William Pint & Felicia Dale

Thursday , October 12, 2000
12:00 am
Location: Elderly Instruments
in-store performance (free)

Any one who thinks sea music means "Haul Away Joe" sung slightly off key to the reedy strains of a concertina is in for a revelation when William Pint & Felicia Dale hoist sail and set their course… With vocals and guitar, mandola, Irish pennywhistles, percussion and the exotic sounds of the vielle-à-roue or hurdy gurdy, the Seattle duo William Pint & Felicia Dale bring an energetic and contemporary spirit to their material. Drawing on several cultures, Pint and Dale perform traditional and modern music and songs reflecting the immense vitality of those who live and work on the sea. Their music fits into the world of modern folk, rock and popular song, but it’s rich with the myth, narrative, rhythm, rhyme and lyric associated with the days of the tall ships. Felicia Dale grew up in an environment steeped in the traditional lore of the sea. Born on New Year's Day 1958 and raised on Vashon Island in Washington State's Puget Sound, she spent her childhood sailing Northwest coastal waters and cruising Canada’s "inside passage." Her father was a sea captain who brought back tales and treasures from exotic ports of call. Her mother was a transplanted Parisian; Dale learned French as her first language and acquired a lifelong love for the songs of the French seafaring tradition. Felicia's first musical venture was a duet act with sister Waterbug recording artist Kat Eggleston when they were both sixteen. Her exposure to the vielle-à-roue or hurdy-gurdy was first through several Seattle area players and then from a performance by the French group Cabistan while on tour at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. Upon her return to Seattle she immediately commissioned an instrument from California luthier Michael Hubbert. Felicia’s striking vocal harmonies are matched by her creative use of the hurdy-gurdy and Irish pennywhistles, taking these traditional instruments far beyond their usual roles as she blends them into the texture of a song or departs on improvisational romps with equal ease. William Pint, born December 20th, 1953, was led astray into the folk world in 1970. He was wooed away from his early rock and roll influences (The Who, The Kinks, and The Beatles) by the folk/rock sounds of Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention. This led to a growing interest in the more traditional, less electric music of such artists as Martin Carthy, John Renbourn, The Chieftains and the eclectic songs of the Incredible String Band. In 1977 he headed west to escape the cold Wisconsin winters of his native Milwaukee and to pursue music. The salt air of Puget Sound and the rich, seafaring history of the Pacific Northwest soon led him to explore the song and lore of the deepwater sailors. With his band Morrigan he recorded an album of Irish tunes and nautical songs "By Land or By Sea," for Folkways Records in 1979. Along with composer Paul Ely Smith and Robert Kotta in the group Ellipsis, he investigated the unusual combination of minimalist, folk and classical music. Flying Fish Records released their 1984 self-titled recording produced by Micheàl O' Domhnàill. The same trio also performed and recorded as Copperfield, a popular Northwest band specializing in British Isles and Celtic music. In performance, William Pint’s emotionally expressive singing is complemented by his powerful guitar and mandola work with which he can supply settings of great delicacy or wild, driving rhythms. Pint and Dale have won an ardent following across the United States, Great Britain and Holland with their recordings and appearances at festivals and concerts. They have recorded six albums, the independently released CDs " Port of Dreams" and "Making Waves," and Waterbug label releases, "Hearts of Gold,." "Round the Corner," "When I See Winter Return," and "Hartwell Horn," Pint and Dale gather together material from many locales and cultures including the West Indies, Wales and Brittany. No dead tradition, seafaring music is very much alive in the hands of William Pint & Felicia Dale, and in the daily lives of people still dedicated to sailing tall ships in the 1990’s."

Check out recordings we carry featuring Pint & Dale