My Weblog

Ode to The Rock Boat...

Oh Rock Boat, how you wreck me every year.  Here are a few things that I think I remember that you did to me:

• You took my voice and taught me how to play craps.  For this I thank you and so does my wallet.
• You thought it would be good to change my entire sleeping schedule around and run off of 3 hours sleep a day and see the sunrise, alot...
• You thought that a double was the only way to order any drink...
• You thought that 8 foot seas would be funny... it wasn't
• You taught me humility by throwing me out of the shower and across the bathroom into another wall on the rockiest day at sea, now I use the handle in the shower.
• You showed me the power of music again with great bands like Oakhurst, Stroke 9, Keith Kane, Gareth Asher, Sam Thacker, Stephen Kellogg, and my all time favorite Bain Mattox.
• You gave me great times with Ryan and for that I appreciate you, even if he doesn't remember them.
• You took us to a great island and gave us the best artist excursion ever, thanks to the Cleveland Stever and Ashley for helping out with that.
• You made me laugh so hard I cried on numerous occasions.
• You brought many old friends back and sent many new friends to me.
• You gave all the Sixthman staff the power of sarcasm and they definitely know how to use it on me...
• You made me see why I love you so much and look forward to you every year.
• You, Rock Boat, own my liver.

As I remember more, I will post more. I am still in a fog and today could not even remember I cell number to give to someone, oh Rock Boat how you wreck me every year.

What's the soup du jour...

Sitting in my room, just had dinner with the Sixthman staff and of course had to do the Soup of the Day joke, never gets old.  Ok lets see, a nice salad with beer tenderloin, a cup of soup, and 6 Heineken tall pours, my kind of meal.  We are finishing up a bunch of the on board activities tonight for The Rock Boat and I can honestly say that this is going to be extra special.  Andy has me meeting him in the gym at 7:45am tomorrow, and I thought he was kidding, and he wasn't.  Who is this Gym and why does he wake up so early?  We have the pre-party tomorrow night so be expecting a blog around 2 am with a few mis spellings... I love being the Director of Fun!!! What's that sounds.. a bottle opener against an ice cold Heineken in my room... Thank you Wyndham and f-u Gym... Kappy out...

26 days till my dogs and my bed

1 ship has sailed... 36 Sol's drank on the beach between me, Wyatt, Skinny, and the pregnant Guatemalan maid (don't ask)... 30 different performances... Awake more at 4 am than noon... Hittin' on 16 and winning more than losing... The Warehouse and the sunrise... The new imploding handshake (it is catching like wildfire)... fresh fruit on the go... Lara Bars are keeping me alive... half a bottle of Vodka sitting on my desk... many blurry pictures (that is the Indian, not the arrow)... flip flop tan lines... a vow to never wear pants again... 3 Aleve for breakfast at 2pm... Fred LeBlanc did not break my back or liver this year... Watching Romo throw up on himself again... Great times have passed and even more to come... Kick his ass Seabass...

Wooden liver... check

Ok... 3 days post Skynyrd... and I feel almost normal.  I am still remembering bits and pieces so here are a few...

- Skynyrd live on the deck for a 6 song acoustic set that was pretty insane
- Scarlett Kings impromptu set on the Promenade Stage
- Exposing my shagging skills
- A Grande Rojo sighting (I think he is hiding on the ship waiting for me and The Rock Boat)
- Blackberry Smoke on the Lido Deck
- Wyatt and I figuring out we are long lost brothers
- Double vodka's (Damn you Andy)
- The hottest pepper I have ever eaten that made me cry at a Mexican Bar (note to self: you do not have to accept a double dog dare... you are not 15 years old!!!)
- Ice cold Sol in deep blue waters
- The singing taxi
- Dinner with Zac, his Dad, and Andy
- and last but not least, the sunrise over the Gulf... it never gets old...

I am about to pack up and drive 3 hours back to Miami and prepare for the Rock Boat.  I have already warned Pat McGee and Josh Kelley that this one is going to be epic... lets see... Wooden liver for Pat, check... Wooden liver for Kappy, check... ok, swallow hard and get focused... here comes The Rock Boat 8!

KAP

Zac Brown sat on the wall... Zac Brown had a great fall..

Note to self... the netting over the empty pool is not there to support the weight of a musician jumping into it and landing on their back... Zac is fine and has a bruised ego... man we love you!!!

Johnny Van Zant called me brother….

  How to describe a Lynyrd Skynyrd show to someone who has never seen one is very tough.  9 bands members in some serious musical passion for the songs that have been either gifted to them from the original band and their own new music, and the way that they deliver it to the fans, is just cool.  Lots of American flags, rebel yells, a ton of beer, and a few tattoos make up the crowd.  Skynyrd blew a hole in the ship with their show and closed it out with Freebird, which if you have never seen Freebird live, you are not alive.  I also have to say, seeing Skynyrd in a room that only holds 1200 people is a very killer… these guys play amphitheaters and arenas… not small rooms anymore and to see them in an environment like that is pretty fuckin cool.  After the show we moved the band below deck to get them back to their rooms so they can relax a little.  I was in charge of getting Johnny to his room on the Upper Deck and as I dropped him off he gave me the chest bump hug that men do and said “Thanks brother…”  and closed the door.  Now I know that he does not know my name or even has too, but Johnny, in that 5 seconds to say goodbye, was able to truly connect and made me feel that he truly cared, and I really believe he does appreciate what everyone does for him.  Time for me to crash now as I am in my cabin and it is 4am, I am up from the casino, and down on energy….

3 mins to Skynyrd…

Well it started today, the super cruise with Sixthman.  33 days in Florida getting to enjoy the waters of the Caribbean, the cold beers of the Carnival Cruise line, and unbelievable music of over 100 different bands, artists, and good people.  Let me introduce myself to you.  My name is Kappy and I am the Director of Fun.  Andy Levine, the owner of Sixthman and one of my closest friends, asked me to help him with the artists on these great cruises that he has created over the last eight years, so I closed up shop in Atlanta and hopped an Airtran flight to Miami and it all began.  The first cruise is the Simple Man with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, Cowboy Mouth, Zac Brown, The Georgia Satellites, and so many more.  I think the best part of these experiences is that you really get to see these artists play for their die-hard fans and watch how much the fans appreciate the bands being there.  I am in charge of the arrival of the artists for VIP boarding and sometimes take the job a tad to serious.  When Skynyrd was on the way over to the port, I was checking in with the Sixthman team all the time… Skynyrd is 20 mins out… Skynyrd is 10 mins out… Skynyrd is 3 mins out… I have Skynyrd Visual…Skynyrd is parking… Skynyrd is opening the door… it was a little overboard but these guys are great and I wanted to make sure they had a time and painless experience.  So, when the LS bus arrived, I always get on and greet everyone, tell them the rig-a-ma-role, and get them on the ship, VIP style.  As I stepped on, the first person I see is Gary Rossington.  Gary did not make it last year, neither did Dale, and to see them on the bus ready to go was great… this was not going to suck.  When you meet bands you always have a certain expectation and then you are let down because they are not what you had in your head.  Skynyrd is everything you want them to be and more.  They are as true to you and I as your next-door neighbor or your best friend you have not seen in awhile.  I have to say these guys were just as excited to cruise with their fans, as the fans were to cruise with them.  I passed them off thru our process and waived them onto the ship and thought that this just does not happen anywhere else in the world… 5 days with Skynyrd… god help my liver….

I will be posting these as quick as I can

I am writing these in a Word doc and then publishing them so please bear with me as i get these up...

KAP