Buffett Interview

by Gary Graff, Wall of Sound

GG: After the arduous process of creating Don't Stop The Carnival, was it a relief to go back to making a "normal" album of songs like Beach Mouse On The Moon?

JB: It was. It was not only a relief, but I also thought that what I walked away with from Carnival was a better way to write. I know I personally spent a lot more time with lyrics and structure than I ever had in my life. It was a necessary part of doing that show, and some of those things just held on. Plus, we had no preconceived notions about trying to do this album for anybody other than ParrotHeads. We weren't worrying about which song was going to be the single or anything like that. I basically wanted to get a few interesting things going so we're not as predictable as we have been.

GG: This album does sound like you approached it with a little more ambition and focus.

JB: Well, we were at that point with the band that we wanted to shake it up a little. As I've said before, if you like what we do, we're gonna do stuff that just adds to the collection. At the same time, I don't want to be repetitive. You'll still know it's us though.

GG: This is your last album for Island records. What happens after this?

JB: It's a very interesting place to be, with the technology that's involved, as to how you can control your career. I don't think the internet delivery systems are the answer, but it does make sense to take advantage of what's out there. If you have an established audience, you don't need marketing and you don't need promotional budgets. All you need is distribution. So why not sell directly to the stores and bring prices down. The artist gets more money and it works better for everybody.

GG: What's going on with Don't Stop The Carnival?

JB: We're coming back with it. We're going to do it, but not in terms of Broadway. We're going to open in San Diego in the Fall and probably take it on the road after that. It was an interesting experience to try to take it through the New York thing, which didn't work. I know there's still an audience out there. I saw it every night in Coconut Grove and nobody asked for their money back. Sure there were complaints about certain parts of the show, and yes, it was long, and yes, there were certain parts that didn't work, but they generally had a good time. And then going out and using it as the cornerstone for last Summer's tour, I saw the audience react to the songs, and they really like the material. So we've done a re-write and we cleaned it up where it needed cleaning, but we left the music intact.

GG: Do you get a kick that Beach House came out as part of DefJam/Island?

JB: "Yeah I do," he says crackin' that phamous smile. Sittin' here at 52 and going out there and doing shows and selling records. It's not supposed to happen. And I do take a lot of satisfaction knowing we have kind of beaten the system.