The smell of rum, the sea, and black powder. The crashing of the waves and sails snapping in the wind. The creaking of timbers over the raucous laughter of gentlemen of fortune. You're not at a Festival anymore, you're there with the Musical Blades, part of the crew of the Prickly Bitch. Since the turn of the century, the Musical Blades have been transporting patrons into their hilarious world of witty dialog, and original maritime songs. It began as a discussion between two piratical peers, over ales and grog, to find the perfect combination of  music and comedy. And now, five distinct personalities, five aesthetic inputs, five pirates with WAY too much time on their hands have worked together to create an original experience in pirate entertainment! And who are these five pirates? Glad you asked. The Crew: · Captain Patch: Albert Hall is a veteran of the sound stage and studio and has performed in venues throughout the Midwest for over 20 years. Albert is the originator and began the Musical Blades show Fall 2000 and is the writer of many of the Musical Blades songs and material. · Cutthroat Cookie: Jason Longberg has done work on both stage and television and has been doing medieval reenactment for over 12 years. He became a pirate winter 2005. Besides helping out with the comedic writing Jason has become our quintessential bad boy. · Chuey: David Levin is a strong member of the group. David has more than pulled his own weight helping with impromptu situations, and comedic and musical writing. David's strong voice and chaotic demeanor add much depth to the group. David's other entertainment obligations have included a comedy/sword fight show and being the host of pub sing sy KCRF and STLRF. · Salty Peter Johnson: George Hunt. The guitarist of the Musical Blades. A published songwriter (BMI) and recording engineer. (Cypher Sound, KC). He tells us he’s very talented! He seems to like telling us how talented he is… George is truly a breath of fresh air, he has rhythmically taken us the direction we longed for. He answered an ad saying "I RRR a Pirate!", and says he "wants to be the ships parrot".... (What?) A very talented song writer, George became a 'Blade' spring 2008. · Cheeks: Ed Miller may be the worlds shortest pirate (he's a Micro Pirate!). Ed has been performing music for many years, both at faires/conventions and in more traditional band situations. In addition to being the groups newest tenor, Ed plays multiple instruments and is also versed in stage combat. Ed rocks... no, really... well he's not as good as Salty Pete but then again... who is? Recruited to the Blades January 2009. Light the red lamps!: With their experience performing at events, on the faire circuit, and in pubs, the Musical Blades offer a variety of music. Original and traditional material; upbeat shanties, hard hitting ballads, comedic stage songs and antics, and tear jerking closers. So tap an extra keg of rum and light the red lamps cause with fair winds, the Musical Blades and their piratical nonsense will be there soon! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.