That’s right, John and Patrice, all the way from Cape Cod, MA!  The people who raised me and fed me will be joining me on Cayamo.  After years and years of them taking care of me, I’m excited to finally take care of them for a change.  This will be my ninth cruise with Sixthman; I’m so freaking excited that I won’t have to get off this one and call my mom to tell her how it.  She’ll be right there with me!

True story: a year and a half ago when I thought about moving to Atlanta, I called my Dad from San Diego to tell him about the jobs for which I had applied.  The first job I found was for a health care firm to work as a consultant, and the other “job involved music, concerts, and cruises in the Caribbean.  And they pay me!”  His next question was where I found this company: “Craigslist!!”  Now, this made my dad slightly skeptical; I don’t know why though, I’ve heard nothing but good stories and truthful offers on that site.  In fact, right now I’m waiting for a Nigerian prince to return my $10,000 investment next week.  Also found on Craigslist!

Anyways, back to my Dad.  I believe the first words out of his mouth were “scam” and “jobs like that don’t exist,” which is completely understandable.  As the story goes, I got the job with Sixthman and after an excited phone call from me on my first day in the office, he quickly came around and has since become Sixthman’s biggest fan.

Last night before our Sixthman meeting, I ran across the street to meet with my parents for a drink at a local restaurant down here in Miami.  My mom excitedly pulled me aside and told me she shared a shuttle ride from the airport with Shawn Mullins, and my dad told me that he has been listening to Zac Brown non-stop.

They both work day jobs, and they’re both workaholics, so I’m glad I gave them an excuse to get away for seven days without cell phone reception and an internet connection.  My dad’s new email auto-reply: “I am currently out at sea on Cayamo with a rum-drink in my hand.  I will have NO communication with the outside world for the next 7 days.  I am unreachable by email, cell phone, and carrier pigeon.”  Atta boy!

Today begins the longest cruise in the history of Sixthman, and John and Patrice are there to join in on the fun.  Life is good today.

Adios, and vaya con Dios!

-Steve

Holy cow, 2009 is CRAZY and it’s still only February. Just returned from the Folk Alliance Conference Saturday; Act I of our new Americana-rock opera went on sale AND hit radio yesterday; and later this week I leave for CAYAMO!!!!  At first I was worried that everything would be a shambles here in the Floating Men world if I turned my back for even a moment, but I forget about all the madness every time I look at the ports-of-call and the all the stellar writers on the bill. Am I a lucky guy or what? I get to evacuate this dreadful winter weather, perform alongside some of my heroes, go on a cruise… and I’m getting paid for this?? Pinch me. No, better yet, slap me! This can’t be real. Just think, no clocks, no calendars, no cell phones, no email, no worries. AND I get to play my songs for a gratefully captive audience. So, for the next week or two, I’m turning off the cell phone, burying my laptop in the bottom of my luggage, and telling the Floating Men team, “So long, you’re on your on!”  

Oh, and by the way, the title of the new opera? “No Clocks, No Calendars.”

Are you excited?? We are so close to setting sail!!!

We, being most of Sixthman,  are in Miami, in fact, getting the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed for this amazing adventure in music.  So a few more artists to reintroduce, introduce, or just plain knock your socks off with….

Joe Ely –

What can I not write about him?  He has toured with the Clash, Bruce Springsteen, and fellow Cayamo-ers John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett.  He plays a mean guitar that can spout amazing rock n’ roll or moving country all in one riff.  Like so many other great artists he is from Texas and has had both a prolific solo career and his band, The Flatlanders.

He is just good.

Don’t take my word for it?  Give him a listen and he will convert you right away — and will keep you forever.

Check him out rocking the steps of the Texas capital.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNdVvPgDXEk

www.ely.com

The Indigo Girls –

I grew up in Georgia.  I knew about this venue that was a mecca to me.

Eddie’s Attic.

In this small music room nestled in Decatur, GA. the bands I loved, listened to, and would make mixed tapes (yes, tapes) of would tour, play, entertain, and inspire.  This venue introduced me to the Indigo Girls.

With more popular hits like “Galileo” and “Closer to Fine”, it is the amazing ability of the two women, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, that make up the Indigo Girls to continuously make fans happy since 1985 when their first single, “Crazy Game”, was released (on vinyl).   I could probably write forever about lyrics, songs, concerts I have seen/been to, but I will keep that for another blog.

What I do know is that no matter what,  I can listen to an Indigo Girls album and just want to take that road trip, hug my best friend, tell my mom she is awesome, and want to listen to more.

But wait!!!! They have done it again and in just a few weeks there newest creation, Poseidon and the Bitter Bug, will be released.  I have mine pre-ordered, do you?

www.indigogirls.com

Shawn Mullins –

I’m not afraid to say it.  I love Shawn Mullins.

That man writes some good tunes.  As he likes to say, he is an “active observer of life and translates life into song.”  Over the years, he has had many radio hits (Lullaby and Shimmer, among others), he’s been nominated for a Grammy, produced over a dozen albums, and played thousands of live shows – including a performance at Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony.  Last March, he released his second album with Vanguard records called Honeydew.  For those of you familiar with the record, “Cabbagetown” is a part of Atlanta just down the street from Sixthman HQ.  And the “Homeless Joe” in Little 5 Points he talked about?  That’s down the street from our old office.

I could listen to Shawn play all day, and I hope I get a chance to see him on Cayamo.  If I’m lucky, he and Aslyn will team up to cover Elton John’s “Border Song.”  A girl can dream.

www.shawnmullins.com

-The Kelly and Lauren Supergroup

And we couldn’t be happier to see your smiling, sunny face. Please be sunny.

Half of the Sixthman team is headed down this morning, and the rest of us will be on a flight tomorrow to meet them and prepare for this coming weeks event. Cayamo is next on the Sixthman cruise roster and speaking of rosters have you checked this one out? I’m pretty sure I blogged last year around this time, right before leaving for Cayamo. I’m just as excited, even more so actually because I’ve seen the potential of this event brought to life.

Unlike a few of our cruises, which have a hosting headliner, Cayamo is a shipload of headliners with a solid group of rising artists soon to follow in their footsteps. I challenge anyone who will be joining us, to find a stage left empty or a hallway for that matter. With a hearty line up pushing 40 confirmed performers and an endless supply of talented guests, it’s impossible to give them all the stage time they deserve, so in many cases they make their own. Last week we highlighted Brandi Carlile in our Cayamo Coffee break and posted a video of her taking over a piano and creating an intimate impromptu performance on the Promenade deck. When a guest requested a song that Brandi couldn’t quite remember another guest jumped up and sat in on piano.

That’s what we’re going for, that ultimate mix of artist and fan kinship that could not be created without the comfort of spending a week in the middle of nowhere together. We can’t plan that – and I’m sure there are many more memorable moments in store for us this year that we couldn’t even imagine, let alone plan. So I’m ready, I hope you are. There are a few cabins left, meet us at the port if you’re not booked already. If you absolutely cannot make that happen, we promise to do our best to recreate the happenings on our daily blogs from sea.

For those who are sailing I can’t wait to start this amazing week with you, see you on the ship!

-Melissa

Today, we have a Cayamo artist spotlight that is very near and dear to Sixthman’s heart.

David Ryan Harris

David Ryan Harris is a longtime friend of Sixthman and we are privileged to have him aboard Cayamo for the second time. If you missed him last year, make it a point to see him this time around and experience his soulful voice and guitar melodies. Based in Atlanta, he has had the opportunity to work with such talent as John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Cassandra Wilson, Santana and Dionne Farris.

He has played the drums and piano, and currently has a “love/hate” relationship with his guitar. His passion shines through in his performance, making it impossible to take your eyes or ears off him. Take a look at his performance of “For You” Hotel Café in Hollywood, CA, and you’ll see why we ask him back, year after year.

DRH on YouTube

Girlyman

I am a lucky girl to have a job that introduces me to new music every day. Girlyman caught my attention with their left-of-center name, and I have been curious… I did a little research, and this is what I found on their website. From band member Doris Murmatsu, “It’s great for us, provocative and playful, it makes people laugh. But it also hints at how we’ve never quite fit in. Nate wears make-up onstage, I’m a Japanese-American playing to mostly white audiences. Ty is a grown-up tomboy. The name Girlyman lets us acknowledge that we’re out of the mainstream, but without taking ourselves too seriously.”

I never take anything seriously, except maybe their melodies. They have an eclectic sound, incorporating many instruments, including banjos, guitars, mandolins, and djembes, but they truly shine when making three part melodies. We’re excited to have this Atlanta based band onboard for the first time and look forward to the Girly-magic!

Head over to their website to take a listen to those famous melodies.
http://www.girlyman.com/

Emerson Hart

Emerson Hart may be most well known as the frontman for Tonic, but Emerson sets himself apart with his solo work. His honest lyrics provide a cathartic journey in his solo debut, Cigarettes and Gasoline. Emerson has been a member of the Sixthman family for several years, and we are so happy to welcome him to Cayamo this year.
Emerson took part in the Sixthman sessions in 2008, where several artists got together at the Bluffs in Augusta, GA and wrote songs for three days. You can see the fruit of these labors in this video, taken on the Rock Boat earlier this year.

Emerson on TRB

Buddy Miller

Buddy Miller is a legend among the Americana genre and the two have almost become synonymous. His career spans two decades and has included collaborations with such artists as Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle. He continues to make music with his wife Julie, and tours with the 3 Girls- Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Shawn Colvin.

As most of you may have heard, Buddy will not be joining us for Cayamo this year. Let’s all wish him well and make sure to check out his new album, Written in Chalk, in stores March 3, 2009.

You know, I’m a true believe in the power of positive thinking.

Why be negative, right? Doesn’t it take way more facial muscles to frown than to smile? Or something like that. Why waste the energy? It also helps that I am a stubborn Taurus. And I’m here to tell ya – nothing’s gonna take me down. Not without a fight anyway. So in these trying times, I’ve come up with a little system to maintain the flow, the positive forward momentum if you will. A lot of it involves escapism. Take last weekend for example. I actually sat down and watched back to back to back shows of Monster Jam. Have you people seen this ever? You know the one; fiberglass shells of vehicles jacked up on these huge truck tires. OH MY GOD, it was glorious! I mean, I just couldn’t get over it. It was so good, in the midst of it all my friend came over and before long, I got her hooked too.

The whole scene was so surreal. These little truck shells (painted up to the hilt of course) on these big tires, were careening up, over and through cartoonishly painted cars, trucks, buses, even an RV for pete’s sake. This dude took out the RV with his Monster Truck, flipped over, blew a tire and jumped out of his (slightly afire) mad ride to a standing ovation. I’ve never seen anything like it! I must watch more.

The humongous tires skewer the perspective to such a degree, it feels like you are watching these teeny tiny characters in a teeny tiny land basically drive over dirt hills and destroy stuff. It is so far removed from my style I’m not even sure how I landed on this channel. Except that I do. I was looking to escape, to check out from reality and give myself a much-needed break from the action. And golly, did this do the job! It was so crazy, so ludicrous, it couldn’t possibly be real. It was like I stepped into this fantasyland of fantastical fodder, which instantly replaced the real world worries weighing down my mind. It could not have been more perfect for my Sunday Escapism Strategy.

So perfect that…hmmm…does anyone know when Monster Jam is coming to Philips Arena?

-Carla

Steve and Lauren discuss Marc Broussard’s confirmation as a performer on The Rock Boat X, their favorite Cayamo 2008 memories, and what they’re looking forward to the most on Cayamo 2009.  We also have an interview from the Rock Boat 9 with Jeff, Dan, and Emerson of Tonic and clips of their lido deck performance leaving Nassau.

Sixthman Podcast #8 - Tonic [ 25:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Shawn Colvin

If you have never seen Shawn Colvin perform live, you are in for an experience. Mostly recognized for her song ‘Sonny came home’, Shawn’s voice is both sweet and seductive. A good friend, and long time collaborator explains,”there’s a little bit of a mystery to it but whatever that mystery thing is, it spoke from the heart and you get that right away.”

I am sure there Shawn will have other performers onboard sit in with her occasionally, but those times when she is sitting on a stool, alone on stage, singing and chatting with the guests, will be the times to remember.

Shawn, we are so excited to have you back!

Ken Block

As the lead singer of Gainesville-based Sister Hazel, Ken has been writing and performing music for more than 20 years. Ken, the other 4 guys in the band, and the fans that surround them (the Hazelnuts), undoubtedly drove Sixthman to become the company we are today.

Ken’s voice, one of the most unique and distinguishable i’ve ever heard, is described as ”sometimes slightly raspy and gravelly in that easy, thoroughly engaging way that keeps it from being perfect.”  Once you hear it, i guarantee it will be impossible to NOT recognize it.

At the end of last year, Ken released his first ever solo album ‘Drift’ – a little more mellow than the typical Hazel sound, but full of nuggets all the same.

Make sure to catch him performing songs from his solo record, and playing alongside his other half in Sister Hazel, Drew Copeland.

Drew Copeland

As another member of Sister Hazel, Drew has been working as a musician on the road for nearly 2 decades.  In that time, as much as he loved collaborating with 4 other band members on every song and decision, Drew also felt drawn to record a solo album, No Regrets.

“These were all songs that I had written or co-written and they all came from the heart and are very special to me,” said Drew.  ”I really had the creative freedom to see my vision all the way through with every song.”

I encourage you to pick up the album… but if you need some convincing, just stop by Drew’s show on board Cayamo, and see it for yourself. You’ll be going home hooked.

For lack of a better intoduction, “Hi! I’m Mike!”  I just recently got the extraordinary opportunity to work with Sixthman as a freelance Production Assistant.  I’ve been working as a Production Assistant for the past 4 years in Atlanta.  I’m sure you’re asking, what exactly does a Production Assistant do?  Well, here’s a little bit about my biz-nass!  (business).

I work on set of TV commercials, movies, documentaries, and the occasional music video.  It’s pretty fun.  You’re always at new locations, meeting new people, and getting to be your own boss.  Not bad.  Why does it sound like I’m not that excited about a job that I dedicated 4 years of my life to?  Because of Sixthman!  This company has totally rocked my world!

About two months ago I hot hired to work on my first Sixthman cruise.  I’ve been hooked ever since.  Not only does the job description allow you to be on a cruise ship among some of the best musicians in the world, but it also brings you into a community of people that is like no other.  I mean this in two ways:  First, it’s the guests onboard the ships.  Its hard not to become friends with just about everyone.  It’s like having hundreds and hundreds of next door neighbors (the friendly, welcoming, good next door neighbors that is).  It’s just an awesome community feeling!  Second, is the company culture of Sixthman.  What a great place to work!  It feels like being at home away from home.  These aren’t just co-workers, they’re friends.  People that I’ve known for such a short time so far, but still don’t hesitate to call them friends.

If you haven’t noticed by how this story is going, I now work for Sixthman full-time.  I love it, love it, love it, love it!  I’m new, but super excited about becoming a regular and seeing familiar faces on all of the ships.

-Mike

As part of the weekly series here on the Sixthman Blog, we’ll be highlighting a Mayercraft Carrier artist every Monday afternoon from now until we set sail on on this floating musical fiesta on March 27th, 2009!  For those of you newbies, this will give you a chance to get to know some artists that you might not have heard.  Without further ado, let’s shine that spotlight on a Mayercraft Carrier newbie:

Erin McCarley

McCarley grew up in the Dallas suburb of Garland, where she says her parents couldn’t have done a better job raising her and her older sister. “It was a very happy home with very little pain to deal with,” she explains, describing days filled with dance class and choir rehearsal. In a way, though, her ideal childhood led to an unexpected wake-up call later in life. “It kind of gave me an unrealistic view of everything,” McCarley notes with a laugh. “That’s not how the world is, you know?” In McCarley’s music you can hear her charting the distance between fantasy and reality, as well as the heartbreak that inevitably accompanies its discovery.

McCarley’s brand of honesty doesn’t come without the occasional flash of regret. “I’ve looked back at some of these songs recently and thought to myself, ‘Are you serious? I can’t believe I put that out there!’”

McCarley currently calls Nashville home, but she cut her musical teeth in San Diego, where she’d moved after college to pursue a life that didn’t feature music at its center. During her undergraduate days she’d spend weekends singing with a country cover band for extra cash, yet in San Diego, selling clothes in a boutique and hanging out on the beach, she began thinking not just like a singer, but as a songwriter, which satisfied a different artistic jones. “Once I discovered songwriting it became an addiction,” she says now, remembering countless days she spent holed up in her house from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., doing writing exercises (and staring at the wall) while wearing the same pair of linen pants.

Here is a video that chronicles the creation of her songs on her new album, “Love, Save the Empty.”  A very cool video, and a great story about how she ended up in Nashville:

Creation of Her Song, “Pony”

Watch her music video from her song, “Love, Save the Empty” from the movie He’s Just Not That Into You.