As of June, 2005 - Dragonship is: Steven Forrest, guitar, vocals; Jodie Forrest, keyboard, and bass guitar; Rhiannon Jones, vocals, fiddle, percussion; and Scotty Young, drums, percussion, backup vocals.
Influences
Bill Janis of Big Helium productions sums it up this way, "Super boiling stupidly hot mexican peppers, various beatles, JRR Tolkien, and cats." That about nails it.
Sounds Like
Pop rock, a bit like Fleetwood Mac to whom many have compared Dragonship. Rhiannon's violin and delightful Welsh lilt add a an authentic Celtic feelings, although no one would describe the music as "Celtic," apart from its theme and lyrical content. The INDEPENDENT says Dragonship possesses, " . . . swirling, ethereal sounds, a marriage of Pink Floyd and The Moody Blues, with a Celtic twist."
Dragonship Sails Again! THE ELVES PROPHECY is a 90-minute rock opera set a thousand years ago in the collision zone between the Norse gods, Pagan Celts, and early Christianity. The INDEPENDENT describes Dragonship this way: " . . . swirling, ethereal sounds, a marriage of Pink Floyd and The Moody Blues, with a Celtic twist." As the story unfolds, Vikings, Elves, and a mad monk merrily fight for the soul of the human race, while Loki the Trickster shapeshifts the truth into a kaleidoscope of contradictory images.
The tale is based on the second novel in the "Rhymer and the Ravens" fantasy trilogy by Jodie Forrest . . . "whose wondrous tales just get better as her characters deepen, her sense of history intensifies, and her language sparkles like fine wine," according to Poppy Z. Brite, author of Lost Souls, Drawing Blood and The Crow: Lazurus Heart.
The music is composed by the internationally-acclaimed astrologer, Steven Forrest, whose work the musician Sting calls "as intelligent and cogent as it is poetic."
In addition to Steve and Jodie, Rhiannon Jones sings lead and plays violin and various percussion instruments. Her song, Ystradgynlais, was a big hit on the Welsh BBC in 03. She also fronts the band, Hwyl. Scotty Young, percussionist for the popular band Rootzie, plays the drums and gives fantastic massages.
Ten years ago, Dragonship played to SRO crowds, performing the opening salvo of the Rhymer trilogy, The Rhymer and The Ravens. In their final show, they turned away 150 people from the ArtCenter in Carrboro, NC. -- a big deal, locally! Now, Dragonship sails again.
DRAGONSHIPS CD The Elves Prophecy now available! See Amazon.com or CD Baby. Or check out www.sevenpawspress.com/rockopra.html for more details.
Dragonship rocks! I love that pagan, witchy vibe....spooky, yet hot-blooded.
Chapel Hill's best kept secret...Glad y'all are playing at the Cat's Cradle soon...Ruth and Joe from the famous Sawteeth McTweedy band will certainly be there....
