Peter Mayer: Vampires, Mummies, and the Holy Ghost
The Solares Hill Questionnaire by Mark Howell (reproduced with permission)

Peter Mayer performed at Blue Heaven [restaurant] on Friday, October 31 [1997]. His visit to Key West prompted an outing for Margaritians, and an opportunity for Mark Howell to interview him:

Mayer is the lead guitarist for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. He has just finished his eighth tour with Buffett, and is in Key West promoting his own CD, Green Eyed Radio. A guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, he has worked with some of the most famous names in rock. I asked him to give me his gut reaction to various words I threw at him.

Tamilnadu?

Tthat's the region in southern India where I was born, in the town of Ambur. My parents were missionaries. Indian missionaries gave Christmas concerts in our house wildly playing drums and flutes, shakers and bells. They'd go on for hours and hours.

Ringo Starr?

I was still in India when the Beatles stayed with the Maharishi, and their music was a big influence on me. So when Jimmy Buffett was asked to join Ringo at the Sierra Tucson Benefit for Substance Abuse, I jumped at the chance. Ringo let me do the John and Paul part where "With a Little Help From My Friends" leads into the Billy Shears bit. He was so cool.

Don Henley?

I played a couple of times with him in Aspen. He's a great and respected performer, but finicky. I was singing backup with my brother jim, and Don said, "Aren't they supposed to be softer than the lead?"

David Letterman?

He's my least favorite talk show host. Whenever Jimmy's on, he gets cut off. "We're out of time! See you again later!" So we're down on him. Johnny Carson was the real pro.

Jimmy Buffett?

He has an amazing lyric sense. He can just sit down and write. It scares me! He comes up with the amazing lines, and 1 and 1 will add up to 3 in no time at all. He makes sense out of the inane, of course he's got books lying around.

Parrot Heads?

I play for parrot heads. I keep Jimmy's and my stuff separate, and I take care of my children first.

Vampires, Mummies and the Holy Ghost?

That's a song I co-wrote with Jimmy. My first version was kind of a reggae number, but he didn't get it. So we did it as straight-8 rock 'n roll like the early Beatles, he liked that better.

Suzannah?

"Suzannah" is a song from my new CD, Green Eyed Radio, and it's about Key West. the album is a mysterious symphony. Poetry and punchline, graceful and cruel, that can only be played by any old fool.

Books?

My two favorite are "West With the Night," by Beryl Markham - the only thing she ever wrote, Hemingway loved it and I relate to her African adventures - and "The Essential Rumi," a Persian poet from the 12th century who was a master of puns and wisdom, the book has spawned five to ten songs for me in two years.

Classical music?

My favorite composer is Debussy. He and Ravel are the connections between 19th and 20th century music. Debussy got me into jazz. I understood jazz first from Miles Davis, now I enjoy Pat Metheny.

The future?

I have two children, so I care very much about the future. Personally I'd like to travel the world. I'm booking passage to India sometime soon, so I can return and study there. Mostly I want to play until the day i drop. If that was taken away from me, I'd... God, what would I do?