Start digging through those boxes in your attics and garages. Or, maybe you need only to open your second dresser drawer. Either way, it’s time to gather up all your classic concert t-shirts and decide which (or how many) are worthy to wear on the first day of the cruise! Should you take the ’85 “Round & Round” 3/4-sleeve that Pearcy signed? Or maybe that Van Halen 1984 flying eagle shirt? Hey what about the Stones at Candlestick in ’81? No one else will be wearing that one… Oh hell, pack them all! Just make sure you’re sporting your finest vintage rock and roll threads as you board the ship and rock out on our first day at sea!

MONDAY: Prom Night at ShipRocked High

You are cordially invited… to Prom Night at ShipRocked High!

Monday night on the ship is formal night, and we’re taking you back to the totally awesome 1980s for a night of enchancement and big hair. If you’re a ShipRocked passenger, you’re immediately booked for the prom – so start planning your formal attire now! What should you wear? Anything 80s, anything rocker! Big hair, crimped hair, mullet wigs (or your natural mullet, if you’re still rockin’ it!), tuxedo t-shirts, sky-blue bow ties and cummerbunds, poufy formal gowns with giant bows and pink, pink, pink!

Singles: need to find a date to prom? fear not… we’ve got you covered. We’ll be holding a unique singles event earlier that day, so you can find that special someone worthy of the corsage or boutonniere.

Don’t worry: a cruise photographer will be on hand to capture the memories forever. How else will you embarrass your kids once you return home?

Remember: bring your best 80s formal attire for Prom Night at ShipRocked High and prepare to party like it’s 1999.

THURSDAY: American Soldier Appreciation Day

ON YOUR FEET !!!

During our final day and night at sea, we encourage everyone onboard to honor the brave men and women of the United States Military, and pay special tribute to those who have so selflessly served and protected our country for generations, by donning some military green, camouflage garb, or simply by sporting your most patriotic red, white and blue!

Then… Do you wanna get your hands on some amazing rock and roll memorabilia? Like guitars signed by our performers, or a special ShipRocked Platinum Award plaque? Or how about a free trip for two and Cat-12 VIP Suite onboard the next ShipRocked cruise? Be sure to bring your credit card and raise that hand high as you bid on these unique offerings and more during a very special live charity auction, designed to help raise money for the National Military Family Association, the leading nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of military families.

(via Queensryche.com)

That quality is not as rare as one might think in the rock and roll community. As you go down the list of artists performing onboard ShipRocked, and when you eventually meet them in November, you’ll find that all of our bands share this same common thread. Would it surprise you to learn that it was a criterion for their selection to play on the cruise? OK well that, plus kick ass rock and roll.

Anyway, as if I needed to be further convinced, today I read the follwoing on Brave Words , which pretty much hammers the point home.

Virtually unheard of in the touring world, especially for a established act, ‘s stop in Atlantic City, NJ (May 16th) was just the sixth of 13 consecutive nights! While the band had been scheduled for a day off after Myrtle Beach, SC, both band and crew decided to do a special show at Fort Benning. Supporting American Soldier, an album that looks at the lives of American military men, in an honest, non-glamorous, non-Hollywood idealized way, the Seattle outfit got word of a troop deployment to Iraq/Afghanistan, shipping out Tuesday, May 19th. Therefore, the band and crew have decided to forego a day off to perform a one hour set (complete stage set up) for those departing combatants. For their efforts, the band will arrive via helicopter, touching down and taking the stage at the Georgia installation. It’s one thing to talk the talk, but Queensrÿche are walking the walk too, in terms of their respect for service men and women (who also get premium seating at Ryche shows).

It’s truly going to be an honor to work with them this fall!

The video for “If I Were King” was directed by J. Andrew Colletti and Jonathan Williams and addresses the same themes of loss and healing that are the focus of the track. The song was written based on an interview Tate conducted with Sean Lenahan, a veteran of U.S conflicts in Somalia and Kosovo.

“Military.com is the perfect place to premiere the ‘If I Were King’ video and we are proud to be involved with the site,” says Tate. “I hope their members can find a connection to the song and video. The whole album is a tribute to the soldiers, told in their own words, sometimes using their own voices, and I hope it will spark discussion within this community.”

“American Soldier” features a dozen songs inspired by numerous interviews with veterans conducted by Tate, who was intent on telling their story using their words. After speaking with soldiers who served in various conflicts – from World War II to Iraq – Tate turned their firsthand experiences from the frontlines into an unflinching musical examination of war from the soldier’s perspective.

(Via Queensryche.com)

Formed in 1969, the National Military Family Association is the leading nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of military families. Their 40 years of service and accomplishments have made them a trusted resource for families and the Nation’s leaders. As the only non profit organization that represents the families of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Association protects benefits vital to all families, including those of the deployed, wounded, and fallen.  For more information on the National Military Family Association, please visit www.nmfa.org.

If you haven’t already booked your cabin, we encourage you to do so soon! A few categories are sold out, and we’re down to only a handful of cabins remaining in several others. Reserving your cabin is simple! Just call (877) 855-5502, or book online.

“Mike Stone has decided he will not be touring with Queensryche this spring. We will miss him. He is a wonderful player and has contributed to our lives musically and spiritually. We wish him the best and hope to see him succeed in everything he chooses to participate in. He adds this statement:

“After much consideration, I will not be joining Queensryche on the 2009 American Soldier Tour. I feel now is the time to focus on other musical endeavors, including my new band Speed X with Nick Catanese of Black Label Society. I would like to thank all of the Queensryche fans around the world for being nothing less than amazing to me during my time with the band. You have treated me like gold, and I will never forget it. It has been an honor to be a part of the Queensryche family, and I wish Geoff, Michael, Scott and Eddie nothing but the very best.” – Mike Stone

If you wish to stay in touch with Mike and follow his musical projects go add the two Myspace pages below. I know he will appreciate hearing from you all!

www.myspace.com/mikestonezone
www.myspace.com/speedxband

ShipRocked certainly wishes Mike the best of luck with Speed X and everything else he’ll be working on… and we look forward to hearing who will be taking his place!

I gotta be honest, I had as much fun watching these as I did when I recalled listening to the Queen Of The Reich album for the first time!

Here is the full playlist, followed by an embedded version of one of my favorites…

Nightrider
Prophecy
Deliverance
Child Of Fire
En Force
Blinded
The Lady Wore Black
Warning
Take Hold Of The Flame
Queen Of The Reich

Album Available March 31 From Atco/Rhino; U.S. Tour To Begin April 16 In Seattle

LOS ANGELES – Queensrÿche envisions war through the eyes of a soldier with the band’s twelfth studio release, the epic concept album AMERICAN SOLDIER. The ambitious album encompasses a dozen songs inspired by numerous interviews with veterans conducted by Geoff Tate, the group’s singer and chief songwriter, who was intent on telling their story using their words. After speaking with soldiers who served in various conflicts-from World War II to Iraq-Tate turned their firsthand experiences from the frontlines into an unflinching musical examination of the life of a solider and the consequences of war. AMERICAN SOLDIER will be available from Atco/Rhino on March 31 for a suggested list price of $18.98 (CD) and $9.99 (digital).

Tate, Michael Wilton (guitar), Ed Jackson (bass) and Scott Rockenfield (drums) recorded the album in 2008 over the course of nine months. The idea for AMERICAN SOLDIER, Tate says, came from hearing stories from fans that are veterans, as well as his own father, who served in both Korea and Vietnam. “My father was a career military man, but until very recently he never spoke about what he went through. I think that reticence is true of a lot of veterans, which means most people never truly understand what it means to be a soldier at war. Hearing what he and some of our fans have endured made me want to share their stories with the world. This is an album about the soldiers, for the soldiers, as told by the soldiers themselves.”

Those stories resonate at the heart of AMERICAN SOLDIER, imbuing each song with vivid details about both the emotional and physical impacts of war, evoking war zone battles (“Middle Of Hell”), sacrifice (“The Killer”), loss (“If I Were King”), the longing for home (“Remember Me”), and adjusting to society after returning from war (“Man Down!”).

Tate recorded many of his interviews with the soldiers, and some dialogue from these discussions is mixed into several of tracks, allowing the soldiers’ own words to help tell their compelling stories. The band also brought a few of the soldiers into the studio with them to record vocals. The verses of the track “Unafraid” feature the voices of Chris Devine, a Vietnam veteran, and Sean Lenahan, a veteran of Somalia, recalling their war experiences while Tate provides the anthemic chorus. Also making a guest vocal appearance is Tate’s 10-year-old daughter Emily on the gripping duet “Home Again,” which examines the emotional toll of war from two perspectives, with Geoff singing from the soldier’s point of view and his daughter singing from the viewpoint of the child left behind.

Making the album, Tate says, was an enlightening process. “I was surprised to learn how little has changed through the generations. I spoke with a Vietnam vet whose experience wasn’t all that different from a soldier who fought in Somalia almost 30 years later. But what surprised me the most was how antiwar most soldiers are. To me, that makes their sacrifices even more moving.”

Soon after the release of AMERICAN SOLDIER, Queensrÿche will launch an extensive spring tour of the U.S., with international dates to follow later in 2009. The shows will be presented in three suites, with the band performing sets from AMERICAN SOLDIER, Rage For Order, and Empire. The first date of the tour will be April 16 at Snoqualmie Casino in the band’s hometown of Seattle.

AMERICAN SOLDIER
Track Listing

1. “Sliver”
2. “Unafraid”
3. “Hundred Mile Stare”
4. “At 30,000 ft.”
5. “A Dead Man’s Words”
6. “The Killer”
7. “Middle Of Hell”
8. “If I Were King”
9. “Man Down!”
10. “Remember Me”
11. “Home Again”
12. “The Voice”

(More at BraveWords.com)

The tour dates are as follows:

April 
16 – Snoqualmie Casino – Seattle, WA
17 – Snoqualmie Casino – Seattle, WA
18 – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR
19 – Senator Theater – Chico, CA
22 – House of Blues – Anaheim, CA
23 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA
24 – House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA
25 – House of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
26 – The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT
28 – Paramount – Denver, CO
29 – Voodoo Lounge – Kansas City, MO
30 – Potawatomi – Milwaukee , WI

May 
1 – Potawatomi – Milwaukee, WI
3 – Northern Lights – Walker, MN
5 – Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI
6 – House of Blues – Cleveland, OH
7 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
8 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
10 – Palace Theater – Pittsburgh, PA
12 – Turning Stone Casino – Verona, NY
13 – Palace Theatre – Stamford, CT
14 – Starland Ballroom – Sayerville, NJ
15 – Nokia Theater – New York, NY
16 – Showboat – Atlantic City, NJ
17 – House of Blues – Myrtle Beach, SC
19 – Ruth Eckerd – Tampa, FL
20 – House of Blues – Lake Buena Vista, FL
21 – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
22 – House of Blues – Houston, TX
23 – Hemisfair Park – San Antonio, TX
24 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX

American Soldier finds Queensrÿche once again tackling some heavy subject matter, this time focusing on telling the story of war from a firsthand perspective. Singer and chief songwriter Geoff Tate has spent the last few years conducting extensive interviews with veterans and has crafted their thoughts into this epic tale. American Soldier examines American wars from World War II through Iraq from the viewpoint of those in the trenches and on the frontlines.

“Queensrÿche has always had incredible support from members of the Armed Services,” says Tate. “It seems like after every show, I’d end up speaking with a fan that was or had been involved with the military. The more and more I began to hear their accounts and feelings, the more I really felt a conviction to tell their story. Over the last two years, I’ve conducted dozens of one-on-one interviews with veterans of many different American wars. I listened to their amazing and moving recounts and did my best to examine war through their eyes.”

Courtesy of: Brave Words