to go there is beyond me, but now that I’m off the road and have a little more time to spare, I’m going to bring this segment back. GUYS LIKE US is obviously about a guy who repeatedly gets himself involved with women who let’s just say… have a little baggage! The guy might have a little baggage of his own, and NO the song is not about Country Dave!
I recently heard an interview with Bruce Springsteen as he talked about piecing songs together out of many half finished segments that he might have lying around on a note pad or in his brain. Almost like building a car out of a bunch of spare parts! I could really relate to that as GUYS LIKE US is a bit like that. What causes men and women, men and men, women and women, and dogs and cats for that matter to get together is way above my pay grade, but it’s a scientific fact that when one becomes attracted to another, the brain chemistry changes in a way that essentially renders one insane for 6 to 12 months! Fortunately it’s not a permanent condition but often results in a colossal lack of judgment and some really bizarre matchups!
About a dozen years ago a very wise attorney-turned-bartender friend of mine who shall remain nameless (he does still bartend at Pepe’s Café on Tuesdays however!) was commenting on the arrival of a very bright, attractive women to Key West and said, “Kirby, if we were single, she sure as hell wouldn’t be buying into our program, only the crazy ones go for guys like us!” I loved that and have never forgotten it!
About a year ago, a blues musician friend of mine who shall remain nameless (he does still occasionally perform at the Green Parrot with his band The Nervous Guys) was over for dinner and his wife divulged during dessert that she had been married to two musicians, a surfer and a fisherman! I started writing the next morning!
Next Month, The New Michael Haskins Novel: FREE RANGE INSTITUTION!
Thanks for listening and please tell your friends to sign up for the Mumbo Jumbo on the web site!
Scott
Copyright Scott Kirby 2009. All rights reserved. www.scottkirby.com
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