The Jolly Rogers

The Jolly Rogers are a pirate-themed Renaissance folk group who perform at Renaissance faires in the Midwest United States. Their high-energy performances of traditional sea shanties, humorous songs and improvisational comedy skits are big crowd pleasers where ever they go. [ [http://www.chivalry.com/jollyrogers/C3Credits.htm The Jolly Rogers - Cutlass, Cannon and Curves Album Credits ] ] The band's music also makes regular appearances on Marc Gunn's Renaissance Festival Music Podcast, and came in 9th place for top music performers in the podcast's First Annual Renaissance Festival Performer Awards in 2005. [ [http://www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com/awards/performer_2005.shtml 1st Annual Renaissance Performer Awards] ]

Musical Style

The music of The Jolly Rogers is mostly carried by vocals, which in many songs are chorus pieces with some or all the members performing at one time for the duration of the song with an occasional solo (recurring or at single parts of the song). Many of their songs are accompanied by a guitar, especially at live performances, which keeps the rhythm of the song and adds more reinforcing rhythm to the song. On album recordings, the band at times has guest performers who play other instruments or play other instruments themselves, including a bodhran, flute, hammer, Bones (instrument), fiddle, violin, banjo, bass, accordion, drums and trumpet. The songs from the first two albums of the Jolly Rogers were based on historical shipfaring songs, especially those with pirates as a theme.

The Band

The Jolly Rogers is an all-male group consisting of five to six members. The current lineup is:
*Chris Berger, aka Kane (vocals)
*Sean Foree, aka "Bottomless" Pete Yar, The Pariah (guitar, mandola, vocals)
*Cliff Lawson, aka Devin Blackhook (vocals)
*Kurt Hanover, aka Blood Beard (vocals)
*Mark Stahl, aka Mayhem (guitar, vocals)

Former members:
*Clint Glidewell, aka Calico Jack (vocals) He left in 2003 to pursue a career in social work, and was replaced by Sean Foree.
*Brian Price, aka Captain Spitte (vocals) Former member of the Jolly Rogers, he left in 2004 as a member of the Army National Guard as part of a NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo. He officially resigned his position on May 22, 2006. Brian originally taught Chris Berger and Kurt Hanover their first sea shanties and was a member of The Jolly Rogers for several years.

Discography

The Jolly Rogers have released 10 albums, the first four of which are out of print.
*"Pirate's Gold", released in October 1997, consists mostly of historical sea shanties and a few original songs, all from the first four out-of-print albums.
*"Loose Cannons/Midnight Buffet", is a two-disk set first released in Sept 2000 which contains traditional songs, a few originals, and a few cover songs of contemporary songs. "Loose Cannons/Midnight Buffet" was re-released in February 2007 after being re-mixed and remastered.
**Disc 1 - "Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2007 title: "The More Looser Edition")
**Disc 2 - "Midnight Buffet" (2007 title: "The Have Some Pie Edition")
*"X Marks the Spot", released in October 2003, was the first album of entirely original pirate-themed songs written by members of The Jolly Rogers.
*"Cutlass, Cannon & Curves", their ninth album, is also a collection of all-original compositions. It was released in September 2005.
*"No Refunds", recorded live from a show in Kansas City.

Cover Songs and Tributes

* American rock band Jessica's Crime recorded a version of the Jolly Rogers' classic, "The Devil's Son", for their 1998 debut CD, Psychosemantic.

References

External links

* [http://www.chivalry.com/jollyrogers/ The Jolly Rogers at Chivalry.com] - CD playlists & release date information, instrument usage & some biographical information.
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JollyRogersfanClub/ The Official Jolly Rogers Fan Club] - Announcements, get togethers and other fun group stuff.
* [http://www.myspace.com/SingingPirates The Jolly Rogers] at MySpace
* [http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=KC+jolly+rogers&search=Search The Jolly Rogers Performances] on YouTube