Sea Shanties and Pub Songs in Coupeville
I’m always scanning Facebook events for music opportunities, both in Washington and back home in South Carolina. One that caught my eye was a shanty singing down in Coupeville on Whidbey Island. I’ve been wanting to do a shanty sing for a long time and this was only a couple of hours away. Even though she had lost her voice because of allergies, I convinced Laura to come with me and join in.
We made the scenic drive over to Fidalgo Island then across Deception Pass to Whidbey. From there it wasn’t too far down to Coupeville, on the banks of Penn Cove. As we drove I kept eye places where I might want to launch a kayak. Penn Cove is a good candidate, and I might have to make a trip this way when we return.
Our plan was to get dinner in town then head over to Penn Cove Brewing for the event. The main drag of Coupeville is a scenic waterfront, but there were just not enough restaurants for the Friday evening crowds. Every one we found had nearly an hour wait for a table. We did find one taco place that was open and we got the last available seats. It wasn’t exactly what we had in mind, but it would suffice.
Penn Cove Brewing is a small venue. Johann, the organizer, was writing lyrics on chart paper when we arrived. We chatted a bit, then got some beers. I asked Johann how he got started in shanties and he said that he learned them as a sailor on a tall ship.
While Johann was the organizer, the core of the group was made up from members of The Shifty Sailors, a local shanty group that has sung all over the world. A couple of them brought instruments, including a banjo, ukulele, guitar, and melodica.
We sang several songs I knew and it seemed like the whole venue was joining in. It was a blast. Here are a few clips from the event.
Listening to these clips I can hear myself singing, and I have to face “vocal confrontation.” I just don’t like the way my voice sounds, especially in an informal setting. I do OK in choral and formal vocal settings, but I can’t seem to take it down a notch. That’s one reason I keep going to these sessions – to retrain my voice.
The Shifty Sailors did a couple of numbers by themselves. I really liked the harmonies on this one…
This was may favorite of all of the Washington sessions. I was having a blast until….
One of the singers started to rock a bit on his stool. He turned pale, then started to fall over. One of his friends caught him and laid him on the ground. For a bit he was unresponsive and someone dialed 911. By the time EMS arrived he had come to and was talking. It turns out he had given blood earlier in the day and had just passed out. As it also turned out, the guy who fainted was a doctor and there were two other doctors singing, as well as a registered nurse. They all knew the paramedics and law enforcement that arrived. If it had to happen, he was in the best possible company.
Sadly, that put an early end to the singing. We said goodbyes to new friends and said we would be back.
Scottish Music at Littlefield Celtic Center
I had one last session before we headed east. I joined my friends at the Littlefield Celtic Center for a Scottish session. I’ve enjoyed these and have made some good friends over the years. It felt weird not to have Skye leading the group, but Cayley was there and kept things going, along with Roberta, Patty, and John. There were others that I knew as well as some new faces. It was good to see these guys.
I played guitar and tin whistle. We did most of the tunes from the group’s Tartan Top Twenty, but they have started add in more melodies. I even played and sang one tune, Robert Burn’s “Ye Banks and Braes.” I had to sing that in a voice lesson many years ago. With that song I wasn’t going to worry about vocal confrontation. No one was recording it, anyway.
There were other sessions I could have joined. There was a jam session down in Arlington, drum circles up around Bellingham, a jam session on Taylor Dock in Fairhaven (which was one of my favorite sessions last time I attended) and an old-time session in Anacortes. I had to pick and choose. When we come back later this summer I’m hoping to hit some of those I missed.
The biggest disappointment, though, was that I didn’t get a chance to play with my friends from Bring Your Own Instrument. I credit these guys for getting me comfortable in sessions and we’ve become close friends over the years. Several of the members have moved to other towns, but they still get together. I’m hoping we can do that when we return to Samish Island.