A Fanciful Pursuit: January 2015

January 4, 2015

Billie Swamp Safari

Clewiston, FL

Yesterday we got our trip underway. We left Memphis around noon and drove for 11 hours. Other than being the first leg of a much anticipated trip, the day was pretty uneventful. We stopped in Ocala, Florida right off the interstate at a HoJo. HoJo’s kind of suck, for future reference, but it was fine for one night. We woke up pretty early for us and got on the road by 10am. Somehow, what was supposed to be a pretty quick 4 hour drive felt much longer due to all the backroads through rural Florida. We were headed to the Big Cypress Indian Reservation to spend the night in the upper Everglades. It was about 3pm when we pulled up and checked in at the Billie Swamp Safari desk. The lady behind the desk suggested that we go out and take a look at the actual chickee hut in which we would be staying. I was pretty sure Andrew was going to bail out. With no water, no electricity, a thatched roof, and situated directly over the swamp, these lodgings were definitely outside of his comfort zone. But he is super-awesome and said we could go for it! We dropped off our luggage and went to walk around and check out the grounds. We caught an alligator wrestling demo. When they jokingly asked for volunteers, I put my hand up. But I was serious! Alligator wrestling is totally on the bucketlist! Not this time, alas. After some dinner from the little café and checking out the jaguar, bears, otters, and alligators, we took an airboat ride. It was badass! We were the only passengers and got to sit up front, just in time for sunset. I loved it! It was a real thrill! After our boat ride, we took a stroll on a boardwalk through the swamp right at twilight. The moon rose while we were walking. Full moon in the swamp: just sublime. After our walk, we’ve been kicking it at the chickee. The temperature is lovely in the mid 60’s. It’s definitely a magical night in the swamp, full moon and all!

I really wanted to wrestle that gator!!!

Our home for the night

Just right for the wetland ecologist in the family!

January 5, 2015

Element Hotel

Miami, FL

Today has been amazing. It started with being woken up by nature sounds in the chickee. Then I drank coffee on our deck and two alligators kept me company. We then checked out of the swamp and headed for Miami. We got to the hotel a little early and headed to Little Havana. It was lots of fun: we watched cigars being hand rolled, had Cuban coffee and tasty treats at a bakery, checked out the old guys playing in Domino Park, got refrescas at a fruiteria (I had sugar cane juice extract), checked out the inimitable Club Ocho, had sweet corn ice cream (yum!), and gawked around inside a mercado. From there we headed over to South Beach to see all the art deco architecture. We stopped by the beach for a few minutes, which was pretty nice. Then we hooked up with Stephanie and her crew. We chilled with them at their condo and then went out to dinner with them and some other Memphis folks also going on Jam Cruise. The entire day, start to finish, was just great: gators, Calle Ocho, South Beach art deco-ness, new friends, and even some beachtime!

Tubbs and Crockett, Miami Vice style

Miami skyline

Memphis Jam Fam

January 6, 2015

Cabin 10146

MSC Divina

Caribbean Ocean

Jam Cruise Day 1

Today has been beyond amazing. Jam Cruise is phenomenal. We woke up at our hotel in Miami, ate breakfast, then got on the shuttle to the port. We stopped at another hotel and picked up a bunch of party people about 10+ years older than us, including 2 lifers. We got to the port and met a ton of other party people while we waited to embark. Once on the boat, I set to decorating our door into a Lionel Richie shrine (a Shrionel). I’ve gotten tons of compliments on it, which proves Lionel is universally loved. We unpacked and set up our cabin. Then it was time for the safety drill. Our luggage showed up as we were leaving for the drill, which is super early. That tip went a long way! After that, we got some food and then explored the ship. Pretty soon, it was time for The Motet to start on the Pool Deck. We donned our neon gear for “light up the night” night and set out. The moon was rising and we ran right into Kevin and Lee and then joined the Memphis Jam Fam. It was around then that we began to get a sense of the magnitude of awesomeness. Everyone danced and partied with complete abandon. It was glorious! After that show, we went by the cabin where I made some instant coffee and drank that down and took Dayquil on an empty stomach (bad plan). Then we headed off to see The Word, this one in a theater. They have been one of the most anticipated acts of my life, let alone of Jam Cruise. They did not disappoint. Even more exciting, near the end, Skerik came out and played with them. Then G. Love joined them on harmonica and also a freestyle rap. Can you say rad?!? Andrew was more than stoked. Just before the show finished, my stomach got really upset and we headed back to the cabin. We made it just before I puked, which was good. I also felt much better after that and so we headed back to the theater to see Dragon Smoke. They were joined by the horns of Lettuce. After that show, we headed upstairs to get some dinner. Robert Randolph chatted up Andrew in the buffet line and gave him a half hug. Seriously. Too. Cool. After some yummy Indian street food, we headed to the Jam Room. The scene inside was out of a Tom Wolfe book. The music was phenomenal and the people-watching was at least as good. We hung out there for a while until I persuaded Andrew to go with me to check out the David Murphy DJ set, who used to be the bassist for STS9. It was strictly just a dj playing dance music. It wasn’t really our/my kind of scene so we headed back to the cabin to crash out.

The Motet

The Word

The Word with G. Love

Dragon Smoke

January 7, 2015

Cabin 10146

MSC Divina

Caribbean Ocean

Jam Cruise Day 2

So today was like another day out of a dream. Really, it was an embarrassment of musical riches. We woke up 30 minutes before our alarm was set for 10am because we were so pumped for the day. That never happens in real life. We got some breakfast, got ready for the day, then headed off for the autograph signing. We picked up a poster to get signed, which is pretty cool. Its edition is 75/500. We waited in line for quite a while but got a ton of signatures. Only half the artists were out; there is another signing for the other half on our last day. As we got to the beginning of the artist signing, a crew member asked me to get a posted signed for David Murphy (formerly of STS9), which was a pretty cool deal because I didn’t have anything to get signed and was just going along for fun. The highlights were getting to talk to Luther and Chew and show them our Lamar Sorrento painting of them on my phone. They seemed pretty pleased and weren’t averse to trying to get together to sign it. Cool stuff. Then we went to see a ridiculous amount of music. We heard the California Honeydrops while we were waiting in line for autographs. Then we caught Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Derek Vincent Smith (Pretty Lights) sitting in for a couple of songs on upright bass. We grabbed some lunch, then we caught The Nth Power on the Pool Deck, who totally blew us away. Probably my favorite new music so far. Ryan Montbleau started on the opposite stage as soon as The Nth Power ended which was really cool. I literally just turned around and a great new band was playing. A bunch of people sat in with this guy while they set up for Snaky Puppy over on the first stage. Again, I just turned around and an amazing new band started. After Snarky Puppy, Andrew and I split up to pursue different things. He went to G. Love and had a great time. I opted for the John Scofield Uberjam Band and really enjoyed them too. The technical expertise on display was really impressive. My energy started to flag a bit so I ran back to the cabin for some coffee and then headed off to see The Revivalists. Andrew met me here and we hung out until it was time for Break Science for me and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe for Andrew. We met back up in the cabin and then headed up to the Pool Deck. It must have just rained because the deck was mostly empty and everything was wet. The London Souls were tearing it up on the small stage before The M & M’s started on the opposite main stage. We saw some people in a hot tub and thought that was a good idea and went to change out of our fabulous Metallic Night costumes and into out bathing suits. It turned out that the hot tubs were actually closed. The guys who gave us the idea were getting kicked out just as we showed up. We enjoyed The M & M’s until about until about 4am then headed back to the cabin. Andrew made jello shots to kick off our excursion to West End tomorrow! I can’t wait to be back on Roatan!

Even the folks at Jam Cruise noticed how much fun I was having at the autograph signing!

Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Derek Vincent Smith (Pretty Lights) and Ivan Neville (far right; can't really see him)

The Nth Power

Ryan Montbleau and guests (Tim Carbone, Mike Dillon, Robert Mercurio, John David Kimock)

Selfie fail but love it anyway

Snarky Puppy

John Scofield Uberjam Band

January 8, 2015

Cabin 10146

MSC Divina

Caribbean Ocean

Jam Cruise Day 3

We woke up and got ready around 10am. We had coffee and croissants delivered to the cabin so breakfast was really sweet. We gathered our friends together at the cabin to get ready for going to West End. Kevin and Lee brought along cool new friends, Leanne, Foy, and Kendall. We served up our jello shots which were a big success. We waited around for the Memphis crew, but they didn’t make it so we set off. We took the tender over to the port which turned out to be Coxen Hole, not Mahogany Bay. But no matter. We negotiated a taxi ride to and from West End and headed out. It was so good to see Roatan again. We drove through Flowers Bay on our way to West End and passed pretty close to The Blue House where we had stayed for a week a couple years ago. We unloaded in West End with 2.5 hours to kill. We grabbed some Salva Vidas and stood at the water’s edge and enjoyed being in Honduras. Then we walked the strip and shopped and drank more beer and hung out. We got souvenirs for the kids and even some of my favorite Honduran coffee. We stopped for lunch and had lionfish tacos (yum!). Then it was time to meet our driver and head back to the ship. It was too short of a visit! We got back on board and hung out in the cabin until it was time for Charles Bradley. He was fantastic and perfect for sailing away from Roatan. As we pulled out of port, we passed right by The Blue House at sunset which was really sweet. Once we were underway, we headed down to the Jazz Lounge to see what Steve Kimock was going to do. We made a great choice. It was him, Jeff Chimenti, Bill Vitt, and Andy Hess all laying it down. Then Hess stepped down and Bobby Vega took over. Finally they were joined by Karl Denson. They closed out the quick hour long set with a really beautiful and sweet Stella Blue. We went to the cabin after we grabbed a quick bite and put on our costumes for Very Superstitious Night. We looked really fabulous and went out to catch Galactic. We hooked back up with Kevin and enjoyed the hell out of the show. They had a bunch of cool people sit in with them, from Ivan Neville and Papa Gros to Carley Meyers and Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet). The weather during the show was wild. It rained a good bit for a minute but after that it was super windy and the boat was quite rocky. From there we were headed to the Pantheon Theater to see Pretty Lights with a live band. It was a ridiculously good show. I think even Andrew enjoyed it. We found Foy, Leanne, and Kendall while we were there which was cool. At the end, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band came out. Then Ivan Neville too! It was awesome! Our last show of the night was The Word back up on the still windy and rocking Pool Deck. They killed it. I couldn’t have been any more impressed. Their energy seemed a lot more gelled compared to the theater show. We decided to turn in after that. We were pretty much beat. We hung out with Kevin for a while then called it a night. Tomorrow we get up early and go see Mayan ruins!

Seeing the MSC Divina from the taxi

Leanne and Lyndsay, moms in action and having a great time!

This is what love looks like.

Lionfish tacos and Salva Vidas with friends

Smile!

Bye, Honduras!

Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires

Roatan sunset *swoon*

The Blue House and Flowers Bay

Steve Kimock Jazz Ensemble (SK, Bill Vitt, Andy Hess, Jeff Chimenti; later joined by Bobby Vega and Karl Denson)

Very Superstitious, indeed!

January 9, 2015

Cabin 10146

MSC Divina

Caribbean Ocean

Jam Cruise Day 4

We woke up early and headed to the theater to meet up with our excursion group. We found them and got loaded onto buses that look us an hour away to see the ruins. I was feeling pretty whooped and napped during the bus ride. We got to the site and were led around by our knowledgeable tour guide, Luis. There were several excavated structures and some that were still covered by jungle and looked like mounds. We saw a ceremonial palace, an altar, residences, and some hieroglyphs. It was really cool. We were there for about 2 hours then we headed back on the bus to the ship. We ate some lunch and puttered around until it was time for Ivan Neville’s set in the Atrium. We picked up our pictures from the first two costume nights and got our self-assist luggage tags and dropped that stuff back at the cabin. Then we headed to the Lounge to see G. Love. We got there a few minutes early and, as a result, were in the front row for an insanely rocking show. G’s band was on point and he had a bunch of killer guests. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, ever. From there, we went to catch Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe in the theater. They brought the funk in force! After that we got some food before Lettuce started in the theater again. During Lettuce, my Dayquil wore off that had been holding my cold at bay. I began to feel pretty bad. So when we dipped out of Lettuce with Foy and Kendall to go see Roosevelt Collier in the Jam Room, I decided to go to the cabin and crash. Wah-wah.

The line running across shows where the structure was intact below the line and where it had crumbled and been rebuilt above the line.

The temple

Depiction of the conjunction of Venus and the constellation Orion

The altar

Hieroglyphs

Luis' rendering of a story in heiroglyphs

Special stirring implement for noble's hot chocolate drink

G. Love and the Special Sauce

Robert Randolph sat in

G's digging it!

Eric Garcia and G in a harp-off

Wait. What? Now Vernon Reid? Mind blown!

Vernon freaking Reid

Getting it!

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe with Ivan Neville and Mike Dillon

January 9, 2015

Black and White Lounge

MSC Divina

Caribbean Ocean

Jam Cruise Day 5

I can’t believe it’s the last day of Jam Cruise. It’s been a blast. Last night, after I went to bed, Andrew went to the Jam Room with our friends. I wanted to go but was exhausted. Ultimately, I made a good choice. I had a fever in the night and sweated through my pj’s. I slept from about 3:30am to about 1:30pm this afternoon. Much needed. When we woke up, Andrew went to the autograph signing while I stayed in the cabin to shower and begin packing. We had breakfast delivered again, so after some coffee, a shower, and more Dayquil, I began feeling better. The weather yesterday night shut the Pool Deck down: too windy. So a bunch of shows got moved around and rescheduled. The Pool Deck is shut today too so we’ve been on the hunt for all the music we want to see today. One happy outcome of being indoors for the whole day is that some of the shows have been switched to more intimate settings. The Jerry Garcia Tribute and the Eric Krasno Super Jam both got moved to the Black and White Lounge. We stayed here between the two shows to get good spots for the Super Jam. Now I’m sitting in front of the middle of the stage watching Robert Randolph and other cool players warm up. So basically, we have one of the best spots for one of the best shows of the cruise. Man, I love Jam Cruise!

January 11, 2015

St. Augustine, FL

So the Super Jam was indeed incredible, and I did indeed have the best possible spot. I rocked out as hard as possible at the show. Unfortunately, I was completely exhausted afterwards. My chills came back after that, and I began to worse. When we went back to the cabin to get ready for the next music, I kinda collapsed and decided to put myself to bed even though I really wanted to stay and party.

John Scofield (Eric Krasno Super Jam)

Weedie Braimah, Oteil Burbridge, Nikki Glaspie, John Scofield, Adam Deitch, Eric Krasno

Karl Denson and Nikki Glaspie

Karl Denson, Nikki Glaspie, John Scofield, Chris St. Hilaire

Karl Denson, horns of Lettuce, George Porter Jr.

Lettuce guitars

Tash Neal (The London Souls) and Eric Krasno

Karl Denson and George Porter Jr.

Robert Randolph, Tash Neal, G. Love

G. Love

G. Love, Robert Randolph, Eric Krasno

January 12, 2015

St. Augustine, FL

Woo wee. This walking pneumonia or whatever it is has taken me down a notch. So, I slept through the end of Jam Cruise. Then we woke up at like 5:30am to get all our stuff cleared out of the cabin to disembark. It was a slow but mostly painless process. Before long, we were bidding goodbye to the MSC Divina and driving away. We got about 15 miles from the port when I remembered we’d left my camera bag in the cabin. We turned around to go back to retrieve it. It took close to two hours, but we were lucky. Then we left Miami for real. St. Augustine was just 4 hours away so it was easy enough. We got into town and checked into our hotel and got oriented. The weather had turned to a drizzly mist. We headed down to the old town to see some old stuff. We went to the Castillo de San Marcos that was my main interest in this tiny town. We walked around there for a while but the mist began to become rain for a bit so we headed back to the hotel to figure out a dinner plan. We grabbed some dinner and went back to the hotel to crash. Man. What an adventure it has been. This was definitely one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I’ll never forget being the darlings of Deck 10 with our Shrionel. I’ll never forget getting that high five from G. Love during his show. I’ll always remember meeting Luther and Chew and showing off our painting to them and their reactions. I’ll always remember all the cool people I met or got to know better. I will keep the love of Jam Cruise alive in my heart. Until next year!