Anything But Mine – How One Song Kickstarted A Lifestyle

I’m a fan of all different types of music, some more than others, but I can appreciate the talent and passion it takes to be a musical artist. Believe it or not though, I’m not that big of a country music fan. Sure I like a handful of artists, but none of my radio presets are set to country stations.

I remember back in 2002 or 2003 when I first heard Kenny Chesney’s “No Shoes No Shirt No Problem,” I liked the feel good beach song but it didn’t turn my world upside down. As I think back, I’m a little surprised it didn’t. I had just moved to Florida and was living the life of a beach bum pirate every weekend. No Shoes No Shirt is pretty much an anthem for that type of lifestyle, but like I said it just didn’t push me into being the Caribbean explorer I am today. It was a different Chesney song that did that 3 years later.

I remember just tooling around the house and my buddy 007 was like, “Dude, you have to watch this video.” So I sat down and took in the moving pictures and lyrics. I don’t know what happened but something just clicked. I specifically remember the feeling I had after watching the video for Chesney’s “Anything But Mine.” The powerful lyrics of summer love and a carefree life on the coast connected me to a memory, to a feeling. I felt inspired and wanted more. That and the girl in the video was pretty easy on the eyes.

The song spread through our group of friends and sort of became an anthem for us. We would play it on the beach, sing it on the boat and every once in awhile the song would cause a tear to be shed. There’s just something powerful about those rhythm and rhymes.

Anything But Mine led me to more of Chesney’s music, from which I found the Be As You Are album that he put out the year before in 2004. That album opened my eyes wide to the Caribbean, St. John and the island lifestyle. Be As You Are lead to another buddy getting married on St. John, and during that magical week on island I knew right then and there that I wanted to experience everything the Caribbean had to offer.

That trip to St. John inspired me to start a little Caribbean blog called RumShopRyan.com so that I could share my island passion with others. The pursuit of this blog has lead me to many more islands and the meeting of some amazing people whom share the same passion. The rest is history, all thanks to a little song titled “Anything But Mine.”

Kenny Chesney – Anything But Mine

I still get goosebumps when I watch this video.

About “Anything But Mine”

(from Wikipedia) “Anything but Mine” is the title of a song written by Scooter Carusoe, and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was released in January 2005 as the fifth single from his album When the Sun Goes Down. It reached number-one on the U.S. country chart in April 2005

The video, directed by Shaun Silva, was shot in Malibu, California and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Chesney and the band were filmed in Myrtle Beach at Family Kingdom Amusement Park, in front of a ride called, “The Hurricane,” and the Myrtle Beach Pavilion, The scenes featuring surfer Amy Cobb as “Mary” were shot on the California coast & also in Myrtle Beach. Sonny Miller, who also shot the film “Blue Crush,” was employed for the underwater and surfing scenes in California.

Do you have song that first connected you to the Caribbean lifestyle?

Cheers!
RumShopRyan