Jambase Review

http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=7492

Glide Magazine Review

http://www.glidemagazine.com/1/reviews1058.html

"People are going to forever be talking about this Xingolati Groove Cruise. We want them to see the craziest, the freakiest, the funnest, the most out of control party on a boat that there could ever, ever been." Anybody who didn't come is going to think, damn, I wish I would have come on that thing."

Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips


"The Xingolati cruise was one of the best gigs I've ever played. The music was incredible with an eccletic mix of freaky bands and djs. The crowd was as califonia-cool as coachella fest but as fun and uninhibited as bonaroo.
I would definately do it again!!"

G. Love


"We had an experience of a lifetime aboard Xingolati...the power of collaboration, instigation, creation and mutaytion uplifted every single participant aboard, and this historic cruise will redefine the concert industry forever.

Mutaytor


Imagine a four day party,an eclectic line-up of non-stop music and 2,500 free spirits floating in the Pacific Ocean. That is
XINGOLATI---- it was just what I needed.

Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction


Congrats on successfully defining the next level of the "festival" experience. Many mahalos for allowing me to have a hand in helping you with some talent. I look forward to your next adventure.

Scott Galloway (Agent) - William Morris Agency


I've been passing along the postive reports to pretty much the whole industry this past week.

KROQ Los Angeles - Clear Channel Radio



Xingolati was the first event I’ve experienced that really bridged the gap between the male-dominated music-loving jamband community and the beautiful freaky performance art people of the Burning Man community. And what a coming together it was! The Everyone Orchestra performance onboard was the most colorful yet – and we can’t wait to do it again! Xingolati!!!

Matt Butler
Everyone Orchestra


“The Xingolati Groove Cruise advertised a blending of worlds, and that is exactly what transpired over the weekend. I have attended the country’s top music festivals and have yet to experience something as diverse as the line-up and fans that took part in this unique event. Guy Grand raised the bar for what should be the ideal musical experience.”

Sincerely,
Benjamin Ferguson (Perpetual Groove)


PROPS: Xingolati "Groove Cruise of the Pacific"
Wow what a weekend. Xingolati was one of those rare moments where the audience became a community became a family became a force to be wreckoned with. One of those rare parties where EVERYONE was in costume and no-one was sitting around looking on. The ratio of freaks to civillians went from 1:1 to 10:1 in the course of the first 8 hours - like a version of Burning Man where you didn't have to build your home or cook oyur own food. The promoters had the good sense to not just hire killer bands and DJ's but also performance artists who would entertain the eyes as well. And yes there were some musical performances to be remembered, including incredible sets by the Flaming Lips, G-Love (yes he WAS that good), the Mutaytor, and DJ Lorin. I got 5 of those sets myself, including two with Mutaytor (what a thrill) and one i nthe Rex nightclub that will soon be my next live mix release ("Rock the Boat" will be in-hand at all MoPo shows for you to pick up very soon)... So Props to Guy Grand and the bands, but more importantly, props tp the 2000 or so people who made this party truly rock.

Motion Potion


"i thought somebody spiked by iced tea because i had the biggest head rush of my life, but then i realized it was the motion of the ocean. I didn't get sick though, and the bass-waves balanced it out so i could moonwalk up the slip-n-slide."

Lorin (Bassnectar)


Words can not describe how amazing Xingolati was. I have never been to such a great fest... didnt even know there could be an event that good. My musical taste is totally jambands, and I did not think I would enjoy DJ's, as well as mainstream acts like G Love and Flaming Lips... man was I wrong. The Flaming fucking Lips are fucking amazing, and G Love was one of my favorites. Then there was the performance art, and small bands performing in the glass elevator, and naked girls in the jacuzzi, and everyone dressed up, and the fine dining, and the spa, and the carnival staff was so cool, and so on and so on. Wow, wow, wow! Nothing will ever compare... if it does it will be Xingolati, or someone trying to replicate it. Still buzing about it cause honestly it changed my life and all perspective on shit.

Love it!


Ahoy Xingolati Shipmates!

As a former Navy Surface Warfare Officer I spent 8 years in the
business of war at sea. As an entertainer I spent 10 years
entertaining at world parties in 30 countries. Xingolati proved to be
THE most delicious, beautifully-bizarre milkshake of everything that
is right-on in this world. Thank you for the opportunity to perform
with such an amazing collection of spirited shipmates. I cried when we pulled back in to port. This wasn't just another party. Xingolati is a life-altering experience and one that I will never forget.

Mikey Mike
balloon artist


Just wanted to give you a massive hug and a huge heap of thank yous for allowing Snerko to be a part of Xingolati. The experience surpassed my expectations on many levels - the music, the creativity, the energy, and more than anything - the people. Connected with a lot of folks on the trip I'll definitely be keeping in touch with. I feel newly inspired in my ways.

Snerko

SportsFan


Just wanted to write you and thank you so much for having us onboard. It was the greatest trip I have ever done. I ended up hooking up with the vegas sports bet machines and had many people go over there and do their thing. We also posted scores on large poster board and had people parade them around.
We became friends with The mutaytor people and partied with them for a night. what an incredible line-up of music you booked and we enjoyed particle and banyan to death. We had a notre dame usc watch and bet party going on for a few hours on saturday, and I was talking sports with people from all around the country, my ability to speak in their terms, I feel really added to a lot of peoples good time. We also had real good karma and were spreading it through out the ship. So as fun as we had we also brought something to the table for other people to enjoy.
Sports is art and I shared my vast knowledge with all who wanted to take part. I went to the info booth about the shuffle board thing but they did not know what was going on with that. It would have been at same time as notre dame and usc game where there was a huge viewing party going on. Anyway just wanted to thank you you were right it was the best money ever spent. I hope it went well for your production company and you have them yearly. I would like to stay on your companies email list about future events and hope to be invited back as much as possible to future xingolati trips, thanks for the time of my life.

Sincerely,
Derrick


Here is the run down for the Xingolati music cruise that Susan and I just took.

WOW - After having done Bonnaroo, JazzFest, Austin City Limits Music Festival - I can truly say that doing it on a cruise may have been the coolest, most comfortable, easiest way to take in a bunch of great music. Perhaps on of the best. Being on a boat makes it much more conducive to continually running into and hanging out with the new friends that you meet on the trip...and that was one of the coolest aspects, but the end you feel like you know so many people.

Billed as the "Groove Cruise of the Pacific" - I sort of thought and told people before I went that it was the "west coast Jam Cruise"...but that isn't quite accurate. I would call it a Floating Circus of Musical Freakery. They were really trying to push the artsy edge, and I think they got it right. Part Jam Band scene, Part Burning Man, and a dash of Coachella / San Diego surf skate/punk reggae (Slightly Stoopid and a some of their fans were there)....but mostly Jamband and Burning Man-ish. The promoters pushed the concept of it being a "fashion fabulous" event...so people really came out on fire in that sense...many of them in costumes or otherwise freaky attire 24/7 -- which really made it fun. There were themes each night (Formal, Animal, etc). Mix in all the jugglers, fire dancers, stilt-walkers, hoola-hoopers, merry pranksters, mini-spontaneous parades or jam sessions of not-booked acts but just people who brought their own instruments...and you can imagine the craziness.

For some of you who have been on a cruise before, some of this stuff is not new, but I hadn't been on one - and just that part alone was awesome. From the endless included grub and 24 hour room service, waiters coming to serve you drinks WHEREVER you are, multiple topless-Jacuzzis and pool with 120 ft killer water slide, clean room every day, to the Casino (didn't do so well), the Dance club (I was Danny Terrio), the Sushi joint, the 7 story inside Atrium, the ping-pong tables, nude sunbathing deck, shuffleboard, to the 4 main music venues...and you can imagine that a music-arts festival in this setting was amazing.

As far as the talent, we saw some great shows. To me, Tea Leaf Green was the best and proved once again that they are my new favorite band. G. Love and Special Sauce were super-fun on the Lido deck outside (this was actually a "Deck Party" with FREE drinks and food), G. Love also played in the Normandie lounge the night before...each artist played 2 times. MMWood was up and down, but did have incredibly funky moments with some great energy. Particle of course ripped its funktronic magic late into the evening. I knew nothing about the Flaming Lips before this cruise, but their show was surprisingly very fun. We only caught the latter part, but what I did see was fun...and included an artist who was creating a painting on the side of the stage as the band played. The Lips also hosted 2 other events, including a screening of their new movie (we didn't go). Other cool things included Wine Tasting with MMW, and Poker Tournament with many of the artists (which seemed to start too early for many people to make it) and a fruitless search for the Willy-Wonka-esque 6 GOLDEN TWINKIES that were hidden on board, granting you VIP ALL Access if you found one.

I was really pumped to see some great new music, and I am now a fan of Perpetual Groove, Olospo, Al Howard and the K23 Orchestra, and a few others. The Muytator, a band born in the Burning Man scene, was a circus of drum and bass trance-dance visually-pleasant activity...and included a very ornately decorated Chinese Dragon thing-a-ma-jing that was dancing around on stage. Finally, because it is a music festival -- there were of course many guest appearances, which always creates some special jamming. DJ Logic and DJ GreyBoy sitting in on many sets, Medeski ripping it up on the keys with Steven Molitz of Particle. Molitz sitting in on Tea Leaf's set with Trevor, G. Love guesting with Particle for Tupak's "California" which of course...knows how to party !!! ... and many other guest appearances. Good times indeed.

Our day in Ensenada, Baja Cali turned out to be quite a fun sojourn. we browsed some neat art made by local artians on fun shops, and finally ended up meeting some very cool people and partying in Hussongs.
Hussongs is the oldest bar on the west coast, complete with authentic Mariachis, Mexican beer and peanuts.
Amazingly the USC-Notre Dame game was on the TV and we were able to catch the 4th quarter. There is nothing like the feeling of stumbling around a Mexican town, really drunk, eating fish tacos, and witnessing (or participating in) people getting their asses whipped in public by costumed marauders.

Back on the boat, one of neat aspects was of course getting to be around all the artists. Meeting G. Love ("Hey, call me Garrett") was defeinetly a cool moment.
Pool parties into non-stop multiple shows going on simultaneously (including a professional comic doing stand-up), all within 2 minutes walking distance from each other...DOMINUS ! OH - I CANNOT forget to mention the Live CD's of each set for sale immediately after each show (not every show, but most)...that was rad. I also liked seeing our friend Melita's Kid-Kaleidoscope CD on sale in the merch area!

All in all - it was incredibly fun. One moment that many people talked about as being one of the best occurred late on the last night when hundreds of freaks gathered in the Atrium (7 floors of circular open space surrounding a piano bar down below - with everybody leaning out over the railing on each floor) for a massive drum and howling session. We actually missed that, but people kept talking about it. The cruise had very much a west coast vibe, but really there were people from all over. One of the nicest were the couple from London who came to the states to get married in Vegas, then found out about the cruise after seeing a poster in a record shop the DAY BEFORE the cruise...and decided to go on it for their part of their honeymoon. Or how about the not 1, not 2, but THREE marriage proposals that happened during the Flaming Lips set. We saw the lesbian one and it I must say it was fun to be a part of it. And I would be doing all of you a disservice if I didn't mention the staff -- who are from all over the world - working on the boat in many capacities. Seeing the naval officers and other staff rocking out at the shows and dance clubs when they werent working, and generally in awe of the whole scene, taking pictures, continually telling all of us, "This is the best cruise ever!"
One actually said to me, "We love you guys, the normal people are sooo boring...on Monday we are not going to let you go...but maybe for our health you should go."

My advice - GO NEXT YEAR !!

Xingolati's XingoGOTME !!

Chris


My, my....
I have to express my gratitude first and foremost to Guy Grand and all of the support of the organizers of Xingolati. One of my missions on the cruise was to have met you, and I am sorry that I didn't create that while there. Your sustainability practices and the consciousness that exists behind your creation are simply staggering and a blessing to all of us. Thank you for being that in this world.

I am a dancer with Lucent Dossier and the opportunity to come play was life changing for me. Amid all of you amazing performers and glittering and feathered tribal gods and goddesses, I was able to access a deeper place of performing. I pushed my fearlessness to it's limits. Thank you for creating a place where I could access that.

I was so excited to see some people who haven't experienced our culture before cracking wide open before my eyes. I was floored by how we were received in Ensenada...they loved us...our method of dressing and furthermore, how present we were, how we saw the locals and interacted with them moved them. I was told that repeatedly.

Thank you all, each one of you, for being there, for being a part of the magic. Literally every moment I was there I couldn't have imagined a better place to be on the planet.

Blessings,
Marsi


I'll second that!! Best party I've been to. Mahalos to Guy Grand, and all the performers,musicians, costumers and on and on....Give Thanks and Praise


As a long-time participant and observer of rock concerts, multi-day festivals, the jam band scene, and Burning Man cultures I can say with authority that the Xingolati team should serve as an example to all about how to get it right. I'll bet 95% of attendees had never been on a cruise before (me included) and I'm sure the Crew of the Paradise had never had a cruise like this. One officer told me they did not want it to end, so I asked the Captain if he could exercise his authority to keep the ship at sea for an extra day under the guise of a drill for disaster preparedness and homeland security. I would have loved to end this most incredible of experiences deploying the lifeboats and spreading the love through the sea - kind of like an anti-oil spill.


Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:40 am Post subject:

I am recovering, too, from a lost voice. I didn't think I was screaming that much, but I guess I was. I feel pretty safe saying that I had the best time of my life over the past few days. That ship was crammed with so much intense positive energy that one could not help but to be spiritually renewed and awakened. Fitting that the ship was called the "Paradise," perhaps. No one particular aspect created this environment, but rather the sum total of the contributions offered by each artist, performer, and participant. The kind of magic that can only be created instantaneously, existing right then and there because of the circumstances that have come together to foster its manifestation. Amazing music, amazing people, amazing vibe. I could go on and on, but you get the gist.

Speaking of quotes, one that stands out is Tye's response to an inquiry as to how he was feeling on Saturday morning: "Like men are doing construction in my head."


as for xingolati... got so much to say...INCREDIBLE trip. i'd say 1 of top 3 best times of my life...probably beating nola jazz fest. can't even explain it.. too much to describe... fucking surreal. wish you were there... you would've gone nuts. we all did. partied straight for 4 days. met so many great, attractive people...lots of really cool guys. hung out with one in particular who works for g. love... partied with him and g love. got so many pictures and some video. costumes, constant comedy, happy fun people, wackiness...the ship was crazy fantasy. the music was absurd. you would LOVE every artist that played. lots of new music that i'm now a huge fan of. slightly stupid, particle, everyone orchestra, dj logic, not to mention the headliners..flaming lips/g.love/MMW...all of the tunes were amazing. i mean, you would just walk from one venue to the next, inside, outside...loungey types, artsy types, bar scene, every kind of stage you can imagine, watching different bands jam the fuck out. cds of the music played is avail...you'll have to listen to some that i bought. you'll really really dig it. the other best part of it was not having to deal with any lines, no security/cops, no crowds, no cabs, no tickets, no cell phones, no cash, no tips. we each only spent $200 on booze the entire trip. the only transaction you ever had to make was using this card they gave you to get alcohol. it just made the whole experience so easy to move freely out and about and meet people, especially all the artists. sooo proud of mclarry for putting this thing on..what a great feat! everyone was talking so highly of the experience, he should have no problem charging more money next year. btw, he did end up selling out! phenomenal turn out. you HAVE to come next year. it'll be an annual thing...eventually bi-annual. crazy, right? much more to say in due time. still living the dream of xingolati!!!!!! how are you all?????? hope this finds you well

Xingolati was all that you say and more. By far the best party/festival I have ever been a part of. It really felt like I was at the event with 2000 of my closest friends. I will book up for next year as soon as it is available...
Posted by: Aston at October 19, 2005 05:47 PM


You can contact him at
nathaniel@icecreamman.com

Nate's Xingolati Review
My ears are ringing with the remnants of the best show of my life. My stomach still wrought with the tumult of the anxious waters of the Earth-Quaking Pacific. Still, after spending a day and half on land these symptoms stay with me and the rest of my comrades. But these are simply fruits of labor for the greatest party to ever go down in the Pacific, perhaps the Atlantic as well.

Only a scant few knew that the Ice Cream Man would cometh, slinging cream from poop deck to quarterdeck to fulldeck. Aboard this ship there were many an able bodied seaman and seawomen yearning for the deliverance of extra extraordinaire Mochi ball. This cream became the true golden Twinkie everyone had their eyes peeled for, yet everyone who panned for this gold received as much creamed booty as they could devour. A four-day three-night cruise, floating high seemed to be the only way to go. But, by no means was that the sole reason for this extravaganza. Instead it was a meeting ground for the eccentric and adventurous.

But first, let me make myself clear, I was never one for a cruise. I thought cruises to be debonair and extremely wasteful, but “This is going to be different,” as far as cruises go promised Matt, and “You are not going to want to miss this.” With those two slogans on replay in my head and thinking of what has come to fruition since are spirits collided on Craigslist this was an offer I couldn’t or shouldn’t refuse. I threw all caution and fears of a tsunami at sea to the wind and once again joined forces with the creamiest of all cream slingers Ice Cream Man.

Besides my fear of being lost at sea, I try to be as environmental as possible and I have worked for the PIRG’s, so you know I mean biznas. Looking at my past criteria for sustainability a cruise does not fit anywhere in the environmental movement, or so I thought.

In the Xingolati handbook there is a pledge of sustainability, but how much of it was pure window dressing, let’s hope not much. Xingolati promised to be different, and it seemed to be true. It after all was Xingolati, this magical word defined in the handbook as “a crossing of the line at the mid-point between two polar opposites.” And it does work, a CO2 emitting cruise and attempts at taking all of the negative environmental factors out and softening the blow of these energy guzzlers. What could be done to reverse this dilemma of pollution while still allowing us the ability to cruise? Seemingly these two were polar opposites but Xingolati has berthed the term sustainable into the cruise industry. Here’s how.

Who Is Guy Grand productions had the ability to work along with the cruise liner, Carnival, making sustainability a reality to us all. By using the help of Barry Durbrow, who has a PhD in “knowing how to approximate these kinds of things,” estimated that the amount of fossil fuels used while cruising at 500 metric tons of CO2. Xingolati worked to ensure that we would tread as lightly as possible on this earth with the help of Global Cooling Initiative and their tree planting efforts and Grupo Ecologista Antares, a non-profit out of Baja, Mexico, will receiving a 1% donation to improve man made reefs in the Cortez area.

GEA works on man-making reefs, which aids the growth of the beginnings of the intricate interactive food chain. The reef is home to many species of invertebrate such as barnacle, shellfish, and others and offers a protective shelter to many endangered species at risk of being over fished. This is a very important part of the ecosystem and any work towards it protection is intrinsic to the future of maintaining this phenomenon.

Planting trees is said to be one of the easiest ways of offsetting global warming, which we like, well I hope we like. Trees, via photosynthesis, take out CO2 from the air and reinvigorate the ecosystem with oxygen. The Xingolati pamphlet states that each tree will take out 50 pounds of CO2 every year. Guy Grand has committed to planting 512 trees in the most devastated areas of the world and by Guy’s estimate, by the time that I am 62, being 22 presently, the amount of CO2 used to cruise will be nullified by these precious 512 trees. Nice to know ya and go plant some trees while you are at it you treehuggers.

Tackling the issue immediately, Xingolati is in cahoots with Green Mountain Energy Company. GMEC is the largest retailer of cleaner energy nationwide and have donated renewable energy certificates (I am not sure to whom these certificates go but they must be going to someone…) using completely renewable wind energy. In doing so, emissions created by the lovely and amazing boat that we floated will be offset by halting as much energy it takes to power 98 cars for one year, and by their accounts an automobile driven 11,000 miles/year gives off its weight in CO2 yearly. Now, imagine if every cruise going out to sea mandated that it take at least one of these steps to reduce global-warming. Our world would be much healthier, perhaps much happier as well.

Since the environmental issues were laid to rest, all that was left to do was party. The people on the boat were truly lovely and amazing. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the nicest, kindest, sincerest, and most beautiful people I have ever encountered in my entire life.

Every time I turned a corner I bumped into strangers who became instant friends. No guards were blocking our abilities to relate to one another as people at the most sincerest level of human kindness. With everyone on nearly the same page it was not difficult to make new friends, it was more difficult to make enemies.

Meeting Trina saved the day. She is working hard to become one of the great folk singers of our time and I luckily had the chance to tour Ensenada with her. Mark, who I shared a 2/5 star dinner with, started a little well-known mag that used to have no cover but since has changed due to inflation. I had the chance to entertain some interesting art conversation about Dali with the most logical choice for a DJ around. I was awe stuck by the compassion of Callou, the designer who hails from Brazil now residing in the Bay Area. See you at Carnival. I met the adbusters who brought me Windows78 and the Unswooshed, black spotted, vegan boots to kick Phil’s ass with. Email Mark or Brian and ask them about the Vegetarian Entrée we all had a chance to taste. You don’t need the weather man to tell you which way the wind blows, but if you can’t tell which way the wind blows and are bored and have a cell phone you can check out the beautiful Athenia. Just go, oh you don’t have a cell phone, then you can’t see Athenia, but you wish you could.


Imagine, oh brave audience, how well all these great people and many more went with great music and a comedian. Everywhere I was inundated with sounds from the plethora of bands, DJ’s and makeshift orchestras seemingly springing from the magical hallways of Paradise. I didn’t even mention they had four Picassos on board. I just had thee scariest dream ever. I dreamed that everything was just a dream and there was no Xingolati, now that was scary.