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#145292 - 07/13/02 06:58 PM Music report on the Alaska Cruiseship, Regal Princess
BEBOP Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 01/02/00
Posts: 3781
Loc: San Jose, California
Music report on the Alaska Cruise on the Regal Princess.
There are 9 lounges (bars) on this ship in addition to the Las Vegas style showroom that seats about 1000 people. They all have music during the afternoon and evenings except the show room, unless something else is going on in the lounges such as an Art Auction. I saw paintings go for up to 5000.00 USD. AA gets equal time as there is an AA meeting in the Library every afternoon at 5 PM. I only saw one person drunk on the ship the entire cruise. That person was NOT a musician, and it was not me
The showroom does two shows a night and has a 7 piece house band, cut down from 18 pieces due to budget constraints. The sax section is two men doubling on Tenor, soprano, clarinet and flute. The tenor player also does all the arrangements. One Trumpet player and one trombone. The guitar player doubles on electric bass. The KEYBOARD player is playing the Kurzweil and it is a 2600 by 88 keys. That guy did all the single vocal backups also with the guitar for rhythm. AND, are you ready for this? The band is fronted by the DRUMMER! That is only the third time in 70 years I have seen a drummer front a band. IN ADDITION he was playing from lead sheets. What do you think about that????
The best combo in the Bengal Lounge was a Yamaha Grand doubling with keyboard and a guitar player doubling on Trumpet with the best looking vocalist around. When the music was bad you just watch her moves and everything is good again She sang with the guys too doing three part GOOD harmony. That keyboard was a korg I-3.
The combo on deck for the leaving San Francisco Party, see picture at http://www.pbase.com/bebop2/alaska_cruise&page=1 and they also played in another lounge was three pieces. Keyboard was Kurzweil 2600 w/ crate and Roland amps, a bass player, and a drummer. They played some good rock music. It was a fun party as we sailed out of San Francisco bay. Did you hear us Scott? It was loud enough!
The casino used a Yamaha grand as did all the lounges and also had Roland G-800 keyboard, a Roland jazz chorus 120 amp, a centaur keyboard amp, a Yamaha o1v mixer and a Fatar 13 pedal foot board. The guy came with 50 pound of fake books, played his heart out with a vocalist and was ignored by every slot player, crapshooter, and card player in the place. They were so happy I came by to clap and talk to them that their socks were rolling up and down. Well, actually just his socks
The other lounges all had Yamaha grands in them as did the supper club in the Cafe Del Sol. The main dining room that was smart casual 6 nights and formal on Saturday nights did not use music. Our waiter did a little singing though and he was good.
We had a Victor Borge type dude name of Dick Gold (nutegold@aol.com) He was a great piano man when he played straight, was a good comedian and also played a fine guitar. He was really a good vocalist also. I bought his cd at 15.00 so you gotta know he was good.
We had another straight Yamaha grand player name of Selwyn Wright that did a fine vocal and did well working the room by himself. He had a large variety of music committed to memory as you would expect an old man of my age or near about.
There was another dude playing in another lounge on another Yamaha grand and he had a keyboard on top of it but I never stayed long enough in there to hear him use it if in fact he did. He was unable to work the room or hold the audience. It was a good room too that seated about 150 plus and is very plush. This is the room I would put Scotty Yee in and he would keep it filled all night. I am sure there are others in our forum that would do as well but I have not heard them so can't say but Scotty has played at my home and he is GOOD!!
OH yes we had a classical pianist playing in the bistro Cafe del Sol in the evenings and he had 100 pounds of music and he could play it all. He was a tremendous classical piano player and could switch gears at the drop of a 5 dollar bill. He was quite popular with many of the older cultured people
I was only asked to take over the piano bar in one lounge and I respectfully declined. That is the one where I didn't think the player was doing very well, and I wasn't inclined to do his job for him and get the room moving and then hand it back. NO THANKS. Been there and done that but no more.
Well friends that is about it for the music.
Let me tell you about one of the most awesome female vocalists I have ever heard and I would rate her at number three over all in my entire life. She is a little blue eyed blond lady from Australia. She did a solid hour plus on two different nights in the show room backed by the princess house band. She has won the top award in Australia for vocalists for three years in a row. It is easy to see why. I would drive a hundred miles to see and hear her again. Her name is Colleen Austin. Watch for her. She is destined to be a big star. Her vocal range is awesome and I believe she could work the house without a mic. She can do it all. She is also a good dancer and has a very friendly personality. She is out and about on the ship visiting the customers every day. We all loved her.
They also did a Broadway show with the somebody Terhune dancers and it was a good hour show. Very animated, all good vocals and dancers. It was fun. They also did OLD MAN RIVER as in Porgy and Bess. Excellent.
I will be happy to try and answer any questions you may have, but CRS
Submitted by Bebop
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#145293 - 07/13/02 08:44 PM Re: Music report on the Alaska Cruiseship, Regal Princess
Anonymous
Unregistered


Great report Bebop. I envy you...Always wanted to do the Alaskan cruise thing..and have heard the Regal Princess is great. How long was the cruise? 7, 11, 14 days?
Eddie

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#145294 - 07/13/02 08:52 PM Re: Music report on the Alaska Cruiseship, Regal Princess
BEBOP Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 01/02/00
Posts: 3781
Loc: San Jose, California
Hi Eddie,
Actual cruising time was 11 days. 11 great days. It would take 48 hours in a day to cover every activity that was going on in the ship at all times.
Make it a goal and go do it. Best value I have found
Bebop
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#145295 - 07/13/02 09:20 PM Re: Music report on the Alaska Cruiseship, Regal Princess
TomTomSF Offline
Member

Registered: 03/24/99
Posts: 736
Loc: Half Moon Bay, CA, USA
Wow, Bill!
You're Alaskan cruise sounds awesome! And the pics are great. That sure looks like the First Class cruise ship alright. It is beautiful. Interesting to hear the report on all the live music on board. Your report makes me think I should go on the cruise!!
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Tom G.
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#145296 - 07/14/02 11:08 AM Re: Music report on the Alaska Cruiseship, Regal Princess
Scottyee Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
Bebop: Many thanks for your fasinating and informative in depth entertainment report of your cruise. Sounds like the Roland G-800 was the only arranger keyboard utilized on the entire ship. Was a G-800 only used in the Casino room, or were there G-800's in other ship venues as well? Was the G-800 used for any solo 'one man band' act(s), or was it only played as a synthesizer (without auto accompaniment), utilizing a LIVE musician rhythm section (drums, bass) instead?


In regards to your comment about the drummer, this brings to mind one of the many drummer jokes which have been circulating around for years:

Q: What's the best way to confuse a drummer?
A: Put a sheet of music in front of him.

Seriously though, utilizing lead sheets on a gig, especially when playing with other band members in a pickup band situation, is (imho) acceptable, as long as it doesn't distract from the front man focusing attention on the audience. For a one man band solo performer or vocalist, it's better to play without any music, but in a 'pickup' band situation (where pro musicians have limited or no time to rehearse), it's customary to play with lead sheets to insure that everyone is 'playing' the 'same' chord changes. When I play tunes not in my core repetorie, I too prefer utilizing a lead sheet, but merely as a road map prompt (chord/lyrics) . If lead sheets are used, it's imperative that you as the 'front man' or 'lead singer' maintain at least 99.99% of your attention on the audience & on performing the music. Nothing's worse than a lead performer who appears to be reading note for note from a book. YUCK !

Bebop, what do you think was the reason the guy who played in the plush 150 plus seat lounge was not able to 'work the room' or 'hold the audience'? What was the energy of the room like? What kind of music (songs) did he 'attempt' to play and what was the average age of the people in the audience? Was he a singer/keyboardist or just a solo instrumentalist? I know from my own pro experience that singing makes a BIG difference in getting & keeping the audience's attention, and that humor, telling stories, and encouraging audience participation are also important elements to attracting & holding the audience as well. Still, the world of entertainment remains fickle & unpredictable, as I've performed many near identical show sets (same songs, same jokes, etc), which one night bring the audience to their feet, while on another night, I'm completed ignored. Bebop, thanks for the nice words regarding my musicianship and your support that I would have been able to keep that plush lounge filled 'all night long'.

- Scott
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#145297 - 07/14/02 11:30 AM Re: Music report on the Alaska Cruiseship, Regal Princess
BEBOP Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 01/02/00
Posts: 3781
Loc: San Jose, California
HI Scott
Replying to your questions in your post.
The G800 used in the casino was used as a free standing one man band for instrumentals but only for pads behind the piano and vocalist. The guy knew his stuff and was good but the venue was not conducive to his music. More like playing background in a hotel dining room (which I learned to hate).
Late at night when the hi-rollers were ready to party things changed and then he got the crowd moving, dancing, drinking, and funning.
The lead sheets for the drummer was probably so he wouldn't play the wrong chords
Just kidding. He controlled the band very well and emphasized every thing in the shows with his traps. He was as good as they get. They backed full broadway type shows. I think that "sez" it all.
The guy that was failing in the Brocacia plush lounge had a fair amount of talent but wasn't using his gear. His voice was good but weak and no PA. The Yamaha Grand is loud and was drowning his vocals. He did not use the keyboard setting on the piano. The people wanted to party, not sit, drink and listen to melancholy songs. They either moved over to another lounge or started talking over the music. There was opportunity here but not taken advantage of, I think due to inability to "read" the room and respond to it. I noticed this room ended up with the "blue heads" while the young crowd ended up in the Bengal lounge with the 3 piece rock band. Nothing new about that is there? The Bengal Lounge played all night while the other lounge was done by 11 pm
Dick Gold, working another the same lounge on other nights had standing room only. He is a fine piano player when he plays straight but basically does a Victor Borge act and he wows them. I researched him on line last night and found out that he is a Princess Line Employee of long standing and hs worked on every ship over many years. NO wonder he knows what he is there for. I will play you his cd one day. That concluded my comparative analysis. OH, One more thing. One night, maybe even two, that lounge had Karaoke and it was wall to wall. Our new friend Charlie brought his guitar and did both Karaoke and also played in the passenger's talent contest in the show room. He lives in Mariposa and we will be seeing more of him.
Bebop
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