A Few Moments with StarVista/Time Life Executive Producer Alan Rubens
Alan is responsible for programming the music and the experience of the Flower Power Cruise, and he brings more than 30 years’ experience in the music business to the task. He is a Vice President/Executive Producer at Time Life and formerly the President of Q Records, a division of QVC, the world’s largest home shopping channel. He joined Time Life in 2005 as Executive Producer responsible for developing new music and video collections and producing infomercials for Time Life. Later, he spearheaded the company’s very successful entrance into themed cruises, embracing The Malt Shop Memories Cruise, The Soul Train Cruise, The Country Music Cruise and now The Flower Power cruise.
A Philadelphia-area resident, Alan ran the Philadelphia Music Conference in the ‘90s, and he’s a founding member of the Philadelphia Music Alliance. He has guest lectured on marketing, publishing, licensing, record deals and entertainment industry practices at Temple University Law School, Villanova University Law School and West Chester University. Here, he shares his personal background in the Flower Power era, and how he approached the task of programming the music and all the surrounding events on the Flower Power Cruise.
We’re part of the generation that said we’d never go on a cruise. What makes the Flower Power cruise the kind of experience we’ll enjoy far more than we ever swore we would?
To those of us that lived that era, it was a very important part of our lives. We invite you re-live and re-experience that era. The cruise is the best way to be with like-minded people who were from that era. The community is just as important as the music. What we’ve found is that everybody bonds very quickly and very effortlessly. You’ll be there again, back in that era. We were the generation that was going to change the world, and music was a huge part of that. Now you can jump on-board a ship and be with other people who shared your experiences, maybe from a different perspective. But we all lived through it. You’ll share your memories and create a lot of new ones. And then there’s the music! It’s a wraparound experience.
What were you doing back in the Sixties when the Flower Power music was current?
I was enjoying all parts of that lifestyle. I’m from Philadelphia and there was a venue, the Electric Factory, which was our Fillmore. I went to all the shows I could. I participated in ways that I’ll talk about … and some I won’t! That era made me the great music fan I am. I felt so connected to it in every way.
If you had to pick a favorite single or album from that time, what would it be?
There’s SO many, but I guess I’d say the first Chicago album when they were CTA.
The Star Vista cruises are an off-shoot of Time Life Music. Do you think Time Life’s experience in marketing compilations to our generation helped you decide who to book?
So much! We’ve learned that some music and some artists stay with people, while other songs and other artists don’t. We always listen closely to comments from our customers, and we do detailed research for all our TV-marketed sets. That’s why we were so happy, for instance, to get Mickey Dolenz and Mike Nesmith’s son because the Monkees really forged a connection with their audience and I want our guests to re-live that connection. I’ve done many compilations for Time Life, and I brought all that experience into programming this cruise, both the music and the other activities. Obviously we couldn’t get the Beatles, but we felt it was very important to represent their music so I talked to Gary Jacobs, the creator of the massive Abbey Road on the River festival. He recommended three extremely talented tribute acts and we think they are close as you can get. We’re very excited to showcase them to a new audience on the cruise.
People who work for record companies very rarely get to see their customers enjoying the sets they’ve compiled or produced, but on the cruise you can see people enjoying themselves with something you’ve programmed. Is that gratifying to you?
So much more than you could possibly imagine! There’s a smile on my face from the moment we depart until we get back because I see the joy on our guests’ faces. It’s the best paycheck you could possibly have. For so many of us, it was a momentous era, and it’s a joy letting people re-live that time and share those memories.
You programmed Star Vista’s very successful Maltshop Memories cruise, targeted at those who were teenagers in the Fifties. What did you learn from that experience that you’ve applied to the Flower Power cruise?
The music of the Flower Power era, even more than the music of the late Fifties/early Sixties… our Maltshop Memories era, was more than just music. It meant a new vision. It spoke to our generation in a new way. Every song seemed to be about our lives. We kept that very much in mind in programming the music and the activities.
Do you welcome single people, or are you more geared to couples?
We’re very aware of life events like divorce or bereavement. They’ve affected so many of us first or second-hand. And we’re equally well aware that some people seek community while choosing to remain single. We’ve tried to accommodate everyone with Singles activities, bringing Singles together if they choose. We have single cabins, and we’ll mix and match if you want. Nobody should be shut out because they’re single, and we do our best to bring people together and not make anyone self-conscious. Married or single, we want you to have the best time of your life, and re-live the Sixties with others who were there.
We’ve become the most health-conscious generation in history. Tell us a little about the food and the exercise facilities.
We’re going out on the Celebrity Constellation. I would never put us on a ship sight-unseen so I cruised on the Constellation to check it out. I’m very health-conscious, try to eat right and work out, and I can tell you that there’s a fabulous gym that looks out from the front of the ship. An unbeatable view. There are exercise classes just for women in addition to all the regular gym activities. And the food is fabulous. I’m a guy who watches his diet. There’s a French restaurant, the Bistro on Five; an Italian restaurant, the Tuscan Grille; upscale dining in the Ocean Liners Restaurant; and a brand new restaurant with an eclectic menu called Luminae. To my mind, they’re as good as any others I’ve been in on land or sea. Hey, if you want to eat sixteen sundaes a day, we’ll accommodate you, but if you want fine food and great wine we have you covered there, too!
Will you let someone on board if they DON’T have a tie-dye t-shirt?
We’ll do better than that, we’ll give you one! One of our first events is a t-shirt party…and how great is THAT is February and March? There are some things from that era we WON’T give you, but you’ll get a t-shirt!