Heave a pawl, oh, heave away,
Way, hey, roll an' go!
The anchor's on board
An' the cable's all stored,
To me rollicking, randy, dandy-o!
Roll & Go is a Maine group of men and women who love to sing "sea shanties" and other songs of the sea. Over the past fifteen years their spirited performances have earned them a growing reputation among festival and concert goers in Maine and New Hampshire. The group has been featured at the Great Schooner Race in Penobscot Bay, the Maine Festival, the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, the Mystic (CT) Sea Music Festival, the Portsmouth (NH) Maritime Festival, many tall-ship special events, and community concerts. Singing mostly unaccompanied, they combine strong solo work with tight harmonies on the refrain and chorus. Some songs are backed up by banjo, guitar, concertina, or penny whistle. In 2002 they released their first CD, Roll & Go: Outward Bound, and their second CD, Roll & Go: Rolling Down to Sailortown, was released in 2006.
As Bob Webb, folk historian and shantysinger, puts it: "I don't know of another sea-music group in the U.S. today who are putting forth so much effort and energy to polish their craft. And they do so while preserving the sailor's understanding of working songs of the sea: tempos are slow and methodical, the singing lusty and the harmonies spare. This is surely the way the shellbacks sang, outward bound from Boston and 'Frisco for the distant seaports of the Seven Seas."
Members of Roll & Go met each other through the Portland Folk Club in the 1980's. The current roster of six people is a diverse mix of individuals. Eli Dale of Portland is a computer consultant for small businesses and is studying for the ministry. Norris Dale of Portland is a quality control engineer. Dick Dufresne of Kennebunk is a high school guidance counselor. Charlie Ipcar of Richmond is a landlord and fundraising consultant. The newest member Jeff Logan of Portland is an acupuncturist.
Life on the sea was often short, brutal, lonely, and joyless for sailors, except for strong drink, flashgirls – and the solace of song. The songs they sang were generally for fun or to help with their work. Their recreational songs, called fo'c'sle or forebitters, were likely to be sung either in the crew's quarters below or, in good weather, up on the fo'c'sle head with the singer sitting on the forebitts and the crowd off-watch lolling about. These songs tend to tell a good tale, sometimes ribald, sometimes wistful or melancholy. Their work songs, called shanties, are usually fairly short with solo lines and hearty choral refrains essential for raising the anchor, pumping the bilge or working the sails. With shanties the sense of words is less important than the rhythm that helped the sailors to time their movements, to heave or haul together. Nowadays, both kinds of songs are more often sung ashore than at sea. The fo'c'sle songs keep their popularity because of their lusty lyrics, outrageous storylines, or historical content. The shanties are enjoyed chiefly because they give everyone a chance to join in heartily.
With Roll & Go you'll hear the old songs brought back to life, and some newer songs that highlight current conditions in our merchant marine and fishing industry. Whether you're young or old, you're bound to have a lot of fun!
More info:
ipbar@gwi.net
download this press release
