Get ready to enjoy a “Cheeseburger in Paradise” — or get wasted away in “Margaritaville” — at MGM Springfield on Friday when Changes in Latitudes takes the stage.
Changes in Latitudes — which describes itself as “America’s Premier Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show” — is playing the casino as part of MGM Springfield’s Free Music Fridays, Summer Edition.
Steve Kareta is lead vocalist and guitarist of Changes in Latitudes and its founder. Together with a band that ranges from eight to 10 people, depending on the year, Kareta strives to keep Buffett’s style of tropical rock alive. Joining him are Hilory Wagner, vocals; Phil Andres, steel pan drums and percussion; Gary Osborn, bass guitar; Geoff Wadhams, keyboards, pedal steel guitar and vocals; Jay DeNigris, guitar and vocals; Scott Ciprari, drum kit; Rob Dauphinais, drum kit; Mike Paglione, saxophone; and Jon Berman, saxophone.
Buffett died in September 2023, but he leaves behind a legacy of “not just music, but a lifestyle,” says Kareta.
In a phone interview, Kareta talked about keeping the music of Buffett alive and what concertgoers can expect at Friday’s show. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q. Can you tell me a little bit about how the band got together?
A. The band’s been together for 23 years. Back in the day, we kind of just were Parrot Heads ourselves. We would go see Jimmy Buffett when he came to town. One thing led to another — I started a band to just have some fun in the summer, and it took off. The band got lucky in the beginning, we hit it at the right time before tribute bands were crazy popular. There were only a few in the region. We did a lot of the East Longmeadow summer concert series, Agawam summer concert series, and the Jimmy Buffett thing really appealed to a lot of the adults that were looking to have a good time. We hit it right at the right time. I know there’s a bunch of bands out there that play Jimmy Buffett, but most of them are five-piece bands or so, and these days we’re anywhere from eight to 11 pieces depending on who’s around this weekend. (laughs) It’s pretty crazy.
Q. What is that like, working with such a large band?
A. It’s a blast. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by really, really talented musicians. It’s a big machine. Once it gets up and rolling, it’s pretty intense to listen to with all the stuff that’s going on. And to be fair, Jimmy Buffett had a lot of people on stage, anywhere from 12 to 17 depending on which iteration of the band you’re talking about. So to be accurate, we kind of have to be that large to begin with, but it’s really nice because there’s a lot of colors that go on with the band. There’s a lot of stuff that you don’t see in a normal band around the area – like steel pan drums, island drums, things like that.
Q. 23 years is an impressive amount of time for any band to be together, especially a tribute band. What would you say is your key to success?
A. Picking people that have good energy, as opposed to picking people that are virtuosos. Not that my band players aren’t amazing players, but you don’t get asked to be in the band unless you have a great personality and can roll with the challenges of being on the road. Anybody that joins the band when we’re looking to replace somebody, the first thing is that we don’t put ads out anywhere, we actually word-of-mouth it. If we need a new bass player, we just start asking around, and people go “oh, I’ve got the guy that’s good for this band.” Because it’s been around for so long, the band has a solid reputation throughout the region and across the country, so if we’re looking for somebody, somebody will know the right guy or right girl for the job. And if somebody says “hey, go see so-and-so,” I’ll go see them play somewhere else or look them up on YouTube, and I will meet up with them away from the band world. I’ll go get a coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts with them and just sit for an hour and talk, and see if they’re easy to get along with or if they’re challenging to get along with. Once you get past that process, then you get a shot at being in the band. ‘Cause you’ve gotta get along. The road is hard, period.
Q. We lost Buffett in 2023. What would you say the legacy is that he’s left behind?
A. Well, he started a whole new musical genre, so to speak. There’s a genre called trop rock, as in tropical rock. It’s obviously the island vibe – beaches and palm trees. The laid-back thing was really his whole thing, and it wasn’t just his music, it was a lifestyle. That’s why it appeals to a lot of adults that come to see the band, because everybody’s looking for that laidback, vacation kind of feel. That’s definitely his legacy, and we have been fortunate. Changes in Latitudes has four CDs of original music, our own songs – my songs – and we have had most of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band play with us at one point or another, either on recording or live or both. We’ve been connected to the whole Jimmy Buffett camp for a very long time. When Buffett passed, I called most of them and offered my condolences, and we’re all still in contact, waiting to see what’s going to happen. You never know who could show back up on my stage again.
Q. How do you and your band work to uphold that legacy?
A. The easy way is to just have fun on stage and to share that enjoyment and that joy. People look at the band and they go “wow, you guys look like you’re having such a good time on stage.” It’s because we are. You can’t fake it. You can’t pretend, you can’t get up there and smile and goof on each other if you don’t really enjoy each other’s company. That goes all the way back to when you build the band, you pick people that are enjoyable to be with. That’s really what it comes down to is sharing that fun, sharing that joy of making this music that people like.
Q. Do you yourself have any favorite songs to perform?
A. The ones we have to do are a group of songs that the Parrot Heads – the Jimmy Buffett fans – call the “Great 8.” It’s the eight songs – and it’s probably nine or 10 now – that everybody knows, like “Margaritaville” and “Volcano” and “Changes in Latitudes.” But what a lot of people don’t realize is that Jimmy Buffett had well over 40 albums of music that he put out over his lifetime, not including live ones, so there’s a lot to choose from. Our favorite songs through the course of a show or season are the ones that are deeper cuts. The ones that we’ll play and only a handful of people in the audience will recognize. Those are the songs that are more fun to play — not that playing “Margaritaville” isn’t fun, because as soon as you start playing that, everybody gets up and screams and yells. (laughs) It’s a lot of fun, but the ones that we like – our favorites – are the deeper cuts.
Q. All of Jimmy Buffett’s songs have such good energy. Do you see a lot of that energy at your show?
A. There are Parrot Head groups throughout the country, and in New England, there’s probably about half a dozen. At any given show, there are definitely groups of Parrot Heads that show up, but there are also families that come out to see the band, especially when we play places like the East Longmeadow Concert Series. Parents bring their kids and it’s OK to have a beach ball, throwing around beach balls. We have kids dance up in front because the music is just so fun.
Q. Seems like the show is a lot of fun for everyone, even if you’re not necessarily a diehard Buffett fan.
A. Exactly, exactly. We do “Brown-Eyed Girl” – because Jimmy did a great cover of “Brown-Eyed Girl” – we do “Margaritaville,” we do “Volcano” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” I tell people all of the time that you know more Jimmy Buffett songs than you think you do.
Q. What can audiences expect at the MGM Springfield show?
A. Oh, God only knows. It’s going to be fun. I’m hoping we’ll have some beach balls there – they’re always on order. We’ll have T-shirts and conga lines. We try to take you to the beach for the duration of the show.
