PARROTHEADS, CHEESEBURGERS, AND PARADISE: ADULT MUSIC FANDOM & FAN PRACTICES Kelly C. MacDonald Weeks A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2012 Committee: Dr. Radhika Gajjala, Advisor Dr. Cindy Hendricks Graduate Faculty Representative Dr. Susana Peña Dr. Donald McQuarie Robert Sloane © 2012 Kelly C. MacDonald Weeks All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Dr. Radhika Gajjala, Advisor Jimmy Buffett’s beach bum lifestyle music was essentially solidified with his album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes in 1977, and it is his fans, collectively known as Parrotheads, who have continued to help him achieve such success. This dissertation examines not only Parrotheads, but also the ways in which this fan group has invested in, and engaged with, the “Margaritaville State of Mind” that Buffett and his fans have cultivated together. Derived from Buffett’s hit song, “Margaritaville,” Buffett’s beach bum escapism ethos has transformed his fandom into an experience and, further, a lifestyle – a state of mind and a state of being – to be enjoyed by his fans whether it is through their celebration of their fandom, or even in the goods and services they purchase. Moreso, this work explores various ways that a tropical escapism lifestyle is evoked and developed by Parrotheads through the many fan activities they engage with as part of belonging to their local Parrothead clubs. Parrotheads have chosen, as an integral part of their fandom, to raise money for local social and environmental charities, all in the name of their fandom. Another aspect examined in this dissertation investigates how Parrotheads are not only developing and becoming active participants, but also performing their fandom in social networking sites developed specifically for them. Ultimately, this project highlights how some music fans are embracing new types of music-centered leisure cultures in contemporary society. Parrotheads are a fascinating example of an organization functioning as a social club, united by love of a musician and his message; in this instance, a iv literal and figurative investment in Jimmy Buffett and his trop-rock music, from which they have worked together to cultivate a mythical Margaritaville. v To music fans everywhere. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to first and foremost thank all of the wonderful Parrotheads who helped me with this study. They are the heart and soul of this work and without their enthusiasm and encouragement this project could not have been done. A very sincere thank you to my dissertation committee for their endless support and enthusiasm for my dissertation: Radhika Gajjala, Susana Peña, Donald McQuarie, Robert Sloane, and Cindy Hendricks. I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to have learned so much from each and every one of you during my time at BGSU. This dissertation could not have been completed without the love and support of those around me. To that end I cannot thank enough my fellow colleagues and friends in Bowling Green for the endless fun, ridiculously nerdy and brilliant conversations, and all around awesomeness. Thank you Melissa Mills-Dick, Justin Philpot, Stephanie and Tim Plummer, Martin and Angela Zimmann, Carolyn and Tom Strong, Phillip Cunningham, and Ben Phillips. Included in this fantastic bunch is the Quatro (and W.O.M.) Katie Barak, Melinda Lewis, and Eric Weeks – I don’t think I would have survived without the adventures, silliness, and impromptu dance parties!! Thank you too to my friends and family outside of Bowling Green. To my friends and colleagues from my Master’s program at the University of Massachusetts Boston – I cannot wait until we all get to yuck it up one day at a conference someday soon. To Allison Phillips and Jennifer Watanabe (and their loving husbands Andy Phillips and Jeff Watanabe) – we had so much fun going to as many concerts as our wallets would allow as younger versions of ourselves. I know, without a doubt, that almost all of the work I’ve done during my graduate school career has been inspired by these wonderful experiences. vii To my mom, Lily, who took me to my very first concert, New Kids on the Block, in the third grade, and my dad, Mac, who went me to my first Dave Matthews Band concert during high school – I can’t even begin to put into words how much your love and support as meant to me. I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy all these years to explain what exactly it is that I do and study, and then to have to reassure people that it is actually a legitimate thing! To my little sister Nikki, thank you for introducing me to your own special music fandom and for being an incredible support throughout the years – I shipped it!! Last but certainly not least to my husband Eric Weeks – you are my sanity. Thank you for reading through countless drafts of my work, and for reassuring me and making me laugh when I was stressed out of my mind. I cannot begin to imagine what this crazy adventure called a PhD program would have been like without finding you. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 7 Methodological Approach: Ethnography and Cyber-Ethnography ............... 7 Fandom ............................................................................................................... 10 Fan Labor ........................................................................................................... 18 Social Network Scholarship .............................................................................. 23 Chapter Summaries ........................................................................................................ 27 CHAPTER I. JIMMY BUFFETT: CAREER & CORPORITAVILLE .................................. 30 “Corporitaville”: Buffett’s Budding Margaritaville Empire ....................................... 38 Buffett Business: The Early Years ................................................................... 42 Margaritaville Online ........................................................................................ 44 Restaurants ......................................................................................................... 47 Out and About .................................................................................................... 56 Margaritaville At Home .................................................................................... 61 Critiques of Corporitaville: Parrotheads & South Park ............................................... 67 CHAPTER II. “WASTING AWAY” AND LOVING IT: PARROTHEADS & ADULT MUSIC FANDOM.................................................................................................................................... 80 Parrotheads: Imagined Communities, Intimate Publics, & Everyday Fandom .......... 81 Parrothead Clubs: A Brief History ................................................................................ 86 Living the Lifestyle: Adulthood Meets Escapism and Beach Bums .......................... 91 Parrotheads and Tailgating: Welcome to Paradise....................................................... 96 ix No Tailgating? No Thank You! ........................................................................ 109 Tailgating: Problematizing Margaritaville’s Mythical Tropicalization of the Other . 115 CHAPTER III. PARROTHEADS, PHILANTHROPY, AND FAN LABOR ....................... 123 Buffett’s Charitable Works ............................................................................................ 125 Parrotheads’ Partying with a Purpose ........................................................................... 129 Local Giving and Parrothead Clubs .............................................................................. 132 Parrotheads and Fan Labor ............................................................................................ 136 CHAPTER IV. MEET(ING) THE PHLOCKERS: A CASE STUDY OF A JIMMY BUFFETT FAN SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE ...................................................................................... 144 Defining and Understanding Social Network Sites ..................................................... 144 Finding the Phlockers .................................................................................................... 148 Meet the Phlockers ......................................................................................................... 151 Parrots, Palm Trees, and People .................................................................................... 155 Phlockers and Friending ................................................................................................ 160 Discussion Boards, Chat Rooms, and Groups .............................................................. 163 Social Network Slowdown ............................................................................................ 166 CONCLUSION: “SONGS YOU KNOW BY HEART” ......................................................... 171 BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................... 181 APPENDIX A. 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