by slayergeek » Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:25 am
my 70k Journey began 2012/2013. I saw the adds for 70,000 Tons on BlabberMouth and soon learned about Barge To Hell as well. I played the rookie game of waiting for announcements. I was leaning towards Barge To Hell but didn't commit to either one and didn't participate in any way that year. 0/10 but my own fault. Rookie mistake #1
2014, my first 70K. After last years indecision I learned my lesson and didn't wait for announcements and just booked at first chance. My friend George was coerced into going by my wife because he was not sure if he wanted to be 'trapped on a cruise ship for 4 days'. We stayed at a hotel by the air port in Miami and didn't see anyone until boarding ( rookie mistake #2). Cruise was awesome, George had a great time and the event definitely changed my life. Had a hard time keeping track of the 40 bands and 80 shows and struggled to rate things and keep track of what we wanted to see (This cruise needs an App!). Having the pool deck get raining out by a raging storm added to the logistical challenges, but this experience had me hooked. Stand outs sets for me were: The Haunted, Haggard, Fintroll, Death. Exploring Mayan ruins with metal heads who didn't always listen to the guide's rules (nothing dangerous or messed up, but we did annoy the guy a bit) was awesome as well. 10/10
2015 George and I were going back. No hesitation, no BS! This time I knew there was a pre-party at the Riptide and we were going to stay near the action. George and I invited our friend Alex to join us this year. We were at the party the evening before the cruise, but missed the beach picture because...rookie mistake #3. We landed and went to get food near the Rip Tide. On entering a nearby restaurant we were seated next to a large contigent of Aussie's who insisted we join them at their table (because Aussie's are awesome like that) We all had a great time and I had a beta version of my app for iOS that had push notifications for announcements. I think only like 6 people had it that year...if that many. Sitting at dinner with the Aussie's is when I got the alert that Wintersun was playing the cruise! That was a really special moment because I had just gotten into them by chance a few months earlier, also the notification system was still new and untrusted and I wasn't expecting announcements, much less my app buzzing the day before cruise. The cruise was really awesome, I got to know my cruise family soooo much better that year. Stand outs sets for me were: Alestorm, Annihilator, Arch Enemy, Municipal Waste, Origin (first pillow fight mosh pit), Trollfest, and Wintersun! 10/10
2016 was an interesting year. In Oct/Nov I had spent 3 weeks in the hospital with pancreatitis that lead to sepsis with some ICU psychosis thrown in along with the associated memory loss of a lot of those 3 weeks. I got out the hospital in time for my birthday on 11/13, but was down 40 pounds of my already not very large frame. That being said, I was not going to miss out on 70K and worked hard to get healthy and recover before sail. This year the party was myself, George, my daughter Jodi and my her boyfriend at the time Louie, who is now the bassist in my band Absolute Darkness. I had been working all year on the app and had a full version, including the schedule feature for iOS and a more basic Android version. I had a few talks with various people at UMC about the schedule feature, as they had been typically releasing the schedule the morning of sail, and this would give me no time for data entry. I wanted them to release the schedule sooner and partner with me on the app, but after internal discussions they rejected any cooperation. They said they had no objection to what I was doing, but could not help. They promised nothing and I crossed my fingers that I would be able to deliver the promised schedule to the app. Ultimately UMC released the schedule to everyone 2 or 3 days before sail and they have released the schedule with enough time for my activities every year since. This year I was fully on board with the pre-parties and was there for 2 of the 3 days and finally made the beach party group photo! Also my ex-band mates from Impaled were on the boat as Ghoul. Since they were a last min add they needed help getting merch on the ship so I brought 2 extra suite cases with their merch inside. Stand outs sets for me were: At The Gates, Fleshgod Apocalypse (discovered them when they were announced and are now a favorite), my friends in Ghoul!, Nervosa, and Koi K Utho. If you havn't noticed a pattern 10/10
2017 George and I were back again and invited our friend Marcus to join us. This was the first year with full and feature matching versions of both the iOS and Android apps. I 'think' this was the year that Aaron starting providing his excellent default band notes into the app. This was also my first year staying at the Clevelander in Miami! George and I were now seasoned vets and this was another great year. Standout sets were: Allegaeon, Annihilator, Anthrax, Arch Enemy, Mors Principium Est (now a favorite, but unknown to me when announced), Revocation, Suffocation, Testament, Trollfest, and Unleashed! 10/10
2018 For the first time George said he needed a break and wanted to do other things, but I was undeterred. I bought my typically balcony cabin at first chance and figured I would sort out the roommate thing later. After hitting up a few friends and many balking at the cost I went about recruiting a cabin-mate. Nathan that year was the one who stepped up, and it worked out well. Mat from Exhumed was onboard and we had been friends since my days in Impaled so it was awesome to have a chance to hang out with him. I was back at the Clevelander and did the Kayaking with Dorthy for the first time. The app was a staple of the cruise by this time and was just on the annual improvements cycle. Standout sets were: Alestorm, Beyond Creation, Cannibal Corpse, Exhumed, Exodus, Gyze, and Obscura. 10/10
2019 and was back to recruiting a new roommate. George was still a pass, and Nathan could not afford to go, so back to the recruitment bandwagon we go. This time Ben stepped up! and was another excellent travel and cruise partner. On board I got to meet and hang out with Trey Xavierr and Alex Naslala from Gear Gods! Standout sets were: Blood Bath, Carnation, Exmortus, Fleshgod Apocalypse, God Dethroned, Mors Principium Est (As the first show, this was awesome!), Perpetual Warfare, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Warbringer 10/10
2020 and George had some job changes so was out again (He will be back at some point folks I promise!) and after some back and forth it was Ben and I rooming again. Worked with a designer for a major UI rework of the app this year, which I had been meaning to do for some time, but Robert Jan de Vries was the first to stepped up and deliver! Having Vio-lence on board was also very special and getting to meet and hangout multiple times on the ship with both Sean Killian and Phil Demmel was very special. Not only did I re-connect this year with Trey Xavierr and Alex Naslala from Gear Gods, but also got to meet and hangout with Glenn Fricker from Spectre Sound. Standout sets were: At The Gates, Exodus, Origin (Pillow Fight Mosh Pit Round II, Bigger, better, and this time with a mattress!), Possessed, Suffocation, Vio-lence, and Wintersun! 10/10
See you on board in 2021!
Survivor- 2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2023,2024,See_you_in_2025
Absolute_Darkness-Death/Thrash_Band_I_am_the_Singer/Guitarist_for
- FacebookPage-https://www.facebook.com/BandAbsoluteDarkness
Thud_Bukit-Death/Comedy_Band_I_am_the_Singer/Guitarist/Drummer/Bassist_for
- FacebookPage-https://www.facebook.com/Thud-Bukit-100960638505481
70k Bands - Unofficial iPhone/Android_app_of_the_70,000_tons_cruise
WishList- Old_Man's_Child-/-Battle_Cross-/-Impaled-/-Dismember-/-Amon_Amarth-/-Dethklok-/-Gruesome-/-Rotten_Sound-/-As_Blood_Runs_Black-/-Through_The_Eyes_Of_The_Dead-/-Testament-/