Entertainment  

Onboard Artists


Brent Burns

Gulf Shores, Alabama

Brent Burns was born in Seminole, Oklahoma, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1958. While attending high school and Community college sports were important, but music was in his blood. Brent soon strapped on an electric guitar and was fronting a rock-n-roll band.

Life soon changed when he volunteered for service in Vietnam. Several months after entering combat, Brent was wounded and received the Purple Heart. After a three year recuperation in and out of military hospitals, he returned to his love of music and hit the road performing all over the United States. Later on he felt compelled to take a year off from music and hit the college lecture circuit. Offering honest, insightful, and a humorous look at life as a combat soldier, Brent was able to help others troubled with the effect of the war on their day to day lives.

Brent Burns is no stranger to notoriety.  In response to the oil shortages of the 1980s, Burns wrote the hit song, “Cheaper Crude or No More Food,” which sold 200,000 copies the first day it was released.   Paul Harvey played the song three times; the first and only song ever played in the program’s 35-year history.  Burns’ fame has continued with guest appearances on all three major networks, interviews on the BBC, and featured articles in theNew York Times, Chicago Tribune and Billboard Magazine.

Brent also has the distinction of being the first entertainer to sing for American troops overseas since the tragedy of September 11th, 2001.  Besides his busy performance schedule, he continues to perform at benefits around the world, including for the National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) of Australia, the Phoenix Suns Night Hoops Program, American Cancer Society, and Habitat for Humanity, where Brent built a house with proceeds from his CD, “Margarita Smile.”

Brent Burns’ impressive CD sales and song writing continue to make him a highly sought after independent artist and performer.  His performance schedule includes over 200 dates a year at concerts, festivals and clubs.

In recent years, Brent has been recognized at the Trop Rock Awards held annually in Key West, FL. In 2008 he received awards for "Entertainer Of The Year", "CD Of The Year" - (Ragtops and Flip Flops), and the "WAVE Award" for his humanitarian efforts. In 2010 he received awards for "Songwriter Of The Year", CD Of The Year - ("I've Got A Beach In My Backyard") and Song Of The Year" - ("I've Got A Beach In My Backyard"). For more info about Brent, please visit his website, at www.brentburns.com

 

Jim Morris

Punta Gorda, Florida

 Jim Morris is an articulate singer/songwriter with a devotion to storytelling. Whether it is a thoughtful ballad about doomed love or an anthem to a night of drunken revelry, the listener can always count on well-crafted songs with carefully drawn characters, clever lyrics, and satirical charm.

Although Jim’s musical style is admittedly reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker, he has a knack for defying categorization. He mixes a whimsical island sound with a splash of Texas to produce a sound that is uniquely Gulf and Western.

Jim grew up in Georgia and has a heritage rich in music. His grandfather led a dance band, and everyone in the family either played an instrument or sang. At age 10 Jim taught himself to play the guitar by listening to Hank Williams records. After college (BA in English and graduate studies in English and Human Resources Management) while pursuing a career in human resources management, he continued to write songs and dream of the day when he could do it full-time. "After I graduated, I wanted to be a drifter and a writer; instead, I settled for corporate executive and closet entertainer."

During his 15-year corporate career, his job allowed him to live in several interesting locales, such as Montana, New Orleans, and St. Simons Island, all of which would figure prominently in his writing. Following a business trip during which he renewed his love affair with the southwest coast of Florida, Jim took the leap he had been contemplating for some time and left the corporate world for good.

Jim spent the subsequent years writing songs and playing gigs around Florida. From the beginning he took a big risk by featuring original music. "I spent about a year writing and developing a catalog of songs. I was unsure of my ability to sing and play the guitar professionally, but I thought my songs might separate me from the other performers."

"I don’t have much to show for my years except some great experiences, and that’s what I write about – the characters I’ve met and the places I’ve been. The thing that is both satisfying and alarming is that most of it is true." Visit Jim's website at http://www.jim-morris.com/home.htm

 

 Bob Karwin
San Diego, California

 

Bob Karwin began his music career in Boston, Massachusetts on June 4, 1990, playing to drunken mobs in the Irish pubs and college bars. He quickly made a name for himself in Beantown by being able to tame an unruly crowd fired by Guinness and Jack Daniels using only his guitar and a microphone

In 1993, Bob packed up his Jeep and moved to sunny San Diego. His blend of humor and thoughtful songwriting struck a chord with Southern Californians and he began to develop a following at his rowdy one man shows.  Bob is now a full fledged Californian, strolling the beaches and vowing to never shovel a driveway ever again.

Bob has played along side of many members of Jimmy Buffett’s band, the Coral Reefers, including Greg “Fingers” Taylor, Amy Lee, Deb McCall, T.C. Mitchell, Doyle Grisham, and Jay Spell.  He has been a featured act at many national “parrothead” events, including Phins to the West (Laughlin, NV), Migration (Las Vegas, NV), Laid Back Attack (Seattle, WA), Six String Music (New Orleans, LA), Atlanta Parrothead Cruise, Angels in Tropical Shirts (Lake Charles, LA) and this year add Meeting of Minds (Key West, FL) to the list. You should also ask him about the time he opened for Barenaked Ladies in Anaheim, CA.  That’s a good story

Visit his website at www.bobkarwin.com to find out more about this talent, and to purchase his music. 

 

 

 

 

Onshore Jam (Cozumel)

Mark Mulligan
Cancun, Mexico

Like many other Trop Rock artists, Mark Mulligan combines the influences Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor and Jim Croce, with a touch of his own own unique touch for a “tropical folk” sound.

Living his dream, Mark now lives in beautiful San Carlos, Sonora Mexico, where he performs during tourist season in resorts, beachfront bars, and local events such as ”Mulligan's Island Fest”, a big tropical music festival he hosts annually. His CDs; “Mexico”, “Son of the Sunshine”, “Going Coastal”, “First World Refugee”, "Life In A Beach Town", "Journey Around the Sun", and his brand new album, "A Bar Down In Mexico" reflect on many of his experiences during his years of living on the Sea of Cortez. You can get more info about Mark and his music at www.markmulligan.net