Meeting of the Minds 2014

         Every year on the first week of November, thousands of Parrot Heads and Trop Rock music fans "flock" to Key West, Florida for the annual Jimmy Buffett fan club convention called "Meeting Of The Minds". Four (or five, or six, or more - depending on your stamina) days of sun and fun in the bars and watering holes around Key West. Like many of our friends, Georgia and I like to take the long way down - flying in to Ft. Lauderdale, renting a car and driving down US 1 until we get to the end of the road. Along the way, we all have our favorite stops for fish sandwiches, conch fritters, and a variety of frozen drinks and cold beer. Here is a random picture diary of this year's trip. If you were there, we hope you reminisce along with us. if you weren't - or have never been - maybe this will coerce you into planning a trip in 2015...

 Alabama Jacks, Key Largo

 BO's Fish Wagon, Key West

 John Frinzi, Smokin' Tuna Saloon, Key West

 Sunset at Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park, Key West

 Geiger Key Marina, Key West

 Sunset in Key Largo

 Ft. Zachary Taylor, Key West

 Gilbert's Resort, Key Largo

 Jim Morris at Hog's Breath Saloon street party, Key West

 Kelly McGuire and Mark Mulligan, Key West Lighthouse

 Duval Street, Key West

 Lor-e-lei, Islamorada

 Looe Key Tiki Bar, Ramrod Key

 Peter Mayer and Coral Reefers, Casa Marina, Key West

 Rob Mehl, Hog's Breath, Key West

 Rum Runners, Islamorada

 Schooner Wharf, Key West

 Sunset in Key Largo

Sunset, Mallory Square, Key West

Rob Mehl: Beach Boy

Aloha, Rob! Tell me about growing up in Southern California in the late 50’s…

California for me was "beach innocence". For the first few years of my life we lived in Oceanside, a block from the beach. The beach was my world and I was always in the water. Life was like "Leave it to Beaver" on the beach. It was great. When I was three, we moved a few miles south to Leucadia and a few more blocks away from the beach, near highway 101. There was no freeway yet (the 5 didn’t show up until the late sixties) so I could still walk to the beach.


Then your family moved to Hawaii?

When I was eight, we moved to Waikiki. This was pre-statehood. I went to Iolani Boys School, a private school across the street from the Ala Wai canal. My back lanai was probably twenty-five yards or so from the water and I had all summer to walk up and down the beach. Back then, the Outrigger Canoe Club was where Duke's (“Duke's on Sunday”!) is now. It wasn't long until a couple of the Waikiki beach boys were paddling me out into the waves. 


What are your first recollections of music back then?

Kuhio Beach Park and Kapiolani Park in Waikiki was where the Kodak hula show was. People like Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, and Arthur Godfrey would play there. My dad worked for KPOI radio in Waikiki (in a basement suite of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel), then another station where he had a remote show from The Treehouse, at the entrance to the marketplace with J. Akuhead Pupule.  Duke’s restaurant was pretty much right behind The Treehouse and eventually uncle Don Ho made his home there. Dad would sneak me in sometimes and I got to see Alfred Apaka, Mahi Beamer, Marty Robbins and others. Amazing! Dad was a jazz and standards dj ... so Thelonius Monk, Dave Brubeck, Toots Thielman, Howard Roberts, and Louie Armstrong, along with Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, John Gary and others were always playing in our living room. I could only listen to my music in my room, but I liked it all. And dad kept adding to my record collection... it was cool! When we came back to California in the early sixties all I wanted to do was surf ... so moving back to Encinitas, which was fully entrenched in the surf culture, was a-ok-fine with me! The Surfaris, Chantays, Ronny and the Daytonas, Dick Dale, the Ventures all were such an inspiration…but not to play music, to surf! Then came the Beach Boys, the Sunrays, Jan and Dean, the Hondells and on and on. Musically, while I loved all these guys, it was still the old Waikiki Beach Boy music I loved the most.


What made you go from listening to music to making music?

Some of the early Beatles, Beach Boys, Kingston Trio and Brothers Four, as well as some Dylan and Donovan Leitch, reminded me of the old Waikiki music ... Middle to late sixties. THAT'S when I started getting poetic stories in my head. I didn't play guitar, and wasn't really interested yet, but I wrote all the time, mostly just poetry.


Reading books also had a big influence on your early songwriting, right?

Since I had wanderlust, but couldn't travel on my own (yet!) reading was my escape ... It was like seeing the world right from my own house or backyard or beach. Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Walt Whitman, William Butler Yeats, Carl Sanburg, Robert Frost and others back then. Also C.S. Lewis, Clive Cussler, Frank Perretti. It still NEEDS to be a big influence ... "words in, words out!"


Tell me about your first guitar…

It was a Yamaha I bought in Japan, while on leave from Vietnam... it was cheap and it had strings. I had a Neil Young “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" eight-track and a chord book for that album and as we steamed back to the Gulf of Tonkin from Yokosuka, Japan I began to teach myself how to play those songs. Then, I started applying the chords I'd learned to melodies I had in my head for my own music. It still wasn't as much about the music as it was putting my stories to music.


You’re a “Beach Boy” heart and soul. What are some of your favorite beaches and why?

Waikiki Beach is magic, that's all there is to it! It's not the prettiest beach I've ever been to, it's certainly the most crowded beach I've ever been to, but there's something about it. Whenever I go back for a visit the first thing I do is walk up and down that beach ... I look for old friends, and in my head, I'm back in 1958 and it's paradise! It’s the sand, it's the waves, it's the beach boys, it's the aloha.

Honolua Bay on Maui... I love it and it will always be my favorite surf spot in the world! It's in trouble now, too ... look it up!

Tofo in Mozambique ... The sand squeaks, there are Whale Sharks 30-40 yards off the beach, and the waves are amazing, and there's hardly anyone there!

Chiquita Island in Subic Bay, Philippines ... Ahh, the memories. Walking alone around the whole island, watching shark feeding-frenzies at the reef's edge. And the quiet!

Any beach on Ngeruktabel Island in Palau ... Many of the Palauan Islands are "rock islands", so there is no beach, but the ones that do have sand are breathtakingly beautiful ... and empty!

Punta Abreojos on Baja Sur ... The first warm-water surf spot past Guerrero Negro. Long, long rights and uncrowded.

Sunset Beach, O'ahu ... Well, maybe not so much the beach, but what waits when you paddle out! ;)

Swanzy Beach, O'ahu ... Uncrowded, quiet and nice sand, great waves, but a long paddle out!

Threes, O'ahu ... A surf spot, not a beach ... When it lines up it's the longest ride in town.

Big Rights, O'ahu ... Same as above!

Ahhh, so many beaches, so little time! ;)

How much time do you spend on the road now?

I try to tour once a month. Jerry Gontang (Stars On The Water) told me, “You can't make any money if you stay home.” 'Nuff said!

What are some of your favorite things to do when you’re not out playing….Do you still get to surf?

Hang with my family... it doesn't get any better than that! Fam first ... everything else next. But, next comes surfing and chilling with good friends!


How do you feel about House concerts?

House concerts and music festivals are all I really do (although, when I'm not on the road I do play a Hawaiian sushi family restaurant here locally on Friday nights!) Kelly and I and so many others of us see eye to eye in this regard ... many of us really are into the stories more than jammin' for the party, so the house concert venue is the bomb!

The name of this blog is Beaches, Bands & BARS. Where do you like to hang?

Either at home drinking the sweet nectar of my honey's love! (Was that too risque?), at the Marine Room in Laguna with a glass of port, or at Anthony's Fish Grotto in the harbor with a moscato.


How do you feel about the term, “Trop Rock”? 

"A rose by any other name ..."! At first I thought it pigeonholed me, but I think that's only something we do to ourselves. To me the term "trop rock" can mean a Buffett-cover band to someone who wants to sing about margaritas and springbreak girls and everything in between. Sam Rainwater said it first (I think!), in terms of a common denominator ... "It's all about the backdrop!" To which I added, "the beachfront". It's the music of people who like the beach. In fact, that may be the only thing we have in common! I'm afraid I don't normally call my music "trop rock", though it is. I usually call my music either "my music" or "beach music". I do think, though, that the term "trop rock" is as broad a term as "singer/songwriter" ... especially if you're a "troprock singer/songwriter" like I am! 


I know asking a songwriter what his/her favorite song is, is like asking a parent, "Who is your favorite child?" But do you have a couple of your songs that stand out for any particular reasons - because of the lyrics, the writing process, a recording session or maybe a particular crowd response?

I've been told by some surf instrumental legends from the sixties that "Slow Down Summer" is a classic oldies-type song ... One of them said, "Robbie, songs are supposed to become oldies classics ... but you just wrote a new oldies classic!" What an honor! I love writing songs that give props to my friends ... though John Frinzi says I'm just a shameless name-dropper! Songs that I've written specifically to dedicate to friends, or songs that friends have specifically said, "that's MY song" ... those mean a lot! And "Poet's Son" I wrote for my folks.


Anything else we should know about Rob Mehl?

I think we're blessed so we can be a blessing. I think we need to choose our words carefully, appreciate every second that's given to us, and be kind to everyone. I think we need to be aware of things we can't recover: the stone after it's thrown, the word after it's said, the chance after it’s passed, and the time after it's gone. I think we need to realize that in the end it'll be the things that we didn't do more than the things we did that we'll regret. I think we need to remember where we've been so we can appreciate where we are, while at the same time I believe we should leave the past behind and press on toward the high call of what's ahead. And lastly, my head hurts, my feet stink, but I do love Jesus! Not preachin' ... just sayin'! ;)


Maholo, Rob! Always a pleasure....

Meeting Of The Minds: Sunday, November 6th - The Last Waltz

We had originally planned to fly back to Atlanta on Sunday, but were told by several MOTM veterans that we should stay to catch Sunny Jim's songwriters showcase at Blue Heaven. So, we made some last minute adjustments - which included having to move hotels - and stayed another day. And we were very glad we did. Getting reports that Blue Heaven was packed to the gills for brunch, we decided to wait a few hours before going and, instead, headed to the Smokin' Tuna Saloon, Scott Kirby's new place just off Duval (you can read more about it in my earlier interview with Scott here on BB&B). The place was also pretty packed but we ran into our new friends, Jimbo, Tracy, and Brett again, who were getting ready to leave and offered us their table, where we sat and watched Howard Livingston and, then, John Frinzi with special guest, Doyle Grisham.

The Tuna is one of our new favorite places in Key West, with plenty of room, a cozy feeling despite being largely outdoors, and good food - the Smokin' Tuna Dip and peel & eat  local shrimp were especially tasty. One funny note: After turning down my first couple of beer requests, saying they were out of stock, the bartender shrugged and by apologized, saying "This is our first Parrot Head convention. We just weren't ready!"

We hated having to give up our much coveted table, but we wanted to catch at least some of the acts at Sunny Jim's showcase, so we closed out and walked up Whitehead Street. By the time we got there, the brunch crowd had subsided and, although there was still a good sized audience enjoying the music, there were plenty of places from which to watch the show.

If you've never been to Blue Heaven it's REALLY an outdoor venue. Unlike Smokin' Tuna, where there are at least some covered areas where you can go when the weather doesn't cooperate, there is no such shelter at Blue Heaven. Luckily, it was a beautiful Fall afternoon so being outdoors was exactly where we wanted to be. especially given the caliber of entertainment. Another interesting feature of Blue Heaven is that the "stage" is about ten feet up in the air, surrounding an old water tower. So, to see the performers, you have to look up. The advantage is that, unless you were to maybe get behind a group of NBA centers, you never have to worry about people blocking your view.

We caught Tall Paul, Latitude, Rob Mehl and several others before heading back to the Smokin' Tuna to see Kelly McGuire and Scott Kirby. On the way, we stopped by the Green Parrot, where the Sauce Boss was rocking the house while mixing up a pot of Gumbo.

Back at the Tuna, we found the place to be even busier than before. Apparently, even though the convention was officially over, lots of folks had the same idea we did and had decided to stay another day. Georgia eagle-eyed a group with young children sitting at the very same table we left a couple hours earlier ("They can't stay long, they have kids") and this time we were able to repay the favor by inviting Brett and his buddies from the Ft. Meyers area PHC to come sit with us.

Kelly and Scott are two of my favorite Trop Rock artists, and the chance to seem them play together was a real treat. They were joined by Mike Aiken and the three took turns performing their own songs. And that was just the "appetizer" for the main event, Scott Kirby and guitarist Dave Edmisten (along with a fiddle player whose name I didn't catch). Together, they ran through some of Kirby's catalog, including one of my favorite all time Trop Rock songs, "Lucky Enough". The line "I'll raise my glass, you can kiss my old ass...I'll die with my feet in the sand" will probably wind up on alot of Parrot Head tombstones.

A full day of music, wrapping up a long but thoroughly enjoyable convention, but it wasn't over yet. The last hurrah was the "No Plane On Sunday" party featuring Jim Morris & The Big Bamboo Band at Schooner Wharf. Morris had the crowd singing along to every song, mixing his own originals with rowdy covers, like Jerry Jeff Walker's "Up Against The Wall You Redneck Mothers". Wiped out but grinning ear to ear, we called it a night - and a week. On the way back to our hotel, Georgia turned to me and said, "As soon as we get home, we're registering for next year."