from the band:
Report from Jam Cruise 3
[click here for a Jam Crusie 3 photo gallery]

I remember returning from Jam Cruise 1 last year and thinking that it set a precedent for bringing in the New Year that would be hard to beat. Well, lucky for us, we were included on this year’s Jam Cruise 3, and once again we started the New Year in great fashion. The Carnival Cruise Ship “Celebration” (a much larger and more stable boat than last year’s Regal Empress) left the Jacksonville Port on Thursday, January 6 and both the passengers and the crew members were in for a trip like none they had ever experienced before. The first band to play was a great outfit from L.A. called Ozomatli. They were by far my pleasant surprise of the lineup. They don’t tour the Southeast, but if you are ever on the Left Coast be sure to look them up. They are one of the most fun bands that I have ever seen.

Cam and Jess played an acoustic set the first night in the Trolley Bar, which ended up being one of the good late night spots to hang out. Theresa Andersson sat in on fiddle on Ham It Up, as did Kris Kolp on harp, as well as Tony G and Jason Fuller, who took dueling piano solos that brought the house down.

Our first show was on Friday afternoon, and we played on the Lido Pool Deck. This was the only outdoor stage on the boat, and it was my favorite spot to see the music on the cruise. It’s like watching a band at an outdoor festival, like Bonnaroo for instance. But lower the temperature to about 80 degrees, and add a nice gentle breeze across your face. Remove any mud or dust that might be on your feet. Oh, and put an ice cold Pina Colada in your hand. In your clean hand, because this morning when you woke up from your brief nap in your bed, you took a hot shower before you went and had breakfast (omelet w/ cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, and peppers, grits, biscuit, fruit bowl, coffee, and OJ). Can’t see the band? No problem. Go up the stairs to the middle deck and watch them play from above. Still want to go higher? No problem. Go up one more flight to the upper deck and look down on the band from there. The breeze is a little stronger up there, and you can see a few more miles across the vast blue ocean from that level. Oh, but you’ve climbed to the top and got your perfect spot for watching the music and now your pina colada is getting low? No problem. Flag down one of the servers and she will bring you a fresh drink right where you are standing. She won’t mind…she was bringing one to Jon Fishman and Jimmy Herring anyway, who are standing right next to you watching the music. So really, it’s a lot like your typical outdoor festival except for these minor differences I just mentioned.

DJ Logic sat in with us on The Levee (our first-ever DJ sit-in), as did Tony G. Karl Denson and his bass player Ron Johnson sat in on Skin It Back. Ron recorded us playing Skin It Back at Down on the Farm, and he learned the song before the Cruise. How cool is that? Karl and his entire band are a class act. They are true professionals, superb musicians, and nice guys to boot!

The shows I caught later that day were MOFRO, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade, Jazz Mandolin Project w/ Jon Fishman, and Umphrey’s McGee. Les Claypool was a breath of fresh air for me because his band was so different from everything else on the boat - very creative and wacky, and tons of fun. MOFRO killed it as usual, and Umphrey’s McGee is hands-down the sickest “Jam Band” in the truest sense of the word since Phish. I believe they are the next super stars of the scene.

On Saturday, we docked in Freeport, Bahamas. There were several options of things to do, from sitting on the beach to renting scooters to sailing to snorkeling (no different from the extra curricular options at other festivals). I opted for the snorkeling trip and loved it. Water was clear and the folks were a lot of fun.

When we got back on the boat, MOFRO greeted us with a show on the Lido Pool deck. After that, the sickest jam that occurred on the whole trip (according to Fuller and me) happened during the Garage Mahal set at the Pool deck. It was Garage Mahal with Robert Walter sitting in on keys, his sax player Cochemea on alto sax, Jeff Coffin (Flecktones) on tenor sax, and Eric Krasno (Soulive) on guitar. They played a Robert Walter song and simply killed it. I was in awe the entire time. Folks may turn their nose up at the Jam Band scene for whatever reason, but the fact is it attracts some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever seen or heard. And a bunch of them were on the boat for sure.

We played late night on Saturday. JJ Grey from MOFRO sat in on CCR’s “As Long As I Can See the Light” and Tony G sat in on a few as well.

Sunday’s highlight for me came during the Stanton Moorestars set at the Pool Deck. It was an allstar jam and it ended with Jeff Sipe (ARU) on one drum kit dueling with all comers on another kit on the stage. The last guy to get up and trade with Sipe was John Staten from Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Staten immediately brought the fire, forcing Sipe to reach deep into his bag of chops to keep up. The two of them kept raising the bar higher and higher in their respective trades until the “battle” came together in unison with a flurry of chops that brought the “boat” down. Stanton Moore was on his knees shaking his head in disbelief, Sipe was bowing to Staten, Staten was bowing to Sipe, I was drafting and signing my resignation papers, and the whole boat was roaring with applause. The sickest drum battle I’ve ever seen. Wow….

Speaking of drummers, I knew I would get to see and enjoy some phenomenal drummers on the boat Jeff Sipe, John Staten, Stanton Moore, Jon Fishman, Michael Travis (SCI), George Sluppick (MOFRO), Cody Dickinson (NMA), and Kris Myers (Umphrey’s). But I was pleasantly surprised by the drummers that I previously wasn’t familiar with – the guy from Garage Mahal (don’t know his name), Dave Watts (plays in The Motet, but played with the Remarkable Elba Kramer on the boat), and Joe Russo from The Duo. In my opinion, this year it was a drummer’s boat for sure!

There was an awards banquet on Sunday night and I am proud to announce that Tony G won the award for the “Jamminest Cruiser” – the award for the person who was not in a band but played the most on the boat. He sat in with us, MOFRO, Perpetual Groove, and was always playing the piano in the Trolley Bar during various acoustic sets. Way to go Tony G!!!

Of course there are too many shows to report on…heck I haven’t even mentioned the ARU, KDTU or Galactic!!! Folks, this is simply put the ultimate vacation, the ultimate festival, the ultimate party, the ultimate gathering of musicians and music fans, and the ultimate way to start off the New Year! We are thankful that we could be a part of it once again, our hats off to those who organized and planned Jam Cruise 3! And to all of you, have a safe, happy, healthy, joyful, and peaceful 2005!

- Proc
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