Old News

02/24/04:  More updates today.  Pirate Girl just confirmed today that we'll be in Wisconsin for the Alpine JB pre-shows on July 9th / 10th.  So look out frozen tundra, here we come!  Anyone want us to come to your town?  If you're located anywhere between Ohio and Los Angeles let us know.  I mean it.  We've got a new Whalesharkmobile for 2004 and we'll go just about anywhere.  Finally the newsletter I posted last week now has PG's contributions as well.  Check it out. Newsletter 02/16/04:  I'm now proof reading my last post for the first time and noticing a bunch of grammatical errors.  Both Tatiana and I have this pet peeve with blatant spelling and grammar mistake (especially when we're the ones making the mistakes). So I fixed the ones on my latest adventure and the rest of this months newsletter will be up tomorrow when I get the Pirate Girl's new column on this very subject.  And some of you know how I like reporting on prominent shark stories.  This month I have the funniest shark attack story out of Australia.  I  mean even if it was you that it happened to it would be pretty funny.  There were no pictures unfortunately.

02/13/04:  Ok Ok Ok!!!  So I'm a slightly lazy a$$.  So it's taken me this long to fill you in about the party!  Well Jimmy in Maui, what else can I say.  The party was great. Everything (despite my luck) went off without a hitch.  Pirate Girl made it home in time, my equipment worked, the bus showed up and left on time, we got the dance permit (don't ask), and every one partied (some a little too much).  All in all it was a little mellower show than I've been used to but it IS Maui. Thanks to Lloyd for buying a round for the entire restaurant from Dutch Harbor Alaska.  Not that he was just from Alaska, but at the time he was actually IN Alaska!  Well done Lloyd! Also thanks to Marcus and Debbie for getting the Pirate Girl and I awesome seats.  (Sorry for pouring the beer on Lloyds wife).  And of course thanks to Matt and the Modesto/Atwater contingency for their support (See you guys in a couple of months).  The concert was great. It was nice to see Jimmy in small place for a change.  The only glitch was that I got a nasty phone message from the bus company because apparently people weren't being too sneaky about drinking on the Buffett bus and left all of the empty evidence on board.  So that cost me about $100 in cleaning bills.  But hey, no one wound up in jail, in the hospital, or in the cemetery so no harm no foul.  I'll be putting the pictures up later (send me any good ones).

In the meantime you can read the new story from hell that I finally got posted on the newsletter page.  Yes the storm story and subsequent nonsense is posted. Check it out. It took some doing but hey... I'm runnin' strictly on Maui time...

01/22/04:  I said it would fill up quick and it did!  There are technically 3 or 4 seats left but I don't want to overbook so e-mail me to see if that last set sold.  I suppose I could sell my seats...  For those of you who bought online, your tickets will be available at the Whale's Tale the day of the show.  The Pirate Girl Tatiana or I will have them.  What a hoot that's going to be!  See you there.  Oh yeah, that storm story is still coming.  I just got the pictures yesterday.

01/20/04:  The following was just brought to my attention.  If you get to Lahaina earlier than Friday, you might want to go to the MACC early and pick up your tickets from will call.  If you haven't got your Buffett tickets yet, (I don't think they're sold out yet) call 808-242-7469.  The party is coming together.  See you there!

01/17/04:  Less than 2 weeks and only 20 more seats left on the Buffett or Bust Bus!!!  The Lahaina locals are getting on it.  I'm sure I'm not going to try to pull off another bus if this one fills up (unless you have 25 people in one group) so don't procrastinate!  You have been warned!  Haven't heard yet?  Read below...

01/15/04:  The Jimmy in Maui pre-show is official.  The show will be at the Whales Tale in Lahaina, Friday Jan 30th from 2:00-5:30pm.  Trevor Jones will be starting things off and I'll be taking it from there (Perhaps with a mainland guest).  There will be $1.99 Mai Tais and Margaritas and you can double your liquor for a dollar all day!  The Pirate Girl Tatiana will be there that afternoon to supply the drunken hula.  We'll be raffling off a bunch of cool stuff during the show.  There's NO COVER.  After the show there will be a bus leaving from the Whales Tale going to the Jimmy Buffett concert and bringing everyone back.  No drunk driving!  There are only 50 seats on the bus.  The bus will be $15 per person.  If you'd like to reserve a seat click here.  You will be charged $18 ($3 will be added as "shipping") for the first seat and $15 for each additional seat (I have to pay a charge doing this online, hence the $3).  When the site prompts you to pick your shipping, just pick the $3 one.  I couldn't avoid the shipping charge on my site so I made the bus seats a bit cheaper.  Confusing?  I know but this is all last minute.  Best I could do. Like I said, there's only ONE bus and it'll fill up fast.  Reserve your seat today.  Any questions, please e-mail me directly at thewhaleshark@yahoo.com   

Want to go Whale Watching or snorkeling while you're here on Maui?  Take a boat trip with me, Captain Erik on either the ocean raft (www.hawaiioceanrafting.com), or on the exclusive ex-BayWatch scarab speedboat (www.hawaiioceanrafting.com/scarab.html).  E-mail me with any questions.

01/11/04: Jimmy is coming to Maui!  Finally! I'm now in a frantic panic to get a pre-show put together for that Friday.  We don't really have any Parrothead clubs here in Maui so I guess it's up to me.  I'm working on a couple of venues and won't really have anything confirmed until midweek sometime.  I really need to know how many of you are coming all the way over for the show (great excuse huh!).  We'll have the usual bunch of drunks in the crowd and I'd like to get all those mainland party animals in the crowd as well.  I'll be working on the site all day trying to get my updates done and to be a little more specific.  E-mail me pronto with any questions!  thewhaleshark@yahoo.com  Gotta get to work!

Oh yeah, why hasn't my New Years Eve column posted yet?  Just wait until you hear about my New Years week fiasco from hell I had.  Hurricanes, broken planes, and fire-trucks on the runway...  I shit you not.

12/23/03:  Well I got the new newsletter posted, well, most of it.  Tatiana has a new Pirate Girl column finished, Deep didn't write shit again, and my column will be posted for New Years Eve.  It's that most wonderful time of the year to figure out what exactly you did this year, and what the hell you are going to do with your next year.  My column will be up as soon as I figure out what the hell it was I did this year.  My schedule is updated as well.  We're looking for a busy January.

12/19/03: Constantly working out glitches on this site I tell you!  On the ordering page there's a problem with getting back to the t-shirt page to order more stuff.  Just doubleclick the back button on your browser and you'll be fine.  Also make sure to check order quantities before finished.  That should solve any problems.  Let me know personally if you have any more problems thewhaleshark@yahoo.com Aloha!

12/16/03: And oh yeah,  I finally got some sound clips put on the site finally. If you already have my cds, it won't be anything new.  If you don't, check it out and have a listen! Oh yeah, then buy one!

12/15/03:   Well it's that time of year again.  How do I know?  I keep hearing it in the news.  We've been tightening our belts for the last two months here on Maui.  Tourists have been gone.  That dry dock on the cocktail cruise took a month longer than expected. The Whale's Tail cancelled the music until the tourists come back, and the trade winds and rain have cancelled most attempts at being a productive Captain.  The Whaleshark is broke.  On the good side, the rum still flows, the temperature is still a balmy 85 degrees, and I've yet to see a snow shovel!  So all is well.  Tatiana and I hope you are all enjoying your holidays and we can't wait to see all of you again this spring/summer.  As slow as it is we've been busy working on the logistics of the 2004 Tour and are more than ready to hit it again. We just purchased a new pirate-mobile to make life on the road a lot more bearable this year. Those of you who saw the magic trick of getting all my crap into a Honda civic this year will understand what a big deal that is for us.

Sale Sale Sale!!!!  All of the T-shirts (Long Sleeved) with the 2003 Logo are now on sale for $17 on the T-shirt page.  That's $8 cheaper than normal and I have a closet full of them I have to unload.  For a giggle, I also put a bunch of the other shirts / stuff on sale as well.  It's most likely cold where you are right now and these make great gifts!  We're still working something new for the new year. But that'll probably take a while until we get the funding.

Look for a new newsletter in the next few days. Working on it right now!

11/18/03: OOk, I know.  No updates for damn near a month and now three in a week.  Well this is my last week with 5 nights off so what the hell.  The cocktail cruise boat comes back from dry dock on Friday and it's back to being busy.  I can't remember if I mentioned it already but the live CD is probably not going to happen (at least not for a while anyway).  I wasn't that happy with the results so we'll probably try again sometime later.  Today, however, my producer Lynn and I talked for the first time about scheduling the next full length Whaleshark record.  At the moment it's about halfway written with a bunch of ideas on the burner and most likely the recordings will start at the end of next summer (at least at the end of the backyard luau season).  The whole process takes a while so we're starting early.

On to Captain Deep Banana... Steve finally got his computer fixed apparently as we go into the 5th or 6th month with no column from him.  Once again, let him know he's missed!  He's apparently got a heck of a story (he should have a freaking book by now) and I'd like to read it.  Remember, we're switching gears now and sending the Deepster encouraging emails to get him going! (The other kind didn't work). (deep_banana@excite.com)

Oh yeah,  a big thanks to those of you who sent me pictures in the mail (Jolena / Marcus / etc). I'm not the king of correspondence sometimes and unless I get it through an e-mail I'm not likely to respond in a timely manner.

There's been wind from hell in the Hawaiian islands for the last two weeks which made for several awful trips on that snorkel boat. As George Castanza would say "the seas were angry that day my friend".  26 knots of wind makes for a bumpy ride.  My kidneys have taken a beating in the mornings from the swell and consequently the liver takes a beating at night from the other Captain.  Man, must be something about Captains!  What made me think of that right now is the fact that I can barely focus on the screen as this plane has so much turbulence.  On my computer I keep losing at minesweeper because my hands keep bouncing up and down!  Well what are you going to do?  Until the next time...

11/12/03: OOops! It has been brought to my attention that the new newsletter is posted but there is no link to the new stories.  Well I just put it up today.  Click on the  Newsletter  link to see it!

11/08/03: Well aloha everyone!  Yes I know it's been almost a month since my last update.  All is well and we're taking advantage of the lull in activity.  I must say that I'm getting a bit antsy to get back on the road again.  Our plans for Florida were postponed for a couple of months and we're looking forward to getting back on the road again in February or so.  The new "As the Anchor Drags" columns are finished and posted in the newsletter section.

It'll be mayhem on the island in another month or so when the whales and the people return to Maui.  And god knows, the island could use the money.  (A little slow these days).  I've been able to get my tan back driving the snorkel boat, and I've been able to just be Erik the boat guy again.  I just had a couple of days back in LA again and am now once again back on the plane headed back home. 

10/13/03: We'll it looks like this will be the last update written from a plane for a little while.  The season of pool parties has come to a close in most parts of the country (froze my ass off Saturday), so Pirate Girl and I will be taking some time off in the next two months.  Of course, time off for us means just working like normal people for a while.  The Kaulana cocktail boat will be going to dry dock on the 27th of this month so there won't be a cruise tentatively for the next two months while they get her back in shape.  I'll be performing at the Whale's Tales 2 nights a week and getting back to my roots driving the snorkel boat.  Coming to Maui? Want to go snorkeling on a trip that doesn't suck? Go to www.hawaiioceanrafting.com to book your trip and tell them you'll go only if Captain Erik is driving (makes me look cool, and I'm working on a discount for you if you mention me!)  Aside from doing some snorkeling, I plan on getting my tan back, going fishing, finishing a couple of new songs I started a while back, and hopefully get some inspiration for the next Whaleshark CD.  How the hell I'm paying for that one remains yet to be determined.

I just posted all the decent pictures we have from the last month and a half of touring.  We didn't have as many as I thought we had after editing out the crappy ones.  Apparently we didn't get a lot of shots in Vegas again.  If you think you should be in the gallery but you're not, send me the pictures and I'll be happy to get them up there.

The new "As the Anchor Drags" newsletter will be up in few days.  Now this month I reaaaaaally want to post a new Captain Deep Banana column but Captain Steve has been up to his neck in work and of course slacking once again in the writer department.  Last time I gave a sort of "call to arms" to give Deep a bunch of crap, you all responded and the response was, how should I say, pretty brutal.    It was all in good fun none-the-less but Deep got a tad bit disheartened.  Every time I see him on the dock in Lahaina harbor he tells me of the 48 new "hate e-mails" he's received.  (I still can't help but laughing).  Well, Captain Deep has been working on a doozie of a column for the last 4 months but I've yet to read it myself.  Do me a favor, switch gears a bit and Everybody send Captain Deep an encouraging e-mail!!! (deep_banana@excite.com) As many as you can in the next few days!!! Write something in the subject space like "Capt Deep we really miss reading your stories!" or something cheesy like that (he never reads the updates!). I really want that column posted so help us all out!  Make him feel loved!

And finally, above are a couple of my favorite pictures from the last month's tour (the rest are in the photo gallery).  They are in random order as is my life of course!  Aloha!

9/29/03: Thank god, this week is finally over.  As everyone knows by now, Jimmy Buffett's mom passed away this week (best wishes to the whole Buffett family from Tatiana and myself), and as a result Jimmy had to cancel the Shoreline and Irvine shows.  I, like many others, was on my way to the show when I found out.   It was a bummer for everyone for about an hour.  Instead of bitching and moaning however, they came to party and were determined to do so no matter what.  We scrapped the post show, went on at 4pm and didn't get off that stage for the next five hours.  I was joined by new friend Travis of the Mystery Tramp who played a few songs and blew some mean harp for the remainder of the night.  The Parrotheads made the best of it as usual, and we wound up having an insane party at the Sports Page.  I promised I would keep playing until I couldn't stand but luckily for me I didn't have to get to that point.  Garrett Wilkins? and the Parrothead band relieved me at about 9pm and continued the party.  We left shortly after that as we were both pretty destroyed. 

We've been so busy with the tour lately that we haven't slept in our own bed in god knows how long.  Tonight however will be different.  We're both on the plane this time heading home to Maui where we get a week's R&R.  I have to play tonight at the Whale's Tale but after that I'll be getting some needed sun, (I'm whiter than most mainland people) as well as catching up on my "Mash" reruns.  I'll be updating more this week, with pictures and things like that.  In the meantime, I didn't sleep at all last night and it's time to crash!  Aloha!

9/23/03: God I have a lot of updates this week.  Things keep changing faster than I can type.  OK, first I'll be at the Sports Page tomorrow night (Wed 24th) from 4-7.  I know the Jimmy B show is the next day, but if you're going to be in the area on Wednesday night, I desperately need some people to stop by.  Thursday's schedule has somewhat changed.  I'll be playing at the Sports Page BEFORE the JB show and AFTER the JB show.  We (Pirate Girl and I) will be hitting it at 4pm for the pre-show and playing until whenever.  Then of course, head down to there right after for some more debauchery!

I'll be giving out FREE SINGLES (not new music if you already have my cds) to the crowd at the Shoreline Amphitheater before the Jimmy Buffet show.  If you're reading this you probably already have at least one of my cds, so tell the people you run into in the parking lot to pick one up at the "BEAST" (see photos).  Now for those who don't know what the "BEAST" is, it's a 1960's era camper painted in true Parrothead style.  You can't miss it.  These two photo's are the best ones I have of the beast at present time.  Incidentally they were taken at the Shoreline show last year.  And at the very least, head on over there and say hi to Troy, Jim, and the rest of crowd from Mo' town!

9/22/03: If it wasn't for this damn plane I'd never have a chance to get anything done.  Vegas is over and once again, what a ride!  All said and done this Vegas Jimmy B experience didn't seem to have the pizzazz, so to speak, as the April show did, but we had a great time anyway playing at Tommy Rocker's place on Friday night (several times actually; after my show I got to sing with the Fiesta Brothers, and later with Tommy's own "Conched Out").  The next day we hung at the Key Largo with Jerry Gontang and co. and had a really great time at the pool party.  There was a huge murderous water gun fight between the LA Parrotheads and the AZ Parrotheads and one thing the Pirate Girl noticed was that these people are truly growing older but not up.  It was like watching a bunch of grown up 2nd graders having the time of their lives.  We were cracking up and wondering why the rest of the world forgets to let loose once in a while.  Please reflect...

We did a couple songs between Jerry's sets, and Pirate Girl had what you might call and unforgettable Hula show (we really need stronger strings on those coconut bras!) A couple of you still owe us $20 for the view, ($10 for each one).  And of course we had the now famous "Gumbo Sluts" right in the action waving those wooden phallus flashlight during the "dear penis" song.    Oh well... After the pool party, we headed over to the MGM for the Jimmy show. Conched Out opened again and really rocked the place. Unfortunately the guys on stilts remembered Tatiana from the last show and wouldn't let her join the Hula contest (Wouldn't want it to look "rigged" if she won again).  But it was still awesome.  Thanks to help from some of my friends, we managed to give out over 500 "singles" to random members of the PH audience.  We'll see if the hit counter goes crazy in the next few days.   Somehow during this whole thing we managed to forget our camera at the room and didn't get any pictures (again) of Tommy Rocker's or of the pool party.  I'm sure we'll get some e-mailed to us or at the very least some will be posted on the Las Vegas, Orange County, Los Angeles, and Arizona Parrothead club websites

I'm only going to be on Maui for about 22 hours this time around.  I have a show tonight at the Whale's Tale again and I'm back on the plane tomorrow for San Francisco.  It sounds crazy but we have to restock the t-shirt supply (the girls loved the new Pirate Girl t-shirts and we sold out quick).  I'm going to keep saying this, ATTENTION NORTHERN CAL PEOPLE!!!  we'll be at the Sports Page in Mountainview this Wednesday from 7-10.  It's right by the amphitheater that Jimmy B is playing at on Thursday but WE NEED PEOPLE FOR THE WEDNESDAY GIG!!!  It's mui importante!  Also the next day you can find me in the parking lot at the "Beast" (picture is coming) where I'll be giving out another 500 copies of the 3 song "single".  Jimmy Buffett will be opening for me that night as he plays the amphitheater from 7/8-? (warming my crowd up) and I play right after it's over again at the Sports Page.  So you can meet me there if you didn't get enough mayhem.  There's no cover and you'll be able to actually see me instead of watching a big TV.  That night should be downright silly!    

9/14/03: Bike week in the frozen tundra and Whaleshark records with Fingers Taylor rain or shine!  Three days, five shows, 13,000 miles, 30,000 bikers, thunder, lightning, and rain rain rain!  That about sums it all up.  But once again a hell of a time!  Aside from the logistics of the whole thing, Fingers and I managed to tear it up for two nights at R&R Gators.  We got a total of something like 400 minutes of live music recorded that'll go on the shelf for a little while until I get enough time to even begin to go through it.  But what a fun jam! It's the first time I've actually played a whole show standing up (there was no way you could sit still, damn that guy blows a mean harp!).  What can I say, I'm not sure exactly what all we played but I'll find out as soon as Lynn gets back to Maui.  I can't wait to hear it.  This record will feature a bunch of different stuff.  I think we only did a couple of JB cover songs, one of which was an awesome rendition of "A Pirate Looks at 40", and in true Whaleshark fashion, I screwed up the last verse. (I was jamming out with Fingers and forgot where in the hell we were in the song.)  But all said and done it's going to be a smokin' Live CD.  I'm pretty excited as you can tell.

I'd like to thank all the guys from Green Bay who made the three hour drive to come and see the Friday night show, and Jolena (dancing on the bar with the Pirate Girl) from... well it escapes me at the moment.  It was pretty funny actually.  As it was bike week, every damn person in the whole place either rode a bike or was dressed like they ride one (aka black leather all over) and here comes the Parrothead Faithful (yes, you Brian) dressed in a grass skirt, lei, and a hat I can't really describe (see picture).  (I'm laughing right now) If I only had a video camera to catch the faces of the biker crowd when he walked into the room.  It was hilarious.  Nobody said anything but the looks were priceless...  I'm really laughing now.  Anyway they all had fun and with one small almost, no one got killed.

Also, if any of you got any pictures of the "Coyote Ugly" mayhem, with Pirate Girl and Katie dancing up on the bar and pouring shots into everyone's mouths, we'd love a copy of it.  I couldn't find the camera in time to get any.  The few pictures I have posted right now are just a couple of the pics from our crappy digital camera.  We have about 6 more rolls waiting to be developed and will probably be posted within the next week.  Ahhh, the Whaleshark, the Pirate Girl, Fingers, and 30,000 bikers...  who could ask for a better weekend!  Aloha!

9/9/03: Well it's airplane time again, time to get a bunch of website work over with.  So how about some news.  If you haven't checked out the new Alan Jackson video of "5 o'clock somewhere", there is a segment in the video where one of the dancers looks surprisingly like the Pirate Girl herself.  I've personally looked at it about a thousand times and I'll be damned if it doesn't look like it's her.  Is it or isn't it?  You decide.  I just can't tell for sure one way or the other.

Well both Tatiana and myself are in the air to our next tour leg, Tomahawk Wisconsin.  We just checked the weather forecast for the weekend (four out of five shows are scheduled to be outside) and I regret to say that it isn't looking good.  Of course the forecast for the 3 days before I get there is Sunny and Warm.  My 3 days are scheduled to be windy with thunderstorms.  Perfect!  I have Lynn Petersen my producer flying out from Minneapolis as well as Fingers Taylor coming from Detroit and I have knot is my stomach the size of a basketball.  The drink cart should be here in a couple of minutes...  You'll be getting the updates in a couple of days.

All this and a picture of our "Party Animal of the Month".  Think your pooch can do better than this drunken canine? (dog to the lay people) then send us you best feline, canine, reptile, primate etc, "Partying Like an Animal" and he / she'll get a front page spot at the whaleshark.com .  Send submissions to Tatiana at pirategirl@thewhaleshark.com .  Oh yeah, this should be hilarious!

8/25/03: What an awesome 5 nights!  I can barely keep my eyes open as I write this this morning (On the plane of course).  Pirate Girl and I had a hell of a time in Northern CA this week.  This last Wednesday seems like an eternity ago.  I'm flying back to Lahaina as I write this while Tatiana is somewhere on a highway back down to LA (We have to keep all the equipment there for the next show.  (But boy do I have some news for you this time...)

For starters, we got confirmation that we are in fact recording a live record at R & R Gators on the 11th and 12th of September in Tomahawk WI.  But here's the surprise all of you Whaleshark fans...  we will be recording the new cd with Jimmy Buffett's legendary harmonica man, Greg "Fingers" Taylor!  Yes, you read that right!  Fingers is coming to the frozen tundra!  These are two shows that you won't want to miss!  My producer, Lynn Peterson, is flying out from Maui to record both shows.  It's a chance for all of you to get on the record.  It's bike week up there (the Wisconsin Sturgis = complete mayhem) so if you want to come up you'd better get in touch with me ASAP.  Between the three of us guys and the Pirate Girl, you can bet it'll be a weekend you won't want to miss!  Aside from the Whaleshark originals, you'll get my notorious commentary, the dirty songs I can't play on Maui, and a couple new originals you haven't heard yet!  Make sure you e-mail me or Tatiana soon!

So on to my week...  We had a really slow start up north in Walnut Creek.  Apparently no one who said they were coming actually came (You know who you are).  However, the six or so from the Lattitude 38 Parrothead club, the Sibyl Sheppard impersonator with husband "McFreeze", and of course my favorite drunken fireman, more than made up for the rest.

Thursday in Santa Cruz... my birthday.  Whooo - weeeee!!!  Once again my core group of friends showed up to make my birthday awesome.  Including my own personal Doctor / Veterinarian Dr. Amy Lee!  Santa Cruz is one of my harder places to pack but this Thursday was great.  Complete with pirate cake, my birthday was awesome.

Friday in Modesto.  Now for everyone who laughs every time you hear I'm playing in Modesto, take a look at this premier party animal named Jad who has officially risen to my #1 fan position (Troy, you're still my biggest fan!).  If you'll look closely at Jad's new tattoo, you'll notice a striking resemblance if not an exact resemblance to a certain singer's certain logo.  Pirates, Parrots, and of course Drunken Sailors.  Jad, you're absolutely killing me!  I was absolutely floored when I saw that.  You guys in Modesto are hard core to say the least.  I'll have to do another column to explain everything I love about Modesto but it'll take more than just the news reports!

I do believe that's all the news for now, or at least that's all I can think of. Once again, thanks to Tatiana for helping me along and making this all possible!  The poor girl has a six hour drive today (On about 3 hours of sleep). Love you baby!

8/19/03:   Ok so it's now time for the Whaleshark's favorite pastime... touring!  Yes those 3 weeks in Lahaina damn near killed me!  I sort of relaxed myself into a big mess.  For those of you who don't live in the islands, let me explain.  Two weeks in Margaritaville is one thing, but an entire life in it will kill you dead (living full speed ahead that is).  As a side note, the drink cart just went by (I'm on the plane again).  The Pirate Girl and I got to the airport a bit late and were unable to sit together. We're about two rows apart within eye contact.  Our airline (ATA) offers a complimentary "Island Breeze" drink on its flights.  Well that's not my particular drink so I had the flight attendant send my drink over to Tatiana in 28B.  A noble gesture on my behalf had it not been for the fact that she's sitting in 29B.  So now I'm buying drinks for strange women on a plane in front of my girlfriend!  Jesus, what a mess!

So now for the point I wanted to make.  We've decided to hit Florida like a Hurricane in November.  We'll most likely be there for at least 2 weeks but we're shooting for a month.  If any of my 'peeps' are out there or at least know someone with a connection in the Keys (Key West especially) I'd love to hear from you.  The Whaleshark is going full circle this time back to where it all got started for me.  At the very least I'm going to catch another Michael McCloud show, and a couple Key West Sunsets.  Also,  where are all the Texas people?  After Florida the Whaleshark will be heading out west.   Well, it's 5000 miles east of Lahaina but it's still west I guess.  I'll be needing all of my cowboy hat wearing, John Prine listening, Jerry Jeff Walker following, Whaleshark loving, drunken bastard friends to get in touch with me Mui Pronto!  We're not sure how exactly we're going to pull this off but what the hell.  December in Texas, like the old John Prine song goes... "It was Christmas in prison, and the turkey was good..."  Well that's all I have to say about that...

In the meantime, Tati is sitting next to someone from Santa Cruz who she's trying to make show up for the Whaleshark B-Day show.  Things just keep going along as planned and I just can't wait to hear all of you singing along to all of my songs again!  Thanks alot!

8/18/03:  So what the hell have I been up to these last 3 weeks?  For starters, I've been working like a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.  I've finally finished the new "Anchor Drags" newsletter.  This month we have columns from myself, the Pirate Girl, and believe it or not I even got Captain Deep to get a column finished.  However, he has a MAC and I'm PC so we're having a bit o' trouble translating it.  This may take a day or so. Any recommendations?  This month I return to my island boat guy roots with 3 weeks of captaining that snorkel boat I love so much (www.hawaiioceanrafting.com if you want a private charter with yours truly) and give you all the play by play on how to do just that.  Pirate Girl tries to help you all get Leid.  And god knows what Deep is up to (I can't read it yet).

Tomorrow I leave the island again for another leg of the tour.  This week we'll be in Northern California (Walnut Creek, Santa Cruz, Modesto, and Cotati).  Check the site for exact places and times.  Thursday the 21st is my birthday in Santa Cruz so come on down for a hell of a time.  Thanks to those of you who sent me birthday cards.  You guys are awesome!   I hope to see all of you there. 

7/28/03: Migration 2003!  How to even summarize migration?  Now there were several Parrothead clubs responsible for setting up the festival in Long Beach this weekend (sorry but I can't exactly remember all of them), and through their efforts Migration generated a bunch of money once again for charity.  Unfortunately I couldn't get to the jam session with all of the boys on Friday night, (my plane landed at about 10:30 at LAX and the tunes were finished before I could get there), but I heard I missed a lot of fun.  So I got there early with the Pirate Girl on Saturday (It's getting so she has more fans than me!) to set up and I'm glad I did.  I finally got to meet with Jerry Gontang of Koko Loco (hell of a nice guy and Jerry, I appreciate your hospitality!); I finally got to see / meet Mark Mulligan (Who in true Las Vegas Whaleshark fashion, got his car broken into and subsequently robbed of his equipment between trips into the building.  Mark I feel your pain.  What a bunch of dickheads!); and thanks to Nellie and Mike of the LA Parrothead club, I got to get a little performance time onstage (Who was the fat guy with the microphone who kept calling me the "New Guy"?)  Well some of the Coral Reefers jammed a set which finally got the people dancing and the night was finished off with a pretty damned good performance by Koko Loco.  Once again, thanks to Jerry for bringing the Pirate Girl and I up on that stage to play our favorite "get drunk and screw" song.  All said and done, with the exception of the shitty sound in that room, it turned out to be a pretty good event.  I got to see a bunch of people who I haven't seen in a few months (yes, that includes the hairy guy who keeps flashing me! haha!).  I'm looking forward to next years party.  In the meantime, it looks like the Whaleshark has 3 weeks back home in Lahaina.  I should be at the helm of that boat by the time you all read this! 

So now we're just working on getting a big crowd to show up for the upcoming Northern California shows for my birthday week at the end of august.  I'm hoping to get a bunch of you out there especially for the 21st.  Yes the Whaleshark turns 31 and it'll be a hell of a bash if I have anything to do about it.  Check the updated gig schedule for times / places.  As usual, there's no cover.  Just show up, get drunk and clap!  Aloha 'till the next time...

7/20/03: Well every gig can't be a good one...  Now I'm of course available for all kinds of parties / weddings / hangings / general debauchery / etc etc etc.  But you wouldn't hire Barney to play for your Folsom prison reunion tour for the Hell's Angels, nor would you hire the Dixie Chicks for your Republican We love George Bush party.  So that said, I do not play parties with children there.  And I don't mean one or two of you who couldn't find a babysitter and your kids are too young to understand anyway.  I'm talking balloons, face painters, screaming, running and screaming, screaming and running, and let's not forget screaming.  Please, before you hire me (and thanks to those of you who do) ask yourself if the "who put the dick on the snowman" song will offend the majority of your friends, or just that one person from work who you had to invite but don't really like anyway.  That was my weekend, and that's all I have to say about that.

Work on the new newsletter begins in about five minutes.  I've been bugging Capt Deep to give me a new column for 2 months and so far I haven't seen anything.  Some of you have e-mailed him to tell him nicely to get off his ass and write a new story but some of you haven't.  Do me a quick favor if you would and send and e-mail to him deep_banana@excite.com with the subject reading "Deep, you lazy bastard!" (fill the rest with whatever you desire). He'll tell you how busy he's been taking people snorkeling in Lahaina but I know better!

You may notice there's a little something different with the website.  One of my Modesto (I'll e-mail you in a couple of days) fans drew a couple of caricatures of me on the last cocktail cruise I played.  I've been looking for something like this for a while.  Let me know what you think of the new look of the site.  It's pretty much the same thing with a background.

I'll be landing in a few hours and taking a nap on that beach in front of my house.  I'm gonna get me back in that island state of mind...  Boy I feel a song coming on...

7/14/03: Pretty cool week I must say...  For starters, it was destined to be fun.  TheL'attitude 38 Parrothead Club showed up at Tiki Tom's in Walnut Creek on Wednesday along with a few dedicated drunken firemen and once again... the Bradys!  It's a cool difference playing on the mainland.  I figured "Hell, it's the parrotheads!  Here comes the Buffett!"  Well I was pleasantly wrong.  It was all Whaleshark songs (And all that dirty cover stuff I play) for the entire weekend.   You guys are the best.  The next night was Ideal Bar and Grill...  Well it might have been better if anyone had known I was playing there.  To quote Forrest, Forrest Gump "That's all I have to say about that".  Then it was a 4 1/2 hour traffic jam for the Whaleshark and the Pirate Girl to make the 2 hour trip to the "The 4 Guys-Chip-in-House-Warming-Divingboardbustin'-Pigroasting-Party Modesto Ca" Now I get a lot of shit from a lot of people about playing in Modesto.  "What the hell is in Modesto?" they ask.  What's in Modesto is the biggest bunch of party animal parrotheads I've had the pleasure of playing for. Check out the pics in my gallery for the proof!  If you were there, you were thrown in the pool at one time or another!  To finish off my weekend, Pirategirl and I made an appearance at the LA Parrothead Club Pool Party.  I was supposed to be a day off for us to kick back, drink a few boat drinks, and do a little networking.  Well, the scheduled band ran into some problems on the way there and the club wound up without any music for few hours.  Well I just happened to be on my way back from the Modesto show and had all of my equipment in the car.  Long story short, the Whaleshark made yet another appearance.  It was a hell of a fun day as usual.

To change gears a bit, a couple of you made it to Lahaina in the last week or two and noticed that I wasn't where my schedule said I'd be.  My apologies to you guys.  I fixed my schedule and it's up to date now.  It's a bit hectic scheduling this tour etc etc. 

Enter the Pirate Girl Contest Here!!!  

6/29/03: Sometimes it seems that the only free time I have to write anymore these days is when I'm on a plane.  I  think I logged more miles than the space shuttle this summer.   I am on my way back from Tomahawk Wisconsin to my beautiful town of Lahaina again with a couple more road miles under my belt.  This time (as my loyal readers are wondering), nothing actually went wrong!  Yes I can't believe it for myself but it's the truth.  From beginning to end the only glitch we had was running out of gas about 121 yards from the rental car return (I swear, 121 yards!) on our return to the Madison airport.  I had soooo much fun that I'm going to write a column in the next newsletter about the whole trip.

I have finally gotten the pictures posted for all the gigs in the last few months!  Go to my photo page to check them out and if your picture isn't there, I don't have it so send it to me!!!!

Now onto some business stuff.  Attention all my northern California party animals!!!  I'll be back next week in Walnut Creek (I don't know where that is exactly; use Yahoo search), but it will be one of those nights.  I'll be there with the pirate girl for a night of maitais, margaritas, debauchery, Buffett, drunken hula, and of course Whaleshark originals.  It's a new venue for me so I need all of you to come out.  If we tear it up, (as Arnold says), "I'll be back".  Speaking of which, I don't live in CA but for those of you who do, VOTE FOR ARNOLD!!!

6/21/03: Well, I finally just got the new "As the Anchor Drags" newsletter up (Without a Deep Banana Story).  One of these days I'm going to get them online on time.  Some of you have apparently not noticed that there is more than one page on each newsletter.  To read what you missed go back to the newsletter and click on "Page 2" "Page 3" etc.  The whole thing should make a little more sense when you do.  As I have the entire day off, I plan to stay at my desk all day and finish everything I've put off.  As soon as I get this posted I'm going to put up all the pictures I have from the last few mainland appearances.  Just got to the photo galleries and pick an event.  My schedule for July and August is now updated so check it out to see when I'm in your neck of the woods.  I have quite a few trips planned this summer.

6/18/03: Well this might wind up being something...  If it all works out, next Wednesday/Thursday in Wisconsin my producer Lynn Peterson will be coming out to record a possible new live CD.  It'll depend on the turnout of those shows but I have a hunch that it'll turn out to be something else!  I actually to can't wait to party up there in the north.  Those of you in Southern California,  I'll be there a couple times next month.  I'll see the Parrotheads over at Migration for the jam session Friday night on (Date ?).  I'm going to try to get a half hour set if I can so come out and get rowdy Whaleshark style, I could use the fans!  It looks like my newsletter "As the Anchor Drags" will be delayed again.  Captain Deep is still slacking on his columnist duties so I'm asking for all of you to send him an email (deep_banana@excite.com ) and tell him to hurry the hell up!  I know I can count on you!  It's also rumored that Jimmy Buffett will be in Irvine Ca in September and back in Las Vegas shortly after that.  You can bet I'll be setting something up for both of those shows.  Maybe a repeat performance of last time without the robbery!

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