Imagine that he is on a cruise for a four -day excursion to the Bahamas. You have your swimsuit, an adult drink and you are ready to relax. While heading to the pool cover, you are beaten with the sound of distorted guitars and direct voices such as the legendary punk band X crosses “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene”.
That was the stage on the Little Steven underground garage cruise, which sailed from Miami from May 9 to 13 aboard the Norwegian Gema of Norwegian Cruise Lines, and the approximately 1,800 passengers were in the Punk Rock sky.
The alignment presented a variety of socal -based bands, including social distortion, L7, Rocket from the Crypt, The Lords of Altamont and The Dollyrots. They joined dozens of other artists through the rock spectrum 'N' Roll, from the hard meat to the incorrigible supersuckers, to Bash & Pop by Tommy Stinson, to the Eternal Linda Gail Lewis, younger sister of the Jerry Lee Lewis musical icon.
As John Doe said of X: “Bands that you never thought you would see in a boat.”
The concept of the festival in the sea is not new. Sixthman, the company that directed the cruise, has been organizing festivals since 2001 and It offers more than 25 cruise experiences cured. The next navigations include keeping the blues in Sea Alaska, the chef that makes Boston waves, rock The Bells Cruise and Headbangers Boat.
In many ways, Little Steven's first underground garage cruise is a branch of the Sixthman country country cruise, which completed its ninth navigation earlier this year. It was a somewhat gloomy celebration because both its architect, Jeremy Tepper of Siriusxm, and its ambassador, Mojo Nixon, died suddenly in 2024.
That cruise drew an eclectic mixture of artists such as Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams and Dave Alvin, who share musical DNA with many of the artists on the underground garage cruise and vice versa. For example, Alvin's old band, The Blasters, played with X during the first wave of punk of Los Angeles, and Mike Ness of social distortion was often in the first row looking at them to play.
“Jeremy and Mojo were incredibly close,” Alvin said. “They were like twin souls in a strange way. Cultural and artistic twin souls.”
A surprise guest at the Outlaw Country Cruise was Jello Biafra, who launched the album “Prairie Home Invasion” with Mojo Nixon in 1994. He played with the Nixon The Toadliquors back band during an emotional tribute to his late friend.
“It's difficult,” said Biafra, “because there is a bit of a damn this event, because Mojo is not here, and everyone has their memories bubbling. I have a lot of that.”
Many of the artists, including some who had never taken a cruise before, had reservations about what the underground garage cruise would be like.
“I thought there was going to be a lot of crazy drunkenness,” said Donita Sparks of L7. “I was thinking that it was a cruise of alcohol drink, but I have not seen much of it. I have not seen a single fight. I have seen people laughing, hugging and shaking the music. I just saw a lot of joy.”
John Reis, vocalist and rocket guitarist of the crypt, was worried about dizziness and feeling “trapped”, but none proved to be a problem, and it was easy to “succumb to the environment.”
“We do not take certain things so seriously,” Reis said about Crypt's Rocket, “and the festivals can be very regimented. There is often a lot of stress involved, mainly with the people who put the shows. The cruise is not so. It is much more informal.”
Even social distortion was apparently won by the cruise lifestyle. “Easy the day, do what you want. Without traffic, without problems,” said Ness from the stage.
X acts on the Little Steven underground garage cruise
(Eli Johnson)
The punk of a certain age are very familiar with the phenomenon of waiting for a show, but, once it is time to leave the house, losing all the enthusiasm to drive around the city, find parking and wait for the opening bands to wrap their sets. On the underground garage cruise, all shows are a few steps and leave one hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Without openers. Without fakes.
Although some shows overlap, unlike most festivals, bands play several times along the cruise. So, if you missed the performance of a band in the spacious pool cover, you could catch them later at the Stardust Theater of 850 seats or in one of the most intimate halls that provide a club stage.
That means you can choose where and when you want to see the band, even early in the afternoon.
“We have been doing this a lot of time,” said Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers to the crowd at the band's concert at 1:15 pm. “But never so early,” he joked his bandmate “Metal” Marty Chandler.
Fans enter the cruise cover to see their favorite bands play on a trip sailing from Miami to the Bahamas
(Rich Johnson)
The artists also participated in events outside the stage: autograph signatures, a wine tasting with the dictators, a poker tournament with Slim Jim Phantom Trio and the interview sessions that will eventually go to the Little Steven underground garage channel in Siriusxm. An interview with Mike Ness ended with a brief set of social distortion, accompanied by keyboardist Ben Alleman in the accordion.
Of course, there are inconveniences in the cruise experience. If you are not having a good time at a festival, you can always go and go home. Obviously, you can't do that on a cruise. There are also greater concerns with the cruise industry itself, from the impact that these giant ships have on the environment to low salaries paid to foreign workers, who do most of the kitchen and cleanliness.
John Doe said he was in conflict with the concert. “As you grow, you do things for love or money, right? This is for money. But I love the band X”.
Then there is the elephant in the room: the perception that cruises are not for children; They are for older people.
Many of these old punk are, well, old. And if you were in the well with bands like X, social distortion and L7 when they were first doing waves, then you too.
That is not necessarily a bad thing.
“The rock 'n' roll is like jazz now,” said Eddie Spaghetti. “Essentially, it has become a niche art form for older people because most children no longer like rock 'n' roll.”
As fans age, their bodies can break, but their passion for the music of their youth remains the same. But many music fans, this writer included, dealing with disability, health and/or mobility problems that can stop the typical festival experience. Sixthman, however, stood out when making sure each passenger felt welcome.
For example, all places on the underground garage cruise had a lot of ADA seats, with designated personnel to help those who requested it. A staff member with whom I talked told me to scan the crowds during the shows and look for people who can benefit from additional assistance.
This type of personal care contributes greatly to explain why fans, artists and staff members think of these cruises as a community. There is a camaraderie on these trips that you will not find at your typical festival.
The people you know in the show are not just festival attendees; They are your neighbors and sometimes your breakfasts. The intimidating -looking punk rocker covered with tattoos is much more accessible when eating pancakes with his partner in the buffet.
This camaraderie is not what leads most fans to navigate on a musical cruise, but it is one of the reasons why they return year after year. During the Outlaw Country cruise in February, passengers gathered for a group photo for those who had sailed in The nine Outlaw Country Cruises.
That camaraderie is also important for musicians. All who talked to those who talked about the shows they had seen. Jonny two social distortion bags told me that when he received the schedule, he highlighted the bands he wanted to see, like any fanatic. I was especially excited to see Bash & Pop, with whom he had played in the early 90s.
L7 is presented at the Little Steven underground garage cruise
(Rich Johnson)
Donita Sparks of L7 had good memories of playing with supersuckers in the early 90s. “We used to sleep on the Supersuckers floor in Seattle,” said Sparks, “and we would have a dance party every night.”
That emotion for what Jennifer Finch of L7 called “The Buffet of Bands” is contagious. That is why the Little Steven underground garage cruise will sail again next April, Cozumel, Mexico.
“We are all alive,” said Sparks. “We are here and we are still swinging.”
Jim Ruland is he L.TO. Times the author Superventas of “Corporate Rock Sacks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records” and the novel “Make It Stop. “
