 All of us in A1A extend deep and heartfelt Birthday wishes, thanks, appreciation and gratitude to our manager Kathy Mullen today on her Birthday. Her tireless smile, commitment, passion, belief, drive, friendship and love for what she does touches many and keeps us rolling on. Thank you, Kathy, for what you do for each and every one of us. Have a great Birthday!
 Well, I have to say that the gig this past Saturday evening at Pinckney Hall in Bluffton, South Carolina turned out a lot different than we thought it was going to. The event was for a Del Webb retirement community and it was their first Parrot Head Function. Being a 55 and older retirement community I don’t think we were expecting the kind of party and reception that we received. Much to our surprise, the entire event was sold out and the hall and attendants were decorated to the hilt. With party attitudes to match! They stayed all night, danced pretty much nonstop and had one of the best conga lines I have ever seen. It was a fantastic evening and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. The band looked and sounded wonderful and we were all very happy with the gig. I want to send out special thanks to Vance Kelly and Kathy Mullen for help with the BEAUTIFUL new backdrops that came in just in time for the gig this weekend. Absolutely stunning! You two really made it shine. Also thanks to Vance for getting us a trailer, and for Wayne and Eric in helping with rehearsals and sets while I have been absent for the past few weeks. The extra effort everyone has put forth is paying off and it is greatly appreciated, by me and the audience. Nothing can be finer than to be in Carolina…..with cheeseburgers.
Let’s get tropical! Jeff  Well, here it is the first week of 2015 and I honestly cannot believe it. Even though we are warned by our elders throughout our entire life at how faster time goes by when you get older, I don’t think anyone ever really believes it until they get there. Well, at least that has been my experience. I do hope that your Christmas season and New Years Eve were pleasant. Mine definitely was. Aside from having the great opportunity to perform with The Rhythm Jets and Mercy Myra at The SERV Ball in Atlanta, I was blessed with the good fortune of spending a lot of time with my family and my girlfriend, more so than usual than in recent years past. It was absolutely wonderful. It all just went so fast. I really do wish that it had lasted a lot longer…But it didn’t and we are now 5 days into a New Year with a lot to do. I want to thank everyone who has stood by the band for the past 24 years. It really has been a wild ride. Actually, it still continues to be one and we are loving the track we are on at the moment. 2014 was a year filled with of a lot of changes in my life and I am hoping to implement many more in 2015. I hope you will join me, and I wish you also a year of change, prosperity and happiness.
See you on the road! Let’s Get Tropical! Jeff Pike Greetings A1A Friends and Fans Old and New, As the old year winds down with a new one fast approaching, I am feeling a lot of emotions about my past 23 years with A1A. The importance that A1A has played in the birth of the enormous and still growing Parrot Head and Trop Rock Community still fills me with pride. The fact that the band, and myself, have managed to last this long is also something I am very proud of. Especially in the declining state that the music industry has been in for quite some time now. Yes, I have seen much come and go since I first joined, and then started performing, for The Atlanta Parrot Head Club (The very first club for those not in the know) way back in 1989. And while there is much I could probably complain about, I sit here today writing you with much thankfulness, gratefulness, enthusiasm and awareness. I am very thankful for all of the people who have stuck with the band through thick and thin for the past 23 years. I am also quite grateful to all of the band members and behind the scenes people that have helped keep this machine rolling during their time aboard. We have moved fast and we have moved slow, but we have always managed to keep the wheels rolling. Of course, occasionally a wheel would roll off and we would crash. So yes, some members have come and gone. But I have learned that if you are really going to grow, as an individual and as a business, then change is inevitable and it should be looked at in a positive light. Not being one keen on change I have always had difficulty with that concept. But it seems that with each incarnation of the band we manage to find a new level for us to aspire to. It keeps things periodically fresh, new and has brought to all of us our own personal and professional challenges for growth. Be that as it may, it is with mixed emotions when I say this is where I sit with A1A on the brink of 2015. I will tell you that in many aspects of my professional life I feel that I have been drifting for far too long. It was through much soul searching, coaching, life recovery work and wonderful opportunities of growth and awareness which entered my life, that I came to a realization in early 2014 that it was time to get back in charge of the team. The time was right and I was once again ready to be the ball and make some changes. It has been a long road to get where I am today and I will be honest in saying that it has not been without conflict, pain or loss. But amidst the difficult changes within the band, we can all say that we have grown and are looking forward to what the future brings with our own respective projects. So while it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Chaz, Ansley and Nico from our A1A family, we are very excited and looking forward to what Chris Blackwell, Scotty Sells, Vance Kelly and our new management/marketing/media team of ImageMil Studios and Mullen Music Management have in store for us. I can honestly say that I have never had this much high end creative, marketing, media, musical talent and power within and around A1A throughout the entire history of the band. The dedication, drive and team spirit that all of these people around me are conveying is deeply soul stirring and very big. Great things are happening and I am feeling extremely blessed. Stay tuned for our new website, our new promo video, our new EPK, and a new show and look for 2015. I have to say, A1A is a beast that will not be put down. We always seem to get back up again. Stronger than before and ready to grab the biggest Parrot by the beak. Wishing everyone a New Year full of growth, awareness and positive changes. Now….let’s get tropical! Jeff Pike  |
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