About
Capt’n. Black’s Sea Dogs are based out of Springfield Mo. and have been performing their unique Folk/Rock sound since 2008. The Dogs feature tight harmonies accompanied by numerous string instruments including, guitar, 12 string guitar, mandolin, violin, and stand up bass as well as various drums and whistles. This exciting group performs a diverse repertoire comprised of both original music and traditional songs of the sea. The Sea Dogs come from a wide variety of musical backgrounds and influences, including Celtic, Rock, Jazz, Native American, choral groups, and musical theater. Their first album debut in Oct. of 2008 and can be purchased at Borders,Target, K-Mart, Barnes & Nobles, Stick it in your ear and CDBaby.
If you want to know more about who we are, here are some brief summaries of our lives:
The Captain - He lives his life by a strict code of honor, strength, duty, and mercy. He is a fair captain, and his men have gained much coin by following where he leads. Being the elected King of Barataria he holds many ships under his command, however in the pub he must watch his purse and his life like everyone else and does so being a master with both pistol & cutlass. Captain Black is an old soul and late at night the crew have heard him in his quarters chanting songs like Dionysis. Rumors abound on full moon nights as to who or what might be in there with him. Some of the crew say he is blessed by Aphrodite, and yet others say he might be cursed by a dark witch. For one night each month the Captain locks himself in his quarters and howling is heard and though the crew know Jedi at times howls, that does not explain that there are more than one heard coming from his Quarters. The Shantyman tends to draw attention away from the noise, and the crew thinks he knows more than he puts on.
Eric Williams has played Captian Sir Francis Drake & Captain Black at several renaissance faires, he worked as the Entertainment Director for the White Hart Renaissance Faire in southern Missouri in 2008 and is the owner and executive producer of www.baratariafaire.com. Eric is also the CEO of Williams Wickersham Cannon a mid-western based full service marketing company. He has been a musician most of his life, including his first stage appearances busking for his mother in taverns and pubs as a young lad. He is delighted to be able to add his lead vocals, guitar & mandolin riffs and stage presence to the Sea Dogs.
The Shantyman - Roger Barnacle was born into a family of fishermen, and fell in love with the sea at an early age. However, he soon found that life aboard a ship was hard work. He also discovered that if he was the one calling out the Shanties, the rest of the men would do most of the work, and that suited him just fine. He is the Captain’s right hand man, and as such, tends to speak a little more freely around the Captain than he probably should.
Chuck Tinsley has played guitar for more than twenty years, and lately he has found himself acquiring a slew of new instruments, all of which he is attempting to include in the Sea Dogs shows. This is rather unfortunate, considering that it means that he is getting more and more bogged down with umpteen instruments which he has to carry from show to show…
Diego - A Cimarron Native from the new world, freed from slavery by Captain and crew. He is the backbone of the Sea Dogs, and plays the percussion. Diego is of most importance to the Captain as he speaks and interprets over 76 different native tongues.
John “2 Bears” Hernandez, an Apache in sooth, has played drums his whole life, playing at reservations and ceremonies across the nation. He is a drum maker and master story teller, a knife maker, a master archer, trap setter, and hunter that makes use of all his kills. He is known for so much there is not enough space to tell it all. To know John is to know Happiness.
Cookie – The ship’s cook. He’s a young lad ladies, and he cooks food fit for a Queen. Our last cook passed away under strange circumstances so Cookie picked up the slack. Cookie plays the bodhran and keeps the back up vocals going. He helps feed the crew and works hand and hand with the ships leech in watching that everyone’s in good health.
Thomas Brentlinger Thomas picked up the bodhran and started playing it on the first day he tried it like he had been playing it for years. He is a natural at picking things up and hopes to continue this by adding more things to the music of the Sea Dogs. Thomas has beautiful harmonies and adds them to our unique sound as a back up singer.
Sven Helgrim/ Sailor/Deckhand-Sven was born in Bergen, Norway, and left home to go to sea at an early age. However, being so young, he was naive and tricked into becoming a soldier instead. He often explains what happened by saying “they said I was to be on ship”. Not liking the army, he quickly deserted only to be caught by corsairs, and enslaved aboard a galley as an oarsman. The corsairs did not like that he sang songs while he pulled the oars, and in a heated argument, he was thrown overboard. As luck would have it, he was fished out of the drink by the crew, and now serves as a sailor about the ship.
Joe Heller plays guitar and bass and loves singing. He has added to the set several traditional shanties, some of which we had wanted to do for some time. Joe is currently an Original Seaman, a third engineer aboard a tug boat off the eastern coast of the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eldon Taylor:Born in England, Eldon originally traveled with John Hawkins until the Spanish set upon them at San Juan de Ulua. When his ship was destroyed during the escape, he was rescued by the Captain and has served with him ever since. He is responsible for mending sails and tending the rigging, and his deft hand has helped to keep the Captain’s boat afloat e’er since.
Lonnie Ezell Has been playing guitar for many years and also plays several whistles which have become key to our new sound. Lonnie also is a jack of all trades. He is a Fantasy Writer and author of the newly released “Daughter of the Sun”, as well as a web designer.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Gunner: We woke up one day to the sound of the slave drums in the hold accompanied by cannon fire. Upon investigation the crew found Gunner banging on drums and firing the cannons. The Capt’n. vowed that since he was a stow away he would test him in battle. If he was good with the artillery he could stay. If he failed he would be thrown overboard. Since then Gunner has hit his target be it with the cannons or drums and has become an important crewman aboard the Black Dog.
Mark Hughey: Mark has played drums for over 2 decades and has been involved with projects across the globe. He has worked with several recording artist including Don Henley, Cinderella, and the Eagles. He comes from a Rock background and was involved with the 80’s Hairband movement in LA. Mark has some great contacts in the music industry and is also the drummer for the band Sovereign.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Poly: Not much is known about poly. She was brought on board by the Capt’n. when we were in Tortuga. Often the Capt’n. goes ashore in disguise to gather information from the locals and rumor has it that Poly revealed to him the location of a long forgotten treasure. The crew is not sure how long the Capt’n. will keep her aboard, but she seems to calm every ones nerves when she plays the fiddle. Because she has the voice of an angel, and plays the fiddle better than the devil she may become a permanent fixture on the ship, but that remains to be seen.
Diana Buie: DJ is a music lover, song writer, and fiddler of over 15 years. She plays fiddle and cello, drums, dances and sings with various groups, including singing and fiddling in the Celtic band Queen’s Gambit.
(pron) shadai a Sea Dogs Mascot, is an old guy but chasing a goat or two appears to be his way of proving he may not be as good as he once was, but he’s as good once, as he ever was. He is a Loyal 10 year old Belgian Tervuren (Born on Halloween) that can be seen following the crew when on land and keeping the ship free of rats when at sea. UPDATE: Jedi passed away on Jan 23rd 2010. R.I.P. old friend.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Jude: This salty lil Sea Dog is the new mascot. Being an alpha dog he often gets himself into interesting situations. When we attended a joust in England Jude decided to let everyone know he was quite aware that there was a “good knight” and a “bad knight”. Every time the Black knight passed by our side of the list field Jude let him know how he felt about it with growls and barking!! He may be small but we call him concentrated! He is a Yorkshire Terrier brought from Scotland and bred to hunt rats! So he keeps the ship clear of rats goes quite well!!
Seymoure - Seymoure is a strange fellow caught somewhere between madness and genius. The crew often sees him in ports they enter. We are not quite sure how he does it or if there are simply many of him. The crew know him to be very close to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s heart, and oft times look out for the ol’ fellow, however the Captain says he can take care of himself.
C. Wayne Owens is an additional lyricist for the Sea Dogges, and he most recently was honored as the first inductee into the Renaissance Hall of Fame. Wayne can’t remember a time when he wasn´t a storyteller. He co-wrote and performed in the longest running live show in Kansas City history, “King Henry´s Feast” (3 years). Now his fabulous stories are becoming songs for the Sea Dogges. Here is the link to Waynes IMDb
