The first week....

The sentimental nostalgia accompanying my long awaited reunion with the Norwegian Sun quickly dissipated on the day of embarkation as a steep curve of music familiarization took the presiding seat of urgency. The first day mostly involved taking care of safety procedures and signing documents pertaining to joining the ship. Crew members always have to attend a few classes which cover the logistics and particulars of the ship. For example, the number of watertight compartments vary from one ship to the next as well as the placement of muster stations. Certain ships have a very logical layout, but others do not.

The “Welcome Aboard” show did not pose a lot of difficulty for me seeing that three of the four songs I had to play were ones I had just performed on my previous ship/contract. More excitingly, I got to play the first eight measures of the song “Anchors Away” as opposed to only four on my preceding ship.

In general, the Norwegian Sun seems to favor jazz music. We play about three sets of it because the people enjoy it. Alaska cruises often attract an older crowd that enjoy sitting and listening rather than getting up and partying.

On one night this week, my amplifier would not function. I had to sit out during the first set as I waited for a technician to fix the amp for me. No problem. A wire had been disconnected behind the amp. Sounds conspiratorial to me.

The biggest hurdle of the week involved memorizing the “Rock You Tonight” production show in the Stardust theatre. Seldom do new musicians attempt to play the whole show without a music stand on the first week, but I decided to do it anyway. Unbeknownst to many, I had indirectly already played some of the selections from the show; it consisted of tracks cut from other production shows and pasted into this one. Basically “Rock You Tonight” can be summarized as a juxtaposition of three separate shows, two of which I’ve memorized in the past. On the night of the big show, I stood there and played the whole thing, but the dancers and singers did not give me the appreciative recognition that I had sought. Instead, they simply assumed that I had played the show on other ships. I may have gone a little too far with my guitar solo during one of the last songs. I played it behind my head and did it mostly one handed. I only did this because a stage technician challenged me by asking if I could play behind my head. Being the guy that I am, I chose to interpret her inquiry as a request which I promptly acquiesced. Even this feat did not earn me the recognition that I deserved. The production manager said that it looked as if I was only pretending to play because it looked too unbelievable. Of course, the sound technicians knew it to be real, and all of the musicians, but others seemed simply dumbfounded like a lobotomy recipients whose procedures had gone south. Next week, I plan to outdo the extremity of this week’s gesture.

Something funny occurred during the Motown Show this week. During rehearsal, I realized that I did not have the sheet music for a song entitled, “Easy.” The bandmaster said he would print it for me and bring it to the gig. The show started, but when I started to play “Easy” I realized immediately that my chart was in the incorrect key and that “Easy” would now be potentially not very Easy to pull off. The saxophone player standing next to me was “resting,” meaning that he did not have to play at the moment, so I asked him for the real key, but he didn’t know either! Then, he in turn asked the bandmaster who was on the other side of the stage and not “resting” by the way. The bandmaster thought he must be joking, so he did not respond. The saxophone player said, “I think A major.” Lucky for me, he was right, and I then knew the real key. Unlucky for me, I had to transpose the song at sight into the correct key. And even more unlucky for me, I had to improvise a big solo while doing this mental transposition. It’s during moments like this that I remind myself why I get paid the big bucks. My solo actually sounded quite good and earned me points in the eyes of the other band geeks playing with me. Never under estimate the importance of being able to play by ear. The bandmaster apologized later for accidentally printing the chart in the incorrect key and then jokingly confessed that “it was an act of hazing for the new guy.”

More later as more adventures unfold....