Upon learning of our selection to perform on the Simple Man Cruise I was hit with a wave of emotion. Gratitude, excitement, and a slight feeling of accomplishment all fell over my body. Then I realized that the cruise falls on my 30th birthday. That just amplified all the emotion.
A quiet sort of excitement filled my body all throughout our long trip from Tullytown, PA to Miami. All of us know how important this cruise is towards the advancement of our career as a band. Getting to share a festival bill with the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd is all that was needed for this to be a significant life time achievement. Upon getting on the boat though, I could tell right away there was a lot more to this experience than just getting to play some rock and roll.
One of the biggest goals of a rock and roll band is to not only play music, but to play music in front of people who actually care about hearing great rock and roll. Believers as I lovingly call them. Without these believers, us, and Skynyrd, and Blackberry Smoke just don't happen. They just don't. The minute we walked on the ship we realized that we were surrounded by a couple thousand believers. Then those believers showed up for our first show on Monday, and we could see the same reactions they had given every other great band on this boat. A wave of positive excited emotion streamed across the room. It's a wave that stretched out to the Lynyrd Skynyrd fans who were leaving their show towards the end of ours (going up against Skynyrd was probably the only downfall of show one). The room was moving, the people were singing and dancing, and new friends were made. To win over these true rock and roll fans was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. To do this on my 30th birthday made it extra special. To create a significantly sized buzz for our second show, a show where we will pretty much have the ship to ourselves (thank you Sixth Man) makes it that much better. Our first performance was great, rewarding, and helped show us that we are doing the right fucking thing. But there is still work to be done, and that work shall be completed tomorrow afternoon. As for now I must go and enjoy all of these great bands, such as the Band of Heathens who I am watching as we speak. I'll see everyone back in the states soon. You're well wishes have meant the world to me (as have your birthday wishes). See ya soon.
Dan
PS: do yourselves a favor and check out Band of Heathens, The Delta Saints, Jamie Davis, County Line Road, and Waylon Speed. Some great up and coming bands that also need many believers on their side. It's about family here, and we only want our family to grow.
-Dan
A quiet sort of excitement filled my body all throughout our long trip from Tullytown, PA to Miami. All of us know how important this cruise is towards the advancement of our career as a band. Getting to share a festival bill with the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd is all that was needed for this to be a significant life time achievement. Upon getting on the boat though, I could tell right away there was a lot more to this experience than just getting to play some rock and roll.
One of the biggest goals of a rock and roll band is to not only play music, but to play music in front of people who actually care about hearing great rock and roll. Believers as I lovingly call them. Without these believers, us, and Skynyrd, and Blackberry Smoke just don't happen. They just don't. The minute we walked on the ship we realized that we were surrounded by a couple thousand believers. Then those believers showed up for our first show on Monday, and we could see the same reactions they had given every other great band on this boat. A wave of positive excited emotion streamed across the room. It's a wave that stretched out to the Lynyrd Skynyrd fans who were leaving their show towards the end of ours (going up against Skynyrd was probably the only downfall of show one). The room was moving, the people were singing and dancing, and new friends were made. To win over these true rock and roll fans was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. To do this on my 30th birthday made it extra special. To create a significantly sized buzz for our second show, a show where we will pretty much have the ship to ourselves (thank you Sixth Man) makes it that much better. Our first performance was great, rewarding, and helped show us that we are doing the right fucking thing. But there is still work to be done, and that work shall be completed tomorrow afternoon. As for now I must go and enjoy all of these great bands, such as the Band of Heathens who I am watching as we speak. I'll see everyone back in the states soon. You're well wishes have meant the world to me (as have your birthday wishes). See ya soon.
Dan
PS: do yourselves a favor and check out Band of Heathens, The Delta Saints, Jamie Davis, County Line Road, and Waylon Speed. Some great up and coming bands that also need many believers on their side. It's about family here, and we only want our family to grow.
-Dan