1984 began with the introduction of the Apple Mac and ended with Band Aid's “Do You Know It’s Christmas” single. In between, Michael Jackson found out hair spray and pyrotechnics don’t mix, the Tigers beat the Padres in the World Series, Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale for President of the US and the Space Shuttle Challenger made its first landing at Kennedy Space Center. George Orwell wrote about it, David Bowie sang about it. An interesting year, to say the least. And, on October 24th of that year, another little piece of history – at least as far as Parrot Heads are concerned - was taking place at a small barbecue joint called Jilly's Ribs in Atlanta, GA. That's the night a 22 year old guitarist, keyboard player, and one-time award winning barbershop quartet singer named Jeff Pike stepped up to the mic and launched a solo career that would lead to the founding of A1A – “The Official and Original Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show” - putting the young musician squarely in the middle of Parrothead history.
From a musical family (his mother played piano and organ) Jeff’s first musical memories go back to hearing Harry Belafonte records being played around the house in the early 60’s. Music continued to be a large part of his life through the late 70’s, from singing in grade school glee club and choir, to playing guitar in a high school rock band. In 1978, Jeff and one of his high school buddies formed an acoustic duo, performing material from the top singer/songwriters of the day, like Jackson Browne, Don McLean and – Jeff’s personal favorite at the time - Dan Fogelberg. His life would change forever when he first heard the Buffett live album “You Had To Be There”, recorded earlier that same year at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. Jeff dropped the needle on the song “Captain and the Kid” and the rest, as they say, is history. Ironically, Jeff had given up his tickets to see the show to go see a girl.
College and a series of bands followed until 1984, when Jeff decided to strike out solo. The Jilly’s gig only paid $35 a night but the experience was priceless. Not only was it his first “professional” solo performance, but it also found him starting to add Jimmy Buffett tunes to his repertoire – including some of those songs he had heard on that live concert album six years earlier.
Cut to 1988. Returning from the road following another stint with a cover band, Jeff once again decided to go the solo route. For the next year, he performed around the Atlanta area as a one-man band, using recently acquired drum programming skills for backing percussion and incorporating more and more of Jimmy Buffett’s music in his show. He also started seeing larger and larger crowds come out to hear Jimmy’s tall tales of sailing ships and sandy beaches. It was during one of those shows that he came across a newspaper ad calling Buffett fans in the Atlanta area to come together to “Party with a Purpose”. The ad, it turned out, had been placed by Scott Nickerson, a fellow musician and major Buffett fan in Atlanta. The two got together, became fast friends, and before you can say “Pencil Thin Moustache”, Jeff’s one man Buffett show became a two man tribute to Jimmy - arguably the first “Trop Rock” act ever. It also began the worldwide phenomenon known as the Parrot Head Nation, as Scott went on to form the Atlanta Parrot Head Club - the first club of it's kind in the world. In 1991 Scott and Jeff picked up the name A1A (details on the exact date and who came up with the name are still fuzzy). and the next year won a Margaritaville Records-sponsored Jimmy Buffett sound-alike contest.
College and a series of bands followed until 1984, when Jeff decided to strike out solo. The Jilly’s gig only paid $35 a night but the experience was priceless. Not only was it his first “professional” solo performance, but it also found him starting to add Jimmy Buffett tunes to his repertoire – including some of those songs he had heard on that live concert album six years earlier.
Cut to 1988. Returning from the road following another stint with a cover band, Jeff once again decided to go the solo route. For the next year, he performed around the Atlanta area as a one-man band, using recently acquired drum programming skills for backing percussion and incorporating more and more of Jimmy Buffett’s music in his show. He also started seeing larger and larger crowds come out to hear Jimmy’s tall tales of sailing ships and sandy beaches. It was during one of those shows that he came across a newspaper ad calling Buffett fans in the Atlanta area to come together to “Party with a Purpose”. The ad, it turned out, had been placed by Scott Nickerson, a fellow musician and major Buffett fan in Atlanta. The two got together, became fast friends, and before you can say “Pencil Thin Moustache”, Jeff’s one man Buffett show became a two man tribute to Jimmy - arguably the first “Trop Rock” act ever. It also began the worldwide phenomenon known as the Parrot Head Nation, as Scott went on to form the Atlanta Parrot Head Club - the first club of it's kind in the world. In 1991 Scott and Jeff picked up the name A1A (details on the exact date and who came up with the name are still fuzzy). and the next year won a Margaritaville Records-sponsored Jimmy Buffett sound-alike contest.
Scott called it quits in 2002, but Jeff and A1A continued on and, since then, have released a number of CDs. “Ship Happens” came out in 2003, followed by 2008's “Beachwrecked” – along with a pair of live cds: "A1A - Live" (featuring long time Coral Reefer Greg "Fingers" Taylor and produced by current CR bass player “Uncle” Jim Mayer), and “A1A and Friends - Live at Hemingways”. In 2002, Jeff and friends, going by the name Vertical Smile, released another rowdy and raucous live cd. Recorded at The Keys Bar in Montgomery, Alabama, the disc includes both original material and hilarious parody versions of Jimmy Buffett songs ("Tuck It In Second Chin", "Parrothead Saturday Night") and classic rock hits ("Don't Stop Drinking Until Tomorrow"). Through the years, Jeff has also appeared on stage with Jimmy Buffett, in Jimmy's video for "Fruitcakes", and was a featured soloist on Jimmy's "Barometer Soup Radio Special CD".
More recently, A1A sold out several nights at the Strand Theatre in Marietta, Georgia in 2010. One of those nights was recorded and is being mixed down for release as a live cd. The final disc will include an hour of all-original Jeff Pike/A1A material, plus a cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff" and is expected to hit the streets in April or May of this year. And, last but not least, Referettee Nadirah Shakoor enlisted Jeff and the band to provide back up music for some of her solo dates back in 2009 and, rumor has it, that Jeff and Nadirah have been in talks recently to do some more co-headling dates in 2011. Keep an eye on this site for more details soon.
For a full discography, including Jeff's solo cds, and more info on Jeff or A1A you can check out any of the following websites… www.a1a-live.com, www.jeffpikemusic.com, www.jeffpike.com, or www.facebook.com/TheJeffPike
Love A1A!
ReplyDelete