hurricane

Really? I've never had anyone ask ever. They just hire us and we do the gig, from really big corporate events to local fundraisers. It's never come up. Odd.

--

Here's something I wonder about. I often sing with a group that raises money for local charities. We always pay for our sheet music, but we don't consider performace fees. Are we violating fair-use clauses? This is a particularly senstive issue for me since I plan on doing a song at our next fundraiser that was co-written by my congressman.

I've never encountered a problem in 30 years doing this. Especially performing at a local charity. If you're making money off someone's song, that is a bigger issue than public performance without money being exchanged. As I've said, done very high profile gigs and never once had an issue.

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Well,we are kindred spirits now, aren't we Beowoulf? I had the same problem. I pulled off period re-enactment and lived life "behind the ropes" and didn't care for it one little bit. I always felt like someone needed to hang a sign on the rope that said, "Please do not feed the re-enactors." My personality is way too big to rein it in and make it period and I really didn't like feeling like I was a display in a museum. Before anyone chimes in, let it be known that I marvel at those who do it and some do it amazingly well, it just wasn't me.

I am reminded what Cascabel once told me, and I paraphrase... "What's the purpose of being proper pirate if no one knows you are one?"

There will be those who slam your interpretation, but you have to do what interests you, what jazzes you. And if you can't be behind the ropes, trust me, it's not all that bad.

While FTPI is strict (although I don't know how a vendor selling fur lined manacles is exactly period) , you're always welcome at Pirates in Paradise, where everything goes. At least in Florida, the same is true for most of the festivals. Only FTPI and St. Augustine's Searles and Drakes are period correct. Everything else is wide open. And this is true all over the country.

As others have said, it's a big world and there's lots of room for all of us. There is no right or wrong. Just figure out what you enjoy and plan accordingly. It's all good!

Thanks VS ....lots of good historical information........I am zeroing in on the Pedersoli Queen Anne pistol.........I have seen refs. that this style pistol goes back to 1660...i want to select a pistol that i will use at Searl's Raid in March.........dont want to be banned from participating..........Yo Ho

Note: Searle's specifically prohibits Queen Anne's in their event. See:

http://searlesbucs.com/eventrules.html

So you may want to go with something else if you really want to do shooting.

I have a treasure chest in my house. I thought about building the other, but no one visiting would be as entranced by it. If you're building it for display, a classic treasure chest can't be beat, especially with treasure spilling out of it. If you're planning to haul it around, then a sea chest is the better choice, since it's what would have been used on a daily basis by men of the sea.

All depends what you want to do. I certainly know that the people living in the apartment below me at the time loved the construction process. I think they especially enjoyed the sabre saw period, long before the electric drill and hammers. I know Diosa did.

The thing is, you can create any name you want. But it may not always stick. People get names for odd reasons. For instance, Drop Dead was Iron Mariea, then Drop Dead Gorgeous, shortened to Drop Dead, because it's funnier when someone asks her her name. It just happened one day. So, you can spend a lot of time thinking up a cool character name, but everyone may end up calling you something entirely different. I gave up even trying to use mine anymore. It just never stuck.

-- Bartholomew Treate

(There, got to use it!)

Or you could be Parker Carr, the queen's personal transportation valet. (think, think)

Parker's a fine name indeed. My own cabin boy is named that - but, of course, he's better known in the pirate world as Wrong Way.

Named him Parker all because of the musical Oklahoma.

How's this one?

http://www.kwsantiques.de/english/cannon/a373.html

Here's a blunderbuss swivel

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kOph_d9kpWI/TQJR9vgnrjI/AAAAAAAAAec/VuZouWn1UMI/s320/mm28.jpg

Thank you Hurricane. And you are right. Everyone has one.

I would have loved to have seen your advice in case it is needed in the future by others but I understand why you held it back. I must apoligise for my part in this. I have asked a moderator to advise me on this. IF both of us get kicked off the board then so be it. I think it would be great if you posted the advice here, so it is here for others to see and use.

Gertie.. I am not handing you names. They have confided in me. It was a mistake for me to even mention it. If you want to believe what you need to in order to continue then that's cool. We all do.

I will not make others the next target. But I have asked you to stop and you have not.

For the sake of Beowoulf and his inquiry please stick to his most recent post he has made and let this go. Allow a full grown adult like Beowoulf make up his own mind.

Thanks to all.

No worries. This won't get you kicked off. If that were the case, they would have kicked me off years ago for some of the things I said. (Everyone reading this collectively nods their head).

Basically, my only advice was to ask the local gendarmes about the regulations. Even in the U.S. federal laws classifies original and reproduction weapons as antiques. However, not all local municipalities allow you to carry them around freely, have unfettered access to black powder or fire live rounds. So, it's best to ask, get a name and number in case you run into trouble and realize that different rules apply in different locales, even here in the Wild West of North America. Hell, it's even legal to shoot someone in Florida if you feel threatened on a public street. But that is another topic for another time and another board.

And Beowoulf, no she don't!

Beowoulf,

Sorry, didn't want to get caught in the Estrogen Crossfire here. I'm glad you read what I said. I think it's the best way to go. Opinions are like you know what... everybody's got one. :)

Deleted.

Deleted.

OK, so I am actually missing a pair of my shackles.... I had two sets and as I sort things out I only have one set left. They were used in the trial on Friday and Saturday and I think perhaps the one set may have gone missing over at the waterfront area. I was repacking all of my props I bring down for the trial and the one pair of shackles is missing

You know, they're the full metal shackles with the chain between them... look at any of the trial pics to see them.

Thanks!

I know them well. Didn't you leave them attached to the four poster at your hotel?

You mean people voluntarily go to Spokane, the Inland Empire?

If you are curious about the history of punch and its variations over the centuries, you'll enjoy this book, which is part history and part how-to guide on punch through the ages.

Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl

http://www.amazon.com/Punch-Delights-Dangers-Flowing-Bowl/dp/0399536167/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293713995&sr=8-1

sounds like i will be in key west for the festival, so the fort invasion is actualy a different group than pip, and pip is more around duval area. i've been to key west several times, just not for the pirate festivals. i have stayed at the PALMS HOTEL @ 820 white street, bed and breakfeast. is this to far from the fort festivals, are there closer hotels centraly located between duval and the fort? i would like to set up my pavillion in the fort, but travlin by airplane space is limited. if i come to pip and the fort can i brang my weapons including my baldric of flintlock pistols and walk around? does the city care if ya walk duval street with flintlocks, i was considering renting scooters and riding them with full dress is that allowed down there.

Both events are in proximity to one another. After going through the Truman Annex on Southard, PiP is on the right near the historic warships. To the left is the road to the fort, which is a good walk, but hopefully there will be a shuttle in the future between the two places. Some people move between the two events, some don't. The beauty of Key West and FTPI and PiP -- it's all good. People can do pretty much as they please, including riding scooters around as pirates. The only thing you don't want to do too much down there is pull your sword out in public. Otherwise, dripping in weapons is pretty normal at both venues and on Duval.

The only housing in close proximity to the fort and Truman Annex waterfront is the Truman Annex. You could ask Mission more about that. Most of the hotels are either on Duval or on the side away from the fort. That said, many of the re-enactor camps have extra tent space if you speak up early and often. Someone seems to always be willing to take a new pirate in.

FTPI what does that mean? my dilema is i have family in tampa florida, i come out for thanksgiving every year for a week, then i do a cruise for a week, to the caribbean to several different areas with royal caribbean or carnival cruises. i need to make up my mind weather its st. augustine or PIP. st augustine is usually the week before thanksgiving and PIP is roughly a week after, i will be taking 3 weeks off during this time cant make up my mind which event has more to do. i live out west and do alot of pirate faires there. i am looking for a primitive event but more things going on than just an encampment and shooting/ traders and trade sutlers selling period wares is what i like seeing which has better traders? which has better entertainment? i am thinking on PIP , but want more feed back. also what happend to the st petersburg pirate faire, i know not real primitive faire but was fun. i was in florida for thanksgiving never found out what happend to this event this year.

Searles - the real fun battle in St. Augustine is in March. The Pirate Gathering is held in November, but it's not primarily historical - it's for every interpretation and there is a nice encampment there that is period. FTPI, the Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion, is set in the fort and has period traders and daily battles. It has the added benefit of having the Pirates in Paradise Festival (which celebrates the rich maritime history of the city, from the historical to the hysterical), is adjacent to it along the Truman Annex waterfront. So, you can enjoy the period play, participate in all sorts of other cultural events and activities at PiP (which extends from the weekend after Thanksgiving through the first weekend in December) and party your guts our along Duval St along with the rest of your fellow mates. I love the Pirate Gathering, but the combined events make Key West the choice event. Last year I believe there were pirates from 25 states and three different countries there.

I have to go with Crispy and Animal. FTPI/PiP offers the best of all worlds - a place to re-enact, a place to play and a place to party. Can't really beat Key West for pirootin'.

That said, it depends on what your interests are. For historical representation, you can't beat St. A and it's the only venue that lets you shoot in the streets in a roaming battle. The camping at both are similar, though the standards for St. A are more strict in terms of period. The FTPI is buccaneer to wrecker, while Searle's is strictly buccaneer.

On the FTPI/PiP side, you can have a longer vacation in Florida since the PiP festival is 10 days and the invasion is the last three days of that week. So you can enjoy pirating activities and events during a longer stay, if you have the time and coin.

But, if you only had one to choose, it's Key West.

And I won't even get into the less historical ones, Stuart, John Levique, Ft. Myers and the Pirate Gathering.

Therein may be the issue, sir. Often the lead has a say over others in the cast. A lead actor rarely wants to be shorter than another in the cast. It isn't a good star quality to be short looking. It's often in the contract.

It's always a good call to go in costume, says I. Been doing it since Roman Polanski's Pirates. Adds a little character, especially when you be sneakin' in some rum. :)

Makes me wonder if you have some saints in your family history - St. Bernards that is.

And Peter Ustinov didn't in Blackbeard's Ghost?

Moviemaking by its very definition is about interpretation. Jean Lafitte didn't look anything like Yul Brynner, but I liked him in The Buccaneer. It goes back to, these are not documentaries and the use of historical characters within a broad and even sometimes ludicrous context is part of the rich fabric of the cinema. I certainly know that Cleopatra looked nothing like Elizabeth Taylor, but I enjoyed the interpretation nonetheless. And I know for certain that Mr. Potato Head never really sounded like Don Rickles. At least not my Mr. Potato Head (but I digress into something extensive and expensive therapy already addressed).

Exactly. Rarely does artificial aging look realistic, at least to others in the re-enactment world. The best way to age it is to do like the folks did back then - live in the stuff as much as possible. Eat in it, garden in it, clean your guns... it will age beautifully all by itself and best of all, you'll appreciate it more because you'll remember where every stain, hole and fade came from. Believe it or not, they did have new clothes back in the day. It didn't come from the tailor or your mom looking ratting. Took time.

And don't forget to experiment with reversing the pattern. Often, coats, vests and such were given a new life by the tailor. He would take out the lining, reverse the cloth and sew the lining back in. So, it would look new even though it was old. I've rarely seen people doing this at events but there are records of it.

I would much rather have a good actor play the role than a bad actor who happens to be 6'6". They could have just as easily used an apple crate below the guy if they wanted him to be tall. Dustin Hoffman has been using one for decades.

This isn't a bloody documentary -- it's a fantasy for god's sake. Enjoy it for what it is.

Wow. I think mine need to visit you.