Woods Tea Company
is an American folk music group based in Vermont. They perform a wide variety of songs, including sea shanties, folk songs, Irish drinking songs, and Celtic music. The group is known for their energy, musical talent, and their dry sense of humor between songs.
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WOODS TEA COMPANY TICKETS
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History
Woods Tea Company was started in 1981 in
Burlington, Vermont by Bruce Morgan and Rusty Jacobs.
[1] The band got its name from a wooden storage box owned by Jacobs that had "Woods Tea Co." printed on its side.
Mike Lussen joined the band several years later.
Bruce Morgan left the band in the late 1980s. Howard Wooden officially joined the band in 1992, and Tom MacKenzie followed a year later. In 2000, MacKenzie left the band, and was replaced by Chip Chase.
During the band's time, they became a regular feature at
Colgate University, with the students there knowing the band's material. Between songs, students often shout 'Arrgh!' to poke fun at the group's sea shanties. To honor this, MacKenzie wrote a song called "Aargh!" for the students.
[2]
The band suffered several losses in its third decade. On October 6, 2006, Chase died from a massive pulmonary embolism. He had been hit by a pickup truck while riding his motorcycle several weeks earlier.
[3] A year later, on August 15, 2007, Jacobs died of a heart attack.
[4]
Following the deaths, MacKenzie started touring with the group, and eventually rejoined the band
[5] full-time. In late 2008, Patti Casey became the band's newest member.
Members
There are currently four members of Woods Tea Company:
- Mike Lussen - vocals, banjo, guitar, bouzouki, bodhran
- Howard Wooden - vocals, guitar, bass, bodhran
- Tom MacKenzie - vocals, hammered dulcimer, guitar, banjo, keyboards, bodhran (until 2000; 2007–)
- Patti Casey - vocals, guitar, penny whistle, flute, bodhran [6]
;
Former Members
- Bruce Morgan - guitar, mandolin, concertina [7]
- (D) Chip Chase - vocals, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, bodhran
- (D) Rusty Jacobs - vocals, guitar, tin whistle [8]
Discography
1995 - Side By Each
# Irish Rain
# Lazy
# Clam Flats / Oyster River / The Bridge / Mud Walk
# Spotted Pony / Sugar Hill
# She Was
# Wayfaring Stranger
# Roll the Old Chariot / Green Willis
# Home Sweet Home
# April Wood
# Three Fishers
# Petticoat Whalers / Nantucket Sleigh Ride
# Chilly Winds
# The Trip
# Daughters and Sons
1999 - The Wood's Tea Co. - Live!
# Daughters & Sons
# The Wild Rover
# Banks of Newfoundland
# Wee Wee
# Jenny Glenn
# The Scotsman's Kilt
# The Folker
# 'Aargh!'
# Here I Am
# Blarney Pilgrim / Morpeth Rant
# Roll the Old Chariots
# The Dutchman
# Foolish Questions
# Alberta Bound
# The Cat Came Back
# Finnegan's Wake
# Somewhere Over the Rainbow
#
There Were Roses
# Sandy River Bell / Soldiers Joy
2001 - This Side of the Sea
# Haul Away Joe
# St. Patrick's Day in America
# The Fireman
# Unst Wedding March
# The High Cost of Living
# This Side of the Sea
# The Morning Comes Early
# Farewell
# The Bullgine
# She Loves the Rain
# Little Birdie
# Ode to New Jersey
# Planxty Fanny Powers
# Bedford Harbor
# Lift & Tow
2003 - Standing Room Only
# Lonesome Traveller
# The Country Life
# Morning on the Clam Flats / Oyster River
# Girl of My Dreams
# Inspirational Moment
# RH Intro
# Robin Hood (
written by first-graders in Burlington, Vermont
)
# Olympic Audience Judging
# Lament for Henriette / St. Anne's Reel / Soldier's Joy
# Sweet Appreciation
# 18 Again
# Where Am I To Go
# Santuario
# Rock / O'Keef's Slide / Lord of The Dance
# The Schooner I'm Alone
# Don't Pet the Dog
# Give Me Just a Little More Time
# This Land is Your Land
# Speed The Plow / Mason's Apron /
Devil's Dream
# Rolling Home
2003 - An Evening With Woods Tea Company (DVD)
- Was aired on PBS a number of times.
2007 - The Passage
# The Passage / Whistle Jump
# All The Hard Days Are Gone
# December's Child
# Sink The Cheerio
# My Monday
# Before They Close The Minstrel Show
# The Coal Town Road
# Lovell the Robber
# The Old Dun Cow
# For Rusty
# Reuben James
# Round The Bend
# Gin Ye Marry Me or Birnie Bouzle
# On Board the Saratoga
# God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / O'Carolyn Tune
# The Waterfall
2009 - A Lovely Evening with The Woods Tea Co.
This album was released on February 20, 2009 as a DVD and CD combo.
# Where Am I To Go?
# The Old Dun Cow / Star of Munster / Temperance Reel
# The Remember Song
# Down From Canada
#
The Wild Rover
# Glencoe Schottische / Lord Of The Dance
# Little Birdie
# Sink The Cheerio
# Ghost Of Pekin Brook
# The High Cost of Living
# Handsome Patrick
# Sandy River Belle / Soldier's Joy
# Old Man
#
This Little Light Of Mine
# Rolling Home
# Patti's Dance
References
- National Public Radio favorite Woods Tea Company plays Pacifica
- Woods Tea Co. "Live!" CD. 1999. Tracks 7, 8.
- Charles Chase
- Rusty Jacobs
- Tom MacKenzie - Links
- Patti Casey Will Join Woods Tea in 2009
- Woods Tea Company. "Where Am I To Go?" CD. 2000.
- Rusty Jacobs