How the Abacos Changed My Life
Maria Grace Photography Maria Grace Photography

How the Abacos Changed My Life

As I think back to the inspiration behind Chasing the Sun, I remember my trip to the Abacos where I first discovered the music of Jimmy Parrish and the wheels were set in motion for making tropical cinematic stories.

I was exploring a small local gift shop and over the loudspeaker, I heard Jimmy Parrish’s song “Ocean Waves.” I asked the shopkeeper who it was, and she not only introduced me to Jimmy, but she offered two of his CDs for sale. I spent much of that trip drinking Kalik beer, reading Jimmy Buffett novels, and listing to those two Jimmy Parrish albums on repeat. I’d been brainstorming what my next film could be, trying to find a built-in audience for it, and finally the idea hit me: I should make a tropical film for fans of this lifestyle…

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Social Distancing Summer Days Ahead
Maria Grace Photography Maria Grace Photography

Social Distancing Summer Days Ahead

Summer is almost upon us and we are all still in this strange COVID world. I hope you are all doing well and staying safe.

As for me, filming is of course on hold. However I did have the opportunity to edit a music video for Jimmy Parrish which was very exciting. Jimmy was the first musician who signed aboard the “Island Time” project many years ago, and his songs inspired so much of the movie. His music video “Corona” is a parody of Jimmy Buffett’s song, “Creaola.” Jimmy originally approached me about flying down to Florida to direct the video, but travel restrictions being what they are - I settled on editing the footage that Jimmy and his crew shot. Also keep an eye out for many guest stars in the Trop Rock world…

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