Jimmy Buffett Interview

Infamous Rock journalist and internationally acclaimed interviewer Claude Balzac recently sat down for an in depth conversation with the legend Jimmy Buffett.

Madhouse Magazine: Hi Jimmy, Good to see you again. Thanks for chatting with me today.

Jimmy Buffett: My man Claude. You know I love Madhouse Magazine. The Greatest Rock n Roll Comedy Magazine in the World! That article about the guy jumping overboard on the Jimmy Buffett cruise after being subjected to 24 hours of Margaritaville was genius, you sonsofbitches.

Jamaica Mistaica

Madhouse: Last time we saw each other was 1996. We were in a plane being shot down by Jamaican police.

Buffett: Oh yeah that was some good times. Those dummies thought we were Marijuana smugglers. You parachuted out and got away. Bono and I, on the other hand, were detained, questioned, and beaten in a Jamaican prison for 2 months until the US State department intervened. Bono may have been compromised by a night stick or two. He doesn’t really like to talk about that. The Jamaican government later acknowledged the mistake and apologized. I told them to go fook themselves but I wrote a good song about the ordeal, ‘Jamaica Mistaica’.

Madhouse: You have created an empire and a whole new genre of music based on your lifestyle. I believe you like to call it drunken Caribbean rock ‘n’ roll. But most of your fans don’t even know that you were born a trust fund baby and grew up in landlocked Chicago.

Buffett: Yes it’s no secret, as you know I will tell anyone who asks. I get seasick and I am deathly terrified of the sea. My father was an investment banker, his father was an investment banker. Son of a Son of a Sailor sounds so much better than Son of a Son of a Douchebag. Warren Buffett is my Uncle. That’s where I get my business sense. Did you really think a drunken beach bum could create an empire like this? I don’t drink beer, I drink thousand dollar bottles of wine and cognac.

Jim Croce

Madhouse: A story broke a couple years ago stating that you may have had something to do with Jim Croce’s death.

Buffett: Yeah it’s true, I have to come clean. Many conspiracy theories allege that I played a role in Jim Croce’s death. Record execs told me that they had no room for another singer songwriter. So I devised a plot to tamper with Croce’s plane. I had visited Croce’s farm in Pennsylvania and met with Croce in Florida immediately before the crash. After Croce’s death, ABC/Dunhill Records tapped Me to fill his space. The rest is history.

Madhouse: You know there is no statute of limitations for murder right?

Buffett: [laughs] Well then in that case. I had nothing to do with it. I was joking, of course.

Jimmy Buffett Illustration circa 1978 by Paul King Art

Madhouse: Let’s get back to the empire. Are you a billionaire?

Buffett: [laughs] No way man, I wish. I am only worth $950 million.

Madhouse: We know about the restaurants but you own a lot more than that.

The Buffett Brand

Buffett: The Buffett brand also owns Casinos, Retirement homes, tequila, beer, marijuana, footwear, hemorrhoid cream, catheters, bed pans, adult diapers and funeral homes. We got you coming and going. We are even coming out with a video game this year. I make Gene Simmons look like he’s running a lemonade stand over there with KISS. The funny thing is though, that I make most of my money using a metal detector on the beach.

Madhouse: What is this video game?

Buffett:[laughs] Well the player gets to be me or one of the band members and we have to fight our way through the crowd of parrot heads. The parrot heads are zombies and you get to smash their skulls in with guitars, mic stands, chain saws and various weapons. It’s loads of fun.

Madhouse: You are a true renaissance man. You have done it all. What was a great moment you recall fondly.

Sinatra

Buffett: Well recording that duet with Sinatra was incredible and surreal. It was 1994 and I was invited to perform on Franks duets album. We recorded ‘Mack The Knife’. So Frank walks into the studio and he’s like 80 at this point. He looks at me and says, “Who the hell are you? Oh you are that margarita guy. I drink Jack Daniels, none of that fruity girl drinks for me. Angie Dickinson used to drink margaritas, what a piece of ass she was. Ok beach boy let’s go, let’s do this, I got Linda Ronstadt coming in 5 minutes. She looks a whole lot better than you.”

Madhouse: Well it was great to see you again Jimmy. Take care out there and keep being you.

Buffett: Thank you and god bless you. We need comedy and satire more than ever. You guys at Madhouse keep me laughing. Your magazine kept me sane during my darkest times. You are an international treasure.