Jimmy Buffett fans flock to Parrots of the Caribbean
You may be surprised — and possibly relieved — to learn that the Skokie Theatre stage will not be filled with tropical birds when Parrots of the Caribbean performs this weekend.
There will be five Parrotheads, though.
Parrots of the Caribbean is a Jimmy Buffett tribute band, named for the legions of Buffett fans, who for five years went by the name of Parrothead Band — until Buffett reps called them, threatening to sue unless they ceased use of the original moniker. Nowadays, founder, lead singer and harmonica player Dave Albrecht is worried about being sued by Disney because concert announcers sometimes mistakenly introduce the group as Pirates of the Caribbean.
Albrecht isn’t losing sleep over that, however. He has been too busy performing 60 shows a year with the group, which includes Jeff Cline (lead and rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals), Kenny Rice (keyboard), Gary Rigmaiden (bass and guitar) and Greg Martin (lead and backing vocals, drums and percussion).
“We travel around the country,” Albrecht said, adding that they have played for as many as 10,000 people at a time. The Ohio-based band has also performed overseas. In April, they played for the troops in Okinawa and have been asked to return next year for a mini-tour of the bases.
Albrecht has been a Buffett fan since the 1970s. “My dad bought the album ‘Son of a Son of a Sailor,’ and that year I asked for a harmonica for Christmas,” Albrecht said. “Once I got that harmonica, I pretty much cabbaged onto my dad’s Jimmy Buffett album. I started playing harmonica because a lot of the songs were in [the key of ] C.”
He began buying other Buffett albums. “I became a Parrothead before they even coined that phrase,” he said. “I wanted to do a Jimmy Buffett band 20-some years ago.”
That dream was delayed because, 22 years ago, Albrecht became “Elwood” in the nine-piece Blues Brothers band, Jake and Elwood Blues Revue. He still plays with that group, but 12 years ago, when business slowed down, he talked four of the band members into forming a Jimmy Buffett tribute band with him.
“I told these guys, ‘I can sing like Jimmy Buffett,’” he said. “Now I actually look like him because I’m 53 years old now. I have gray hair.” He also dresses like Buffett in custom-made costumes. “When I come out in these outfits, people cheer,” he said. “They’re all from my own bizarre imagination. My wife sewed them all for me. No other Buffett band does what I do. They come out in shorts and flowered shirts.”
It isn’t just about the clothes, though.
“I put my heart and soul into these songs,” Albrecht said. “I
gorillatango.com don’t just stand up there. I’m all over the place. I mess with the crowd. I mess with my band members.”
Predictably, “Margaritaville” is an audience favorite. But Albrecht noted that he gets the biggest reaction when he performs “A Pirate Looks at 40.”
“I throw a big harmonica solo in the middle of it,” he said. “And I end it with a big harmonica solo.”