Matchbox Twenty & Goo Goo Dolls Ready to Set Sail on First Fan Cruise

InterviewDecember 5, 2013ABC News Radio

Let's hope that fans won't feel "Unwell," and that it'll be "Smooth" sailing on the first-ever Matchbox Twenty fan cruise, which leaves Miami this Friday on the Carnival Imagination, with the Goo Goo Dolls along for the ride.  But Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas is still a bit confused as to why, exactly, the band decided to set sail with thousands of their devoted fans for a three-day cruise.

"I was drinking and someone talked me into it.  That's the only thing that I can explain.  I don't know how that happened," laughs Rob to ABC News Radio.  After all, it's not like he's a cruise veteran, or a big fan of that kind of vacation. "No, no, I used to say that you couldn't pay me to go on a cruise," Rob jokes. "But apparently you can!"

The singer says he's got just one goal for the cruise, and it doesn't include pigging out at a midnight buffet or drinking non-stop. "I want it to be louder than the Kid Rock cruise," Rob laughs. "That's my only plan.  I just want it to be louder!"

As for the Goo Goo Dolls, lead singer Johnny Rzeznik says he has no idea what cruising's all about either. "I don't know if I've ever been on a boat except the Staten Island ferry," he tells ABC News Radio.  So why sign on for the trip?  "I said, 'How much we gettin' paid?'  And then they told me and I was like, 'Sounds like a great idea to me!'" he laughs.

That's not to say the cruise doesn't have its attractions.  For one thing, Johnny says he'll enjoy reuniting with the Matchbox Twenty guys -- the two groups toured together all summer and had "a great time," he says. "[They're] one of the last great, like, American rock and roll bands.  It's always good to play with people like that," he tells ABC News Radio.

And then, of course, there are all those intimate concerts that the two bands will be playing for the fans over those three days on board. "It's fun to get together with, like, a thousand people that you're gonna be very, very close with for about three days.  So, that's gonna be interesting," laughs Johnny. "I think I'm gonna spend a lot of time in my room reading!  But, y'know, I might go out and play a little shuffle board!"

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