Rock and Romance, 80s Cruise, and my other 2024 music adventures

[Honolulu Blue]

A few items of interest to me about my musical journey:

 

1. Today is the day I can pick up some artist hosted events if I'm interested.  Tentative plans have been made.  I'll let you know what happens with this.
2. Styx announced a concert at one of the local Native megacasinos for next May.  This is earlier than, and seems to be unrelated to, the tour they announced with Foreigner and John Waite a couple of weeks ago.  They're on their own for this stop.  I don't see any VIP tickets.  I'm not sure if I'll pull the trigger on this.  We'll see.
3. My AARP Magazine had an interesting article on how music can stir up memories.  More interesting to me is that they had a quiz with opening lyrics from various songs.  The songs were all from the 70s and 80s, which suited me just fine.  I got 19 of the 20 titles correct; the one I missed was my least favorite of the bunch from my least favorite band.  Perhaps it was a case of repressed memories.  

[Honolulu Blue]

All right, the initial frenzy over the artist hosted events on The 80s Cruise is over and I can breathe now.  I got the two that I most wanted to attend - the breakfast with Stephen Pearcy and the wine tasting with Sheena Easton.  The latter seems like the hot ticket of the day, as it's already sold out.  Internet rumors say it sold out within 10 minutes.

 

Here are some details on my chosen events:

 

 

 

 

[NinS]

Looks fun, HB. Did you ever dare to find out what Wang Chung's Wang was?

 

The Jazz Cruise '24 artist-hosted events are almost entirely hosted by side people or mid-tier headliners. We haven't been told what the fees will be, and there's no way to reserve tickets before we board. One is a martini class hosted by a drummer my boss is good friends with. He's a very funny and personable guy and can probably make a mean martini but I'm not sure I'd pay a very high price for his class, especially since I don't drink. I once attended a wine tasting on the Malt Shop Memories Cruise so I could meet an artist: 1950s recording artist Lloyd Price, who has since passed away. When they asked what he thought of the wine he said he had not had a drop of alcohol since 1958. This artist was known for his business acumen so clearly he was happy to hang out and take whatever his fee for the event was! (He was extremely friendly at that event and the other numerous times I ended up encountering him on the ship.)

[Honolulu Blue]

7 hours ago, NinS said:

Looks fun, HB. Did you ever dare to find out what Wang Chung's Wang was?

 

The Jazz Cruise '24 artist-hosted events are almost entirely hosted by side people or mid-tier headliners. We haven't been told what the fees will be, and there's no way to reserve tickets before we board. One is a martini class hosted by a drummer my boss is good friends with. He's a very funny and personable guy and can probably make a mean martini but I'm not sure I'd pay a very high price for his class, especially since I don't drink. I once attended a wine tasting on the Malt Shop Memories Cruise so I could meet an artist: 1950s recording artist Lloyd Price, who has since passed away. When they asked what he thought of the wine he said he had not had a drop of alcohol since 1958. This artist was known for his business acumen so clearly he was happy to hang out and take whatever his fee for the event was! (He was extremely friendly at that event and the other numerous times I ended up encountering him on the ship.)

 

I did find out what a Wang Wang is.  Thank you, random Internet folks!  It's a mixed drink similar to a Long Island Iced Tea that's better known as a Weng Weng, but I'm sure the name was switched up slightly to fit the band.

 

The two past editions of the UDC that I've been on had events that were similar to what you saw on TJC '24 - alcohol tastings hosted by those other than headliners, announced before the cruise but not able to be booked until we got on board, and limited quantities of them - two or three IIRC.  It'll be interesting to see what the artist led experience was/is on Rock & Romance; perhaps @George C can help there.

 

I'm glad you had a good experience with your wine tasting with Mr. Price.  I told the story of how I met Mr. Pearcy after his concert a few weeks ago.  He seems like a cool dude, so I'm looking forward to spending as much time with him as I can.  Sheena Easton - what can I say?  I don't drink either, but she's bewitching enough to make me do bad things.  🙃  We'll see how it goes.

 

P.S.  The breakfast with Mr. Pearcy has now sold out; it did so sometime yesterday evening.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[Honolulu Blue]

I have several mostly small items of significance to my musical journey:

 

• I was visiting the local dollar store when I saw copies of Dolly Parton's rock and roll album.  I'm weak.  I couldn't resist.  It was $20 and I bought it.  I'm sure I'll listen to it sometime.  It might even be good.
• I received a notice from one of our state megacasinos about a show that's coming to their showroom on March 8, 2024 called the "I Love the 90's Tour".  It features Montell Jordan, All 4 One, C+C Music Factory, and Color Me Badd.  I remember the big hits from the first two and can sing their choruses.  I can sing many of the hits from the latter two.  You may recognize them as participants on The 90s Cruise coming up in early 2025.  This would provide a good preview of the shows on that cruise.  One problem is that travel could still be dicey here next March.  The other problem is that it will be the night after I return from The 80s Cruise.  I could be all concerted out by then.  I'll have to do some research on this and figure out what I want to do.
• Another notice from the same casino on the same day advertised another concert - this one from an Elton John tribute act (Kenny Metcalf) and a Billy Joel tribute act (Billy Nation). The tickets are quite cheap ($29 and $19) and I like both Elton and Billy a lot.  Fun story - I did an Elton and Billy trivia session on a Carnival ship a few years ago.  I aced the Billy Joel portion, but missed two of the Elton songs - "Circle of Life" was perhaps forgivable, but "Tiny Dancer" definitely not.  They play it a lot on the radio station I listen to most often.  Alas, this show is in the deep freeze portion of our year on February 17 (a Saturday).  It is about 10 days before TEC, so no conflict there.  Somehow I get the feeling this isn't the type of show I can pick up tickets to at the last minute, so maybe I'll do that.

[Honolulu Blue]

One other thing... I found out that Michael McDonald has written his autobiography with Paul Reiser called "What a Fool Believes" (of course 😛).  I'll be on a cruise with Mr. McDonald as one of the headliners so I could take this book to have him autograph it... except that it won't be out until May 21.  The cruise is in April.  ☹️  Maybe he'll have advance copies available for purchase onboard?  

[Mangrove Snapper]

I've really been enjoying reading about  your musical journey.  We haven't yet taken any theme cruises but I'm seriously tempted by the Headbanger's Boat. 

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, Mangrove Snapper said:

I've really been enjoying reading about  your musical journey.  We haven't yet taken any theme cruises but I'm seriously tempted by the Headbanger's Boat. 

Thanks for your kind words. It's always heartening to find others who are inspired by my words and my journey. Good luck to you as you make your own trips - whether on the Head bangers Boat or elsewhere. 😎

[Honolulu Blue]

In the Always Something There to Remind Me Department, on the drive into work today I heard "Cold As Ice" from Foreigner, "Kiss" from Prince, and "Sister Christian" from Night Ranger.

 

Lou Gramm played this on this year's 80s Cruise.  I think it's likely that Foreigner will play it on the Rock & Romance Cruise.  The Prince tribute band Red Corvette played "Kiss" on my 80s themed cruise on the Ruby Princess back in April.  And Night Ranger played "Sister Christian" on The 80s Cruise last year.

[George C]

20 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

One other thing... I found out that Michael McDonald has written his autobiography with Paul Reiser called "What a Fool Believes" (of course 😛).  I'll be on a cruise with Mr. McDonald as one of the headliners so I could take this book to have him autograph it... except that it won't be out until May 21.  The cruise is in April.  ☹️  Maybe he'll have advance copies available for purchase onboard?  

I had him sign his new cd on rock and romance a couple of years ago , his wife was one of his backup singers and he had a very interesting Q & A with his wife , definitely interested in getting his book . Two books that we did get signed was Rita Coolidge and Don Felder both were very interesting reads .

[Honolulu Blue]

21 minutes ago, George C said:

I had him sign his new cd on rock and romance a couple of years ago , his wife was one of his backup singers and he had a very interesting Q & A with his wife , definitely interested in getting his book . Two books that we did get signed was Rita Coolidge and Don Felder both were very interesting reads .

Thank you very much for your comments.  I've read a few performer autobiographies myself - Belinda Carlisle, Lou Gramm, Morris Day... they've all been interesting.  So far they've all been eBooks, so i can't get them autographed easily.  I'll work on Stephen Pearcy's when I get time.  That's also an eBook, but I might pick up a hard copy before The 80s Cruise.

[Honolulu Blue]

I stole this thread from Twitter about concert experiences.  I'll answer from my perspective.

 

1. 1st Concert: 5 Star/Ready for the World/New Edition back in the Triassic era.  This was mostly for the benefit of my sister, who was really into those bands.

2. Last Concert:  Stephen Pearcy

3. Worst: n/a; haven't attended a concert I thought I was notably bad yet

4. Loudest Concert: don't remember

5. Best Concert: Kool & the Gang's 2023 concert on the UDC by a tiny margin over several others

6. Seen The Most: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Kool & the Gang, KC and the Sunshine Band (twice each)

7. Most Surprising:  Autograph (they're good even with no original members left and I liked the songs that weren't from their first album)

8. Next Concert: TBD, but probably on The 80s Cruise in February

9. Wish I Could Have Seen: Many, but let's start with The Police

[Mangrove Snapper]

How fun!

 

1. 1st Concert: Def Leppard - Hysteria tour

2. Last Concert:  Meshuggah/In Flames/Whitechapel

3. Worst:  The whole concert wasn't bad, as their openers were good, but Shinedown was the worst band I've seen.  Their singer talked way too much in between every song which was boring and totally killed the vibe.  That was in 2010 and I still have no interest in them. 

4. Loudest Concert: Motorhead - they weren't exaggerating when they called themselves the world's loudest band. 

5. Best Concert: This is hard.  My favorite band to see live is Lamb of God but if I had to pick a best show I might pick Murderdolls/Rob Zombie/Alice Cooper. 

6. Seen The Most: Chevelle

7. Most Surprising:  KISS - I always just kind of liked a few of their songs but had no real interest in them.  Their live show was absolutely incredible and I loved every minute. 

8. Next Concert: Nothing planned right now but we're always looking to see what's announced

9. Wish I Could Have Seen:  Maybe Van Halen during the 5150 tour? 

[NinS]

StarVista has posted the schedules for the Soul Train Cruise (as well as their Country Music and Sandy Beaches cruises). BoyzIIMen are coming on Soul Train in port for an interview and then two shows, then getting off the ship before it sails. Country Music got their 2025 lineup last Tuesday so I would not be surprised to see Soul Train's 2025 lineup on the website tomorrow morning.

[Honolulu Blue]

The Soul Train Cruise has released its tentative schedule for 2024.  IIRC, it was released about this time last year, which is a bit earlier than the 30 days it's scheduled to be released.  I think I'll have some fun and go through the schedule as if I was a passenger on the cruise.

 

Day 1 - Saturday, January 27:

Sailaway Party with Urban Guerilla Orchestra (UGO) - This would be a maybe.  I saw them on last year's UDC; they were good.

 

 

I'm sure they would play some good old fashioned soul; it's just a matter of whether I'm in the mood to go by the pool to see and hear it.  

Represent Night - I assume this is the time when I'm supposed to wear something from my hometown or favorite team, or something like that.  I can do this.

The comedians - Frank Townsend at 7:45 and Kenny Williams at 10 would be maybes.  I like to laugh, but I hate for me (or others) to be unnecessarily picked on.  I remember the Kenny Williams the ex-Tiger that we tried to convert to a third baseman to get his bat in the lineup.  He wasn't a third baseman.

 

Day 2 - Sunday, January 28:

The interview with En Vogue - Another maybe.  They'll probably loop this the next day, so seeing them live is not a must-see.

Super heroes and movie characters - today's theme.  Sure, why not.

The Temptations - they're the early main theater entertainment this evening.  I'd wait patiently for them to play "Ball of Confusion". 🙂

 

Day 3 - Monday, January 29:

The interview with The Temptations - Maybe.  See En Vogue interview notes above for reasons why.

The Manhattans - the early main theater concert this evening.  "Shining Star" is pretty good, the rest of their set would probably be good enough to keep me interested.

More comedy - Kenny Williams plays at 7:45, with B-Phist at 10.

 

Day 4 - Tuesday, January 30:

Tortola - We make it to port at 7 and stay until 6.  I've only been here once before, so I'd probably find something to do with my time here.

 

 

The Family Stone - They were on the UDC back in 2022.  I missed them.  This would be a by-the-pool session at 4.

En Vogue - the main theater early concert.  This would be the highlight of my day no matter what I saw on the island.  I'm having trouble deciding on a favorite song from them... for now, let's go with "Give It Up, Turn It Loose".  BTW, these gals would be a really good fit for The 90s Curise.

 

Day 5 - Wednesday, January 31

Sint Maarten - We'd be here from 7 AM to 11 PM.  Your average 16-hour stop.

Raydio - Surprisingly, they're putting these guys by the pool at 4.  They had some big hits in the late 70s and early 80s.  Alas, the key guy behind Raydio went solo - and he'll be on The 80s Cruise in a few months singing many of these songs.

Boyz II Men interview - another good way to while away an hour or so, live or not-so-live.  Probably not-so-live, since it would start at 4:30.

White night - today's theme.  I'll refrain from comment.

Boyz II Men concert - this is the early show.  Will "End of the Road" be the closer?  I'd be sure to be there to find out.

More comedy - Tu Rae will be doing two shows at 7:45 and 10.  I don't know them, so this one is a maybe.

 

Day 6 - Thursday, February 1

More Raydio - they're by the pool again at 4.  Are they worth hearing a second time?  Or did I miss them the first time for whatever reason?

Throwback to the 70s - today's theme.  70s style wasn't my favorite, but I think I could find something that would work.

Interview with WAR - They'll be on Rock & Romance, but maybe a sneak peek would be nice.

WAR's concert - I'd have to fight my body in order to make this 11:30 PM concert by the pool.  Maybe they'd be worth it?

 

Day 7 - Friday, February 2

Executive producer talk - ECP did something somewhat similar on TEC earlier this year.  Soul Train is in no danger of being skipped in any year, so I'm sure the StarVista folks would get a nice reception.

UGO by the pool - It's a 10:30 concert, which seems early for some people but is just fine for me. 👍

WAR by the pool - This one is at 4 PM, a much more reasonable time for me

 

I hope you enjoyed this lap around the schedule of a cruise that I'm almost certain not to be on.  I'll try to do something similar with TEC & Rock and Romance when those schedules come out.

 

[Honolulu Blue]

26 minutes ago, NinS said:

StarVista has posted the schedules for the Soul Train Cruise (as well as their Country Music and Sandy Beaches cruises). BoyzIIMen are coming on Soul Train in port for an interview and then two shows, then getting off the ship before it sails. Country Music got their 2025 lineup last Tuesday so I would not be surprised to see Soul Train's 2025 lineup on the website tomorrow morning.

Thanks for sharing this.  I'd been looking for these schedules (especially the Soul Train one) for a couple of weeks.  Thanks for connecting the dots about Boyz II Men.  Clearly they're not doing any cruising on the ship for whatever reason.  I'm looking forward to Soul Train's lineup also.  I hope it's not TOO good, because I have The 90s Cruise scheduled on its dates.

[George C]

6 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I stole this thread from Twitter about concert experiences.  I'll answer from my perspective.

 

1. 1st Concert: 5 Star/Ready for the World/New Edition back in the Triassic era.  This was mostly for the benefit of my sister, who was really into those bands.

2. Last Concert:  Stephen Pearcy

3. Worst: n/a; haven't attended a concert I thought I was notably bad yet

4. Loudest Concert: don't remember

5. Best Concert: Kool & the Gang's 2023 concert on the UDC by a tiny margin over several others

6. Seen The Most: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Kool & the Gang, KC and the Sunshine Band (twice each)

7. Most Surprising:  Autograph (they're good even with no original members left and I liked the songs that weren't from their first album)

8. Next Concert: TBD, but probably on The 80s Cruise in February

9. Wish I Could Have Seen: Many, but let's start with The Police

1- Blood sweat and tears- 1968 Fillmore East 

2 - Boz Scaggs a few months ago

3- Procal Harem 1969 Fillmore east- Byrds same concert were great 

4 - not sure

5 - Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Jason Scheff, Joey Molland and Denny Laine doing songs from Rubber Soul and Revolver - first row vip tickets
6 - seen most Sinatra and Dylan about 7 times each and Jerry Jeff Walker about 30 times.

7 Bob Seger - great concert in private box

8 Judy Collins next month

9 Elvis 

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

I spent some time reviewing the Country Music Cruise tentative schedule.  I noticed that the main theater headliners on each show perform two shows each day.  That's different than what I found for the next Soul Train Cruise (only Boyz II Men are scheduled for the double) and my adventures on the UDC (some did a double, but most did not).  I wonder about each performers' preference for such things.  Would they rather perform their two sets on the same day and get it over with, or would they rather have the sets separated by a day or more?  I assume that some prefer the former, some the latter, and some don't care.

[NinS]

The Soul Train 2025 lineup is out. There is a lot of overlap with the '25 UDC -- perhaps StarVista gets a talent fee discount when it offers artists two cruises at once. I'm going to try for Soul Train but if I can't score a cabin UDC might be a good backup. 

[Honolulu Blue]

9 minutes ago, NinS said:

The Soul Train 2025 lineup is out. There is a lot of overlap with the '25 UDC -- perhaps StarVista gets a talent fee discount when it offers artists two cruises at once. I'm going to try for Soul Train but if I can't score a cabin UDC might be a good backup. 

Thanks for sharing.  Soul Train's '25 lineup wasn't out when I checked yesterday.  There sure is a lot of overlap with the UDC - they share Shalamar, The Brothers Johnson, UGO, and Original Stone City Band.

 

That said, I'm breathing a sigh of relief.  It's not, IMHO, as good a lineup as the UDC '25 or TNC '25 - or indeed, either of the last two Soul Train lineups.  I'm sure they'll fill it out some, but I feel comfortable with the choice I made of those two cruises over this one.  And besides, its price is creeping up - solo cabins are up to $3800 for the week, which is about $300 more than I'm paying for R&R next year.

 

Good luck getting that Soul Train cabin, but if you decide to go slumming with us on the UDC in 2025, let me know.  I'm sure it will be great to meet up and swap stories about the music themed cruises we've been on and other things. 😃

[Honolulu Blue]

Today I found out my county wants me for JURY DUTY in a few weeks.  I'm not going to go, because I'm going to be out of the country that week on another cruise (not one of the music ones).  They asked me to submit a deferral date, so I did.  This was surprisingly hard as the new dates were just as I would be starting another string of cruises.  The new date is in about three months.  

 

This, BTW, is the third time I've been called in 3 years.  I'm beginning to think that they're running out of trackable people for JD.  I was called in mid '21 but didn't have to serve then due to COVID restrictions.  I was then called in mid-'22 and called day after day as my instructions told me to.  They never drew my number and I never got to serve.  This was a similar result to what happened when I was asked to serve about 20 years ago.

 

This shouldn't be a big deal, but I'll keep you posted anyway.

 

Let me close this out with a quote that I thought of as I went through my paperwork:

 

"If a man is guilty for what goes on in his mind, then give me the electric chair for all my future crimes" - Prince, "Electric Chair"

 

NOT performed by these guys, BTW:

 

[George C]

One thing about being old at least where I live is you don’t need to do jury duty at least at 70. I was on a couple of interesting jury’s . Will listen two some local music next couple of nights, looking forward to Judy Collins playing with a orchestra in a few weeks.

[Honolulu Blue]

20 minutes ago, George C said:

One thing about being old at least where I live is you don’t need to do jury duty at least at 70. I was on a couple of interesting jury’s . Will listen two some local music next couple of nights, looking forward to Judy Collins playing with a orchestra in a few weeks.

It sounds like you're going to have some fun the next few days. I wish we had a local music scene worth commenting on. BTW,our county has the same 70+ exemption from jury duty. Alas, I am not quite that experienced yet. 😎

[George C]

Frankie Valli is playing at a casino a hour away but same weekend as our Judy Collins concert, saw him a few years ago he still has an amazing voice . Still hoping rock and romance adds another star , although lineup is very nice. Booked our airfare for rock and romance stopping in Kentucky for a 80th birthday party then we will spend a couple of nights in Miami at doubletree, lots of restaurants and bars in lobby and some family will most likely visit us there . 

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Frankie Valli is playing at a casino a hour away but same weekend as our Judy Collins concert, saw him a few years ago he still has an amazing voice . Still hoping rock and romance adds another star , although lineup is very nice. Booked our airfare for rock and romance stopping in Kentucky for a 80th birthday party then we will spend a couple of nights in Miami at doubletree, lots of restaurants and bars in lobby and some family will most likely visit us there . 

Awesome!  Thanks for sharing these details.  I hope I make it to 80 someday.  Have fun with the extra time in Miami!