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The Hard Tackers Shanty Team

Testimonials

The Hard Tackers ---

Dear John,

We certainly enjoyed having the Hard Tackers perform last Saturday! Not only did you make it easy for us, hosting you, but the entire audience really enjoyed your singing and your introductions. Someone commented to me that you could easily perform at schools, since your selection of songs gave such a variety of information about life as a seafaring man, whether in the whale oil trade or on the Ohio River. I noticed how the people seated around me laughed, sang, and clapped enthusiastically! The spirit of fun in the group is infectious. The strong rhythms of the call and response were really a pleasure to hear. We want you to come back soon and perform here again.

Thank you,

Rebecca Rutledge
Areopagitica Books
3510 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43214
614-268-5094

It was great to have "The Hardtackers" here at Espresso Yourself. They were energetic and fun. Listening to them made feel as though I should have had a stein of beer in one hand and the other on a ships wheel or around a shipsmate. "The Hardtackers" clearly brought an element of the old sea dogs at sea to the heart of it all here in C-Ohio.

I would highly recommend them to any venue or gathering where a good time is wanted.

Peace

Eric Ahlteen
Espresso Yourself Music Cafe
614-436-7100 www.espressoyourselfmusiccafe.com

A Review writen for A Different Strummer July 2009 by Bill Cohen. Musician and Journalist.

Folk music often tells stories. And, boy, the Hard Tackers sure have some compelling stories to tell. About those days, a hundred or two hundred years ago, when sailing ships roamed the high seas. The songs tell stories about hauling grain from a new nation called the United States to Europe, about hunting for whales who could fight back and batter the ship, about the back-breaking work just to keep the ships afloat, and about the deadly storms that sometimes battered ships to the bottom of the sea.

These Hard Tackers, they ain’t no sissies. And that’s good. After all, you don’t want some mamby-pamby John Denver-type pretty-boy sweetly singing about this stuff like he only read about it in some modern folk-music guide. No, you want to hear about these adventures from guys who look like they just got off the ship themselves after a 3-day bender to celebrate a 273-day journey from San Francisco, Southward around the southern tip of South America, and then Northward to New York City. And the Hard Tackers look the part and sound like it too. The way they sing these sea shanties has grit and grime and rust and sea salt and energy and a world-wanderin’ spirit all over them.. The ‘Tackers perform in an authentic way, too. They’re not backed up by a 5-piece band whose instruments drown out the words. No siree. It’s just them and their voices, just like the original seafarin’ men sang them. If you go to one of the Hardtackers events – I think the word “concerts” is too high-fallootin’ a word – you’ll not only be entertained but you’ll also probably learn a thing or two. About how some of these work songs helped the crews beat back boredom. About all the dangers the high seas brought. About the loneliness of being away from a new gal friend for months at a time. And about how these ships and their men were among the first human beings to bring nations closer together by trading and transporting coal, wheat, tea, tin, wool, oil, spices, liquor, you name it. The songs the Hard Tackers sing also teach us about how these frail watercraft were still able to navigate through stormy and sometimes even icy seas. I think that on one song, I finally learned the difference between a wench (a woman) and a winch (a cranking device used to hoist cargo). A Hard Tackers event is a family event. Yep, you can even bring the kiddies, because if the Tackers know there will be younguns present, they always tone down the few bawdy lines in the lyrics. The songs are fun and educational. And they’re G-rated. Well, at least PG-13. Many of the Hard Tackers’ songs are work songs that the crews sang in unison, to give themselves a steady beat to pull on the ropes, or haul in the cargo, or do whatever it is that ship crewmen did. That’s why the songs usually have very simple and catchy melodies and rhythms. And so, after you hear about a third of a song, you can often start singing or humming along yourself. The first time I heard the Hard Tackers, they performed right in front of the replica of the Santa Maria, floating in the Scioto River. It was a perfect spot. This was the original musical group, consisting of Fred Bailey, Chris Bolles, John Schomburg, Andy Beyer, and John Locke. Their early performances looked like so much fun, they were soon joined by two other members -- _Brian Smith and Rennie Beetham. And so it was 7 Hardtackers who performed in late May during the open stage segment of our monthly coffeehouse at Areopagitica Books. The audience loved them. Now, to be considered an authentic music reviewer these days, you cannot write only nice things about a group. No, you have to say something, even if just a little something, negative. I’ve wracked my brain to recall something negative about the Hard Tackers. Finally, after much work, I came up with something --- their name! I mean --- most people don’t know the nautical meaning of “hard tacking” (I don’t) and that means they probably mistakenly figure they’re going to be hearing music from a band of emotionally-distant guys who attach carpeting to floors. Anyway, I heartily recommend this group. If you ever get a chance to see and hear them, do it. And if you’re planning a party or event where you need a bit of musical entertainment, hire them. Just
remember --- you have to pay them in doubloons. Wait a minute, that’s pirate stuff .Sorry.

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