STEIN: They came to mind, and then Vivian Girls. And we kind of thought, вЂњWho are potential headliners?вЂќ And when it comes to garage rock, I think itвЂ™s fair to say Black Lips are one of the top names out there right now. STEIN: For this year, we wanted to stick with younger, more garage-rock-type bands. NORRIS: Speaking of The Black Lips-how easy or not was it to get the bands to sign on? I think Carnival has the reputation of being a little more of a party cruise line. So they seem pretty open to the event, and it is a private event. But that said, Carnival did their research, and you can go on YouTube and see The Black Lips getting naked in India. ItвЂ™s just the first time I have worked with a company that is so hands-on. Like, initially we were calling it a вЂњboat,вЂќ and they have someone there who goes through the booking and makes sure everything is according to plan, and they had us go back and change everything from вЂњboatвЂќ to вЂњship.вЂќ So little, weird things like that. WeвЂ™ve had to be very PG-13 with a lot of our advertisements. Trying to ride a fine line of whatвЂ™s appropriate and what isnвЂ™t.

It is a giant corporation, so thereвЂ™s a lot of pretty strict guidelines we had to follow. STEIN: Yeah, theyвЂ™re nice people over there. NORRIS: What has been the biggest challenge about making the cruise happen? Has Carnival been easy to work with? And I just thought, вЂњMan, this would be so cool if a bunch of garage-rock bands were playing.вЂќ So the idea just kind of festered for a while, and the last year we were down in Miami and I was just looking at these cruise ships and I told Michelle, вЂњIвЂ™ve got this crazy idea, but I know it can be done.вЂќ So we just started talking about it, I got back to Nashville a few days later, called Carnival Cruise Lines, figured out the details and just went in head-first. I thought, вЂњItвЂ™s gonna be a bunch of old people and families and IвЂ™m not gonna like this.вЂќ But I had such a good time. But I went on a couple of them, and at first I think I was just prejudiced against cruises. And they did this thing вЂњVince NeilвЂ™s Motley CruiseвЂќ, and I had the opportunity to go on my first cruise. My dad is in the music business, he manages a few country artists, and he used to work with Vince Neil of Motley CrГјe. STEIN: IвЂ™ve had the idea for a few years. NORRIS: When and how did this idea come about? I can imagine this was something new for you? JOHN NORRIS: Congratulations on pulling this thing together. To get some idea of what weвЂ™re in for, we caught up with Stein on the phone recently, from Nashville. HeвЂ™s started his own label, Turbo Time, through which heвЂ™s released several Turbo Fruits singles, and heвЂ™s contemplating whether and when his band should look toward another album. When not taking meetings with corporate types, arranging backline for a dozen artists, arranging swag bags and much more, Stein has tended to his own career. ItвЂ™s called the Bruise Cruse, and the passenger manifest includes some of the more esteemed names from the worlds of garage, punk and indie pop-among them, The Black Lips, Vivian Girls, Surfer Blood, Strange Boys, Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, and Nashville rabble-rousers Turbo Fruits, whose guitarist and frontman Jonas Stein conceived of the whole shebang.ДЄlong with Michelle Cable of BrooklynвЂ™s Panache Booking, Stein has spent much of the past nine months organizing the event, which he says has taught him quite a few things. Reminiscent of early Walkmen or aspects of Cheap Trick, the Patrick Carney production favours the band's live crunch.JONAS STEIN (THIRD FROM LEFT) AND THE REST OF TURBO FRUITS.Д¬arnival Cruise LinesвЂ™ reputation as the party-friendliest of the oceangoing outfits will surely be tested come February 25, when the Carnival Inspiration sets sail from the Miami, with a guest list OF 400 folks for whom cutting loose is pretty much a way of life. The drummer produced a handful of tracks, steering new album 'No Control' to completion.Дue out on April 20th, Clash is able to premiere 'No Reason To Stay'. With finances running low, superfan Patrick Carney (of Black Keys fame) stepped in to offer assistance. Thus began a period of soul searching for Turbo Fruits, resulting in some of their best songwriting to date: bittersweet vignettes that seem to linger on the hour when the party is over and it's time to go home.

Torn and tattered acid punk with a heart of gold, the group began plotting their fourth album last year - but baulked at their label's suggestion to employ, y'know, professionals. Typical subject matter would include girls, hitting the road and frying their brains on illicit substances. Turbo Fruits have always been a party band.

Turbo fruits