Scott Bernstein

Previously, I recapped the start of the penultimate day of music on Jam Cruise 9 and now I’ll finish the job. We left off with coverage of the “prime time” shows, which leads us to the late night action.

Up in the disco, a number of Moog instruments including keyboards, a guitar and a theremin were set up by the Bob Moog Foundation for cruisers to play with. While I’m a novice bassist with no experience on the keys, it was quite a thrill to make some noise on these expensive devices – especially the theremin. Over at the main stage, The New Mastersounds threw down a nasty set of soul-infused funk that was versatile from song to song, unlike the straight-shot New Orleans funk, which can be found around every corner on Jam Cruise.

Brock Butler – Do It Again

The New Mastersounds’ set was filled to the brim with sit-ins, so much so that the side stage area was the easiest place to find most musicians at that time. Zach Deputy, Jennifer Hartswick (on vocals and trumpet), Robert Walter, Roosevelt Collier, Skerik and James Brown horn section members Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis were among those who led their talents to the Leeds-based band’s ferocious set. Down in the Zebra Bar, “Vote to the Boat” winners Papadosio mixed modern electronica with elements of jam and rock to create an untz-tastic blend of music that had more soul than most of the jamtronica I’ve heard in the past. I only caught a song, but was impressed enought to want to take in a whole show.

• Previous Jam Cruise Journals: All Aboard, Knee Deep In It, Letter to 16-Year-Old ScottyB, Nourished Soul, Day Four – Part 1, My Jam Cruise Debut, Jam Cruise 9 Videos

While The New Mastersounds’ Pool Deck set had the most guest spots, Colorado’s Big Gigantic nearly challenged as the duo welcomed Brock Butler, Adam Deitch, Eric Krasno and Joel Cummins at various points throughout the two-hour set in the Zebra Bar. Brock had never heard the band before, but rose to the occasion laying down subtle, washed out textures. Krasno went in the other direction and shredded his way to glory. Sax wiz Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken filled the room with a group of fans who didn’t stop moving throughout the band’s performance thanks to an interesting blend of live music and DJ featuring Lalli’s otherworldly playing.

READ ON for more on Day Four of Jam Cruise 9…

Prince has added another NYC show to his schedule – February 7th at Madison Square Garden. No word yet on who will open that show, but it was announced today

The latest installment of the Grateful Dead’s Road Trips series has been announced and features all of the band’s April 1st, 1988 show as well as much of the previous

Thanks to our pal JRapp, we can premiere a number of fantastic clips from throughout Jam Cruise 9, which finished yesterday upon the MSC Poesia’s return to Fort Lauderdale. We start with Living Colour front man Corey Glover, who was on the boat with Galactic, singing Glamour Boys with ALO…

ALO w/ Corey Glover – Glamour Boys

Next, we’ve got a short clip of a George Porter Jr.-led version of Sneakin’ Sally from the Jam Room which featured Pete Levin, Ian Neville, Raymond Weber and Tony Hall on bass…

Jam Room – Sneakin’ Sally

READ ON for more videos from Jam Cruise 9 including Bobby w/ GSW, Brock’s LCD Soundsystem cover, Lotus on the Pool Deck, JHa joined by Butler and Berg on Dawes’ When My Time Comes and much more…

Yes, I totally owe the readers a recap of the second half of Day Four on Jam Cruise 9 as well as the grand finale on Saturday, but before I go all newsy on ya, I wanted to tell the tale of my Jam Cruise performance debut.

[Photo by Tiny Rager]

At the start of the trip, one of the sets I was most excited to see was Brock Butler’s collaboration with DJ Wade “Wyllys” Wilby on the small Solar Stage at 5PM on the final day of the trip. Wyllys and Butler had teamed up back in October for a pair of gigs in the Southeast under the name AMBIENt, which gave Brock the opportunity to add textures to Wade’s music instead of the shredding that tends to happen during Perpetual Groove shows.

• Previous Jam Cruise Journals: All Aboard, Knee Deep In It, Letter to 16-Year-Old ScottyB, Nourished Soul, Day Four – Part 1,

Wade, a Hidden Track contributor and one of my BFFs, told me about an idea he had for the Wyllys/Butler set in which he’d call up to the stage a number of friends he’d met through the music of Phish to sing backup on one of that band’s early songs, Sanity. Wilby asked me to help round up some of our friends and bring them to his room at 1PM on the day of his set with Brock.

READ ON for more on my Jam Cruise debut…

Greetings from just off the coast of Cuba, my friends. We’ve awoke to another gorgeous day of weather on the high seas as we motor back to Fort Lauderdale. Everyone seems surprisingly alert for Day Five of this marathon adventure and we’ve got an intense day and night ahead that leads into the dreaded disembarkation calls over the PA at 7AM tomorrow morning.

I think we’re at the point in the trip, where I can officially declare Jam Cruise 9 better than last year’s event on a musical level. While the “mindblown” factor of my first trip can never be duplicated, the artists on JC9 have all put together amazing sit-ins and action packed sets. No one wants to be “that band” or “that guy” who plays a bad show. Trust me, word spreads fast on this boat.

When I first looked at the schedule, I thought yesterday might be my least favorite of the five days. Yet, Friday turned out to crush. We were docked in Costa Maya, Mexico from 8AM to 3PM and I’d love to tell you all about it, but I took that opportunity to sleep. Zs are at a premium with “once-in-a-lifetime” collaborations likely to bust out at any time. I heard great stories of those who either went to the beach, took part in the Positive Legacy excursion, visited the Mayan Ruins or made their own adventure.

Jam Cruise is all about making your own adventure. Each attendee has a completely different experience and trading tales the next day is part of the fun. My day started with Rock Star Karoake featuring ALO. This California band is near the top of the list of acts who left a big impression on me. Not only are their originals funky and boogie-fueled without being trite, but they can also handle cover tunes with the best of ’em.

READ ON on for more of Part 1 of Day 4 of Jam Cruise.

Day Three of Jam Cruise 9 continued the trend of sit-ins at nearly every set during a full night of music that followed our stop in Roatan, Honduras. Those cruisers who wanted to sleep took full advantage during the stop at port, while plenty of adventurous types partook in all sorts of excursions on the tiny island.

Once 5:30PM hit, everyone returned to the boat and Easy Star All-Stars kicked off the action on the Pool Deck. The band mixed Beatles songs with Pink Floyd songs with a few of their originals mixed in for good measure. A break for dinner followed, though a Moog Workshop headed by Bob Moog’s grand-daughter featuring Scott Metzger, Nigel Hall, Robert Walter and a few more musicians took place in the Disco.

Last night’s “atrium piano set” was led by Zach Gill of ALO and Jack Johnson’s band. Zach took requests throughout and performed a ridiculously fun mix of covers including Billy Joel’s My Life, Warren Zevon’s Lawyers, Guns and Money, Elton John’s Bennie and the Jets and I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues and Beatles medley that featured A Little Help From My Friends and Hey Jude. When Gill couldn’t remember the lyrics to Hotel California, Jam Cruise attendee JRapp stepped in and helped Gill with the words. These solo piano sets continue to be a highlight of the cruises.

Jerry Joseph, Dave Schools and Stockholm Syndrome had the plumb, prime-time spot on the Pool Deck and blasted through a few hours of heavy rock. Karl D. made his first of many sit-ins during the Stockholm set, which also featured a tribute to Vic Chesnutt in the form of Vic’s original Whoa Death. Joseph seemed to fully embrace the Jam Cruise experience this time around after he wrote a cynical song about his last trip on the boat.

READ ON for more of the recap from Jam Cruise Day 3.

To: Scott Bernstein
Date: June 22, 1994

Dear 16-year-old version of myself,

While I [the current, 33-year-old edition of Scott Bernstein] should probably warn you about the mistakes you will make over the next 17 years, I’d rather focus on the positive – ’cause there’s plenty of it. More specifically, I want to tell you what went down yesterday and blow your mind.

First, some bad news: God Street Wine broke up in 1999. That’s right – enjoy the next few years while you have this band because they won’t be around forever. Now, the good news: after 11 years apart GSW will get back together for six shows and you’ll get to see them all. Not only that, but you got to see Lo, Aaron, Bevo, Tomo and Dan on a huge cruise ship with 10 of your friends and other music fans from around the country.

Remember that dream you had the other night, where God Street jammed out with Bob Weir? I knew you woke up and said that would never happen, but it did! Bob Weir, of the Grateful MFing Dead sat in with the boys for four songs at a small theater on this Jam Cruise thing I was telling you about. Sometimes dreams do come true, you just might have to wait 17 years.

Speaking of dreams coming true, I should probably mention that you’re a music writer aboard Jam Cruise 9 to cover the action and that you spent 45 minutes interviewing the whole band about how they got back together. You were in all your glory as the sun went down over the Caribbean behind GSW during your chat. There was a three-minute break in the action when y’all saw a few dolphins swimming besides the ship. Tough life, I know.

READ ON for more of this unique version of a GSW review…

While the first day of Jam Cruise was fun and featured some terrific music, Day Two took things to a whole new level. No matter where you looked, artists were jamming with each other in configurations that you’d never expect. The day was relentless as the MSC Poesia was motoring down to Roatan, Honduras.

Chicago’s Cornmeal kicked things off on the Pool Deck just before noon to a surprisingly large crowd. Joel Cummins of Umphrey’s McGee provided the first sit-in of the day by joining Cornmeal for a segment that included a cover of Elton John’s Bennie and the Jets that the ensemble nailed on every level. There was even a tease of Terrapin thrown in for good measure.

[Photo by Dave Vann]

If anyone read my Jam Cruise Journals from last year, you’ll probably recall how much I enjoyed Brock Butler’s performances. Brock was all over the place yesterday starting with a solo set on the smaller Solar Stage which featured a dream setlist that started with a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s All My Friends followed by the PGroove classic It Starts Where It Ends and Tom Petty’s Wildflowers. Under sunny skies and in 80 degree weather, Butler also treated cruisers to a Phosphorescent cover and his own The Weather and the Wait as well as Paul Simon’s Diamonds on the Soles of Shoes. The PGroove front man even showed off his freestyle skills during DMX’s Crime Stories.

READ ON for much more from day two of Jam Cruise