This is the cover of the new album by Gautier police officer Matt Hoggatt on Jimmy Buffett's Mailboat Records label.
GAUTIER, Mississippi - Just a year ago, Gautier police officer Matt Hoggatt was logging onto iTunes to buy music from his favorite artists. Now, people are logging on to buy his original music.
"Hotter Than Fishgrease," Hoggatt's first album released by Jimmy Buffett's Mailboat Records label, is now available on iTunes and online at mailboatrecords.com, Amazon.com, Kmart.com and Bestbuy.com.
"It's really crazy to think about it," the 35-year-old said Thursday. "I sure didn't think I'd be clicking on Jimmy Buffett's name on iTunes and finding mine right beside it. It's surreal but really cool."
Hoggatt's whole year has been somewhat dreamlike.
Blender Bender
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After winning this year's American Songwriter Magazine songwriting contest with his song "Dear Jimmy Buffett," which asks Buffett for a record deal, Hoggatt met the famous Pascagoula native.
He even sang with Buffett that same night at a concert in Birmingham, Ala., where Buffett sang his lyrical reply, "Dear Matt Hoggatt," which told Hoggatt they would talk about a record deal.
And they did more than talk.
Buffett sent Hoggatt on a small tour to his Margaritaville restaurants from Key West to Nashville and to Lulu's Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores, Ala., which is owned by Buffett's sister.
All of those shows were recorded, and the best tracks were sent to Nashville for mixing and mastering, resulting in the 11-track album.
"It's 10 of my original songs, and the 11th is a bonus track of me and Jimmy singing 'Dear Jimmy Buffett' at a show in Tallahassee," Hoggatt said.
When War Wasn't War
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Hoggatt said it's difficult to pinpoint his musical style.
"I call it gulf-western-country-Americana-folk," he said. "Some of my music is really country-sounding, and other songs are very folksy. But it's all acoustic storytelling songs that feature a lot of scenery and stories about the south and the coast."
His favorite song on the album, he said, is the title track because "I just like to watch the crowd's response when I sing it live."
The song "strikes home with anybody who has a wife or girlfriend and they're from the south," he said, especially those who like to say their significant other is "hotter than fishgrease."
Hoggatt said he is planning a tour to promote the record, and shows will begin early next year.
For more information, visit www.matthoggatt.com.