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The Crowd Pleaser
Jimmy Buffett talks about how he's conquered the world . . . one audience at a time.
By Rob Hochschild
(November 29, 2000)
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Jimmy Buffett has been a frequent visitor to Berklee in recent years. |
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Photo by Bob Kramer |
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A few minutes into a clinic he gave at Berklee earlier this month, Jimmy Buffett read from "Stage Performance," a book written by Berklee faculty member and performing songwriter Livingston Taylor.
"There are performers out there who take beautiful care of their audiences," Buffett read. "A short time ago, I attended Jimmy Buffett's concert at the Great Woods Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Jimmy had sold out all four nights at Great Woods, with twenty thousand people in the venue each night. . . now, is Jimmy Buffett great looking? Is he a great singer? He's only had modest Top Ten radio airplay . . ." Giggles began spreading through the crowd of students listening to Buffett's recitation as the singer looked up with a self-effacing grin.
Even as Buffett was poking fun at himself and the author, who was sitting a few feet away, he was also hammering home Taylor's point: True success in the music business isn't about image and flash; it's about connecting with an audience, something he was doing right at that moment with the group squeezed into the David Friend Recital Hall.
Over the next 90 minutes, Buffett returned often to the theme of performing as a way of developing an audience. He's had some radio hits—"Margaritaville" and "Come Monday"—but Buffett has built a career since the early 1970s primarily through endless touring. He annually trots the globe for legions of fans who have dubbed themselves "Parrotheads," and he delivers over and over the songs and the good-time party atmosphere that they have come to rely on.
"I try to give the best bang for the buck," Buffett said about his approach to giving concerts, adding that he never cancels a show and always performs his hits. "You've got to make it fun, and you've got to have fun . . . I love performing more than anything else."
Taylor says Buffett's success stems from the fact that he's always having a "conversation" with the audience, that he makes his fans feel as though they have a direct influence on the course of every show. While Buffett didn't disagree with that assessment, he seemed equally comfortable citing examples set by other artists.
"Phish and Dave Matthews really know their audiences and really treat them well," Buffett said.
But he also voiced concerns about the increasing vapidity of pop music.
"There's something missing in the music industry today . . . and it's music," Buffett said. "Songs you hear don't last, it's just product fed to you by the industry."
"Some people get that #1 hit and they're off, but the quickest way up is also the quickest way down. That's why, in this day and time, I can't tell you how much I admire that you went to school to learn to be a performer," Buffett said, addressing students in the room.
And for students wondering what to do with their musical aspirations, Buffett urged them to consider Broadway.
"If you find yourself looking for something creative to do, think about musical theater, because it's a real jewel," Buffett said. "There's an audience out there for musical theater, and America could stand a new musical that's not contrived. Buffett's contribution to the genre came in 1997, with his musical adaption of the Herman Wouk novel, "Don't Stop the Carnival."
Buffett, who has given Berklee master classes several times since the mid-1990s, ended the clinic by pulling out an acoustic guitar and performing three songs with warmth and control. The Berklee audience responded with a standing ovation after hearing Buffett play Jesse Winchester's "Gentleman of Leisure" and his own "He Went to Paris" and "Lovely Cruise." In addition to entertaining, the short set provided ample musical evidence that Buffett practices what he preaches, that for him, making a connection with his listeners is always the primary goal.
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