Mark Mulch Keeps The Trop Rock Spirit Alive
Mark Mulch & Jimmy Buffett
He came out of Toms River in Ocean County and has been in Nashville for years. Mark Mulch is but one of a growing list of artists who call their music Trop Rock. Now it’s a certifiable genre with its own radio stations, charts and audience. Like Americana, it’s an umbrella under which good vibes, strong melodies, sunny scenes and sand between your toes vie for optimum feelgood listening. And the Patron Saint of the scene has always been the late Jimmy Buffett [1946-2023] whose humor, enthusiastic live shows and fashion sense fostered a dedicated legion of fanatics called Parrotheads. Now Mulch has released a song encapsulating it all. “Buffen’ It” is, in a word, sublime.
Mulch explains. “It’s a song we actually started writing 15 years ago or so while I was in The Mulch Brothers. Co-written with my brother-from-a-different-mother Nick Mulch and our good friend Bigg Vinny from the band Trailer Choir who brought it back up to me about a year ago, we just couldn’t find the work tape. That wound up being a blessing in disguise as it gave us the chance to rewrite the verses now that Jimmy is gone to pay tribute to the life lessons he taught us through his lyrics, music and lifestyle. We were also able to pay tribute to his loyal Parrothead following in the song. We should all be out there ‘Buffen’ It’ as much as possible!
WATCH Mark Mulch Perform "Buffen' It" LIVE! (Story continues below…)
“Another fun fact, especially for The Jersey Sound, is I went down to Florida to record with my buddy and legendary Trop Rocker Alan `Jax’ Bowers who originally hails from Jersey in Lake Mohawk, Sparta. Jax and I co-produced the track and he played drums/percussion on it and mixed it. His Mudcut South Recording Studios had the PERFECT vibe for this song!
“For me the thing I love most about Jimmy was of course his music and carefree attitude but also his business acumen. He built an empire off of one song–’Margaritaville.’ That was always just amazing to me. When I got my first publishing deal in Nashville I used to cash my BMI royalty check and go down to Margaritaville on lower Broadway and toast the Son of a Sailor in the hopes of being like him someday. So here’s to `Buffen’ It’ any way you can!”
LISTEN on: Apple Music | Spotify
“Buffen’ It” is by Mark Mulch & The Music City Beach Bums
Written by Mark Mulch, NIck Dekoff and Bigg Vinny
Produced by Alan “Jax” Bowers and Mark Mulch
Mixed by Jax
Mastered by Lucas Pimentel
Lead guitars - Pete Robertson
Steel Drums - Sunny Jim
Hi-string Acoustic - Daniel Dennis
Background Vocals - Tim Buppert
Drums/Percussion - Jax
Recorded at Mudcut South Recording Studios
Release by Hat Trick Music Group
Cover Art by Erin Laughlin