Jam Cruise 14 was one for the books, folks. Somehow, Jam Cruise is more than the sum of its parts: a top-notch music festival, a gathering of funky like-minded professional partiers, a voyage to the tropics, a time to disconnect from the real world, and the list goes on and on. Here's a recap of our exciting adventures.
Monday, 1/4/16
Driving Day: Memphis to Gainesville
Seth and I got on the road to Florida with the car packed full to the brim. We drove to save money on airfare, and Andrew was to fly into Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday. He had to teach Monday and Tuesday because he had to give practicals for Week 10 at L'Ecole. The drive was long and uneventful. The biggest drama was in the form of trying to find out if our group t-shirts were going to make it on time. We stopped after 10 hours at a La Quinta by the interstate in Gainesville.
Tuesday, 1/5/16
Welcome to Miami, Bitches: Gainesville to Miami
We hit the road in the late morning and arrived in Miami in early evening. We headed down to South Beach to meet up with the Memphis gang. We hung out at Mike and Elise's hotel and had drinks with them and Athena, Pinner, Matty, and Katie, as well as new friends Jimmy and Tara. After a bit, we dipped out to go check into our hotel. From there, we headed up to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up Andrew. We all went back to the hotel and tried to sleep.
Wednesday, 1/6/16
DAY ONE: Miami to the Open Ocean
We woke up at 10am in Miami. The shirts arrived, and all of them made it. They said "Funk is its own reward" on the front, and "Jam Cruise 14 Memphis Crew" on the back and each one was personalized with everyone's name/alias. They turned out really great. I had nearly given up hope on that working out but Carter made it happen at the very last minute. We checked out of the hotel at noon or so and took our first Uber ride to the port. We waited in line forever, apparently due to Holy Ship! stowaways that had to be found before we could embark. By the time we got checked in at the counter, we were able to go get straight on the boat. We headed to our cabin on Deck 8, which was laid out the same as last year. While we were checking out the balcony, the neighbors opened the partitions between the adjacent balconies, opening up 7 balconies in a row. As a result, we met a bunch of people. After unpacking, we headed up to the Pool Deck for Dumpstaphunk for the Sail Away Party. Andrew stayed behind in the cabin to try to track down a missing suitcase. We met up with the Memphis crew on the topmost deck where we sent most of the night. Andrew made it up, and I handed out the t-shirts which were a hit. After Dumpstaphunk, we saw Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue who were fantastic. We went to the room to pregame before Joe Russo's Almost Dead (JRAD) back on the Pool Deck. I had a mission to give out 100 "Funk is its own reward" bracelets per day, and I distributed most of them that day to people in our little slice of heaven on the upper Pool Deck during JRAD. Andrew gave one to Eric Krasno, and I got politely turned down by Ivan Neville when I tried to give him one. I left to catch Stanton Moore in the Jazz Lounge. He was playing with James Singleton on bass, Skerik, and Benny Bloom (the trumpet player from Lettuce's Shady Horns), with a sit in by Mike Dillon. I gave Mike Dillon a bracelet, as well as Adam Smirnoff (the bald guitar player from Lettuce). I went back to the cabin at 1:30am to meet Andrew before Soulive. We headed back to the Pool Deck and were treated to a fantastic set by Soulive. I also gave a bracelet to James Singleton when we saw him in the cafeteria and another to the guitar player from Dumpstaphunk. Then we spent some time relaxing on the balcony before heading to bed a bit after 5am. What a day!
Thursday, 1/7/16
Day Two: Day at Sea, Level Up Night, The High Seas
We woke up at 11am to get ready for the autograph signing. I gave bracelets to almost all of the artists while Andrew got our poster signed. Everyone dug the bracelets. We wound up with an extra Funk Is Its Own Reward - Jam Cruise 14 - Memphis Crew t-shirt, and I gave it to Luther. He thought it was cool, but he really LOVED Andrew's Memphis Mook shirt. Nigel Hall was stoked to get a bracelet. He had seen Adam Smirnoff's and wanted his own. Smirnoff was still wearing his. After the autograph signing, we went back to the cabin to get ready for Snarky Puppy. We grabbed some deck chairs on the upper Pool Deck and sweet spots for the show. We went back to the cabin and put on our video game costumes. I was Oregon Trail with a "You have died of dysentery" t-shirt and a bonnet, Andrew was Pitfall Harry, and Seth had a Tetris t-shirt. Then we went to the Pantheon Theater for the Southern Soul Assembly Show, which featured Luther, Marc Broussard, JJ Grey, and Anders Osbourne harmonizing and playing mostly acoustic guitars. We got some drinks and returned to the theater for JRAD. Andrew instinctually guided us to the perfect spot in the upper level where the Memphis crew was already hanging out. The show knocked my socks off. From there, we went to The New Mastersounds on the Pool Deck. After that, I put Andrew to bed and headed down to the Jam Room. What was going on in there blew my mind. I couldn't believe I never made it there even once last year. It was too, too great. I can't even describe what all I saw in there but highlights included this great chick guitarist (I later found out her name is Emily Musolino and you should check her out), Oteil and Luther, and some much other crazy shit I can't even. After the Jam Room, I ate breakfast and brought Andrew back some hash browns. Then I sat on the balcony and watched the sun rise with this beautiful sliver of a very old moon and Venus shining so bright. All in all, the day was perfectly transcendent.
Friday, 1/8/16
Day Three: Costa Maya, Mexico and to the Open Ocean for Red Night
I slept late, until 3pm, when we got to Costa Maya yesterday. While I was sleeping, Andrew got off the boat at the port and did some souvenir shopping. We got some food after I woke up and got ready for Dr. John on the Pool Deck. We suited up in our Red Night outfits. I was a Red Herring with a red Jimmy Herring t-shirt and a fish mask. Andrew was a redneck with a big cop moustache, a shaved head with a short mullet in the back, a big belt buckle, flannel shirt, and short shorts. Seth was Panama Red with a Mexican blanket cape and sombrero. At the show, we passed out a bunch of bracelets and buttons ("Such a Night" and "FUNiKFY Your Life"). We found the Memphis crew and Kendall near the end of the show. It was indeed such a night. After Dr. John, we caught a few Zach Deputy tunes before heading back to the cabin. After that, Andrew took a break in the cabin while Seth and I went to catch a little Stanton Moore Trio in the Atrium. We went into the Jazz Lounge after a few songs to get good seats for Mike Dillon hosting a show. He had Johnny Vidacovich, James Singleton, and excellent guitar and organ players (dunno who). At the end, Karl Denson and Marco Benevento sat in with him. It was so cool. Andrew caught up with us near the end of the show. I gave a bracelet to Robert Walter, Robert Mercurio, and Karl Denson. From there, we headed to Lettuce in the theater where we caught up with the Memphis crew. After that, we went to the Eric McFadden Jam Room which was superb. We called it a night a little before 6am so we could get some rest before snorkeling in Cozumel the next morning.
Saturday, 1/9/16
Day Four: Cozumel, Mexico and to the Open Ocean for May the Funk Be With You Night
We got up at 9am after 3 hours of sleep to get ready to snorkel. Breakfast was delivered shortly after we woke up. We got ready and headed to the casino to meet up with our excursion group. We waited for a while then disembarked and boarded a little boat with about 40 people on it. We headed along the coast for about an hour and went to a reef near Playa Mia where we would have a beach break afterward. The current was strong, and the water was choppy. We jumped off the back of the boat and drifted in the current for about 30 minutes, then the boat came around and picked us up. We traveled a short distance to another reef. The second reef was even prettier with clear blue water. We saw a barracuda and a bunch of other fish. We did the same drift and lift procedure as at the last reef. After snorkeling, we rode in the boat back to Playa Mia while we were served margaritas. We had more drinks at Playa Mia with our light lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches and fruit. Between drinks on the boat and at the beach break, I had 8 drinks in about 2 hours (the drinks were really weak), so I started feeling pretty great. I gave bracelets to our excursion-mates and the boat crew. The crew was fun and danced to YMCA and The Macerena, which was silly. The whole time was really great. We got back on the boat and got some food and hung out with the balcony party until going up to the Pool Deck for Karl Denson's Tiny Universe while Andrew took a nap. Then we suited up in our costumes for May the Funk Be With You Night. My Ewok costume was a success. I only saw 2 other of us forest folk. We went to Dr. John in the theater and met up with the Memphis crew. Elise had gotten Jedi robes for everyone and personalized them all, which turned out awesome. Andrew and Seth were Jedis with the other boys. The Dr. John show featured sit-ins by Leo Nocentelli and Will Bernard. We went to Worship My Organ in the Black and White Lounge, which was fantastic. We saw Andrew's friend, Odenedo (Kevin Kascaden), painting for a while but he disappeared before we could say hi. After that, we went back to the cabin and then on to the Black and White Lounge for some Jam Room action. By that time, I was pretty pooped. We hung out until about 3:30am and then got some breakfast and went to bed.
Sunday, 1/10/16
Day Five: Last Day, Day at Sea, and The Great Jamsby Night
We woke up at little before 1pm to go to the autograph signing. We listened to Twiddle on the Pool Deck stage while we waited in line. I handed out bracelets while Andrew got the poster signed. Eric McFadden especially liked his bracelet. Seth got his Memphis Crew t-shirt signed, which turned out awesome. We got some food and headed back to the room and packed our bags. We went to the Atrium for Dr. John's Jam Talk which was a fascinating question and answer session in which the good doctor shared a bit of his unique worldview. After that, we went to the cabin and put on our 20's costumes and then headed to Roosevelt Collier's Super Jam on the Pool Deck. Next, we caught most of Ivan Neville's Atrium set. From there, we went back to the Pool Deck for the Anders Osbourne set. Marco Benevento played on the smaller Pool Deck stage after that which we caught a bit of before going back to the cabin to finish packing. We returned to the topmost level of the Pool Deck to catch Electron doing Pink Floyd covers, the final Pool Deck show of our magical voyage. I'll never forget dancing my ass off in the wind and rain as we all sang along to Pink Floyd hits. After rocking out and giving Keller a bracelet, we went down to the Jam Room and closed out the Jam Room with the Memphis crew. After 4am, we went and got breakfast got ready to disembark. Andrew and I napped while Seth packed. Around 7am, the sun was up and it was time to say goodbye to another Jam Cruise.
Monday, 1/11/16
Day Six: Miami Morning and West Palm Beach afternoon
We disembarked and cleared Customs with no waiting. I gave out the last of our bracelets and buttons in the cab line. We got a cab back to the Miami hotel and loaded up my car. We headed to Ft. Lauderdale and dropped off Andrew at the airport. I was determined that Seth and I would make some miles that day, but we didn't get far. Seth mentioned that we were passing by some nice beaches while I had Jimmy Buffett playing on the stereo. The opening lines of "A Pirate Looks at Forty" came on... "Mother, Mother Ocean... I have heard your call".... and I revised my plan. I said to hell with it, and we stopped for about 2 hours at Delray Beach. We made a reservation for a Super 8 a little further north in West Palm Beach. We took the scenic route along A-1-A. We checked into the hotel and then went downtown for dinner. I got oysters and crab legs and 2 margaritas and was ready for bed. I hit the hay at 6pm for some much needed rest and recovery.
Tuesday, 1/12/16
Day Seven: West Palm Beach to Memphis
We woke up at 10am after 16 hours of sleep. We hit the road and made our way north then west, then further north. Andrew went back to work. Eventually we made it home after about 14 hours on the road, at a little after 3am. The most exciting part of the trip was near the end when we saw a lovely meteor fall. I dropped off Seth at his house and went to bed for another 12 hours.
Now I'm preparing for another semester of adjuncting and delivery driving and becoming grandparents! Yee haw! Thank you, Jam Cruise, for the escape! It was immensely enjoyable.
