Today started out with a big bang, one
of the guaranteed high lights of the trip and I’m not even on the
boat as of yet!! I’m not even too sure how I succeeded in
completing this mission, but somehow I was able to worm my way into
Keel’s rehearsal in nearby Deerfield Beach. A friend of mine had
assisted the band in finding the studio to rehearse and they were
invited along. Knowing that I’m a Keelaholic, especially after
seeing them for the first time on last year’s voyage (I do wish
that they’d come to Canada once in a while…lol), she asked me if
I would like to go as well…….not a question that needs be asked,
just tell me where to be and when! We departed the hotel around
10am, made a stop to pick up two more fans and then Ron, Dwain and
Geno as well! Riding in the limo with Keel was friggin’ awesome
alone. They were all very down to earth guys and were talking and
laughing with us, telling stories. Ron talked about his upcoming
solo album Metal Cowboy, that has been in the
works for a while now and due out soon. He also mentioned the possibility of something for Keel’s upcoming 30th
anniversary and that Marc had a lot of great music written already.
That’s something that I dearly look forward to as I put the last
record, 2010’s Streets of Rock And Roll, up
there as Keel’s best album ever cover to cover. Ron also mentioned
a TV show that he is working on and I’ll be interested to see it as
well.
There were also some stories about Geno
Arce, long time bassist and his leather jacket and another one about
the loss of a cell phone. I won’t go into the details of those
stories here as they are not mine to tell, but just let me say I
haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. If you see any of the
guys aboard, just ask them and I’m sure you’ll soon be busting a
gut at the stories Ron has compiled for his “Geno Book” as he
calls it. All in all the whole ride was super cool and the guys were
great to hang out with.
We arrived at the studio for their
rehearsal and while they carted their gear into the building we
lingered outside, planning to obtain some breakfast/lunch…..really
any food that we can get at this point as none of us had eaten and
were still working through the effects of the Pool Party the night
before. As we waited Marc Ferrari and Brian Jay arrived, being
dropped off by Marc’s parents who I understand live nearby. Marc’s
parents were also very nice and it was cool to meet them as well.
The limo driver took us to a nice restaurant on the beach for lunch
before we were due back at the studio to watch the last of the
rehearsal.
We were shown into the studio and three
of the ladies grabbed what seats were available on the only couch,
with Brain Jay being very gentlemanly and obtaining a couple of
stools for the two ladies who could not get real estate on the couch.
The only two men (myself and another newly made friend) were quite
happy to stand. While we waited for things to get under way and were
just generally in awe of being invited in here, Ron told us that
photos were cool but “please don’t shoot any video and post it on
you-tube or some crap like that”..…no worries Ron! He also let
us know that we would not get a full top to bottom show during this
rehearsal, but more just the parts that they wanted to practice on a
little bit more. Kyle Kreuger from Hair I Go Again
was also in attendance filming for the documentary movie due out in
December. 
The boys were goofing around a bit
while waiting for Marc to take care of something and they played a
segment from "Back To The City", which I don’t
think we’ll hear at either of the shipboard shows unfortunately.
Once they were ready to go they started off with "United
Nations" and it sounded incredible! They played the full
song through as they did with all of the others to follow, sometimes
going back and working on certain parts afterwards and also working
on the transitions between songs. "Looking For A Good Time"
was next up and Ron took a moment to ask us each what our favorite
Keel song was. He started with me and after a moment’s starstruck
hesitation, I yelled "Speed Demon" into the
microphone that he was holding out to me. One other person was able
to
spit out "The Right To Rock" and several agreed
on that one more from the starstruck than anything I think. I’m
glad I was even able to speak, but wish I had said "Lay Down
The Law"…lol. They then played "Come Hell Or
High Water" followed by "Somebody’s Waiting"
which sounds just mind blowing live as I discovered on board last
year. Ron called out that "Speed Demon" would be
next for me and during one of the choruses he came right up to me,
bending down (he’s considerably taller than me after all), held the
microphone to me as we sang "Speed Demon"
together! So cool I nearly wet my pants! Unfortunately it happened
so fast that no-one could get a picture, except a blurry one as he
was moving away, no matter I know what it is! From there we got "Push
& Pull", "Streets of Rock and Roll", "I Said the Wrong Thing to the Right Girl" (during
which Marc’s parents returned to the studio), "Because the
Night" (with Marc’s mom singing right along), "Rock
& Roll Outlaw", "Tears Of Fire" and "The Right toRock".
During "The Right to
Rock", Brian waved me up to join him at the microphone. I
was still sort of in awe at the whole thing and wasn’t sure what he
meant. It took him until the third wave before I got over the nerves
and awe and went up to stand next to him and sing "The Right
to Rock" chorus. Theband thanked us all for coming and chatted happily with us
afterwards while Ron produced a copy of the
set list for each of us and had every member of the band autograph it
as well! While talking with Brian he noticed my tattoo and was quite
thrilled about it, calling the other guys
over to check out my whole arm. The
band was very impressed and asked me to send a photo or two when it’s
complete; giving me “props” all round.
The ride home saw everyone a little
tired and I sat next to Dwain as we engaged in some idle chatter. He
mentioned that he was a big Saxon fan, would love to meet Nigel and
that he had intentions of following them around the boat like a
stalker. I let him know about my recent interview with Nigel, that
we were planning to meet on the boat and that I would try to
introduce Dwain to him. I also had a chance to ask Ron about
Diemonds. Diemonds is an awesome local Toronto band that you may
have heard me mention or concert review in other articles. A while
back he played a Diemonds track on his Streets of Rock and
Roll Radio Show, joking that he had to go several tracks
in to find one that was radio friendly in the foul language area. He
mentioned that they were an awesome band and that a fan of the show
had turned him onto them….pretty cool for Diemonds! Check out
their Bad Pack CD available on line.
Later on that evening after a nice hot
shower and some relaxing at the hotel, I ventured out to a nearby CVS
store to obtain some supplies before heading to the official MOR Pre
Party featuring Enuff z’ Nuff and JSRG. Apparently CVS is the
hotspot as while I joined the reasonably long line I noticed my new
“friend” Ron Keel several patrons ahead of me and I debated if it
would be overkill to call out a hello to him. Jason McMaster of
Dangerous Toys walked in and shook Ron’s hand for a brief greeting!
Maybe I should hang out here at CVS for a while with my camera and
some swag to be autographed!
I arrived at the Pre-Party shortly
after 8pm and saw several cruise friends as I walked in and found a
spot directly in front of the stage and speakers. Enuff z’ Nuff
had already been on stage for a few minutes and I only lasted for
three songs. I just can’t catch the buzz of their music, it was
ridiculously stinking hot (figures, after the last two night’s
chill I brought a sweater tonight) and above all extremely ear
bleedingly loud in front of that speaker. The Lorraine Lewis
produced Ex Wives of Rock TV show was here and
shooting the season finale with all the ladies, so that caused a bit
of a stir as I adjourned to the outdoors for some air and ventured in
again in time for JSRG to hit the stage.
Janet, Share, Roxy and Gina stormed out
and blasted into "Rev It Up" followed by "How
Much Love". This time I had found a spot a little further
back with some Canadian friends and the sound was good and crisp.
The ladies were a tight playing unit for sure with Roxy tossing out
drumsticks and looking very happy to be up there, as did they all.
Before starting into "Bad Reputation" Janet
announced that everyone except Gina would be celebrating a birthday
aboard ship during this voyage. "Cryin’" and "I
Want You to Rock Me" came next and Gina was really getting
into it showing off her staggering guitar skills. A little crowd
incitement including portions of Joan Jett’s "I Love Rock &
Roll" and Def Leppard’s "Pour Some Sugar On Me"
preceded "Paradise". Share took the vocals next
for an awesome cover of Neil Young’s "Keep on Rockin’ in
the Free World". I know that there are several members of
other bands taking the cruise for leisure such as Doro/Britny Fox
drummer Johnny Dee and I’m sure that was the singer for Steven
Adler’s band that just walked by me! The ladies continued to
assault us with "Love Is a Killer", "Never
Say Never" and "Wrecking Ball" and I
couldn’t help but think that whoever had said to me a few days ago
that “chicks just don’t rock as hard as guys” has obviously
never seen JSRG perform! The ladies tossed out several beach balls
into the crowd asking us “who wants to play” as they finished up
with Sammy Hagar’s "Mas Tequilla", rather
fitting for this booze cruise
that we are about to embark on. They
returned for an encore performance including "Edge of a
Broken Heart" and I was very impressed with the whole
show. The keyboards were decidedly absent or toned down and the
sound was rather heavier than I had expected. These ladies can
really rock and are obviously talented musicians, I couldn’t help
thinking that I just got my ass kicked by a bunch of girls and I’m
hungry for more!
The Meister
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