About the Author

Dave from Cambridge, UK sent a request today -

It’d be good to find out more about your musical background – i.e. where you studied, when you started playing etc.

Thanks Dave. Bloggers always like to talk about ourselves, so I should take the opportunity while it’s here!

It’s also not a bad idea. This is an advice-based blog, so I should probably put down some credentials.

I studied jazz piano at Northern Illinois University and composition at Indiana University here in the U.S. During and after college I played keyboards in a variety of rock and reggae bands in the Midwest. It was after a particularly (financially) disappointing gig at the Cubby Bear in Chicago that I decided to look into working on cruise ships.

I auditioned for cruise ships in spring of 2004 and I was put on a ship that summer as the keyboardist in the show band. I cruised North Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean on a 6 month contract. We also spent 2 weeks as the floating hotel for Russians at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, which was quite a treat. I made a lousy $350 a week on that gig, but I saw 29 countries, made a bunch of friends and had a good time. Still, I was happy to get off that boat by the end of it. 6 months is a long time on a ship.

Working on that ship improved my sight-reading and improv chops and also seemed to give me some “street cred” among musicians back home. When I returned to the Chicago area after the contract I started working steadily as a freelance accompanist for schools and theatre companies in suburban Chicago.

A few years later I started touring with Broadway shows. First was a short tour as a keyboardist for a concert-type show in Taiwan, then as the MD and conductor of a 9 month bus-and-truck North American Broadway tour. I met L., my girlfriend, on that tour. Sometimes she reminds me of that so that I’ll admit the tour wasn’t all bad :-)

Since then I’ve been working in regional theaters around the U.S. – NY, AZ, VA, Chicago…3 months here, 3 months there…you get the picture. I work primarily as a music director or pianist at these theaters.

February of 2008 I got a call from the same producer who put together my first tour in Taiwan. He had sold the show we did in Taiwan to a cruise line in Hawaii and he needed someone to MD and accompany the gig. The gig seemed pretty easy, the bread was good, and L. could come for a cruise whenever I liked.

That’s the gig I’ve been working for the past 3 1/2 months. I’ll be getting of the ship on Saturday, visiting L.’s family, then my family, then starting a new gig at a theater in Virginia.

I have mixed feelings about working on a ship. I feel that it’s a good gig if you are good enough to play full time, but you aren’t getting enough gigs to do so. I would take a cruise gig over a day job any day. It can be a great way to see the world, it can be a lot of fun, and it can be a great way to get experience and improve your playing. It can also drive you crazy, make you feel isolated and the material is not always creatively satisfying.

You can see that I’m not a cruise ship fanatic. I don’t know the names of all the cruise ships in the world, I haven’t spent half my life going ship to ship. I’m just a normal, working musician and sometimes I need a gig. That’s what most cruise ship musicians are.

I do like writing, though, and that’s where this blog comes in. It’s a nice hobby, and I enjoy helping people. When I first went on a ship I had no idea what to expect or even what to pack. It was a little nerve-wracking. I know that there are other musicians out there that feel the same way, and I’m happy that my experiences and my writings can be of use.

I’m not paid by any cruise line or talent agency, but even if I was I’d give it to you straight. I try to cover myself by not specifically mentioning what cruise lines I’ve worked for, or anyone’s names. Frankly, the name of the cruise line doesn’t matter. I’ve worked on two now, and heard lots about others, and I think all these cruise lines are run by the same idiots. Or at least the same types of idiots. You see the same problems over and over – and the same benefits – no matter what the line. So much of what you find here is probably applicable to whatever company you’d be working for.