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2009
- 9/28/2009 - Did you catch
J.P. Smith last weekend at the How the West Was Fun festival in Omaha?
No? Neither did many others... So perhaps you can catch J.P. Boyd when the
Pirate Comedy Show returns for the 2nd annual Midlands Pirate Festival on
October 10-11, 2009 in Omaha, Nebraska...
- 8/26/2009 - A new higher quality version of our
promotional video from 2004 has been added to the site's Gallery page. Also,
J.P. may have some form of a new show for this year's Midlands
Pirate Festival in
Omaha, Nebraska.
2008
- 4/14/2008 - Alas, due to other obligations, we
will not be able to perform at this year's Iowa Renaissance Festival. This
is a bummer since we debuted at this event back in 2003 (and haven't changed
the darn show since!). Each year, we've seen increased tippage, too, so it's
a double bummer to not be able to attend out top tipping show.
- 3/5/2008 - It is with great sadness that I have to report the
passing of a friend, Bill Bolton. He died a few nights ago in an auto
accident, and he will be dearly missed.
I believe I first met Bill at the 1998 Iowa Renaissance Festival in Des Moines
where he was performing comedy magic as "Marco the Magnificent." In
those days, I was transitioning from a patron/playtron (buying my first garb
that season) and becoming a roaming rose vending merchant. I encountered Bill
at several more festivals (including the 1999 Southern Illinois Renaissance
Festival) and we became friends. During those days, I helped create the Iowa-based Washer
Well Wenches and Bill was nice enough to let all of us stay at his home
when we performed for the My Waterloo Days Renaissance Festival one year.
He was always able to lend a hand and help out. He was also instrumental in
the creation of the Pirate Comedy Show. During the initial gathering of thoughts
between co-founder Alicia and myself (in Iowa City), Bill traveled down to
brainstorm with us. The "laughing skull" logo was his idea, and the
monkey we use in the show was also his (Bill did puppet shows for many years,
actually). He provided many show ideas and helped up polish out the original
version. He is one of three writers credited for our "Curse of the Blackened
Pearl" skit. In face, he was the one who provided some photos of our very
first (and at that time, only planned) performance at the 2003 Iowa Renaissance
Festival.
He was a great man, and I am saddened I had not kept in touch with him in the
past few years. His is survived by a family who will no doubt miss him more
than I could ever imagine. I send my condolences to them, and may have more
things to add once the shock has settled down. Goodbye, Bill. You will be missed.
2007
- 9/15/2007 - Scarlett and I have been having
a great time at the Des Moines Renaissance Faire. She had to abandon
ship last Sunday due to illness, so we just faked some musical
sets (yawn) but this weekend we were back at full force. Thanks
to everyone who came out! One more day...
- 8/1/2007 - It looks like we'll be at the Des
Moines Ren Faire again this year, though only doing stage shows
on weekends 2 and 3.
- 6/6/2007 - Do you like country music? If so,
check out the Wild West
Music Fest coming to Des Moines June 30 and July 1. The event
will be held at Festival Park (permanent home of the Des Moines
Ren Faire) and JP will be there playing some western cowboy type
character or something.
- 6/1/2007 - It's not customized yet, but we
actually have a MySpace page
now. And if you want to hear all the songs on our CD, check our Virb page
out.
- 5/1/2007 - After much arm twisting (from Molly),
it looks like we'll be making an appearance again this
year at the Iowa Renaissance Festival, but just two shows on Sunday.
It's the same old show we've been doing there since 2003. One of
these year's we'll find time to write some new material. I never
imagined we'd still be doing this show five seasons later!
- 3/14/2007 - Our first podcast for the 2007 season
has been uploaded. Enjoy!
2006
- 9/9/2006 - Wow! Scarlett is working out quite
nicely at the Des Moines Ren Faire. You'd think she'd been doing
this for ages. But the real news is this: This month's MacAddict
magazine mentions the Pirate Comedy Show (and myself, Captain
Boyd, Legendary Pirate). I won a contest, you see, and named a
photo. I'll see if I can scan that in. And in other news... At
the festival today, a groovy guy named Tyler was wearing a custom
made T-Shirt that read: "Official Pirate Comedy Show Fan Club." His
pop, Roy, wore one that said "WENCH WANTED" in the
style of our show's (in)famous prop. Huzzah to Roy and Tyler!
(How cool is that, seriously!?)
- 8/24/2006 - Welcome to our newest pirate wench,
Phaedra G., aka Scarlett Flynn. You can read more about her (and
see a pic!) on the About Us page. She
will join the show during the Des
Moines Renaissance Faire while Molly is tied up with "other
things" at that event (she's the Queen!).
- 8/11/2006 - Big piratey news! The Pirate Comedy
Show is adding a new pirate wench. Name to be announced soon, but
she's a red head (sorry guys, she's engaged, but don't let that
stop you from tipping). Details soon. Looks like we'll be doing
a few shows each day during the three weekend Des
Moines Renaissance Faire.
- 7/7/2006 - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead
Man's Chest opened at midnight at various locations. Molly
and I are already working on a new comedy storyline inspired
by this sequel...
- 5/8/2006 - We're back from our only planned
show in 2006. The Iowa Renaissance Festival moved to a new Spring
date, and the crowds still managed to find it. It was only a two
day event (not counting the Friday "educational/preview" day)
and we only did two shows per day, but it looks like - per show
- it was our best festival ever, exceeding even last year (which
was the previous "best ever"). Great weather, great people,
and Kim and her daughter Lacy gave me a necklace with a replica
of the Cursed Pirate Treasure piece from the Pirates of the
Caribbean movie! Very, very cool! Thanks much, Kim and Lacy!!!
In other news, our podcasts are on haitus for awhile. Details later.
- 2/2/06 - We are now trying to release one new podcast per
week. Check 'em out.
- 1/22/06 - Our most complex production to date.
Listen to the game show, "Walk
the Plank."
- 1/21/06 - Do you listen to our Podcast? If so,
place a pin on our podcast
map.
2005
- 12/18/05 - We're back from a trip to Disneyland,
where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean alot.11/11/2005 -
We've got podcasts. Yes we do. We've got podcasts. How bout listening
to them?
- 10/31/2005 - Four weekends and over 100 performances
later (more than we'd do in a YEAR of ren fests), our stint at
Sleepy Hollow is over. Whew! Amusing stories about our experiences
coming...
- 10/19/2005 - Yep, that was our podcast featured
on this week's Podfinder hosted by Adam Curry. Guess we better
start cranking out the episodes!
- 10/10/2005 -
We survived our first weekend out at Sleepy
Hollow Sports Park portraying Captain Pearl and Captain Blackheart
in the Time Pirates haunted hayrack ride. Come out and
see us there, as well as experience five other haunted attractions
all for $17.95!
- 9/21/2005 - The Piratey
Podcast cometh...
- 9/5/2005 - We just returned from our third appearance
at the Iowa
Renaissance Festival. As some of you may know, we originally
crated this act specifically for a one-time appearance at IRF.
Even though the act is in its third season, we still are breaking
personal records, and this event was our single best ever in the
realm of tipping/buttons/CDs -- even with Sunday being rained out
(we only did 1 show that day). Just amazing. Thanks, everyone!
...and if gas prices weren't so much higher, we'd actually feel
like this was a bigger deal ;-)
- 8/8/05 - Looks like we will be helping pirate-ize
a haunted attraction at Sleepy Hollow Sports Park in Des Moines this
October. Also, we have now sold three tracks on MSN Music (and
dozens and dozens and dozens on iTunes US, UK and Canada). Spiffy!
- 6/27/05 -
I just got our May sales report from iTunes. The top selling
song was the Monotonous Piratey Song - who would have guessed!
- 6/11/05 - Songs from our album are
also available on MSN Music, MusicMatch, Rhapsody, Puretracks,
MusicNow, MusicNet, LoudEye, and Sony Connect. Though iTunes has
about an 80% market share so I doubt we'll see many sales from
all the others, combined (especially since I haven't even heard
of half of them).
- 6/4/05 - We're back from Scandinavian Days.
Although they had moved the stage location into the school gym,
it never got around to raining so we got to perform outside in
the park. Audience size was nice, and this
guy showed up. He's part of the crew that runs the rigged crossbows
at the DM faire ;-) And look, he
posted photos!
- 6/1/05 - See us this Saturday at Story City,
Iowa's Scandinavian
Days! We've also made our first .59 cents from iTunes from
a sale on 4/30! (We just received our first summary for sales up
through April, and that was the day our tracks first became available
-- neat!)
- 5/31/05 - We're back from the Des Moines Renaissance
Faire. We did two shows per day over the three day weekend, and
my voice is almost gone. Still, it was much fun in spite of some
rain. We did very well, and appreciate all the support. After all,
no one wants to go home with all that cursed pirate treasure...
Next stop: Story City, Iowa, this coming Saturday... (P.S. - The
boy scouts crossbow booth is rigged. All the crossbows shoot crooked.
Honest.) Also... See our "ad" in this month's Renaissance
Magazine (Issue #43, page 95).
- 5/25/05 - I wanted to mention what a great time
we had in Tama, Iowa this past weekend at the Lincoln Highway Bridge
Festival. We saw a few ren faire friends (the face painters, Robert
Uy of Orckes & Trolles with his barbershop quartet) and they
treated us really well. Weather could have been better, but tips
went well. Thanks, Tama! Up next: 2 shows per day at the Des
Moines Renaissance Faire, Memorial Day Weekend.
- 5/2/05 - You can now buy songs from our album
on iTunes!
- 3/24/05 - A few more CDs sold, and one of the
guys who started International
Talk Like a Pirate Day contacted us. How cool is that? Er,
mateys. I also wrote and recorded a demo for a new piratey song
which will appear either on a new album, or the special edition re-release
of our first album.
- 3/18/05 - We're one of the links over at KeepToTheCode.com,
the official fan site for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
(You do know they are working on Parts 2 and 3 right now, yes?)
Also, we keep selling discs at CD Baby so I've grown bored with
reporting that. I will only report more CDs sold on slow news days,
but I still update our list of states that
the album has been sent to.
- 3/12/05 - See our ad in the current issue of Regional
Renaissance Reporter! This is the issue that has absolutely
nothing to do with Sacremende.
- 3/9/05 - On the 6th, no sites in Google matched
the term 'Sacremende'. On the 7th, two sites did. On the 9th (as
of a few minutes ago), the Pirate Comedy Show became the #1 site
talking about Sacremende. And just what is Sacremende? It's a reference
made in this week's episode of Arrested Development (a
quirky sitcom on FOX which is produced by Ron Howard). So, see
you in Sacremende! (And CD
Baby has our CDs in stock again, but feel free to buy them directly
from us if you prefer.)
- 3/6/05 - The fourth CD sold on CD Baby. Now
we gotta send more... Oh, and Sacremende! That's right.
I said SACREMENDE! If you know what/where Sacremende is... send
me an e-mail ;-)
- 3/5/05 - A third CD sold on CD Baby! Yay!
- 3/2/05 - Our CD is now available from Tower
Records, too!
- 2/28/05 - Just a few days after getting listed
at CD Baby and we've already sold a copy of our album there. Very
cool! Also, Pirates of the Caribbean parts 2 and 3 start filming
today. Visit http://www.keeptothecode.com/ for
the latest. (3/1 update: Make that two CDs
sold via CD Baby so far...)
- 2/26/05 - We just did our first 'show' of the
season - a birthday party in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Thanks, Kim, and
happy birthday, Lacy! See you at the faire!
- 2/23/05 - Our CD is now available at CD
Baby. There you can hear previews of all the songs on the
album. Direct distribution (other than at our live shows) will
be discontinued, shortly.
- 1/12/05 - Captain Jack Sparrow is setting sell
for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom theme park. Or so the rumors
say...
2004
- 11/18 - Too cheap to buy
the album? Listen to tracks free over at RenRadio.com.
(Update: They are playing Where is the Renaissance and Eileen
Bachendoit, at least. And my old Standing in Line song. Scary!)
- 10/12 - I forgot to mention ... we are one of
the many links over at the Talk
Like a Pirate Day site.
- 10/11 - The second Des Moines Ren Faire has
now concluded, and thanks to our "cast members" and their
wonderful pillaging for tips, we recovered more cursed treasure
(your tips!) doing three shows a day than we did in Nebraska where
we did four shows a day -- and Nebraska set a new record for us,
so thanks, everyone! My socks will be paid off soon! (Update: Wow
- I just did the paperwork. This was our 3rd highest tipping event
ever, and best 2 day event ever. Thanks, gang!)
- 10/10 - Did you see J.P. Boyd on Des Moines
WHO-TV (NBC) morning news Sunday? The Queen and
I went down to the studio to be interviewed about the event.
- 10/3 - This Sunday's (10/3) Des
Moines Register newspaper has a color photo of yours
truly (Captain J.P. Boyd, Legendary Pirate) in the Iowa Life
section. It is next to a list of "top things" to
do this coming week in Des Moines. #1 thing to do? The Des
Moines Renaissance Faire. Spiffy!
- 9/28 - Although attendance at the 2nd annual
Nebraska Ren Faire was small, the weather was much nicer than last
year. We ran out of all the CDs we brought (which wasn't that many)
and we had fun playing in front of "Blackjack's Pub" (the
Nautical Bad Boy's set). Next stop: Des Moines Ren Faire & Fall
Feast, Oct 9-10. Our show schedule may be very limited (one or
two each day), due to other obligations at that event. See ya there!
- 9/20 - We had a blast at the Iowa Renaissance
Festival over Labor Day Weekend and now we are gearing up for a
trip to Ashland, Nebraska for the 2nd annual Nebraska
Renaissance Faire. Come see us!
- 8/20 - As a birthday gift (it's JP's birthday
today), our new comedy CD is available
for online purchasing for just $5 plus shipping.
- 7/28 - We're back from RAGBRAI (er, I mean NYLCJCI
- Newspaper's Yearly Long Cycling Journey Crossing Iowa -
they are pretty strict about the usage of the real name) in Marshalltown,
Iowa. We saw our faire friends, Dave and Julie, and got stickered
by Team Spank Me, the Lutefisk.net crew, and a few others. It was
a fun time, and some very nice folks at the school (including a
nice lady who was helping me learn the Spanish word for ice - heilo?).
Our cast included out of staters, as well as a guy from Japan and
one from Ecuador. The tipping and sale of our CDs and buttons made
the trip worthwhile (better than many faires we've attended, actually)
so we were very glad we went. If anyone has any pictures of us
there, would you send us a copy?
- 7/19 - Iowa bikers, look out. There be pirates
planning to pillage the village of Marshalltown, Iowa on Wednesday,
July 28th when Ragbrai passes through. Maybe.
- 7/13 - We're back from Ironwood, MI, and we
had a fantastic time. A special thanks to all the volunteers and
staff of the Upper Great Lakes Renaissance Faire -- some great
people! There are also now 12 copies of our new
CD floating around. Huzzah!
- 7/9 - Molly and I are headed to Ironwood, Michigan
this weekend (8+ hour drive, and no time to drop by the Spam museum
while going through Minnesota). Our new CD will be available for
the first time at this show... And orderable from this website
shortly afterwards.
- 6/8 - Molly and I are back from Siouxland. Next
stop: visiting two different events this coming weekend, then in
talks with two separate events about appearances the end of June.
- 6/2 - Our first festival event of the season
has concluded, and our new pirate wench, "Grace O' Malley" (Mandie),
did the job nicely after only a few rehearsals. Photos and other
details to be posted when time permits. Meanwhile, Molly and I
are preparing for Siouxland this coming weekend... Oh, and you
can now download our first album track from this
page.
- 5/11 - Festivals! If you want to download QuickTime
clips from our promotional DVD, drop us an e-mail and we will send
you the link.
- 5/3 - Contract from UGLRF received.
Video teaser clip added to the gallery.
- 4/21 - I just noticed we are listed on the Siouxland
Ren Fest website. Spiffy! I guess they weren't kidding. (And
we'll have a song on their promo CD, too...)
- 4/7 - We have started recording our musical
comedy CD... Uh oh.
- 4/3 - I need a woman! Specifically, a loud and
funny woman with the stage presence to take on the Pirate Wench
role for Des Moines. Should be loud, funny, and able to make extensive
rehearsals in Des Moines between now and Memorial Day Weekend.
- 3/20 - For those not on our mailing list, our
newsletter is here.
- 2/29 - Our new mailing
list is ready to go. Please sign up!
- 2/23 - Volume II, Number I of the Pirate Press
newsletter is in the mail.
- 2/19 - We are currently booked at five
events this season. If you want us to pull into your faire's
harbor, contact us soon while weekends
are still open!
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