A new doc, Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, pays tribute to Margaritaville’s first citizens
“Jimmy Buffett was a force of nature,” might read like the most obvious sentence in the world, but when you hear Jeff Bridges narrate the words as the Margarita Man sings “Why Don’t We Get Drunk,” it feels otherworldly. The moment occurs about halfway through the trailer for Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, a new documentary about the band that backed Buffett up in the Seventies and early Eighties. The film, which John H. Cunningham directed, will premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Feb. 9
In interviews in the doc, the musicians recall how the Coral Reefer Band were “ragged” but how they helped Buffett find his signature sound. They also explain how the group got its name from Key West’s coral reef but also “reefer,” a word for “marijuana back then.” One musician even pantomimes a big reefer toke. But of course pot wasn’t all they consumed. “We had more liquor on our rider than Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones,” a woman says with a laugh. (The Coral Reefer Band played on Buffett’s biggest hit, “Margaritaville.”) It all adds up to what looks like a wild and freewheeling look at a wild and freewheeling band.
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“I first saw Jimmy and the Coral Reefers in 1977 and then moved to Key West shortly thereafter,” filmmaker Cunningham said in a statement. “Having known many of the first Reefers for several years, I felt the band’s origin story needed to be preserved. Once we started the interviews, their collective sentiments about life in the Seventies, their time on the road, in the studio and their feelings about Jimmy, I knew we had captured lightning in a bottle.”
Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, songwriter Keith Sykes, and many original Coral Reefers, including the road crew, participated in interviews for the documentary. Updates on future screenings will feature on the film’s website.