Stars and Stripes has a great interview with Jimmy Buffett that they conducted backstage at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan.

On why he came to play the free shows:

We’ve been doing shows around the world for quite a while and it was kind of a unique situation. My friend Caroline Kennedy, when she became [United States ambassador to Japan], she’s kind of a force of nature, so she got out here and she said, “You need to come while I’m here and do this.” And I’d never been to Japan.

Also, I have a lot of great friends in the Navy. You join the Navy and see the world, you can join this band and see the world — and it’s a great thrill to let people see a show that normally wouldn’t be able to get to one.

We have a lot of fans here, and I didn’t realize that. I thought when we came to Okinawa there’d be a couple hundred people. We had 11,000 people. We opened it up not just to the Navy, we opened it up to the town, too. I think everybody’s appreciative of that.

On his military connections:

I come from a family of sailors. My dad was a flyer in WWII. The rest of them, my grandfather and all my uncles, were in the Navy. At one point I came close to becoming a naval aviator, but then the guitar came along. So I think I kind of maneuvered it with friends that I had, and I was lucky enough to meet some very cool people. In the ‘80s I wound up trading shows for [catapult] shots basically. So I’ve been off the boat in a [F-14 Tomcat] and in an A-4 [Skyhawk].

Two of my best friends and roommates in college were naval aviators. I always stay in touch with them; they live in San Diego now. I’m still a pilot. I fly a Falcon 900LX and a [Cessna] Caravan seaplane. Landing in the East River [New York] is really fun.

On seeing Japan:

This sparked my interest to come back. I have a little place in Hawaii, and I’ll be in Australia in March. I’d like to come snowboarding [in Japan] and I’d like to see the countryside. There were nice waves in Okinawa … I might go back there. It would be certainly worth coming back.

In the works:

I have a travel book — it started about two to three years ago when I went to China. I’m working on that, and hopefully I’ll try to finish that up this year. And then we have the play, the “Margaritaville” musical, which has been an ongoing thing we’ve been working on for six years. It’s actually opening in La Jolla [Calif.] in April. We’ll do it there and then take it on the road, and in about a year we’ll go to Broadway with it. But it’s fun because it’s little more diverse. I should go back and do an album soon — when it comes to me I’ll go. It’s been fun for me to do some other things.

Be sure to read the full article.

Jimmy Buffett will perform at a gala for Chris Evert’s charity in November:

Singer/songwriter and best-selling author Jimmy Buffett will perform at Chris Evert’s annual Gala on Saturday, November 19, as part of the 27th annual Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity weekend.

The three-day event (Nov. 18-20) serves as a fundraiser for Chris Evert Charities, with proceeds going to combat drug abuse and child neglect in Florida.

Evert has hosted the event since retiring from the professional game in 1989, and her charity weekends have raised more than $22.5 million to meet needs in the South Florida community.

The elegant evening Gala will be held at the Boca Resort & Club and includes a cocktail hour, silent and live auctions and an exquisite dinner that precedes an inspiring message by Evert, the 18-time Grand Slam champion, followed by an acoustic performance by legendary singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett. Buffett will be accompanied by eight-time Country Music Association (CMA) Musician of the Year Mac McAnally.

“We are honored and thrilled that Jimmy chose to perform at our event in the middle of his very busy tour schedule,” said Evert. “This is a great opportunity to see one of the world’s most talented performers in an intimate setting. It will be fun to be a Parrothead that evening!”

Tickets are $750 per person and can be secured online at chrisevert.org. The cocktail hour begins at 6:00 pm.

Fresh off a New Year’s Eve stint in New York City, Jimmy Buffett heads to New Orleans next week to headline a charity event:

Some top names in the worlds of food and music are coming to town next week, tapped by a team of New Orleans chefs to support a pair of local causes.

The occasion is the Bal Masque, the first major event from the Link Stryjewski Foundation, created by chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski, the chef/partners in Cochon, Peche Seafood Grill and other restaurants.

The event takes the form of a top-dollar costumed Carnival ball, held at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 9, with Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band headlining and Mario Batali among a brigade of big-name chefs serving the food. Tickets are $1,000 each.

While masks are required for guests at the party, the event’s goals are undisguised, and they’re aimed at one of the city’s most starkly blatant needs.

The Link Stryjewski Foundation was created “to address the persistent cycle of violence and poverty, as well as the lack of quality education and job training opportunities available to young people in New Orleans,” according to the foundation’s mission statement.

Read more

You’ve probably seen it on your ticket stub for Jimmy Buffett shows… price includes “$1 for SFC.” But you probably don’t know what Jimmy’s charitable foundation Singing For Change actually does.

InsidePhilanthropy.com has a rundown of Singing For Change and the charities that it supports.

The main beneficiaries? Environmental projects, humanitarian and disaster relief, and youth and human services.

Read the full rundown for more details on Singing for Change.

Last Saturday Jimmy Buffett surprised Wounded Warriors and the Metro Parrothead Club by playing a few tunes at a local fundraiser.

As you know, Parrot Heads have many distinct characteristics, including the ability to phlock to the front of, well, anything. METRO was center-stage and ready for the great music of Nancy Atlas and her band, The Nancy Atlas Project, and then the opening act walked out on stage. Jimmy Buffett appeared to entertain the Warriors and we all shared the fun!

Jimmy rocked the Square with opening song, “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” but then paused when he spotted a few children selling chances to win tickets to his show at Jones Beach. He purchased, and donated, ‘5 for $20’.

See more pictures and read the full story at troprockin.com.