COURTESY OF TINA LAU

Margarita Mogul

The singer, author, restaurateur
and moviemaker is having one of
the best years in his long career

here are boat and plane buffs, singers and adventurers -- and then there's Jimmy Buffett.

On a warm evening early last year at the Waikiki Shell, Buffett, who had just flown his Falcon jet from California to Hawaii, peeked out from backstage in the Waikiki Shell to see a tidal wave of colorfully dressed, giddy and smiling fans, some teenagers and many post-40, and more than a few wearing Parrothead garb. An hour before the concert was set to begin, the final performance of his Tiki Time Tour, people were already dancing.

Parrothead paradise Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band: A Salty Piece of Land 2005 Tour: Where: Waikiki Shell When: 7 p.m. Tuesday Tickets: $76 reserved seats and $36 general Info: 591-2211 or online at www.ticketmaster.com

Buffett -- who performs Tuesday at the Shell as part of his Salty Piece of Land tour, named after his best selling novel -- scratched his bare noggin, shook his head and said to no one in particular, "There's no place I'd rather be right now."

Since then, the 58-year-old singer/musician has had a Barry Bonds year, minus the steroid scandal.

His novel has sold more than 800,000 copies -- more than double any of his other books -- and remains on the New York Times best seller list. "License to Chill," his country duet album, became his first number one and was nominated for a Grammy. A duet single with Alan Jackson from the album won a Country Music Award.

This June, Buffett turns movie mogul when he teams with Frank Marshall to produce the $20 million film adaptation of the children's book "Hoot." And in 2006, Buffett and company will open their ninth Margaritaville restaurant, this one in Waikiki and likely at the International Marketplace.

Buffett's tales of pirates and tequila and volcanoes and cheeseburgers have turned to gold, making him a millionaire many times over. Rolling Stone listed his 2004 earnings at more than $35 million.

Why does he continue to work so hard?

"It's my job," Buffett says, parodying one of his songs. "It's true. What else would I do? But if I don't make it in the next 10 years, I'm going to give it up this summer job. I've never thought of being in my twilight. It's great to work."

IT'S RARE for an entertainer to stick around for more than 30 years, much less to prosper. Last week, Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band sold out a 19,500-seat Phoenix arena in 75 minutes. He admits luck has played a big part in his career.

"I haven't been conscientiously looking where I was going for some time, but then things like 'License to Chill,' my single with Alan, and the book, just took off," he said. "I was on my glide path and getting ready to re-enter, but we're still in orbit."

Buffett doesn't expect another "Margaritaville"-type hit in his career.

"The real big hits are over for me," he said. "I'm just trying to make things that people like and they can add to their Buffett collection. Hell, I stopped thinking about hits seven years ago."

But he still thinks about challenges. "A Salty Piece of Land" took him five years to write. He'd start writing at 4:30 a.m. and stop when he had completed one page.

"There were some points of pure pleasure and times when I was sick of the ... thing. I hated it," he said. "What was I thinking? Why am I doing this? I won't do it again anytime in the near future, I'll tell you that."

Then after a couple failed tries at a country music career, Buffett decided to go for "the three-times-is-a-charm thing."

"It's not a secret that I had been sung about and imitated in the world of new pop country music and I thought 'Aw hell, let's try it again," he said.

That's about the time Jackson asked him to sing on "Five O'Clock Somewhere."

"I'd never won anything before, but this put me in the middle of everyone in (Nashville)," Buffett said. "I started asking some people if they wanted to work on this new (duet) album, not thinking in my wildest expectations that they would, but everybody did."

If they'd refused, Buffett planned to do the album with his Coral Reefer guys.

"Would it have been as good? Probably not ... " he said.

Buffett's CDs usually sell in the 300,000 to 400,000 units, but "License to Chill" went platinum.

"I'm just glad I'm still contemporary," he said.

Buffett hasn't recorded an album this year and won't at least until the "Hoot" filming is done. Filming in Florida begins in June.

"I've never produced a movie before and thought it would be kinda interesting," he said. "I want to see if we can do a low-budget film in 6 weeks and not spend a gazillion dollars ... manage it like we do our rock-and-roll tours."

Buffett still likes touring and is excited that after three years of trying he and the band this year will perform at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

"We did Fenway Park last year and the Red Sox won the World Series," he says.

Another reason Buffett makes the long journey to perform in Honolulu is his respect for promoter Tom Moffatt.

"When I was starting out (in the late '70s), I so desperately wanted to go to paradise and Tom brought me there when I was a nobody," Buffett said. "He was as good a promoter for me as a nobody as he is when I became a somebody."

Then in the early '80s, Buffett admits he "forced" Moffatt to arrange a concert in Tahiti, where he was a virtual unknown.

"I really wanted to go and didn't mind opening for a beauty contest and hula girls and a Maui singer," he said. "Tom is a gentleman and great guy in a business where there are very few of them left."

Buffett named the character Tom Prophet in his recent novel after Moffatt.

"I thought I'd throw that in there and let the Colonel get some recognition."

CD / DVD concert combo
doesn’t try to hide any flaws

Jimmy Buffett's CD/DVD concert combo is a fun, gritty, sometimes raw snapshot of his successful Tiki Time Tour concerts recorded January 28 and 30 of 2004 at the Waikiki Shell and Maui Arts & Cultural Center.

"Live in Hawaii: Jimmy Buffett" Jimmy Buffett (Mailboat Records)

The collection of 31 songs (most from the Honolulu concert) is a must-have for Parrotheads, especially those in Hawaii who want to relive one of that year's more popular concerts.

"Live in Hawaii" is among the more comprehensive concert recordings of Buffett, including a number of Hawaii artists such as Don Ho, Henry Kapono (who sings two songs and appears on the 16-minute DVD) and features the last recording by exotica legend Martin Denny, who plays an all-too brief "Quiet Village."

The CD is part of Buffett's series of live recordings documenting his 2003-2004 tour. There are no liner notes and the cover is the same as on all the other previous releases, except a lei has been lazily Photoshopped around Buffett's neck.

The album jacket reads that "nothing has been edited or altered in any way" on the live recording. That's a brave move for any artist, but particularly Buffett, who regularly pokes fun at his own singing voice. Without a studio's ProTools equipment, listeners will catch some of the shortcomings of his voice, particularly noticeable on James Taylor's "Mexico."

But it makes Buffett that more accessible, and his shows are nearly as much about having a good time, chatting with the audience like old friends, as they are about music. "Live In Hawaii" is no exception.

"Great Heart," one of Buffett's strongest songs, opens the concert, sliding seamlessly into "Coconut Telegraph." The easy transitions from song-to-song throughout the concert show the experience Buffett has gained from his 30 years on the road, patching up rough spots with stage banter and simple strumming.

Buffett pays homage to the late actor, author and friend Gardner McKay, as well as promoter Tom Moffatt, who took the unknown singer to Tahiti in the early '80s, where he first sang "One Particular Harbor," written by friend Rodney Crowell.

Disc 2 includes a comical version of "Why Don't We Get Drunk (and Screw)," this time done with ukuleles.

"Live In Hawaii" may not be for the casual Buffett fan, but Parrotheads can relive "a night in paradise" with their guru of hedonism.