The End is Near; or, Rick goes to Davey Jones' Locker; or, maybe he'll just be at home!

It's been six years, hundreds of gigs, and literally thousands of on stage hours since first filling in for missing Pirates back in 2007. Rick stepped onto the Musical Ship o' The South full time in very early 2008 and has shared the main deck with Captain Chris ever since. In that time the band has played with bands as wide ranging as Pat Green and Randy Rogers to the Beach Boys in venues from Galveston to Austin and all points in between! It's been an awesome run.

Times change and there are only 24 hours in a day, even for Pirates! It's a mighty blessing to have so many good things happening that you actually have to pick the most important ones and give up something that is also truly good to be fair to all involved. Such is the story of this blog entry. Draw up a stool and lend me your ear...

Rick's wife has been one of the biggest fans of the band... yep, this is my blog! He was a musician when I met him so I have only ever known him to be going from stage to stage. When Rick said he was going to leave the Intercoastal Pirates, I couldn't believe it. He loves playing and singing, and equally loves this band. These guys are brothers to him. Why would he do this?

The other thing Rick was when I met him was a cop. A patrol guy back then, and later a patrol sergeant who also loved his job. This is what he does to pay the bills, as Pirating is for fun and doesn't make one as rich as some movies might have you believe! Rick's moved up through the ranks, and the job has taken more and more time to do well. At the same time, the band has taken more and more time. Running all the time!

The third thing Rick loves is being with his family, which he considers to be God's greatest gift to him in this long and wonderful life. Now, it has gotten to the place where all three cannot be done, and done properly. Therein, as they say, lies the rub.

My Pirate has decided that he must focus on faith and family, then on professional responsibility, and cannot give less than his best to the Pirates, so he will step away and let someone else step in rather than compromise the band. While I'm glad he puts his Lord and me in front, and while I also completely understand his needing to do his job well, I am nonetheless saddened to think of him leaving the stage behind for a time. He assures me he will not stop playing or singing and will see stage lights again. I choose not to question the decision, and stand by him as we move forward. Thank you all for such long and strong support for Rick and his band of Pirates. Please continue to support them!

Until Pirate Rick climbs the stage stairs again, this is the Pirate's Wench and Chronicler signing off, wishing you all strong winds, full sails, and a clear horizon! Ahoy!

Happy Independence Day!

We'll be celebrating our country's birthday on July 4th with family, then on July 5th at Moody Gardens Bands on the Sand with you! We hope you'll come join us for a fun day in the Texas sun, a fun night of music and dancing, and then a great fireworks display to round out the party!

And now, all advertisements and hoopla aside, I would like to take a moment to say a few well-deserved (and sometimes much belated) thank yous:

Thank you Lord, for allowing us to live in so wonderful a country, for directing our predecessors on this great continent the insight to found this country on your standards and principles, current fools and charlatans who claim different be damned!

Thank you to those who won our freedom, and continue to win our freedom daily: the military at home and abroad, and the state, county, and local public safety officers who form the first line of defense against those who would infringe on the life and property of good Americans.

Thank you to my family, first, and to my friends, for a lifetime of love and experience that could have happened nowhere else on Earth. As Clarence told George Bailey those many years ago "You really did have a Wonderful Life!" And so I have.

Thank you to my band mates who, these many years, have shared the stages bringing a smile to many a face and giving, if only for a few hours, relief to those who needed a few lighter moments in their day.

And last but not least, thank you to the many music lovers and fans who have supported live music throughout the years, who continue to come to our shows, and who are the ones that make playing music worthwhile. You are our allies in the truest sense.

It is the hope of the Intercoastal Pirates that each one of you will take a moment to think of the many blessings and other reasons to be thankful in your own lives. We encourage you to not take too long in expressing your gratitude, because life is too short to miss blessing someone else who has made your load a little bit lighter.

Thank you all!

Update Time (Or: I have time on my hands)

Ahoy there, friends of the Pirates!

Happenings, happenings, happenings... there has been a lot of the goings on of life aboard the ship of late, not all of it good, but as honorary Pirate Robin Trower said "maybe things will get better. Don't you know that a drowning man, well, he don't get no wetter. The same rain falls on you, falls on me!" Interpretation, we've experienced a few knocks, but don't feel sorry for us, we're enjoying the challenges and moving right along. There's no black cloud staying over this Pirate Ship!

First up, our bass man Ronnie, keeper of the lower ranges of the ship, had a hand injury that has kept the bass in the case for a while. He's working on getting back to working conditions and we're pulling for him there. In the meantime, old band friend Jim Clark has been doing a great job filling in. Trust me, it isn't easy to step on board a ship that rolls like this when you're not used to it! He's doing fine and is feeling more comfortable every gig.

Second up, Rick who lives to Chris' left on the main deck, has finally allowed the ship's surgeon to fix a long held issue in the lower back that makes it hard to stand watch for long periods of time, especially with a guitar strapped to the torso. This surgery went very well, and Rick is up and about and getting ready for a return at the end of June. Long time friend Thomas Harris has stepped in to fill that void during the outage. Thomas is a longtime area musician, and plays regularly (with Jimbo) in The Keepers. He's a strong player and vocalist in his own right and the band is blessed to have him aboard for a few ports!

We're looking at some set list adjustment as we move towards a return to the Freeport Blues Fest later this summer, and adding back some of the rock and blues the band was founded on. This will be a good fit with everything else we have added over the years, and will help keep the revelers a'revelling! We love the change as there is more great music out there than can ever be gotten to so we like moving with the currents that move the ship onward.

Now, to get the Ports of Call updated, and then back to that rudder...

Back on the Bernard!

And the vote is over... imagine these eggheads in Washington thinking they can just ignore the will of the people of the 1700s through the 2000s. There was a time, me laddie, when great men like Lincoln and Washington knew the laws were meant to make sure WE THE PEOPLE decided what happened in this land. It may be a right Pirating way of thinking, but I do not trust big government and believe they have gotten too big for our own good! Off my soapbox now...

Getting to much better things, we're in Texas. God bless us all for being so fortunate. And in another great stroke of blessination (made that one up) we happen to be heading to a favored haunt on the San Bernard: Dido's! They're going to have Crawfish aplenty tonight, which should make for many a red-fingered smiling face in the crowd. Looking forward to seeing all of you on a bright, cool and comfortable Texas night. Many more stops coming for the Pirates in the coming months. Keep up with our ports of call above and make sure you get on out to share some good times! We'll be looking for you.

Blogger's new style is a stow-away... thief!

You know, sometimes you leave the ship alone for just a minute...

Came back aboard a while back to find the entire blog had been keel hulled by Blogspot's new software. Columns everywhere, can't see half the content, layout destroyed as if struck by cannon fire. A mess all around. And it seems nigh unfixable. Good at pirating, but no real blog geek am I.

So, me fine mates, tis this horrid, rock-dashed appearance we must but tolerate for some time until I can find a crewman who can make it readable once more. A pox upon those who created this mess of a design and who have upset years of chronicling the trip.

So,Blogspot be whipped, we are back. And, as you can see, enjoying a beautiful Texas sunrise. It be Easter Sunday, so there'll be no working aboard the Musical Ship O' The South this day. We will be giving our thanks to Jesus, a mighty sea faring man himself in his human days on the globe, and the reason we have hope for a life beyond this one. This day be not about eggs and rabbits... that be hogwash created by men to focus on something other than the true meaning of the day. This day be about God in Heaven providing a compass heading to all of mankind who He will draw to that heading. I find myself near to a tear in me eye just thinking about it! The band of Pirates will be moving along smartly into spring and summer, a right strong wind building in the sails already for fast travel to many ports in the days to come. I will do my best to keep you abreast of the shores we expect to see next, but I make no promises! These decks can be a monster of a chore to keep ship-shape, and I often find the calendar outruns me these days. But you need not feel pity for me, I wouldn't live any other but a Pirate's life, mate!