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Pirates in the Desert
Release Date: July 16, 2010
Danby Castle, England
Somewhere out in the desert along California Route 62, hidden among the ancient granite boulders of Joshua Tree, lies the hideout of a musickal band of... pirates. At first, it may seem odd to find California's premiere pirate jam band, There Be Pirates!, so far from the salt sea, but the adventurous story of how these hearty buccaneers found themselves "on the beach" in the desert is recounted in the title song of the band's new album, "Pirates in the Desert."
There Be Pirates!' debut album, 2008's "Drink & the Devil," was well reviewed by the piratical press, and has sold internationally (see below for reviews). The album led to the band's first UK tour in 2009, where they headlined at the 10th anniversary Sea Fest in Scarborough, and enjoyed a weekend at the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool, among other dates, including the Captain Cook in Staithes (the good captain's hometown). The band returned home to California and packed the Jules Verne-ish Observation Lounge of the Queen Mary to launch the Pyrate Daze festival during International Talk Like a Pirate Day celebrations. Since then, they have been holed up, hard at work, determined to finish "Pirates in the Desert."
While "Drink & the Devil" was composed of traditional sea music, and the Young Ewing Allison "Treasure Island"-inspired classic, "Derelict" (you may know it by the chorus of "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum"), a There Be Pirates! favorite, "Pirates in the Desert" brings more of this swashbuckling band's originals into play. There is still the traditional sea music arranged untraditionally, a reggae version of Bully in the Alley, for instance, but two traditional numbers have been added to, so as to include a female perspective, allowing Bosun Ellen more vocal opportunities. The traditional male version of "Blow the Man Down," done with a touch of NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana), is countered by the woman's perspective of the same encounter, while later on it is the woman who recounts what is traditionally a male story in a cabaret styled, "Doodle Let Me Go."
"I've been singing the traditional male versions of these sea songs as a shantyman for around two decades or so, and I noticed two things - one, that we have two lead singers, one of which happens to be a woman, and two, sailors in the days of sail were almost exclusively men, and therefore all of their songs were from a man's perspective," said Shanghai Brown, the group's captain, and a shantyman from the waters of the Puget Sound. "I thought it was about time that changed and the silent voices of the women of that era, who were popular subjects of sea songs, finally got to tell their stories."
The female piratical perspective really comes into its own though on a There Be Pirates!' original, "My 18 Pounder," where Bosun Ellen pours out her love for her big cannon, "long and black, shiny and mean." But the fun in this playful album doesn't stop there. Shanghai Brown and Bosun Ellen trade off on the lively original, "Swingin' from the Yardarm," and the title song of the album, "Pirates in the Desert," spins the rousing tale of how a crew of buccaneers set sail from Port Royal, Jamaica, in 1692, and wound up this week in Joshua Tree, California. The song boasts a hint of country at its core, a nod to the late great country rocker, Gram Parsons, who died of a drug overdose in Room 8 of the Joshua Tree Inn, and whose body was cremated nearby at Cap Rock in Joshua Tree National Park. With a touch of Bakersfield-style electric guitar provided tastefully by the band's bassist, Kerry Rose, "Pirates in the Desert" also proves to be politically timely, as Shanghai Brown sings through a list of contemporary and fantastical pirates, including, "There's pirates who sail for Exxon, Shell and BP too."
Indeed, there are.
"Pirates in the Desert" is full of unusual treats from the Spanish Main - and beyond, including the hypnotic original, written by Billy Bones Makuta, "Brot Up," the piratical undead original, "Sister Santa Fe," and "The Ballad of Kerry Rose," named after the band's bassist.
"Kerry's wife, Shelley, is a belly dancer, so he started dressing in more of a Middle Eastern-looking corsair style," explained Shanghai Brown. "It's even more fun because the corsairs lived in port cities of a desert land, and eventually, the Marines had to go kick their asses, an amazing story that will probably wind up in one of arrgghhh songs someday. Could it be coincidence that we live out in the desert with the largest Marine base in the world just down the road a bit? Maybe. But we came up with the song to explain just how Ibn al Kerry Rose's membership in the band came about. "
A hint: it involves a harem in Tripoli.
"Pirates in the Desert closes with the traditional pirate anthem, "The Ballad of Captain Kidd." However, this version is a long rocker where the piano work of Billy Bones Makuta is contrasted with screaming electric guitar work, once again provided by Kerry Rose, climaxing as Kidd's soul is released from his body into history. As the piano slowly subsides into sounds of the sea after about an hour of lively sailing with There Be Pirates!, you get the urge to go on board, sign the articles, and wonder what adventures and booty the next voyage will bring.
Release date: July 16, 2010.
International CD Release Party: Danby Castle, England, Friday, July 16, 2010
Rated "S" for some salty language and occasional adult references.
For review copies, high resolution photos, interviews, more information:
therebepiratesmail(at)yahoo.com, (760)820-1222.
There Be Pirates!
PO Box 2171
Joshua Tree, CA 92252, USA
www.therebepirates.net
www.myspace.com/therebepirates
Pirates in the Desert Track Listing:
Blow the Man Down
Traditional, additional lyrics: Shanghai Brown
Bully in the Alley
Traditional
Swingin' from the Yardarm
Lyrics: Shanghai Brown, Music: There Be Pirates!
My 18 Pounder
Lyrics: Shanghai Brown, Music: There Be Pirates!
Morrison's "Hempen" Jig
Traditional
Sister Santa Fe
Music & Lyrics: Long Tom Hegarty, Jim Landells, Sandee Gautiello
Doodle Let Me Go
Traditional, additional lyrics: Shanghai Brown
Sailin' with Boozoo
Billy Bones Makuta
Brot Up
Billy Bones Makuta
Kokopelli's Last Cruize
Billy Bones Makuta
Pirates in the Desert
Lyrics: Shanghai Brown, Music: There Be Pirates!
The Ballad of Kerry Rose
Lyrics: Shanghai Brown, Music: There Be Pirates!
Star of the County Down
Traditional, Arrangement: Francis Gaskin
The Ballad of Captain Kidd
Traditional, additional lyrics: Shanghai Brown
All arrangements: There Be Pirates! 2010
The Crew:
Shanghai Brown: Vocals, percussion, drums, harmonica
Billy Bones Makuta: Vocals, keyboards, accordion, melodica, bird flute, shaker, hand drum, triangle
Bosun Ellen Brenner Makuta: Vocals, flute, percussion
Ibn al kerry Rose: Bass, guitar, vocals
Long Tom Hegarty: Guitar, vocals
Scurvy Sam Sloneker: Congas
Midshipman Matthew Juillet: Drums
Fiddler Francis Gaskin: Fiddle, of course
Dastardly Dave Brice: Drums, hand drums
Joe Ross: Banjo, mandolin
Thomas Alban: Didgeridoo
Blowin' Bill Church: Trumpets, flugelhorn
Recorded on the best technology of the 17th Century
at Downwind Studios & Reallyshooo Rainbow Ranch, Desert Hot Springs
Produced by: Tom Hegarty, Billy Makuta, Kerry Rose, & Shanghai Brown
Mastered by: Billy Makuta
CD design concept & photography: Bruce Miller
Graphic design: Dave Eckenberg, Tumbleweed Photos
Costuming: Lauren McGowan (Lobbie Lou's), Red's Renaissance Wear
Reviews for "Drink & the Devil," 2008:
"Sitting here listening to it at work and I love it. Makes me want to find a cutlass and help with the cost cutting and layoffs! This will definitely make my play list."
Kendra, Pirate Master
Drink & the Devil review by No Quarter Given pirate magazine
Drink and the Devil
By There Be Pirates
Do you love the old shanties, but are ready to hear a fresh take on them? Then set yer spyglass on "Drink & the Devil" by the jam band There Be Pirates. Each track from them is a new adventure as they vary their sound and style. These lads and lass are well steeped in the traditional shanties, Celtic music, and tavern songs, but they often don’t stick with the traditional renditions. They chew them up, and spit them back up again in forms new and delicious, full of rowdy energy and new life. They renovate shanties and old songs into blues, boozy jazz, gypsy music, belly dance beats, and even latin rhythms. Great pirate party music.
Rough & gruff as a tar of old, lead male vocalist Shanghai Brown comes by it honest (if a pirate can claim such) having spent time in the Pacific Northwest waters as a shantyman. Female cabaret vocalist Bosun Ellen adds new dimensions. They are backed up by a crew of scurvy musicians on a variety of traditional instruments, including rapid-fire fiddle from Francis Gaskin.
In their "slightly re-written" version of "High Barbary" of course the pirates win. Next, just try & sit still and not polka to "New York Gals".
With just the fiddle and "at sea" sound effects, "Banshee’s Whale Solo" is beautiful and haunting. Solo fiddle is featured again later in "Fiddle Aire", haunting and devilish, with the echoes of the waves beating on a cliff shore in some Celtic landscape.
"South Australia" is done in a conga style. It carries on for over seven hypnotic minutes, but if you are truly dancing in a conga line, that’s what you want. … plenty of time to haul everyone at the party into the line.
Paddy Lay Back is sung a capella, very traditional sounding. It's followed by the oh so sad & melancholy sounding "Leaving of Liverpool".
"All for me Grog" has a rinky-dink hodge-podge accompaniment (mostly harmonica and tinwhistle), sounding as if they are well into their tankards. The loud and raucous "The Bonnie Ship the Diamond" follows up. Next is the primitive beat of "Sugar in the Hold", starting out a capella, then adding just the body-rocking percussion, eventually with a didgeridoo droning in too.
For "Derelict" settle back and let yourself fall under the spell of the most unusual rendition of the "Yo ho ho and a Bottle of Rum" song I’ve heard. Imagine yourself in a smoky haze-filled tavern, reeking of fermentation. Performed in a boozy drunkenness, this is the gem of the album, almost 11 minutes long, with lots of dizzying fiddle rifts.
Slow and bluesy, in "Haul Away Joe" the crusty old sailor is accompanied by the creaking of the ship, the whistling wind, the lapping of the waves, and just the bass plucking out a droning harmony at first. Half way through other instruments join in one by one, still thin and light. It is very hypnotic, and lulling. Not recommended for driving to.
Many a time I’ve been on hand to watch as There Be Pirates got a tavern full of pirates to dance, sing, shout, & conga all night long. If you can catch them in person, by all means do so. Meanwhile, take 'em home or to yer next pirate party with their CD. With a total recording time of 69 minutes, you certainly get yer money’s worth of music.
- Jamaica Rose
Bilgemunkey Pirate Radio's Review:
4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Pirate Folk.
Rating: PG
Target Audience: Pirate music fans, particularly those who would enjoy traditional shanties with some extra "teeth"
Drink & the Devil, by There Be Pirates, is an album that begins absolutely perfectly. Storm-brewed winds are met with a steadily growing drum beat, and then a shanty-styled introductory male voice begins the opening lyrics to High Barbary. But then the song quickly launches into a charged mix of energized instrumentals and vocals. This is still High Barbary as you know it, but reenvisioned in such a way as to remain true to its roots, but fresh and virile.
High Barbary sets the stage for an album that’s comprised of familiar shanties and sea songs, but performed in such a way as to make them truly stand out from anything else out there. There are no losers in the bunch - this CD is a gem from stem to stern - but several songs do merit some additional attention. Banshee’s Whale is a touching fiddle scratching against an ocean surf accompaniment - a transitional track to be sure, but also perfectly atmospheric and a quality addition to the album. South Australia has a nice, almost whimsical feel about it as it combines a didgeridoo with the more traditional shanty instruments, while the harmonica utilized in All for me Grog lends an additional (and appropriate) hobo flavor to the song.
The Bonnie Ship the Diamond is as close to "rockin" as you can get without departing the traditional style entirely. This song starts strong and does’t wait for anyone, so try and keep up. The Derelict, on the other hand, is slow, somber, and in no hurry whatsoever. It’s truly the crown jewel of this album, being a 10 minute 44 second rendering of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, but done-so in a smokey lounge style. Dusky and gorgeous, with a mix of male and female vocals this is one of my favorite versions of this song.
I’ve not mentioned the albums other fine tracks, such as Haul Away Joe, Sugar in the Hold, Paddy Lay Back, New York Gals, and Fiddle Aire - each is fine, fine work, and easily worth a listen or two in themselves. The album then concludes with Banshee’s Whale (reprise), which is again a scratchy fiddle against an atmospheric background. It’s an appropriately gentle sendoff to an album that is certainly worthy of benchmark status in the Pirate-Core genre.
http://www.bilgemunky.com/2009/01/review-drink-the-devil/
Live:
"Pirate-Approved!!! These lads and lasses are well steeped in the traditional shanties, Celtic music, and tavern songs, but they certainly don’t stick with the traditional renditions. They chew them up, and spit them back up again in forms new and delicious, full of energy and new life. They renovate shanties and old songs into blues, rock, gypsy music, belly dance rhythms, and even conga dance music. At a recent St. Patrick’s Day Melee we attended they got a roomful of pirates to dance, sing, shout, and bounce along all night. A true musical adventure. THREE SKULLS UP!!!"
- Jamaica Rose, Editor, No Quarter Given magazine
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