The lucky fans that were able to attend this year's Monsters of Rock Cruise - which ran from March 16th - 20th, setting sail from Ft. Lauderdale before taking in such gorgeous tropical locales as Nassau and CocoCay - witnessed performances by countless renowned metal acts. But certainly one of the top standouts of the cruise was DIO DISCIPLES, comprised of members Mark Boals (vocals), Craig Goldy (guitar), Scott Warren (keyboards), Simon Wright (drums), Bjorn Englen (bass), and Oni Logan (vocals).

Wendy Dio comments: "We want to thank Larry Morand, Mike London, Harlan Hendrickson, Joe Wright, Billy Deavers and all the staff and WONDERFUL fans on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise! Dio Disciples put on an amazing show!"

In addition to a great set by the band, the RONNIE JAMES DIO Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund raised over $16,500 for cancer research, education and to help find a cure. Some of the events that raised funds for the charity on the ship were a live auction that featured a signed Tony Iommi Gibson guitar, ESP guitar, Schecter guitar, Dio memorabilia, memorial T-Shirts and wristbands, and a Ronnie James Dio Photo Book. Rock Star Bingo was a huge success that featured members of Dio Disciples, STRYPER, Y&T;, CINDERELLA and Eddie Trunk calling Bingo numbers, with 100% of the proceeds raised from these events going directly to the charity.

For more information visit DioCancerFund.org and the official Dio Disciples Facebook page.

Dave Reffett from Guitar World spoke with Craig Goldy recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Guitar World: How did the idea for the Dio's Disciples come about?

Goldy; "Ronnie was family to us, and he was family to me. When a main family member passes away, the family members left behind often a couple of times throughout the year, try to keep the loved one's memory alive. Ronnie was family to the whole world, so there was a long mourning and grieving process. During that time, there were a lot of tributes to Ronnie, with a lot of bands coming out, doing stuff. Some of them had good hearts and good intentions. Others had no business to do it and were just taking advantage of it. At one point, we were talking about it, saying, 'You know, we really should do something.' So Wendy, Simon Wright and I sat down and talked and said, 'OK, it's time.' We wanted to make sure it was done in the most respectful way; that's how it all started."

Guitar World: What do you think when people are not happy about these type of tributes?

Goldy; "I understand it, because Ronnie was so revered that there are going to be people who are apprehensive of what we’re doing. It's really not a for-profit thing. If people think it's a for-profit thing, I have no problem with them checking my bank account balance (laughs). I mean, we're barely squeaking by over our expenses. It’s very expensive to do this kind of thing. There is money involved, but money is not the priority. The priority is to make sure Ronnie's memory is kept alive. Even if we did nothing, he was so loved around the world that there are people who will always remember him, but if we just left alone and did nothing, these special moments with the band and the crowd would not have happened. So many people have come backstage to us and said, 'That was the greatest experience ever,' and that's what we say about this. It’s not really a concert, it's an experience. Ronnie and his music were so loved that it became such a huge part of people's lives. The songs we’re playing have been a huge part of people's lives for decades. It really means something to them."

Guitar World: What's the most important you learned from Ronnie?

Goldy; "There are so many, but a lot of it is first the music has to feel good. The groove has to be great because a lot of guitar players write for the riff first. The way he wrote songs was special too, because he really toiled. The law of hit songwriting is melody first, lyrics second. A lot of people don't do that, a lot of singers sit around with their notebooks filled with lyrics and they try to cram their lyrics into a song. So the two have already been sitting around collecting dust and they try to call it an original song. That's not the way you do it. You’ve got to start from scratch. He would really toil because it's hard to tell a story and hit people in the heart with the limited amount of syllables you have in a song. It’s not an easy task, but I watched him do that and I learned from him. There is going to be some original material coming out, and I have a song about Ronnie's passing and how the band feels and how the fans might feel, and it's coming out really good. When Wendy heard it, she said, 'Ronnie would be really proud of you.'"

Read more at Guitar World.