The captain’s musical journey.
a love letter to former ships, shipmates, and fellow adventurers.
Captain Blackwood first set sail on musical adventures as a young lad. What started as a group of friends building their own ship in high school, eventually grew into a full sea worthy Vessel. Pounding drums and thrashing guitars filled the sails of the Command Presence. This was the ship he cut his teeth on. Mighty adventures ensued, lessons were learned, cherished memories were made, and unforgettable people filled the decks of the ship.
Diverse musical taste was becoming a known trait of the future pirate. This drumming swashbuckler’s hunger for sounds, melodies, and rhythms grew while he was sailing under the experimental flag of the They’re All Robots!. For Blackwood, this was a time filled with great joy, interesting and talented people, unforgettable adventures, growth and change. He questioned what music was and what it meant to him. His collection of sonic treasures grew vastly during his search for answers. This is also when his pirating ways began to emerge. He started incorporating rhythms and melodies inspired by his treasures into his musical repertoire, no matter where they came from.
Side Note: They’re All Robots! was his first space faring vessel. Blackwood claims on a snowy winter night, during a most incredible jam session, that he and his shipmates were able to attain liftoff and were allowed to orbit Planet Funk. He knows being able to dock at Planet Funk is an achievement only worthy of the upmost funkadelic, so he is just honored to be allowed the orbital visit. He claims the melted snow in the parking lot of the Lazer Gate dock is proof of their re-entry.
Aboard the mighty phoenix adorned Acariya, Blackwood grew into his own as a musician, and as a man in general. The Acariya was not only a ship of musical force, but one that was welcomed at every port they came across. A very tight crew of shipmates with a perfectly combined array of personalities, skills, and philosophies, is what allowed the Acariya to thrive. The expeditions were truly grand and deep lessons of life, love, and friendship, were learned. Also during this time, husband and father were added as ways one could describe the aging pirate. Avast, all good things must come to an end and it was time to leave the sea behind for a bit.
Life ashore treated him well, but he was always restless and took on small outings when possible. A former shipmate once arrived at port with a small artistic ship embellished with lights, colors, and images projected on its main sail. Shambling Mound was scrawled on the stern. He could not refuse a chance help sail such a thing.
Then he was called to action for a grand battle in Providence aboard the dark vessel Thrillhouse. Fireworks burst in the air behind the drums of war, setting the pace for a Viking horde. This was a night that he would never forget.
These extended times on land filled his head with music. Music that combined all his sonic loves into one arrangement. Blackwood decided to build a ship of his own and started constructing the Brigantine Party Machine. A space faring vessel with sonic cannons able to fire his tunes out into the galaxy. Now at the helm of his own ship, Captain Blackwood hopes to spread joy to the creatures of the universe by getting them to dance, rage, and groove.
The Captain, being a man who just loves the thrill of battle to much to just release sound from afar, has teamed up with the multi-talented and venerable Dinosaur Rogers. Unfortunately a global pandemic on the home world has stopped ships from sailing and their plans will have to wait. Though the Captain is saddened by this, he remains hopeful. Dinosaurs and pirates are a hearty bunch and it is just a matter of time before they try sailing again. In the meantime, I hear they are still creatively collaborating on compositional concoctions for your conscious consumption.
