OPENING DAY: POTC III
Thursday was the big day: the new Pirates of the Caribbean opened and we were there, entertaining the crowd at the Disney flagship theatre, the historic El Capitan. The occasion, specifically, was an all day marathon of the three films, starting at noon and ending with the first showing of POTC III at 8 pm. Disney really did themselves proud with all sorts of entertainment outside the grand old theatre and wonderful piratical decoration inside. As we were performing outside, we didn't get to see the show (any day now!), but the excitment was great and we were part of it! If you live in the greater Los Angeles area, try to come into Hollywood and see the film on the huge screeen at this really magnificant theatre.
Yer tickets or yer life! Sound like fun! Come an get 'em!
A NEW SONG HAS BEEN ADDED! IT'S A ROUGH DRAFT OF A WORK IN PROGRESS FOR OUR NEW ALBUM. CHECK OUT "SIR HENRY'S HUZZAH," A CELEBRATION OF HIMSELF, AS SUNG BY THE OLD REPROBATE. LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. THE LYRICS ARE IN OUR BLOG.
IMPORTANT! The suits are making independant Pirate Radio shows, like BilgeMunky Radio, pay high fees to continue legally presenting music on the web. If you care about these dedicated independants, go to SaveNetRadio.org and get the details, then WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE! This is a freedom we can't afford to lose!
Mal de Mer and Mac had a grand time at the recent Pirates of the Caribbean "Ultimate Fan Event" at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. We did some impromptu entertaining for the crowd and then got to view POTC 1 once again on the big screen. What a wonderful film! And as a real treat, they showed us the trailer for the new film, not once, but twice! Thank you Disney for a fun afternoon!
THE HOLIDAYS ARE PAST! SIGH! BUT WE HAVE EXTENDED OUR "LAST MINUTE HOLIDAY SPECIAL" FOR A VERY SHORT (!) WHILE BECAUSE WE COULDN'T CHANGE THIS LISTING THANKS TO A MYSPACE GLITCH. BESIDES, IT'S ALMOST TIME AGAIN! AND OUR BIG HOLIDAY IS HALLOWE'EN, AND... SO IT'S WELL... STILL SPECIAL!
Now's the time fer all good pirates to come order our CD "Kings of the Sea" fer all yer piratical buddies--and fer yerself! No sea-sailin', booty-lootin' pirate can call his or herself a proper wild rover without it! And ta make it easy, we have a new, custom Pay Pal button ta get it to you by fast packet boat. And, better still, we be offerin' a special deal. One CD is $15. Three are only $35! Not a misprint! If ya be buyin' two, ya get one more fer only $5. That be a savin' no right-minded buccaneer can pass up! And we be payin' fer the ship! Hurry, before we realize no proper pirate should be givin' such a quarter! So click on the box below, tell em you want the Kings Special, and the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band 'll be singin' on yer craft before ya know it!
Or, want something unusual? For $40 dollars, for a very limited time, we'll send you three "Kings" CDs and the out-of-print "Sampler" CD. Ask for the Kings Sampler Special from PayPal. (We understand PayPal is being difficult, so if you are unable to order, please send us a message and we'll get right on it! Apparently if you ask for one item, all is OK. But if you ask for multiples, it won't take it! ;o( Boooo! The pirates 'll be on 'em!)
NEW!
Bilgemunky has taken time from preparing his Monday night broadcast (yea!) to review our CD, "Kings of the Sea." You can read some of it on the "Kings" site (link below) or call up Bilgemunky Radio. Thanks Captain Bilge for a good, fair review! Glad you gave it a "Love It" rating. The "Dirty Ol' Bird" has a bit of a rude squawk for ya (he was worryin' that what with the holidays and cookin' goin' on an' he bein' so fat...), but the rest of us are pleased as can be. And his show is wonderful. Be sure to check it out.
Speaking of that, the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band has a sister site "Kings of the Sea" in honor of our debut CD. Four new songs, mates! All good pirate music! Enjoy. JUST ADDED to KingsoftheSea: "Professional Pirate"!
And added to this site, also from "Muppet Treasure Island," our take on "Shiver Me Timbers," both thanks to Mad Muppet Melodies, the Muppet wing of Disney Music.
LISTEN FOR OUR MUSIC FEATURED IN THE CREDITS OF OF THIS EXCITING NEW FILM BY "MAD EYED MITCH" TOLES! COMING SOON!
WATCH FOR HIS NEXT FILM ABOUT THE PIRATE BLUEBEARD. JAN (MAC) WILL BE COMPOSING THE SOUNDTRACK! SHE'S HARD AT WORK AND HAVING A GRAND TIME.
SKELETON CREW PIRATE BAND:
MALLORY(vocals) and (Janna) McCALL (vintage pump reed organ, keyboards, synth, backup vocals, uke, etc), aka "Captain Mal de Mer" and "Mac the Wife" when in Pirate drag. Mate Dennis "Black Patch" Patterson adds whistles, guitars, vocals and other goodies and Dennis "Cannonball" Gilmore contrubutes bass, Guitars, vocals and other exotic strings. "Cannonball" is producing our recordings "And Then We Wrote...and Re-Wrote" and "Kings of the Sea." A "Mallory & McCall's Rough Draft Sampler" is available through our web site www.MalloryandMcCall.com.
You can click on the band members to get a bigger, although probably not better, look.
Cick on the upper right corner to close the enlarged photos. Beware if you don't or the Captain will just get bigger and bigger and badder and badder!
MALLORY - Capt. Barfolomew Mal de Mer
Objects on screen when clicked may be closer than they appear.
JANNA - Mac the Wife
DENNIS PATTERSON - Black Patch
DENNIS GILMORE - Cannonball
HUZZAH! THE SKELETON CREW PIRATE BAND'S ALBUM, KINGS OF THE SEA IS NOW AVAILABLE. IT'S OVER 72 MINUTES OF PIRATICAL MADNESS AND MUSIC! THIS ALL-PIRATE ECLECTIC MIX HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. THANKS TO THE INCREDIBLE EFFORTS AND REMARKABLE PERSEVERANCE OF DENNIS "CANNONBALL" GILMORE WHO ENGINEERED AND PRODUCED THE CD, OUR DEBUT ALBUM (AFTER ONLY 30 SHORT YEARS OF MALLORY & McCALL PERFORMING TOGETHER), IS UNLIKE ANY PIRATE ALBUM YOU WILL EVERY HEAR.
ENJOY NEW ADAPTATIONS OF OLD FAVORITES, PLUS ALL ORIGINAL MATERIAL. ALL THE SKELETON CREW PIRATE BAND REGULARS ARE HERE, PLUS GUEST PERFORMER CINDI QUALLS. "CANNONBALL" HAS TWO SOLOS HIS FANS, AND EVERYONE ELSE, WILL REALLY ENJOY. AND WATCH OUT FOR THE "DIRTY OL' BIRD." WE DARE YOU TO SING ALONG.
WE'RE PROUD OF THE RESULT AND THINK THAT IT IS EXCITING, FUNNY, SCARY AND DOWN-RIGHT PIRATICAL! ADVANCE ORDERS WILL BE TAKEN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, SO WATCH THIS SPACE. CUTS ARE:
1. Prelude for Cannon and Steel - It's....
2. Shiver Me Timbers - "Muppet Treasure Island" - Some icky wicked things gonna happen!
3. Red Queen - Anne Bonney's tribute--
(presented here in celebration of the life of its composer, Leigh Ann Hussey)
4. Fishy Mermaid - What was she really up to?
5. Asleep in the Pirates' Deep - How low can a pirate go?
6. Pirate's Love Song - Cannonball Gilmore's interpertation of this traditional song of love and piracy.
7. Hard Tack - That's the wormy, rock-like "ship's biscuit" we pirates eat!
8. Professional Pirate - "Muppet Treasure Island" again - It's who we are!
9. Dirty Ol' Bird - An old lady gets the bird--the pirate's bird. (Words for this and some other songs supplied)
10. Kings of the Sea - A new M&Mc original anthem to and for pirates everywhere.
11. Fireship - This pirate boarded the wrong vessel!
12. William Kidd - One bad dude
13. Blood Red Flag - The pirate life in song, what else?
14. Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me) - The ride, only a lot shorter.
15. Pirate King - Gilbert & Sullivan's declaration of rulers... and straight edges...a...It's...oh, well. Mallory gets to be King for three minutes.
16. Ninety-Eight Not Out - a totally silly song from the singing of Sid Kipper, who gave us permission to sing it, possibly to be rid of it.
17. Down Among the Dead Men - Take a look under the table next time you are in a pub.
18. Henry Martin - Never send a youngster to do a man's job.
19. Mrs McGrath - Cannonball's powerful version of a wrenching ballad.
20. Bold Fighting Pirates (Spanish Ladies) - Something to rant about.
21. Derelict (Dead Man's Chest) - The classic, with a chilling new musical setting. ...and a bottle of rum!
You can get your copy from us via PayPal. It's $15, shipping included. Say you want the Kings!
OH, AND WHEN YA BE GETTIN' A COPY FER YERSELF, DON'T FORGET PIRATE MUSIC BE A GRAND HOLIDAY GIFT. NO SELF-RESPECTING PIRATE SHOULD BE WITHOUT ONE! CHECK OUT THE SPECIAL DEAL AT THE TOP OF THIS COLUMN!
Paintings are of Captain William Kidd by Howard Pyle
Our musical friend, "William Kidd," last heard here, was boarded by the "Professional Pirate"! We thought NOBODY would mess with this guy!! So Kidd sailed over to our Kings of the Sea sister ship. Many Thanks to Skeleton Crew friend Capt. Kidd for suggesting Mallory perform it and to Dennis Gilmore for his most creative engineering.
TheVictory
The logo site photo of the Captain and Mac the Wife by A.J. Stevens
Influences
Probably some past life! Now-a-days, not many real live pirates are out there a-singing and a-sacking on the High Seas. In fact, no one is sure exactly what they did sing back then.
So, being actor/performers, we use our imagnation, with a little help from some great old songs, some new songs we and others have written and even Disney and the Muppets! This is a fun, swaggering group with tunes to match (listen to our tracks). We are far from purests and far from your usual Chantey singing group!
AND SOME PIRATES ACTUALLY READ!
Sounds Like
Us. And perhaps those guys down below, below, below!
Record Label
Yours, if you like. Us: Janus Company Music
Type of Label
Indie
Skeleton Crew Pirate Band / Mallory & McCall's Latest Blog Entry
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The Captain gets the cannonball removed from his back
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New pirate all-star CD to help New Orleans Schools replace instruments destroyed by Katrina!!!
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Sir Henry Morgan salutes himself in Song
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Huzzah! Thanks to our special friend Bob for fixing our site problems!
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About Skeleton Crew Pirate Band / Mallory & McCall
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UPDATE: THE CAPTAIN'S OPERATION
The Captain had his back operation on December 5th, and although he will be out of comission for some months, he is doing well and is in good enough spirits although the healing time is longer than we'd hoped. Thanks for all the good thoughts,
Mac the Wife
THE BACK-(ER-HUM)-STORY
As you may know, the Captain took a cannonball in the stern and had to have it removed, so Ojai and Escondido (the end of October) were the last performances the band played. Time for the ships barber to make it right!
The Skeleton Crew Pirate Band played at the Ojai Pirate Festival the last weekend in September '07. We had a grand time and even got a standing "O" for "This is My Night to Howl" in a joint set the final show with Marooned. Many thanks to all the good wishes and support. Check out the Gold Coast Productions site for more information on upcoming events! We're planning to be back for the fall Pirate Festival this year if Sweeney the back barber will let us.
Introducing PiRATE PRiMiTiVE Pirate Made for the Pirate Trade
GRAND OPENING OF THE PiRATE PRiMiTiVE WEB SITE JULY 8TH! BE THERE!!!
Check out our exciting new project by clicking on the poster below.
THE SKELETON CREW PIRATE BAND, aka MALLORY & McCALL have performed together as eclectic entertainers, and husband and wife, since 1973. In our current incarnation, Mallory sings solo and lead vocals and Janna (McCall) sings backup and accompanies on antique suitcase pump organ, piano and other keyboards. Sometimes she adds uke, accordion and other assorted musical implements.
When performing as the SKELETON CREW PIRATE BAND, we've press-ganged Dennis "Black Patch" Patterson and Dennis "Cannonball" Gilmore to enlarge the crew. These rowdies add a unique sound as we musically pillage and plunder. We can be heard and seen playing our pirate music at Renaissance faires, pirate festivals, tall ship and sea celebrations and all sorts of lively private parties (even a Bar Mitzvah!). We were featured on the Red Carpet for the first premiere of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. Read about or adventure below!
We also perform (usually in costume) songs of the IRISH, CIVIL WAR, VICTORIAN ERA, WILD WEST (Calamity and Baritone Bill), DICKENS (HOLIDAY and readings, plus year-round presentations of Charles Dickens and the songs he and his circle loved to perform), TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY, CLASSIC BROADWAY, FOURTH OF JULY (Americana: In the Good Old Summertime) and a lot more. New is "QUEEN VICTORIA and her SINGING EQUERRY," performing songs of her time and taste (which was much more lively than you'd think!). Great novelty for a special party or for re-enactors or anyone else who wishes to be dubbed a "KNIGHT" or "DAME." Have your special someone be formally be proclaimed "Dame!" Remember, this queen is amused and far from dull. (Although our shows are historically based, they are far from dry and very often quite funny. We tailor our shows to what is needed.)
We write some of our own special material which includes pirate songs, farce and satire: "This is My Night to Howl" (Werewolf! the Musical), "The Last of the Red-Hot Mummies" (Two on the Nile or That Old Fashioned Mummy of Mine), "Aces and Eights" (the death of Wild Bill) and all sorts of other things. It's entertaining and fun! Hopefully--that's why we're here--we'll be able to upload some MP3s for you to enjoy.
Visit our website and find out more than you want to know! You PIRATES out there will also find sheet music for some of our songs, lyrics and a treasure of pirate pictures, vintage sailing ship art from old sheet music and a lot more. And you can buy our CDs and book!
NEW CD FROM SCPB member and engineer! Dennis Cannonball Gilmore has recorded a fine solo album of sea and pirate songs. You can get your copy through Dennis. Send him a message from his MySpace site: Dennis Gilmore's MySpace Page! Check it out!
Visit our other MySpace spaces for more music of a different sort:
To hear band member Dennis "Cannonball" Gilmore play and sing some of his Celtic Music and a song from "Kings of the Sea" visit www.MySpace.com/DennisCannonballGilmore
and then there's
The Janus Company Radio Theatre space to "come with us to the Thrilling Days of Yesteryear as the Lone Ranger..." er. wrong radio program, but check it out, anyway.
It is said: "Age and treachery always triumph over youth and speed." But youth and speed are much more fun! Enjoy the dance!
LAST CHANCE FOR THE SAMPLER CD! IT'S OUT OF PRINT SINCE LAST SEPTEMBER 23 WHEN THE NEW ALBUM DEBUTED, BUT WE STILL HAVE A HANDFUL!
Our "ROUGH DRAFT SAMPLER CD" is on sale for a very limited time until it falls entirely off the edge of the earth! It contains six full songs (including "Dead Man's Chest," aka "Derelict"), almost a half hour of music (longer than many classic vinyls). These are the initial mixdowns and experimental takes of some of the tunes for our new albums "Kings of the Sea" (all pirate) and "And Then We Wrote...and Re-Wrote..." (all songs by or adapted by M&Mc, a companion to the book of the same name). These are not the final mixdowns--and some are not even the same versions included on "Kings of the Sea." To make things easy, you may order straight from the PayPal button below! Just say that you want the Sampler CD. The cost is only $10 and shipping and handling are included. This is a very limited edition that collectors everywhere are clamoring for...well, maybe not exactly clamoring, but it will be rare, especially when we become superstars! So CLICK THE BUTTON NOW, say you want the Sampler, and get a true collector's item.
ON THE RED CARPET
THE BIG PREMIERE!
It was the night! The premiere for the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" and we were there, playing and carrying on with our pirate music. Right on the red carpet, opposite the Crystal Palace and in with all the media. The crowd, who had been waiting since early morning, was huge and lined one side of Main Street. The red carpet wound it's way through the park, ending across from a huge outdoor screen on Tom Sawyer's island. Photographers were everywhere, snapping our picture. "Over here...look here!" they called, and we felt like we were the stars ourselves. But wait! Here comes somebody! "Oh," the crowd who had suddenly stopped singing "Yo Ho" with us groaned in disappointment. Nobody. Probably a security man. The people from Disney moved us across the street right in front of the media, blocking their view. Suddenly it was "Pirates, move over!" How fleeting is fame.
More and more celebs and other regular folks arrived and the noise was tremendous. Orlando Bloom came by Mac the Wife's organ and started to go around it, but Mac grabbed his shoulder gently but firmly and directed him to his waiting fans, behind her. She got some points for that, you may be sure!
Suddenly a dapper fellow could be seen coming through the gate by the entrance. "Johnny, Johnny, Johnny," swelled up from the crowd. Still, we tried to sing because that was what we were told to do. "Johnny, Johnny!" Louder and louder. As Johnny Depp slowly and graciously made his way along the fan side of the carpet, the Captain's voice slowly and not at all graciously made it's way down the Captain's gullet, (we weren't allowed mics). We mimed pirate singing and playing, all the while appreciating what a class act Johnny was. We may be professional pirates, but compared to him, we were way out of our Depp! An experience of a lifetime!
There are no photos of us--they didn't allow us to bring cameras. But if you look at the X in the photo taken before things got started you can see where we were. (Nobody seems to have told Mickey that it hadn't started yet. But then I guess Mickey is always on! He was drawn that way.) What a hoot!
Here be a belated Valentines Day greetings, thanks to the creative artistry of Brad Cooper! Keepin' the saucy lass company is Captain Blueblood. Don't want to tangle with this fellow! You can contact Brad at cooperdesignstudio@hotmail.com if ye be interested in his artistic treasures! More from Brad will be on display on our MalloryandMcCall.com website shortly.
Frank Godwin, cover artist 1925
Will somebody who likes farce and 20s music please visit us at
We don't have too many visitors or friends as the site name is not nearly as tempting as this one. So, if that be your taste, give it a look. They're lonely!
Thanks, vintage music mates!
CAN YOU FIND US? BE VERY AFRAID!
This map is fascinating if you spend some time with it, especially in the mode from outer space. But most creepy is our dot on the map! We are right in the middle of Rosedale, a 19th Century graveyard west of downtown Los Angeles between Venice Blvd. and Washington. You can almost locate us to the very marker. Apparently it goes by the center of a ZIP code and ours is in the midst of some very old stones and bones. Zoom in and visit! We won't scare you. Much!
But come full moon, we howl! If you don't believe it, check out the theme from "Werewolf the Musical" on our Mallory & McCall My Space
The captain's newest coat! 137 buttons! This was taken at spring Gold Coast, Escondido.
A NOTE TO OUR MySpace FRIENDS:
It is frustrating that there are a limited number of places to show you off! We rotate our "Top Friends" around, but really, you all should be displayed! So, take a look at all the great people and groups and bands and the like that are our friends. You are a fascinating bunch and we be glad you're there!
......................The Skeleton Crew Pirate Band
Well I checked out "your pretty bobbles!" I love them, I am so honored , by my very special "Family Jewels" They have become a "Treasure up on my Chest!" Love you both, see you at Pirate Faire? POPPY...JEN
