And God bless us, every one...

Well, here we are, me lads and lasses! Finally upon the very day of Christmas. Long a favored day of Pirates everywhere, Christmas comes to remind us that every blessing that comes our way is not due to our own swashbuckling or pillaging, but because the Lord in Heaven decided to share a gift with we lowly sea dogs that is beyond our understanding.

You see, we all have a need. We can't fill it ourselves, try as we might. No man in a red suit can bring it, and even Nick himself would tell you so. You can sail the seven seas and not know what it feels like to be at peace and at home with yourself. What's needed is a open passage from your port to that one, and that's why Jesus came to this place... to make a way for you to get where you want to be (even before you knew you wanted to be there). Jesus was a sailing man himself, and understood the ways of the sea... surely the kind of God and man who understands the good and bad in pirates!

We thank Him for all he has done and is doing, and for the many blessing we experience each year because one of the biggest is getting to play music for the best fans in this whole world; Intercoastal Pirate fans! We are genuinely thankful for each one of you, for our families who make sacrifices month in and month out so we can board the ship and sail out to do what we do, and to the inn keepers and proprietors who have faithfully kept us under full sail for many a year now. And last, but certainly not least, we are all thankful for one another, the best group of Pirates you could hope to swab a deck with... and to all those past Pirates who have breathed the salty sea air with us. Merry Christmas to us all, and God bless us every one!

And it's Christmas Time again!

Be it ever so un-Piratelike, I just love Christmas. The season brings changes in the weather, and changes in the way people look at one another... at least for a little while. Now, the proprietors of the local business establishments might be more Piratesque during the season, and Black Friday shoppers are ridiculously atrocious at times, so balance remains in the universe.

Having just passed Thanksgiving, we are still in a reflectively thankful mood for the great lives we have, going from port to port and having great times with fans and new friends. We do love playing music, and like nothing better than seeing an audience having a good time with us. As we move forward into the season, family comes to the fore and we'll spend a tad more time in port with those closest to us (and who will not turn us in for the bounty on our heads!).

We say a thank you to all of you for riding the Pirate ship another year, and hope to see you on board in 2013 as well. Merry Christmas!

November will be a pirating blitzkrieg!

Check the ports of call... November will be a very, very busy month and the ship will not see much time at sea! Many a port being visited in those 30 days. This means, of course, that you'll have that many more chances to come swash your buckle with us!

More updates to come, as soon as I can get off deck long enough to bring you up on the ship's log...

Blitzkrieg, by the way... something we stole from our pirate buds in Germania!

Spending a little time with Clint...

We pirating types spend a lot of time stirring up the populace to partying and having a great time, but every now and then we like to lay back a bit and let someone else do the merry-making.

Last night we went to spend some time with Clint Black, a naturalized Texan claimed from the deep dark backwoods of New Jersey, who made his way initially right here in the greater Houston area. Clint did a rousing set of classics and new songs coming from his soon-to-be-released album. Sounding like the star he is, he also played a mean guitar, harmonica, and even did the Steely Dan tune "Josie" on drums. Quite the all around musician.

It was a great night, and as you can see, our master of the soundboard Jason got a little mug time in with Mr B. Great memories for him (along with a signed guitar) and a good time for all that were on hand. A tip of the pirate hat, and on to the next show.

Come on and see us in West Columbia this weekend... back to school!

Summer is Breezing By...

"It's coming on, the end of August... Another summer's promise almost gone." So says the ever-insightful Eagles in their tune Waiting in the Weeds.

While we haven't been in the weeds, we have most certainly been putting some nautical miles on the Musical Pirate Ship O' the South! Recent visits from Brazoria County to the beaches and bays of Galveston County will soon be joined by our first foray into historic Matagorda! Another great seaside town, tailor made for pirating, we look forward to making our first (of hopefully many) stops at Poco Playa, a seriously innovative grouping of bars, restaurants, and associated businesses designed to fill your fun and food needs while on the coast. Take a gander at their web site, and you'll be impressed! Come on out and join us for a place that is sure to be tons of fun!

We have a steady set of dates to play through the summer, and look to prepare the ship for its sail into the cooler (Thank You, Lord!) months of the year. Playing and pillaging is what we do, so we are thankful for all our friends, old and new, who have kept our sails full and feet moving! If you have an event that needs something special in the way of upbeat fun and music, give us a shout!

And, by the way... it seems the news of the week may actually be of the Pirate sort. The nicest of lasses came by to visit with Lt Rick about playing, pirating, policing, and other items of interest. The Facts will have this in Thursday 8/23 edition, so take a look and see what he looks like when it isn't on a wanted poster!

Summer time in the Pirating World...

Mates, it has been a hot, hot summer so far...

So, we have been longing for some time out at sea to feel those cool trade winds but tis not to be for the rest of the seventh month!

We've spent time with our friends at Moody Gardens in Galveston, home of hot sands, hot wenches, hot food, and hot music! We've been back to visit our grog-meister Cooter Brown in Brazoria and shall be docking the ship once again the first week of August to return for another round of fun in the air-conditioned environs... a break from the heat. We've played a private party or two, and are preparing to play at one of the hotter meeting spots in the area tonight, at Pier 30 right near the bridge into Surfside and our beloved Gulf of Mexico! Then, this coming week we will be sailing the ship into Clute for TWO visits to the Great Texas Mosquito Festival... 9 until 1 am for Thursday the 27th, and back to open for Kevin Fowler on Saturday night! Should be a hot time for all!

Another hot spot on the San Bernard River is Dido's, a perennial favorite port of the band for great people and hot, fresh steaks, seafood, and the like. We will make port there in August for a triumphant return to the location of some of our best swashbuckling!

Did I mention it's been hot? Probably not, but it's been on me mind of late. Hot. Isn't it?

We will be going into August with more on tap for folks wanting to have the most fun partying and celebrating with the best of rock, blues, Texas country, and most any other style of music that fills our sails! Keep up with us here and at www.intercoastalpirates.com and make plans to join us for a pillage or two!

You just never know who might be trying to catch up with us, so we occasionally have to come ashore in disguise. Of course, the keyholder has no fear and refuses such protection...

In all seriousness, though, we had a great few weeks in Needville and Galveston doing recent dates there, with a great fireworks show following the Moody Gardens show. All who were in attendance had a great time! We'll be going back to Moody in a few weeks (July 6th) so be sure to come enjoy a little fun in the sun, sand, and water. It's a great facility, and is really kid-friendly if you've got some of those bilge rats running your place from stem to stern! Bring the whole family, we do!

We'll be at Lake Jackson's MacLean Park this weekend (Saturday the 23rd) to support Operation Backpack, a very worthy service to kids in need in the area. The following week, we head back to the beach for a night at Castaway's on Surfside. That's always a lot of fun so come join the party. July 6th is the aforementioned Moody return (with another fireworks show, mind you) then a return trip to our old friend Cooter Brown's Country Club in Brazoria. Come the end of July, we will make our fifth annual pilgrimage to the Great Texas Mosquito Festival. We'll have the stage for three glorious hours Thursday night before a return on Saturday to open for Kevin Fowler! A not-to-be-missed weekend, for certain.

You know the guys love to see you whenever they bring the ship to shore, so come on out and spend a little time with your favorite Pirates and pillage a local spot with us!

New Place to Pillage!!

The Intercoastal Pirates will be pillaging an all-new port of call on Saturday June 2nd! Come join us at J's on Main Street, located at 8915 (where else?) Main Street in Needville, Texas. We're looking forward to adding a few new places where the public can come join us and are hoping to add J's as a regular stop for the musical Pirate Ship to make port. We'd be glad to see your smiling faces in the crowd, so come join us as we break in J's on Main Street Intercoastal Pirates Style!!

Spring has Sprung!

Spring be upon us, lasses and laddies, and the schedule is filling up! The ship has been readied for lots of time at sea, and the crew is ready to get going after a little too much time in port!

There are many stops coming over these next months, so look for us to be coming to your area soon. There are still some private dates on the horizon where we will be pillaging with some old and some new friends, but there are many more dates coming at events out and about where all our friends can come do a little swashbuckling of their own!

A few of the latter sort are the Lake Jackson Concert Series on May 4th, Bands on the Sand at Moody Gardens in Galveston on June 9th and July 6th, two dates at the Great Texas Mosquito Festival (all nite Thursday July 26th, and back again Saturday the 28th to open for headliner Kevin Fowler. We also have a date with the Freeport Fishin' Fiesta, a visit to our buddies at Castaways in our favorite ol' town, Surfside Beach, and another chance to hang out with our good friend Cooter Brown in Brazoria! That's just the start of things, so hang with us for a long, hot, musical spring & summer!

One mighty important stop for the mighty musical ship o' the South is coming up May 12th in Freeport. The crew will make a landfall in support of a benefit for Tombo Jones, to help raise some much needed pieces of eight for Tombo and his family. Tombo is a longtime friend of several in the band, especially Ronnie, who maintains the low end of the ship's sounding boards. Please put your eyeballs on this site: http://www.facebook.com/TommyTomboJonesBenefit to find out all the details and come help in this most worthy of causes!

SIDS Gala a big success!

The great pirate ship made a stop at the Dow Center at Brazosport College for a most worthwhile cause: raising funds to support the SIDS Foundation's many area efforts assisting families in need. With a Kentucky Derby theme, the attire was show-stopping everywhere you looked. Beautiful women dressed to the nines, always a Pirate's pleasure, were escorted by men equally decked out for the affair. It was a sight to be seen. Thank you to the Foundation for having us out to provide music for such a worthy event. It was a blast!

Check the ports of call to the left... the schedule is beginning to fill up for another busy spring and summer of pillaging and music. We are much looking forward to a little swashbuckling to knock of the winter's rust. We look forward to spending some of that time with you, so come aboard and let's rock this ship, mate!