Parrots Of The Caribbean Bringing Music Of Jimmy Buffett To Warsaw
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Since he’s the lead singer for the Buffett tribute band Parrots of the Caribbean, that comes in pretty handy for the 54-year-old musician.
Parrots of the Caribbean performs July 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. in Central Park as part of the free Central Park Concert Series.
In a telephone interview June 20, Albrecht said Parrots is a five-piece band that covers Buffet songs or songs that Buffett covered in concert. Sometimes they will do their own original songs, but 85 percent of their concerts are Buffett songs.
“I’ve always been a Parrothead before they coined the term Parrothead,” he said.
Albrecht started playing the harmonica in 1976. For 23 years, he was part of a nine-member Blues Brothers tribute band, performing the role of Elwood. However, the appeal for the Blues Brothers dissipated.
Realizing he sounded like Buffett, and knowing Buffett has a large following, Albrecht suggested a tribute band. It took off.
Now, he said, Parrots of the Caribbean play 55 to 65 shows a year. This year, the Dayton, Ohio, resident and his bandmates are playing in Indiana eight times, including his first visit to Warsaw July 5.
“This year is the 13th year we’ve been doing Buffett and we’re still going strong,” he said.
Last year, he said they played in Okinawa, Japan, and have performed around the country including Virginia and New York. The band is very popular in Indiana in the summer, he said.
“I have quite a following. I have a lot of fun doing it. I have a lot of costumes I change into,” he said.
The costumes he wears are based on what Buffett has worn.
Once he was playing in an outdoor bar in Kansas City, next to a venue where Buffett was performing. He told the crowd of 4,200 people he had just met with Buffett. When Albrecht came out dressed as Buffett, the audience thought it was really him. He had his photo taken that night with many Buffett fans, thinking Albrecht was the real deal, he said.
As for his shows, he said he gets very interactive with the crowd. The band throws beads out to the people, and people will come up to the stage and request songs.
“I get them going. They see how hyper I am and get into it. We’re guys in our 50s acting like teenagers and I wouldn’t trade it for nothing,” he stated.
“I could probably do it another 10 years. I do have another day job, and they have to be very flexible with me because of my schedule,” he continued.
Having perfected the harmonica since he was 17, Albrecht says he plans to next tackle the ukulele. And then maybe the guitar.
“We do most of his big hits, but we also dig into his old stuff or obscure stuff. It’s random. My bass player picks the songs because I got tired of always doing it,” he said.
For their shows, they will either do two one-hour sets, or one 90-minute set. He has more costume changes during the two one-hour sets, he said.
“My costumes can be pretty bizarre,” he said, but they’re always audience appropriate.
Whether a person is a Parrothead or not, Albrecht encouraged everyone to come out.
“If you’re a Parrothead, you’re going to love this stuff. We’re pretty versatile. We’re a very tight band ... we take the songs back to when they were originally written,” he concluded.
For more information about the band, visit the website www.potcband.com[[In-content Ad]]
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Since he’s the lead singer for the Buffett tribute band Parrots of the Caribbean, that comes in pretty handy for the 54-year-old musician.
Parrots of the Caribbean performs July 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. in Central Park as part of the free Central Park Concert Series.
In a telephone interview June 20, Albrecht said Parrots is a five-piece band that covers Buffet songs or songs that Buffett covered in concert. Sometimes they will do their own original songs, but 85 percent of their concerts are Buffett songs.
“I’ve always been a Parrothead before they coined the term Parrothead,” he said.
Albrecht started playing the harmonica in 1976. For 23 years, he was part of a nine-member Blues Brothers tribute band, performing the role of Elwood. However, the appeal for the Blues Brothers dissipated.
Realizing he sounded like Buffett, and knowing Buffett has a large following, Albrecht suggested a tribute band. It took off.
Now, he said, Parrots of the Caribbean play 55 to 65 shows a year. This year, the Dayton, Ohio, resident and his bandmates are playing in Indiana eight times, including his first visit to Warsaw July 5.
“This year is the 13th year we’ve been doing Buffett and we’re still going strong,” he said.
Last year, he said they played in Okinawa, Japan, and have performed around the country including Virginia and New York. The band is very popular in Indiana in the summer, he said.
“I have quite a following. I have a lot of fun doing it. I have a lot of costumes I change into,” he said.
The costumes he wears are based on what Buffett has worn.
Once he was playing in an outdoor bar in Kansas City, next to a venue where Buffett was performing. He told the crowd of 4,200 people he had just met with Buffett. When Albrecht came out dressed as Buffett, the audience thought it was really him. He had his photo taken that night with many Buffett fans, thinking Albrecht was the real deal, he said.
As for his shows, he said he gets very interactive with the crowd. The band throws beads out to the people, and people will come up to the stage and request songs.
“I get them going. They see how hyper I am and get into it. We’re guys in our 50s acting like teenagers and I wouldn’t trade it for nothing,” he stated.
“I could probably do it another 10 years. I do have another day job, and they have to be very flexible with me because of my schedule,” he continued.
Having perfected the harmonica since he was 17, Albrecht says he plans to next tackle the ukulele. And then maybe the guitar.
“We do most of his big hits, but we also dig into his old stuff or obscure stuff. It’s random. My bass player picks the songs because I got tired of always doing it,” he said.
For their shows, they will either do two one-hour sets, or one 90-minute set. He has more costume changes during the two one-hour sets, he said.
“My costumes can be pretty bizarre,” he said, but they’re always audience appropriate.
Whether a person is a Parrothead or not, Albrecht encouraged everyone to come out.
“If you’re a Parrothead, you’re going to love this stuff. We’re pretty versatile. We’re a very tight band ... we take the songs back to when they were originally written,” he concluded.
For more information about the band, visit the website www.potcband.com[[In-content Ad]]
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