August, 2008
The Captain is out of comission for what may be a year and a half! His back operation failed and will have to be redone and more metal added! Please read our blog for the sorry details.
Fall, '07
Well, we be back from two grand weekends as Escondido! Many thanks for all the good wishes from our fellow pirates! The captain will be havin' his operation early December and will be resting on his backside instead of writhing on it! Stay tuned for updates. We'll be gone from the stages for a few months but will we'll return stronger and straighter than ever!
We entertained at the Ojai Pirate Festival the last weekend of September, and had a grand reception with all best wishes to Mallory on his new adventure in his "out back." This will be (along with Escondido in late October) the last two faires we will be playing until the Captain can have the cannon ball removed from his nether regions.
For more about that, and our new project introduced at Ojai to massive piratical acclaim, huzzahs and hoots, PiRATE PRiMiTiVE, click on the well adorned skull below!
NEW SONG, A WORK IN PROGRESS, ON OUR SISTER SHIP, MySpace Skeleton Crew Pirate Band. It's Sir Henry Morgan tooting his own horn with "Sir Henry's Huzzah." You can hear it and also read the lyrics (in our Blog). It's based on the old tune "Bonnie Dundee."
Janna McCall aka Mac the Wife models her new pirate/hippy/marching band coat.
THE ULTIMATE FAN EVENT - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Mal de Mer and Mac the Wife had a rousing time at the Disney POTC event at the grand old El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. After some impromptu entertaining the crowd and media in front of the theatre, we all went inside for a swell show featuring cameos from the cursed monkey, the dog with the keys and...Orlando Bloom. Several cast members from the film who are active in the local pirate community were also in the audience. Then we all got to see, once again, POTC 1 on the big screen! Cheers were heard thoughout when a familiar face appeared! What a wonderful film! To us, at least, the best pirate adventure around! And, to top it all off, we were the first "public" to see the trailer for POTC 3. Twice! Tantalizing! Thanks Disney!
And thanks to Disney for havin' us play outside the theatre on opening day! Major league hoot!
Ay there! 'Tis no longer the "Holiday Season" per se!
But as we be too lazy to change all the links, we're now counting St. Paddy's Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Mac's birthday and our personal favorite, Hallowe'en! So, it be the time fer ya to be gettin' those special treasures fer yer mates--and fer yerself! Now, no proper pirate can be without out our CD "Kings of the Sea." And ya can be doin' all yer shoppin' in one step by clicking on the sign below! Jus' don't be forgetin' anyone! Ya better be makin' a list, check it...well, ya know what we mean!
"Kings" be $15 each with a special of three fer only $40. Now, that be fyne booty, indeed! And we pay the packet boat, so that's all ya pay. Jus' tell us how many ya want, and we'll send 'em via speedy Albatross Express.
Cheers! The Skeleton Crew Pirate Band
MALLORY (vocals and faux cannon) & (Janna) McCALL (vintage pump reed organ, keyboards, backup vocals, ukes, autoharp, the Janus Company Synthony Orchestra), better known as "Captain Mal de Mer" and "Mac the Wife" when in Pirate drag.
Bos'n's Mate Dennis "Black Patch" Patterson adds whistles, guitars, vocals and leads the crowd with his infectious enthusiasm.
Chief Gunner Dennis "Cannonball" Gilmore contributes bass, guitars and other exotic strings, vocals, synthesizer and cannon. "Cannonball" is producing our recordings "And Then We Wrote...and Re-Wrote" and "Kings of the Sea."
A small handful of "Mallory & McCall's Rough Draft Sampler" are still available through our web site www.MalloryandMcCall.com.
You can click on the band members to get a bigger, although probably not better, look at these fine pirate musicians.
Cick on the upper right corner to close the enlarged photos. Beware if you don't, or the Captain will just get bigger and bigger and badder and badder!
MALLORY - Capt. Barfolomew Mal de Mer
WARNING! When clicked, objects on screen may be closer than they appear!
JANNA - Mac the Wife
DENNIS PATTERSON - Black Patch
DENNIS GILMORE - Cannonball
YOU CAN BUY IT NOW!
IT'S HERE! FINALLY! THE SKELETON CREW PIRATE BAND'S NEW ALBUM, KINGS OF THE SEA IS NOW ON SALE! OVER 72 MINUTES LONG, THIS ALL-PIRATE ECLECTIC MIX HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. THANKS TO THE INCREDIBLE EFFORTS AND REMARKABLE PERSEVERANCE OF DENNIS "CANNONBALL" GILMORE WHO ENGINEERED AND PRODUCED THE CD, OUR DEBUT ALBUM (AFTER ONLY 30+ SHORT YEARS OF MALLORY & McCALL PERFORMING TOGETHER), IS UNLIKE ANY PIRATE ALBUM YOU WILL EVERY HEAR.
ENJOY NEW ADAPTATIONS OF OLD FAVORITES, PLUS ALL ORIGINAL MATERIAL. ALL THE SKELETON CREW PIRATE BAND REGULARS ARE HERE, PLUS GUEST PERFORMER CINDI QUALLS. "CANNONBALL" HAS TWO SOLOS HIS FANS, AND EVERYONE ELSE, WILL REALLY ENJOY. AND WATCH OUT FOR THE "DIRTY OL' BIRD." WE DARE YOU TO SING ALONG AT TEMPO (see the blog).
WE'RE PROUD OF THE RESULT AND THINK THAT IT IS EXCITING, FUNNY, SCARY AND DOWN-RIGHT PIRATICAL! ADVANCE ORDERS ARE BEING TAKEN NOW! CUTS ARE:
1. Prelude for Cannon and Steel - It's....
2. Shiver Me Timbers - "Muppet Treasure Island" - Some icky wicked things gonna happen!
3. Red Queen - Anne Bonney's tribute--
(presented here in celebration of the life of its composer, Leigh Ann Hussey)
4. Fishy Mermaid - What was she really up to?
5. Asleep in the Pirates' Deep - How low can a pirate go?
6. Pirate's Love Song - Cannonball Gilmore's interpretation of this traditional song of love and piracy.
7. Hard Tack - That's the wormy, rock-like "ship's biscuit" we pirates eat!
8. Professional Pirate - "Muppet Treasure Island" again - It's who we are!
9. Dirty Ol' Bird - An old lady gets the bird--the pirate's bird. (Words for this and some other songs supplied with CD)
10. Kings of the Sea - A new M&Mc original anthem to and for pirates everywhere.
11. Fireship - This pirate boarded the wrong vessel!
12. William Kidd - One bad dude!
13. Blood Red Flag - The pirate life in song, what else?
14. Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me) - The ride, only a lot shorter.
15. Pirate King - Gilbert & Sullivan's declaration of rulers... and straight edges...a...It's...oh, well. Mallory gets to be King for three minutes.
16. Ninety-Eight Not Out - a totally silly song from the singing of Sid Kipper, who gave us permission to sing it, possibly to be rid of it.
17. Down Among the Dead Men - Take a look under the table next time you are in a pub.
18. Henry Martin - Never send a youngster to do a man's job.
19. Mrs McGrath - Cannonball's powerful version of a wrenching ballad.
20. Bold Fighting Pirates (Spanish Ladies) - Something to rant about.
21. Derelict (Dead Man's Chest) - The classic, with a chilling new musical setting. ...and a bottle of rum!
You can get your copy from us direct via PayPal. It's $15 a copy, post paid. But save! See our special at the top of this column! Tell 'em ya want "Kings!"
..uot; border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /> This be a pix of the SCPB this Spring at the Gold Coast Faire in Escondido. (Another two weekend event starts the last weekend in October! See our Upcoming Shows.) With us is Cindi Qualls, who does a guest vocal spot on Yo Ho!
A cool addition: Where do you come from? Click on the map to chart our visitors.
"Just take one more bite fer ol' Mac, sweetie!"
Influences
The wonderful Skeleton Band below is from Madame Talbot's Victorian Lowbrow collection. Her work is all hand done and posters are available at a remarkably low price. Great for the holidays! Visit her and see more of her marvelously morbid and mirthfully creative work at www.MadameTalbot.com or on MySpace. Check our friends for a link.
About Kings of the Sea / Skeleton Crew Pirate Band
THIS PAGE IS ALWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION! COME AND VISIT US FROM TIME TO TIME AND SEE WHAT'S BEEN ADDED! Thanks, The Skeleton Crew Pirate Band Kings of the Sea
Also, look in at our home site: The Skeleton Crew Pirate Band
Can you believe it? After more than 30 years performing together (and marriage!) we finally have a recording! We'd given up on it ever happening, but thanks to Dennis Gilmore, and a lot of wonderful people who supported us, it's a reality. We've posted this MySpace site really as another place to share our music. Of course, we'd be delighted if you'd buy an album, but the big idea is to get our music out there. Thus a second "sight." Although there is a sales pitch here--we're not crazy!--this is really a Skeleton Crew Pirate Band II Space. Plugging the all pirate music CD is only a bit of it. Hopefully, you'll find something to download, or just stop in occasionally to see any new postings.
How did we get here, you ask? Well, after years of being an Irish duo, we got press-ganged into piracy in the early 90s by Mike Tolin and Dick and Condit Wixon, producers of the Gold Coast Pirate Festival on the beach at Ventura, California. What a hoot! There were land to sea battles, and a lot of swaggering and ARRing and all those good things one would expect. We were hooked. We still sing Irish gigs, of course, and a lot of other things, too, but we are now solidly pirate!
We kicked off the new CD with grand success at the Gold Coast Pirate Festival (yes, the same one, only now at a lake, not in the sand) the weekend of September 23. What a hoot for us to finally be able to say, yes! here's our new CD!
Thanks for stopping in at our new site. Visit again. Who knows what you'll find. We don't!
Mallory & McCall
Now for the sales pitch!
GET YER OWN COPY NOW! ONLY $15 FOR OVER 72 MINUTES OF SALTY SWASHBUCKLIN' PIRATE MUSIC. SHIPPIN' INCLUDED! Press the PayPal Button below and tell 'em ya be wantin' "Kings of the Sea," and how many. Yer "first on yer ship" copy will be mailed post haste! 'N' don't ferget ta get some extra copies fer Holiday and Birthday booty! Pirates be good fer the holidays!
ORDER NOW!
ABOUT THE SONGS:
THE RED QUEEN... Posted first is "The Red Queen," a salute to Anne Bonney (that's her on the Grenada stamp, holding on to her hat), who, with Mary Read, sailed with Calico Jack Rackham in the Caribbean. She and Read pretended to be men (sure...nobody noticed?), were caught and avoided being hanged because both were with child. There are many legends about these women, some fact, some wonderfully creative fancy. But that really doesn't much matter. What does, is that these women were true pirates! It is thought that Mary died in prison and that Anne was released to go...well, there are a lot of guesses about that!
Leigh Ann Hussey, composer of this rousing pirate song, recently died in a motorcycle crash. A true free spirit, a fine musician, mystic, pirate, Celt and much more, she lived a life that many might wish but few would dare. She is greatly missed. We are most grateful to her family for giving us permission to record her only pirate song.
WILLIAM KIDD Back again by unpopular demand, this mean bastard forced his way onto the site! Thanks to the uncanny engineering of Dennis "Cannonball" Gilmore, Mallory was able to make the old sinner live again--or almost live, as he seems to sing from beyond the grave. Thanks to Captain Kidd, for suggesting Mallory sing it!
KINGS OF THE SEA...
This is an anthem written by Mallory & McCall saluting the pirate life.
PROFESSIONAL PIRATE and SHIVER ME TIMBERS... JUST ADDED TO MYSPACE! These classics from Muppet Treasure Island are two of our favorites and we were pleased to gain the rights to record them from the good people at Mad Muppet Melodies (aka Disney). We hope you like our special versions! Shiver is featured on our brother site, Skeleton Crew Pirate band (see link above).
FISHY MERMAID...
Ah! The fantasy of the beautiful mermaid, as seen in the vintage art above! But seeing a mermaid meant death to a sailor--at least say some of the tales. Of course, should the poor sailor get a look at P.T. Barnum's well ballyed FeeGee Mermaid (in a flattering sketch below) he might be scared to death! Shriveled hoaxes of monkeys sewn to fish tails (real fish tales, perhaps) humbugged suckers for centuries. We wouldn't be too surprised to discover that sea-rovers make them up in their spare time--something of which they had quite a bit. Fishy Mermaid took a vacation from MySpace to make room for the Profession Pirate, so if you didn't meet her, you will want to get a copy of the CD! Or wait. She may well show up again!
DIRTY OL' BIRD...
There was a kindly old lady who adopted an orphaned bird. A pirate's bird. "He's big and he's green and he even talks mean!" to the tune of Irish Washerwoman! Check the Blog to see what he says.
ModernBard.org
Reviewed by Bob Brinkman
"Kings of the Sea"
Skeleton Crew Pirate Band
First there was Mallory & McCall, a duo who have been performing together for over twenty years. They became a fixture at many events throughout California and they developed quite a following. Always gracious, they invited performer after performer to share the stage with them. Thus was born the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band. The band has developed from a guest musician of the moment sort of an affair into a solid group featuring Patch Patterson and Dennis Gilmore (plus the guest musician of the moment).
That said, there are numerous pirate groups releasing music on a regular basis so one might wonder what makes this CD so special. The answer can only be found by listening to the album, and yes, this is certainly a special disc. Just listening to the opening assures the user that these aren't some kids playing at pirates, the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band is the real deal.
The album begins with a tribute to the days when Mallory & McCall were producing a weekly radio drama. The opening, "Prelude for Cannon and Steel" gives one a feeling of nostalgia for the days of the radio serial. That feeling of nostalgia for days gone by sets the album up well.
Most pirate albums these days suffer from the same taint, being too modern. The albums are often wonderful, but they still miss the true 'pirate' feel. This CD captures several styles, but all of them with an authentic pirate feel. Whether it is the steel drum music in "Fishy Mermaid" or the sweeping grandeur of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirate King", this disc just feels 'real'.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Mallory & McCall CD without a rich assortment of original music. "Kings of the Sea" harkens back to musicals of a century back, rich in both lyrical and musical content, this track certainly doesn't disappoint.
The album is also filled, thanks to the kindness of the people at Disney, with classic favorites that the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band is so well known for. "Shiver me Timbers", from Muppet Treasure Island is a real favorite. Not satisfied to record the song as is, the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band tacks on new verses (perhaps inspired by their time on the red carpet for the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) and the song stands out as a true joy.
The true highlight of the album though, is "the Derelict". The classic, and rather clunky, minor key tune discarded for an original arrangement that is still THE definitive version of this song. While this song was also released on Mallory & McCall's Rough Draft Sampler (reviewed here) this cut so far surpasses that original offering as to wipe all vestiges of the original version from the listener's mind.
The Rough Cut Sampler had a few technical issues, and one might wonder if this album might suffer from the same annoyances. No. Band member Dennis Gilmore did a wonderful job engineering and mixing this CD. There are no technical issues with this CD, the sound quality is sharp and crisp, and the sound levels are consistently rich and steady.
The CD is available from Mallory & McCall's website for $15 and is worth every penny. If you're an old salt or you've recently gone on the account...this is an album you can't afford to miss.
Bilgemunky
BILGEMUNKY of
Bligemunky Radio wrote in part:
The problem with period music is it sometimes leans towards the dry side. And while non-period music is often more fun, it generally clashes with any sort of authenticity (a problem at times, certainly.) But with their new album "Kings of the Sea," The Skeleton Crew Pirate Band manages to straddle that difficult line and create an album that's fun to listen to, while still lending itself to a period feel. I use the words "period feel" carefully, as not all of these songs are actually authentic. Many, in fact, are culled from a wide variety of movie favorites - Muppet Treasure Island, The Pirates of Penzance, Treasure Island, and Pirates of the Caribbean all lend tunes and lyrics to this album. But while the sources may be modern, the vocals and instruments throughout carry a traditional piratey air, only deviating a bit with some non-traditional vocal styles now and again. And indeed, many of the other songs truly are period (William Kidd, Pirate's Love Song, and Henry Martin, for example) although they too feature some artistic licence with styling (and more power to them!)
"Kings of the Sea" is a packed CD, boasting a full 72 minutes of pirate music. And between the aforementioned tracks and sources, coupled with Fishy Mermaid and Bold Fighting Pirates, the lion's share of the songs are certainly familiar territory for many fans of pirate music. In some cases that might lead to an album of "been there, heard that" types of songs, but The Skeleton Crew has a distinctive character which they inject into each and every song. The vocal styles are fun to the point of being nearly comical (I could easily picture Mallory and Janna McCall doing voices for cartoons or puppets - fitting when you consider that two of this album's tracks were originally sung by Muppets.) And as to the instrumentals, the band puts to use a brilliant mix of vintage pump organs, accordions, autoharps, and recorders and whistles that not only work well with the lyrics, but could practically carry an album by themselves.
* * *
All told, "Kings of the Sea" is a fine album. At times it sounds a bit kid-show, but at others it's bloody brilliant. And with a full 21 songs, it can afford to have a song here or there that doesn't ring as true as others. The winners far outweigh the losers, and are well-worth checking out!
(For the complete text of Bilgemunky's review including which songs he liked and which he didn't (Ooo!) visit his website: Bilgemunky.com and hear the great news about his new radio show Monday nights. Thanks, Bilge!)
PIRATES SAY:
"Ye be the best that ever was."
ChinFang
"The new CD is FANTASTIC."
Marooned
"Awsome Show..Huzzah on the new CD. We love it!!!
Breezus
"Aye be liken the tunes. Reminds me of me crews old sea shantys..." Poolay the Pirate
"...kick ass tunes!!! You guys are awesome."
Captain Skimp of the Swamp Donkey
"Really there is none more piratical than the likes of you two rogues [Mallory & McCall]!...damn great! Ahahahaarr"
Brace the Mainsail
"You guys are great. I like the music."
Captain Bluetooth
"Yer medly's have me addicted."
The Scallywag
"Fantastic!"
Mad Eye Mitch
"What an entertaining CD! Great group, great songs...Who could ask for more?"
Moonstruck
"The best CD of pirate music in a LONG LONG time. Forget that 'other' big pirate CD release, this is the one to get."
Captain B. Roberts
Last year our official Pirates Magazine's tattoo shop "Studio City Tattoo(Ye Olde Tattoo Shoppe) "Cap'n Slappy and Chumbuckets personal tattoo shop and home of Talderoy got beat by a TV LAND tattoo Shop to come in second to a TV show(And thanks to her for the great exposure to the tattoo industry that her show has given,I'm just saying). Let's show TV Land that pirates rule!!!!! Please click on the link and vote for Studio City Tattoo,it only takes a minute and will help them out alot. Thank you friends
I think u'll enjoy this one. It's pretty cool but also a little creepy too LOL. You'll need to follow these directions EXACTLY to get the proper results. Put the followwing into the address-bar of your web-browser. Type ur favorite number between 1 and 999 & then type a dot & then type your favorite color & then type a dot & then type one word that best describes your mood & then type a dot & then type the word retwistic & then type a dot & then type com & then click enter. Let me know how it turns out for you.
"Best Flatground Trick" Find or do your Best Trick on Flatground. 1 trick per video, get tech.... anyone can enter. ... and win complete skateboard. www. sk8dependent. com
* JANUARY 2008 Monthly Contest Winner: Dan Cameron from New Waterford, Nova Scotia, Canada. Check his footage on our site. ** New Team Rider in March... keep posted. :)
Thanks for including us on your friends list. I hope that you liked the songs!
As a Boston radio station said about our first album.........
“This isn't just the best damned drinking album of the year; it's the best damned CD to play before you go out drinking to pump yourself up album of the year”
I reckon it also goes for our live show. So come along one day, see if you can drink us under the table and dance us off of the stage!
Cheers (p.s. the second album is even better!! – some tracks on free download on Myspace )
Hey Kings of the Sea / Skeleton Crew Pirate Band, I just bought you as my PET! Click here to find out how much I think you're $$WORTH$$!
I didn't really buy you, but...I'm playing this fun pet game. I'd like to invite you, which is part of the game. It seems to be OK. I have a lot of friends playing it and we haven't seen any phishers yet...John
Bob
Online Now!
