Meet the band

Alto Sax: David Birks, Bandmaster, 45 from Seattle, Washington, USA

Tenor Sax: Voycheck, late 40's from Poland.

Trumpet 1: Dave, 27 from Scotland.

Trumpet 2: Jason, 28 from Georgia, USA.

Trombone: umm...you should know this one.

Drums: Victor Manecchia, in his 60's from Florida, once NY, USA.

Piano/Keys: Daniel Griffin, 22 from England.

Bass: Ziggy, in his 40's from Poland.

Guitar: Mike, twenty something, from England.

I'm closest with Daniel, though also good buddies with the trumpet guys. Hearing Dave quote Anchorman in a Scottish accent is already one of my best memories. My first day I was under the impression that Jason's name was Anthony (I still have NO idea why), and called him that for 2 days before I realized my error. As punishment he still calls me Angela, an interpretation of the pronunciation of my name that Daniel made for the first couple of days. Victor is a really great drummer, killer at jazz. He lived in Puerto Rico for 10 years jamming with all the latin drummers there and playing hotels, and has all kinds of interesting stories. He has also made it his goal to tell me a joke of the day every day. I found out yesterday that he tells everyone jokes of the day, but apparently when I'm out of earshot the ones he tells Daniel and Jason are always dirty. His jokes for me are always clean and usually pun-based. What a gentleman. :-)

Ship Specs and Second Show

Maiden Voyage: November 21, 1999 Passenger Capacity: 3,114 (But somehow we have over 3,200 this cruise...hmmmm) Godmother: Katarina Witt Gross Tonnage: 138,000 Length: 1020' Max Beam: 156' Draft: 29' Cruising Speed: 23.7 knots Tonight marks a very special occasion for me. I will perform for the first time in a real orchestra pit. It seems funny that I've never actually had the opportunity to do so before. The show is called Music in Motion, and during our tech run this morning I concealed my excitement from my more experienced fellow musicians as I opened the door to the pit, a story below the theater floor. It is exactly like the one that I remember at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, which I used to lean over and look in admiration at the musicians below. I almost got a little emotional today. Much to my shock a few minutes into the opening number the pit began to rise....we are alternately rasied and lowered during the show, so we are at times in view of the audience right on center stage. There is a strip of stage a few feet wide at the very front of the stage, making a half circle, so the performers are there in front of us, and also a strip of stage that comes up when we do so that the singers actually walk right in between the two halves of the band, when just our heads peek above ground level. At times there are performers all around and above us. It is something to see, I'm sure. The show is probably the most professional looking (set and choreo-wise) that I've done on ships - I guess bigger can be better. I can hardly wait for tonight. I know this will probably get old, but tonight I will be savoring the moment.