"I have been fortunate enough to attend all five Feat Fan Excursions. Each year has been an experience in and of itself. The music is beyond wonderful. I mean, what could be better than Little Feat and Friends playing on the beach! The people are exceptional. Fans come from all over to celebrate the band and each other. It's a yearly family reunion with the best family anyone could ask for.
The resort is exquisite. The staff in Negril takes care of us like we're royalty. 24 hour room service and turn down service, complete with flower petals each night.
Lifelong friendships are made. People have gotten engaged. People have gotten married. Partners have separated and returned as friends. There is magic in the air and there are smiles all around.
We dance. We sing. We eat and drink. We walk on the beach. We swim. We get manicures, and pedicures, and massages. We spend time with old friends, and always make new ones. There are impromptu fan jams. We sleep when we can, but not too much.
It is a celebration at all levels. And Dave and I can't wait to get back next year!"
Martha Epstein
New York, NY
"2007 marked our second year of participation in the Feat Fan's Excursion (FFE) to the Grand Lido in Negril, Jamaica. We've already signed up for our third year in 2008.
The first year we really didn't know what to expect. You can read the description of the Grand Lido and the words "all inclusive" and "absolutely no tipping" but you remain skeptical. The descriptions of "hanging with the Band" similarly sound appealing, but you doubt that it's really like that.
Well, it's no hype. All inclusive is just that. All your meals, all your drinks, room service, laundry, sail boats, snorkeling, bicycles, everything is included. And no one expects to be tipped. To be perfectly honest we did tip the guy who delivered the luggage to the room and the ladies who kept our room cleaned up during the stay - they politely accepted the tips (but only because we insisted - to do anything else would have been rude) and told us it was unnecessary and that they really shouldn't be accepting tips. Imagine that kind of response from a $2.00 tip to a valet or a $20.00 tip to the cabin steward on a cruise for a weeks stay!
But the best part is that it is no hype about getting to hang with the members of the band as friends just being guests at a fantastic resort. The first year, when we got up on our first morning after our arrival (and that fantastic garden acoustic concert right out our door) and started down to the breakfast buffet we met Shaun Murphy coming out of her room a few doors down. She greeted us asking if we were going to come to her cooking demonstration. Cooking Demonstration? Yep, Ms. Murphy demonstrated her culinary skills and about a dozen Feat Fans were down there in the end asking for recipes (which Amanda dutifully emoms with Shaun Murphy, or meeting and greeting her along the way. She always had the time and inclination to stop and chat with us. We shared the roles of guests at the Grand Lido and seeing Shaun was like seeing and talking to any of the other FFE attendees in that way.
The second year we met a couple of friends we'd made the year prior at the FFE (Jay and Joyce) waiting at the airport for the shuttle to the Grand Lido and the four of us shared the shuttle out with Craig Fuller who was a special guest in 2007. He was at that skeptical point about "all inclusive" and "absolutely no tipping" and the four of us assured him it meant what it said. The topic on the bus ultimately turned to golf and a grand time was had by all. For the rest of the trip we'd stop and chat with Craig Fuller when we met as if we were old acquaintances.
It's the same with all the Band members. We've spoken at length with virtually every member of the band on numerous occasions now. We've stood around shootin' the breeze with Paul, Sam, Kenny, Richie, Shaun, Bill and Fred. We've come to admire Bill Payne for a wide range of talents, interests and personal attributes we'd have never known about without this event. This last year Fred and his wife insisted that if me make it to the Feat Fan Fest in Eureka Springs this year that we come on out to the house. We've attended Sam Clayton and his wife's environmental discussions, photo tours with Bill Payne, "Ain't had enough fun" dance lessons with the Tacketts, sat and watched the sunset with Vince Hermann, listened to Denny encapsulate 30 years of personal rock n' roll history …
It goes without saying that these are all incredible musicians, but what you get from this experience is the understanding that these are incredibly good "people" with commitments to the fine arts, the environment, education, and a variety of good works and causes. And these are humble, approachable, appreciative human beings, proud parents, concerned citizens; the kind of folk you'd be proud to know even if they weren't the finest Jam Band in the world today.
It is in some ways comical, but every time we complimented anyone in the Band or with the crew they always retorted that it's the fans, that without them none of this could happen. That's something this vacation gives you too - you feel a part of something synergistic, something big and wonderful.
The trips are also notable because you meet such fine people and make such rich friendships there. Probably, with a big enough Government research grant, one could prove that the aesthetics involved in choosing a favorite band predispose one to a number of other common or compatible personality traits - or something like that. But for whatever reason we made new friendships easily and we've keep up with them through the years now. People like "Shred" (Mark), "Jewel" (Julia) and Bob, Chan and Terri, Jay and Joyce, Rudi and Angelica, Sir Charles, Toi … the list seemed to grow exponentially our second year in attendance.
Finally, before we digress too far we need to compliment the lynchpin that holds the FFE together - Amanda. Keep in mind we're relative newbie's - we've attended 2 of 5 FFEs (2008 we'll improve our stats to .500), but Amanda has already gotten to know us and looks out after us. She emails and calls and checks and double checks and mails out recipes and … and … and … On site, Amanda is always there and, along with Denny, may be the only one who doesn't get at least a partial vacation out of the deal.
In re-reading this we realized that we've left out more than we got in. The resort, yep, all inclusive and no tipping; but it's a great resort, good facilities, good food, good atmosphere, relaxing. The Staff bends over backwards to make your stay enjoyable. The concierge desk can book you anything you want. There are a lot of events and activities, both through the resort and with the FFE, but we never do it all and a good portion of our vacation is purposefully not doing anything but relaxing - and they make that easy and fun too.
It's a great resort and you could have a wonderful time there anytime (all those reviews on the travel sites are from people who do just that) but when you're at the FFE the garden acoustic concert, the brunch show and the beach concerts, the musicians gathered impromptu at the "Far Bar" are Paul Barrere, Sam Clayton, Kenny Gradney, Richie Hayward, Shaun Murphy, Bill Payne, Fred Tackett, special guests like Vince Hermann, Craig Fuller … and feat fans!
The FFE makes the hotel crowd different. We've arrived early and seen the other, non-FFE people; they just don't have as much in common and they don't add nearly as much to the experience as the Feat Fans do. It's that concept of being part of a synergistic whole we were getting at earlier.
Jim and Darcy said it all:
Perfection: Hey, it's Little Feat in Jamaica -- it just doesn't get ANY better than this!
Looking forward to 2008!"
Bill and Beverly
Top Ten Reasons for attending Feat Fan Excursion
(according to Jim & Darcy)
#10. Grand Lido Resort: It's ALL-inclusive, mon -- all the food, drinks, and watersports (and absolutely no tipping is allowed)! The resort food is awesome. And the staff bends over backwards to make our stay the ultimate experience!
#9. Seven-Mile Beach: Negril offers one of the best beach locations on the entire island of Jamaica! And there are plenty of off-site activities available, if desired (or not)!
#8. Spectacular Sunsets: The sunsets in Negril are absolutely incredible -- like none other! Our photographs from the 2006 excursion are splendid!
#7. Camaraderie: Where else would we have the opportunity to "hang out" with a couple hundred of our "best" friends (both old and new)?!
#6. Little Feat & their Families: Where else would we have the opportunity to "hang out" with the band members and their spouses/families, and see them as the REAL people that they are?!
#5. 24-Hour Room Service: Where else can we order Baby Lamb Chops (cooked medium rare) and a bottle of champagne at 3:00 am, then have them delivered right to our door in about 30 minutes (kind of beats Domino's all to pieces)?!
#4. Gorgeous Weather: The weather in Jamaica is FABULOUS in the winter (unlike most of the US, where it is Cold, Cold, Cold)!!
#3. The Entire Experience: This is truly an encounter that MUST be experienced by EVERY insane (or sane, as the case may be) Little Feat Fan -- at least once (or more) in a lifetime! We always come away with a lifetime of memories after every Jamaica excursion!!!
#2. The Ultimate Jerk Sauce: Chef Robert's jerk sauce at the clothing optional beach grill is absolutely hands-down the BEST jerk sauce we have EVER tasted!!!!
#1. Perfection: Hey, it's Little Feat in Jamaica -- it just doesn't get ANY better than this!!!!!
Jim & Darcy Fangman
Little Feat Grassroots National Directors
"I have been on all 5 Feat Fan Excursions. The first year (2003) one brave soul and I decided to go. When we tried to encourage our other Feat Head friends to come along our invitations were ignored or worse yet greeted with cynicism.
After the first day of the very first Feat Fan excursion, we sent the following email to our friends back home.
Dear Morons:
You guys are missing the vacation of a life time. You cannot possibly have more fun than this, it really is Disneyland for grownups. Every night a private Feat concert on the beach and then a party until dawn. You wake up and it starts all over again! You meet great people and make friends from around the world, who have one thing in common, a love for the Feat.
By 2007 our group has grown to 10 and by next year it will be 12 or 13. Nothing sells like word of mouth or the fear of being called a moron for missing the boat!"
David Stein
Basking Ridge, NJ
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