Wow.

Full blog updates will resume tomorrow once we get back on a decent internet connection and have time to get a few hours of sleep (which was a scarce commodity on this cruise not surprisingly).

Just know this: the Mayercraft Carrier 2 was colossal in every sense of the word.  I’m currently watching as 2800 bleary-eyed, exhausted guests walk off the ship grinning from ear to ear.  If you’re interested in sharing some of your stories from the MCC2, shoot us an email at stevek@sixthman.net with MCC 2 GUEST BLOG in the title, along with your first name and where you’re from.  Depending on how many stories we receive, we’ll do everything we can to get everybody represented in future posts.

To John, all the artists, and every single one of the guests: thank you for the past four days.  Thank you for another great list of memories to add to the “wow I can’t believe that just happened” jar.

Unreal.

-Steve

In two words: Don’t Sleep.

Seriously! Each time I decide things are winding down and it may be okay to head to bed, (and inevitably do) it always comes back to bite me in the ass. I wake the next morning, head to the office, and a steady stream of bleary-eyed co-workers come in to tell amazing tales from the early-morning hours.

Last night was a particularly terrible night to turn in early. (Early = 1am.) So far, I’ve heard about a stand-up comedy act by John Mayer, which was deemed hysterical; and awesome set by Brendan James right outside the casino; and a disco dance party (DJ’ed by John) that was still going strong at 7am. 7 AM!!

In short, sleeping is an activity that should be saved until returning home.

Now I can say that the times I have been awake have been AMAZING! I’m especially excited to have had the opportunity to catch a Pictures and Sound show. Luke Reynolds, formerly of Blue Merle, fronts the band, and he brought along Gabe Nelson on bass from the band Cake and Aaron Refield on drums from the bands Greyboy Allstars and Fiction Family. I enjoyed every last second of it, and can’t wait to check out more.

I invited my friends Tiffany, Marianne, and Brandy onto the Mayercraft Carrier (you may remember them from that time they scammed the Captain’s Party…), and in return I asked them to write me a blog about their experiences on MCC vs. TRB.  As a disclaimer, I didn’t pay them to say any of this.  They are just nice friends.  And that is why I invited them to join me.

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Greetings Sixthman world! Coming to you live from the Splendido Lido (yes, that’s what it is actually called), here are some highlights from our trip on board the Carnival Splendor thus far:

-One Splendid Evening: The VH1 Save The Music benefit onboard the ship the day before Mayercraft departed left us with two words: Open Bar. The only proper way to begin any Sixthman voyage is with shots in the Atrium. Done and done. The next two words of the night: Jordin Sparks. Say what you will about American Idol, but that girl is ridiculous. Move over, John Mayer. With her rendition of “I’m Gonna Find Another You,” Ms. Sparks just might steal this mighty cruise from under your mankini. Since learning from our Rock Boat family that this is a marathon and not a sprint, we called it a night with room service and pajamas to prepare for the next day’s festivities.

-Day One: Raise your hand if you knew that Carnival serves breakfast in the formal dining rooms. Neither did we. Pleasant discovery to begin the actual boarding day for Mayercraft Dos: Even Craftier. The MCC Boarding Day theme was “Wear your favorite Mayercraft Carrier Artist T-Shirt”…. Our favorite is Lauren Craig as can be seen below with our boarding shirts. She’s an artist in our mind… and that’s all that matters.

Mayercrafters, Lauren > Steve. No matter what shenanigans he has pulled with you all in the past year to convince you otherwise, Lauren is STILL > Steve.  Live it. Learn it. Repeat it. Spread it.

-Three thousand people observed from the Lido Deck as John Mayer took the stage in his tiny white shorts to welcome everyone to the “best 96 hours of your life.” Twelve- Time Sixthman Cruise Vet, and a personal fav of ours, David Ryan Harris, joined John for the Sail Away show as California disappeared in the distance.  DRH later rounded out day one with a killer set in a sweaty and packed El Morocco lounge. (We kind of love that guy.)

-Day Two. Let’s talk about pop trivia. In our Carnival Caper, Pop Trivia is boasted as information that would have been discussed on TMZ or in recent issues of US Weekly. When was the last time “Who’s The Boss?” was on TMZ? Oh wait. Never. Did we mention Lauren > Steve? Way to go on those questions from 1993, Steve. Didn’t know we’d have to visit the TV Guide archives to answer your inquiries. Ryan Shaw? You’re hilarious. You should probably write the questions next time as you’re counseling your favorite Hollywood baby, Bronx Mowgli Wentz.

Tonight was the first John Mayer headlining show. As we’re going to the Monday night show, we decide to hit up comedian James Smith instead. BEST. DECISION. EVER. He goes there. From Chris Brown to Michael Phelps, his thoughts on marriage and the Hudson River plane crash, Mr. Smith had us practically in tears. Well played, sir. By the way, he really appreciates stories about any of your friends’ trips to Australia. Throw in some photos as well.

Seeing as we have burned all our midnight oil out on The Rock Boat, Mayercraft rages on outside our cabin door right now as talks about this “tender” are occurring. Tomorrow we are “going” to Cabo San Lucas. Little do the passengers of the Mayercraft know that when TRB faithful are on board, the word “tender” exits the vocabulary because no one knows what that actually is. Lauren, no matter how many times you say it, we won’t believe it until we see it outside our window when waking up tomorrow morning. Lunch at 1:30? Sure. See you on the Lido Deck while Cabo passes on our right. Sammy Hagar says hello. (Lauren’s note: We did make it to Cabo afterall, suckers)

After we “port” tomorrow, we still have two days out at sea filled with debauchery, fantastic music, watching the Sixthman crew own every casino table possible, listening to Kappy make info announcements (James Smith also loves these), gaff tape wars, Lauren STILL being > Steve, and John Mayer getting his obligatory white boy dance on in the disco. Bring it on, Mayercraft.

P.S. It’s day three and we have yet to see Kappy sans clothing. What gives?

-Lauren, with special guests Tiff, MK, and drunken Brandy

Ahoy from the mayercraft carrier 2!  We are pulling out of the dock as I type and the horn literally just blew.  Today is my day to blog, and I wanted to introduce you to a special guest and family member of the Sixthman team, Ms. Hen, aka Laurens lil sis. Hen volunteered, after I strapped her hands to the keyboard, to share with us the insiders’ view of the first day on Mayercraft Carrier 2:

Dear blog,

I feel like that’s how you’re supposed to start these. I’m a blog virgin, so bare with me.

I haven’t been on one of these cruises in over a year and man have I been going through withdrawals. The energy, eagerness and passion for music that all of the people on board have can be a little overwhelming, but is without a doubt one of the most amazing sights to witness.

I was lying on the lido deck this morning and when I first got there it was fairly empty. So I laid my towel down, and sat and watched the deck fill up. The mix of people on this boat is unreal. If you went up to every person on this boat and asked them 10 questions about themselves I guarantee you everyone would have very different answers. The fact that music can bring such a diverse group of people together to not only enjoy a show or two but also actually come together and form bonds that they never would have made before blows my mind. And I can’t tell you how excited I am to be a part of it.

Can’t wait for what’s in store for the week.

Hen

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!!…..

As we are sailing along on the Mayercraft Carrier 2 I keep getting questions about “all of those closed off areas” and it seems that security, barricades and ‘Private Function’ signs pique quite a bit of curiosity. Understandable certainly, and I am almost afraid to spoil the mystery, but I thought I’d do a little “Behind the Scenes” Sixthman style.

So you ask, what IS going on in all of those hidden inaccessible areas? Is John Mayer REALLY playing mini golf all day every day?

Chances are, if you’ve ever cruised with us, you’ve walked by a piano bar or lounge that was draped in black and asked yourself “self, what could POSSIBLY be going on in there?” you may have even wondered if it was something fun you were missing out on. Maybe thought to yourself “Man, I bet this is where the awesome Sixthman parties with Champagne are and exotic dancers are- I bet they even have a blackjack table!”

Well I am sorry to say that is simply not the case. On any given day you can find us plugged in checking into the Atlanta office, on our radios coordinating the next event or show, grabbing a snack before our next shift or writing blogs like this one. Disappointed? Well, us too. We all love our blackjack.

But, you may ask, What about the artists? Why do they need a place that is blocked off? Aren’t they here to hang with us?

Well, yes they are. But they are also here to work and many times have obligations that you may not realize: photo ops, interviews, podcasts, meet and greets- the list goes on. And while all of the artists love the unique opportunities they have to meet all of you, sometimes they need a place where they can have just a moments peace (one person vs. 2500+ excited persons – you do the math).

We’ve all been there.The husband won’t stop talking, the kids are pulling you in twelve different directions, your loser little brother who is crashing on your couch wants to tell you about the spaceship he swears he saw last night, your girlfriend is having a meltdown and insists on screaming to her friends on the phone in the middle of the living room… you know what I’m talking about. Sometimes you just need an hour of you time. A quiet happy place. Since we are all about the fans and the artists and creating the ultimate experience for both, we think it’s only fair that they get that little bit of vacation too so that when you bump into them at breakfast or in the elevator they are just as excited to see you as you are to see them.

It really does take a village to run our events and we have to create that village on a moving ship in the middle of the ocean far away from our home base. Sometimes you can see all of the moving pieces and sometimes they are behind that curtain. It leaves a little to the imagination and that is always a good thing, but rest assured, you aren’t missing out. In fact, I think I can speak for most of us that we sometimes get a little jealous of the great shows you get to see and the time you get to have with the artists that we miss because we are always on the go… well that or behind one of those darn curtains!

May

John Mayer Deck Show Video Blog with Lauren and Steve

John Mayer Deck Show YouTube Link

Ah, another fantastic night on board the Carnival Splendor!   Let me just give you a little recap of the evening.

I finished my shift just in time to catch the Guster show in the main lounge.  Can you say amazing?  If you like Guster on the radio, and you’ve heard their CD, then you have GOT to see them live!  These guys have so much fun on stage, and it’s hard not to have fun with them.  At one point during the show, they recognized Scooter’s (Guester’s drum tech) birthday.  Hilarious!  They made up a “happy birthday” song for him right on the spot.  The freestyle song got the crowd on their feet and we all sang along!  Not to mention, this was their first performance in over a year and a half!  They had taken time off to have children and write a new record, but returned to the stage and delivered a peak performance.  We are honored to have had it happen on the Mayercraft Carrier 2.  

Next, off to the casino! (you know where the rest of the story goes.)

Then, David Ryan Harris played in the El Morocco Lounge.  This show was absolutely awesome (like always).  And it was made even more amazing when John Mayer joined him for the last few songs.  So good!  The talent that we get on board our ships continues to blow me away. 

After the show, I guess John wasn’t tired yet so he decided to MC in the Disco Lounge.  Getting crunk with John!  What a blast!  The dance floor was hopping and didn’t shut down until the sun was coming up!  (Of course I wouldn’t know that).

-Mike

As most of you know, last night we had our charity night, One Splendid Evening, on the Carnival Splendor to benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.  Today is a busy busy day with us getting the rest of the ship boarded for the Mayercraft Carrier 2, but I wanted to write a quick blog about how things went on the ship last night!

- I can already sense a much more relaxed feeling this year on the cruise, which makes me happy.  For those of you who remember, last year we did three cruises back-to-back-t0-back with the Mayercraft Carrier stuck in between Ships and Dip III and Cayamo 2008.  This year with the cruise being in its second year, Sixthman having three weeks to recharge since Cayamo 2009, and over 1000 alumni returning, everybody is far less stressed out and way more relaxed this time around.  I worked the information desk for a few hours and every question came from smiling face.  I’m sure the open bar helped out those smiles, just a little bit.

- The main event concert rocked, with each artist/band performing two songs apiece over the course of a 2 hour and 15 minute set.  It was pretty cool to get a snapshot of many of the performers that will be on the ship, and I guarantee a few of the lesser known artists made many new fans last night with their songs, and will have many more fans at their sets on the ship.

-Erin McCarley kicked things off with her song, “Love, Save the Empty” which perfectly set the mood for the night.  I have never seen Erin live and was certainly impressed.  I’m glad she’s on the ship and looking forward to catching more of her on the MCC2.

-Guster went next, and ended their set with a great version of “Jesus on the Radio,”  with the guys all crowded around an old-time microphone at the front of the stage.  Awesome.  Even though they were on Ships and Dip last year, I was only able to see like two of their songs, and I’ve missed them TWICE when they played free shows (poor planning on my part).  I think I’m scheduled to usher one of their gigs, which means I’ll get to see the whole thing!  Ryan, Adam, Bryan, and Joe, glad to have you on board.

-Sara Bareilles‘s solo piano performance of “Love Song,” and “Gravity” (no not a cover of a John Mayer song, her OWN song named the same thing) = wow.  An absolutely amazing voice, and a great personality!  You could tell she was having fun, and I bet she’s just a little sad she doesn’t get to stay on the ship for the rest of the trip.  Hopefully we can get her on a future event.

-O.A.R. played two songs off their new record, a great accoustic version of “This Town” followed up by “Shattered (Turn the Car Around).”  I had the chance to meet Marc, the lead singer of the band earlier in the night.  After introducing myself, I told Marc that we were so happy and excited that they could make it on the ship.  He kind of looked surprised, and said “Really? That’s awesome man, thanks!”  It’s always nice when you meet an artist you admire and they’re even nicer than you’d expect.  This is another band I’ve been a fan of for years and never seen live, so getting the chance to interact with them and catch a few sets has me all amped up.  I’m gonna go nuts when they play “Crazy Game of Poker.”  I say “Of!” you say “A!”…

-Gavin Rossdale played some accoustic songs off of his new solo album which left me quite impressed.  I’ve been a fan of Gavin since his days in Bush, and his new stuff has a completely different sound…I dig it.  Something about his voice allows him to sing in any situation, from “Machinehead” and “Swallowed” to “Love Remains the Same.”

-John Mayer, a man who needs no introduction, played a few songs with his bandmates David Ryan Harris and Robbie McIntyre…and absolutely crushed it.  Some guys just have “it,” and John has “it” in truckloads.  For me, the highlight of the night was his accoustic version of Tom Petty’s “Learning to Fly” which ran right into “Free Fallin.’” Damn he’s good.

-Immediately following John’s songs, Jordin Sparks came out and sang some of her own with John accompanying on guitar.  Even though she’s only 18 (19? 17? something like that), jeeeeez this girl can sing!  I know she left everybody with mouths wide open by the end of their three songs together.  “Tattoo” was awesome.

-After the show, everybody crowded up onto the Lido Deck for DJ Logic spinning up on the stage until 1:30AM.  The whole ship had such a great vibe beginning with the first guest walking on and the last guest who went to bed, whenever that was (my guess? 6AM).  All I saw were smiles and excitement; no anxiety, no worry, very few complaints.  Just smiles.

And there you have it.  Once again, a small blog of mine quickly becomes far too long (902 words, thank you WordPress word count!).  We have four days of fun and sun cruising down the Pacific coast of Mexico ahead of us, so keep reading for updates all weekend long!  Remember we’re on West Coast, so most updates will come later in the day for you east coasters.

-Steve

Today, I’m back in California – not as a resident, but as a visitor.  As we get ready to produce Sixthman’s first West Coast cruise (beginning tonight with One Splendid Evening, and continuing tomorrow with the Mayercraft Carrier 2), I can’t help but think how much my life has changed over these past three years.  Let’s hit the rewind button:

March 2006 - It’s three months before my college graduation, and I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do with my life.  My older brother Jack calls me from Chicago and says he’s sick of the cold and he needs somebody to move with him to San Diego.  Let me check my schedule, yup! I’m open.  Let’s roll the dice and try the West Coast.  I’ve always wanted to live in Southern California and surf every day, so it looks like my dream will come true.

June 2006 - Already committed to moving, Jack and I fly out to L.A./San Diego and go through some job interviews.  Still undecided with what I want to do with my life, I apply all over the place in multiple industries and end up taking a job in sales selling construction equipment.  I tell the company I’ll be back in August.

August 2006 - The first of my cross-country drives in my beat-up car, a ’94 Jimmy with 110,000 miles on it.  At this point, the air conditioning is already starting to go and the heat doesn’t work either.  Jack and I move into our new apartment which happens to be 30 yards from the beach.  Jackpot.

September 2006 – I have this dream, and yet don’t realize for another year and a half how important my college friends are to me.

May 2007 – I’m promoted and given a company car – Ford F250!  I note the massive tires, convenient beeping noise when I almost back over things, and a large truck bed.  This is awesome.

September 2007 - I head back to Vanderbilt for Homecoming weekend and proceed to have the time of my life with my friends (this is our 5th reunion since graduating only a year earlier).  On the last morning in Nashville, I’m asked by a good friend, “Steve, are you happy in California?” and for the first time in a year and a half, I finally admit that I’m not.  “Why are you staying there then?”  Hmmm, good question.

On my flight back to California that night, I’m terrified with where my life is going, I desperately miss my friends, and I almost have a mental breakdown on the plane.  I get back to my apartment and hop on Google Chat.  As it turns out, two of my best college friends are getting a place to live in Atlanta, and they need a third roommate.  Within 24 hours, I make up my mind to move to Atlanta.  When I tell Jack that I’m ditching him for the South he smiles and says, “hey man, you gotta do what you gotta do.”

November 2007 – As luck would have it, I had already booked a flight to visit my sister at UGA months in advance, so I use this weekend to line up a few interviews in Atlanta.  One company looking for a new hire catches my eye, “Sixthman.”  I shoot them a resume and tell them I’ll be in town, praying that it’s a legitimate job posting and the company actually exists.

After a number of phone calls, a phone interview, and emails with a girl named April, she tells me that Sixthman would like me to come in that weekend for a regular interview and a fun interview.  What’s a fun interview? Well, mine involved bowling.

I get a call the day before Thanksgiving from April saying that they’d like me to come work for Sixthman.  WAHOO!  I immediately accept (I’m a terrible negotiator), then walk into my company’s office in San Diego and inform them that this day would be my last day of work.  I go home, pack up my stuff, leaving behind my bed, television, desk, dresser, and surfboards.  For the second time in two years, I’m moving cross country.  The drive is miserable (really could have used heat in my car when it dropped into the 30s), but I have never felt more excited or alive.  Atlanta and Sixthman, here I come!

December 2008-present: I have found my calling.  Thanks Sixthman.

Looking back, my time in California wasn’t the fairy-tale dream I had imagined it’d be, but I have zero regrets.  I’m glad I took the chance to move out there.  I like to think that everything happens for a reason, and had I not moved to the West Coast, who knows where I’d be?  I guarantee I would have never ended up with Sixthman, and I certainly wouldn’t be getting on a cruise with John Mayer, Guster, O.A.R., and a dozen other bands heading down to Cabo San Lucas tomorrow.

I realize I’m only 24 and only have two jobs out of college under my belt, but I feel like I’ve learned quite a bit over the past three years.  If you’re getting ready to make a big life change…I say go for it.  When you believe everything happens for a reason, every single decisionyou make, no matter how big or small, no matter how successful or unsuccessful, is simply a necessary step on the eventual path to complete happiness.

Make it happen!

-Steve

Steve and Lauren talk about Sixthman’s first trip to the West Coast, the challenges that go along with it, One Splendid Evening, and what they’re looking forward to on the Mayercraft Carrier 2.  Later on, we highlight an interview with Steve and Andy who sat down Blackberry Smoke on Simple Man Cruise 2009.

Sixthman Podcast #12 - Blackberry Smoke [ 16:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download