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Dizzymoth — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:48:01 CST

The Hard Tackers
The official Shanty Crew of the Santa Maria.
A full size replica harboured in the Scioto river in down town Columbus Ohio.

The Hard Tackers.
The one stop place for the music of the sea, plus laughter and sing along.

The Hard Tackers are available for bookings to bring your event alive.
Festivals, state fairs, county fairs, coffeehouses, house concerts, arts events, summer events, parties, schools, and any other place you can think of.

The Hard Tackers win the 2009 Southern Ohio Sea Shanty Festival Award

What is a sea shanty

Shanties are the work songs that were used on the square-rigged ships of the Age of Sail. Their rhythms coordinated the efforts of many sailors hauling on lines. Much loved by modern sailors and folk musicians, they are rarely used as work songs today. This is because modern rigging doesn't require many people to be working in the same rhythm for long periods.

Traditional shanties can be grouped into two main types:

Hauling Songs

Halyard or long drag songs for tops'l and t'gallants

Short Haul or short drag songs for t'gallants and royals

Sweating -up, fore-sheet or bowline shanties, for boarding tacks and sheets etc

Bunt shanty for stowing the sail on the yard

Hand over hand songs for jibs, stays'ls and braces

Walk away or stamp and go songs for braces

Heaving Songs

Main capstan or windlass songs for heaving the anchor

Capstan songs for hoisting sails etc by mechanical means and warping in and out of dock

Pump shanties

Sea Songs

Sea shanties are not the only songs associated with work on the sea, nor the only ones sung onboard. Almost any song with a regular beat can be used to synchronize steady-paced work such as winding a capstan or a winch. There are also many, many songs about life at sea. Some of these songs are traditional, others contemporary.

Past Performances

Dizzymoth — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:17:07 CST

Opening of the Santa Maria Columbus April 2009

ABC 6 Television performance 24 April 2009

Ashville Viking Festival, April 25 & 26

Central Ohio Coffee House June 2009

Three Creeks Festival Ohio June 2009

Areopagitica Books Clintonville Ohio July 2009

Espresso Yourself Music Cafe Powell Ohio July 2009

Forum At Knightsbridge Columbus, Sea Festival September 18 2009

Areopagitica Books Columbus 17 October 2009

Santa Maria Halloween Ghost ship 30 October 2009

Columbus Folk Music Society 28 Novenber 2009

Southern Ohio Folk Alliance 5 December 2009

Photo's

Dizzymoth — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:29:08 CST

See tool bar above

Song List

Dizzymoth — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:24:14 CST

The Hard Tackers Song List

This song list is never complete as we are always including new songs.

John Kanakanaka
Farewell To Grog
One More Day
South Austrailia
Roll Alabama Roll
Sammy's Bar
Haul Away Joe
Old Maui
The Mermaid
Her Bright Smile
Sailors Prayer
The Marco Polo
Has The Big Fella Gone
The Grey Funnel Line
Chicken On A Raft
Greenland Whale Fisheries
Rio Grande
Barrett's Privateers
Shawnee Town
A Rovin
Santy Ano
Leave Her Johnny Leave Her
Mingulay Boat Song
Congo River
Pay Me My Money Down
The Clean Song

About Us

Dizzymoth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:35:10 CDT

The Hard Tackers are a Sea Shanty and Sea Song team.

Find Us Here My Space

We create an atmosphere of power and energy, wrapped up in good fun.

The more the audience sings the better we like it.

We are a group of old folkies who have known each other in one form or another for some years. In May of 2009 we got together as members of the Columbus Folk Music Society to sing shanties for the opening of the Santa Maria docked on the Scioto River in Columbus Ohio.

We had such a good time we continued to practice and found great enjoyment on practice nights as we started to bounce off each other with ideas.
We also found there was considerable natural humor amongst us, most of it coming to the fore as events unfold.

Contact

Dizzymoth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:32:49 CDT

John Locke

Home Telephone 614 846 9049
Mobile Telephone 614 542 9518
E mail: john@AnEnglishmanAbroad.com

My Space My Space

Video's

Dizzymoth — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:08:55 CDT

Members

Dizzymoth — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:48:07 CDT

JOHN LOCKE
John’s interest in History, Geography and the Social History of Britain inevitably led him to a study of traditional folk music and storytelling. He found that the folk arts became a central thread that pulled all of these subjects together. John became interested in folk arts in the early 70s. He became a regular visitor to Folk Clubs in the area that he lived in north Worcestershire England. Starting to play guitar within a few months of discovering the folk scene he went on to perform at open stages and various folk clubs, festivals and other venues. He has run Folk Music Clubs in Worcestershire, Devonshire and Carmarthenshire. He has also been known to get a tune out of a penny whistle, English concertina and a banjo.

In 2001 John moved to the USA . He has an electrical engineering background and has worked in training for many years. He is a Professional Speaker and Trainer who involves storytelling in his presentations.

John runs an Open Stage every Thursday evening in Ashville Ohio . www.OpenStage.Wetpaint.com .

He also produces a folk arts blog www.FolkieHaven.blogspot.com where he keeps people informed of what is going on in the Folk Arts World. He is past President of the Columbus Folk Music Society A member of the Story Tellers Of Central Ohio
He also has a book of short stories called, "British Twist."

John Schomburg

John Schomburg hails originally from Southern Ohio down on the beautiful Ohio River. He began singing and playing folk music shortly after his birth. His boyhood fascination with steamboats led to his present fascination with sailboats, which get better mileage. He is presently the skipper of Sea Monkey. John was a founding member of the Pit Bull String Band in the 1990’s and when he is not shantying with the Hardtackers performs along with his wife Janet in the old time string band The Wild Hares. He plays fiddle, banjo, and guitar.

Andy Beyer

Andy Beyer started playing uke at three, piano at five, and violin at eight.
By 12, he had figured out how to play the guitar, and saved his paperboy money to purchase a new Sears Silvertone electric guitar. While the manager at a coffeehouse, he met Hank Arbaugh, and fell in love with the mountain dulcimer. He has been building, playing and teaching dulcimer for about forty years.
As an educator, Andy has a BS in Elementary Education
and an Instructional Design degree in Secondary Education from YSU.
He has two years Master's work in Instructional Design from OSU.
He is a founding member of the Columbus Folk Music Society.
He is currently on the staff at the Central Ohio Folk Festival &
The Southeast Ohio Dulcimer Festival.
He was on staff at The CAP program, OSU, for 16 years.
He is currently on staff at The Lifelong Learning & Leisure Program,
where he has been for fourteen years.
Besides the dulcimer, Andy plays and teaches guitar, mandolin, and banjo privately.

Chris Bolles

Chris Bolles grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, hobnobbing with boaters and lake sailors during the summer months. He learned to play the guitar in college, a habit he has been unable to break to this day. He's a research scientist turned teacher; his students would be confirmed in their judgement of his sanity if they knew he was singing sea songs in public. He is occasional first mate, crew, and bilge swabby aboard the good ship Sea Monkey.

Fred Bailey
Fred grew up on a dirt farm in Northwestern Oklahoma -- almost the Panhandle, but not quite. That's the Dust Bowl end of the Cherokee Strip. Since then he’s touched on many foreign lands and more coffeehouses and towns than can be counted. Now he seems to have settled down in Columbus, Ohio.

Fred is a writer of finely crafted novels which he sets to melody and sings to the accompaniment of his 1948 Martin D28L. He is a voyager of the clouds, an aviator by nature. He knows the original words to every sea shanty ever sung, the G, the R and the Unrated versions. To his maritime colleagues he is known as “The Prairie Schooner”.
When not singing shanties with the Hard Tackers, Fred fronts the more refined folk group At Wit’s End.

Brian Smidito

Brian grew up in the YMCAs of the Twin Cities, paddling on the whitewater rivers of Wisconsin and the lakes of the Boundary Waters and the Quetico. In those worlds, sailing was occasionally possible with two canoe paddles, a poncho, and a good tailwind.
Most of his early years were spent in the world of classical music, where he played trombone and bass trombone in band and orchestra (including a three-week tour in Romania) until leaving college.

At that point he discovered folk music coffeehouses, and his life has never been the same. He now loves a wide range of musical styles and forms, from Gabrieli and Bach to Gordon Bok, Gram Parsons, Count Basie, Doyle Lawson and the Double Decker String Band.

He is also an avid game-player and science-fiction reader, and makes his living as a database developer and Macintosh consultant for business.

RENNIE BEETHAM

Rennie has always been an adventurer. His love of travel and the sea, probably started with the reading of books by Jack London and Herman Melville. In the army, Rennie was stationed near Istanbul, Turkey. More recently, his travels have taken him to England, Scotland, Ireland (where he and his wife make their winter home), Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. “I’ve always like to sing,” Rennie admits, “and have been in several rock-n-roll bands over the years.” The music that Rennie plays on guitar is eclectic. Rennie gravitates toward older stock, usually songs and tunes of the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. Upon joining The Hardtackers, Rennie said, “I am not a man of the sea.” “I went whale watching twice and suffered from mal-de-mer both times. Luckily, singing songs about the sea does not make me ill.”

Testimonials

Dizzymoth — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:24:32 CDT

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.

Sailing Definitions

Dizzymoth — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:21:48 CDT

aft: Toward rear of a ship. Near or around the stern. Opposite of fore.

aloft: Anywhere above deck.

astrolabe: Astronomical instrument used by ancient Greeks and others to measure the angular height of celestial bodies in relation to the horizon. The seaman’'s astrolabe was a simple device for measuring the altitude of the sun or a star for fixing one’'s approximate latitude.

athwart: Across

barque: A sailing vessel with at least three masts, with the fore and mainmasts square rigged, and the mizzenmast or aftermast rigged fore-and-aft.

Barquentine: Vessel with the foremast rigged square, and the other masts rigged fore-and-aft.

beam: Strong pieces of timber that support the decks.

beam ends: A vessel lying on its side, whether in distress at sea, or aground.

Black Ball: Shipping line famous for its fast passenger service between England, America and Australia. The New Brunswick-built Marco Polo was a Black Ball ship.

boom: 1. Spar used to extend the foot of a fore-and-aft sail; 2. a period of expansion or economic prosperity

bow: Front of a ship.

brace: Line attached to the end of the yard arms. Letting the braces in and out adjusts the angle of the yard and any sail hanging from it.

brig: Two-masted sailing vessel with both masts square rigged.

brigantine: Two-masted sailing vessel with square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged mainmast.

canvas: Jute, cotton or hemp material for making the sails of a ship.

cardinal points: Four principal points of a compass: north, south, east and west.

clipper: Sailing ship built for great speed. Clippers differ from other square riggers by having long and slender hulls at least six times as long as they are wide.

code signals: Set of signal flags used to send messages.

compass: Instrument used to plot the course of a vessel by showing direction. Is made of a freely swinging magnetized needle that points toward the (Magnetic) North Pole.

deck: Planked floor on a vessel.

doldrums: Areas of the ocean where there is usually very little wind.

figurehead: Carved figure on the bow of many sailing vessels. A vessel without a figurehead has a "billet" head.

floor timbers: Floor timbers connect the “spine” of a vessel (the keel and keelson) with frame timbers that support the hull’s shape. foot: Base or bottom of a sail.

fore: Forward part of a vessel, or things in that direction; as in foremast, fore hatch. Opposite of aft. fore-and-aft sail: Sail that lies along the same line as the keel, or along the same plane as a vessel’s fore-and-aft line. Fore-and-aft sails are usually set upon gaffs, or on stays. Examples include the jib, spanker, etc. foremast: Most forward mast.

full rigged ship: Vessel with square rigged sails on all masts.

furl: To roll a sail up snugly on a yard or boom and secure it.

gaff: Spar that is used to extend the vertical, or upper edge of a fore-and-aft sail that is not set on a stay.

half-model: Wood model of a vessel carved to scale by a master shipbuilder and used to create accurate drawings to guide ship builders in constructing a full-sized frame of a vessel.

halyard: Rope that lift yards up and down. hardwood: Wood of any tree with broad, flat leaves. Species include birch, oak and maple. Useful because they are tough and heavy with a compact texture.

hold: Interior of a vessel where cargo is stowed.

hull: Body of a vessel.

jib: Triangular fore-and-aft sail set ahead of the foremast.

jigger: Fourth mast from the bow on a ship, barque or schooner.

keel: Principal timber upon which the hull is constructed. The backbone of the hull.

keelson: Timber, or line of timbers, placed over the keel on the floor timbers, and running parallel to the keel, to provide additional strength to the bottom of the hull.

latitude: Distance north or south from the equator, measured in degrees.

lead: Weight of lead used to sound depth of water underneath a vessel’s hull.

lee: Side opposite to that from which the wind blows.

lee shore: Shore that is receiving the wind blowing in from sea.

log: Used to measure a vessel’s speed. Also name of the record book tracking a ship’s progress, direction, weather and events while at sea.

longitude: Distance east or west of the prime meridian, expressed in degrees or time.

mainmast: Second mast from the bow of a ship, barque or schooner.

mariner: A sailor.

mast: Long pole or spar of timber set upright on a ship’s keel to support the sails.

mate: Officer who ranks second to the commander of the vessel.

meridian: Any line of longitude. Meridians connect the North and South Pole, and cross the Equator at a right angle.

mizzen mast: Third mast from the bow of a ship, barque or schooner.

mutiny: Usually the rebellion of sailors or soldiers against their officers. A revolt against authority.

navigation: Science of locating the position and plotting the course of ships (and other crafts).

navigators: One skilled in navigation. oakum: Loose hemp or jute that is wedged and soaked in tar to form a watertight seal between planks of wood.
poop: Deck or other structure covering the stern of a vessel. Also the name of the action when a wave breaks over the stern (vessel was “pooped”).

port: 1. left side of the ship when facing forward; 2. a city with a harbour where cargo is loaded and unloaded

prevailing wind: Wind and wind direction that is strongest and most frequent.

prime meridian: Meridian at Greenwich, England, from which longitude is measured east and west.

quadrant: Early instrument used to measure angles and altitudes in astronomy and navigation.

ratlines: Series of rope steps used to climb into the rigging.

rig: The way a vessel and its masts are fitted with sails.

rigging: Ropes, chains and wires that are used to support the vessel’s masts, spars and sails. schooner: Ship with two or more masts, rigged fore-and-aft.

sextant: Navigation instrument measuring the angular distance of the sun, a star, etc. from the horizon.

shallop: Small boat for one or two rowers.

shanty: Work songs of sailors.

shroud: Ropes or wires running laterally from the top of the mast to the side of the vessel that support the mast

sloop: Single-masted sailing vessel using a fore and aft rig. One sail is set from the forestay.

softwood: Wood of any tree with cones (pine, cedar and spruce). Softwoods provide light, buoyant and easily cut timbers.

sonar: Instrument that transmits sound waves in water. Used in finding depths, locating submarines, and wrecks.

spanker: Sail set on the lowest part of the mizzen or aftermost mast. Sail’s head is set on a gaff (a spar attached to the mast.)

spar: A general term for any iron or wood pole or rod. Spars include yards, booms, masts, bowsprits, etc.

square-rigged : Ship fitted with square or rectangular sails as the principal sails on two or more masts.

starboard: Right side of a ship when facing forward.

stays: Ropes or wires that support a mast. Stays run in afore-and-aft direction from the mast to second mast or to other part of the vessel.

stern: Rear of a ship steward: Attendant on a ship

tack: Direction a ship goes in relation to the position of the sails. Also to change the course of a ship.

tonnage: A number used to indicate a vessel’s cargo capacity.

venison: Flesh of a deer used as food. water current: Flow of water in a definite direction.

yard: Slender rod or spar fastened across a mast to support a sail.

Block and Tackle of Interest

Dizzymoth — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:55:58 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Sailing Ships.

Dizzymoth — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 09:22:08 CDT