sforzando

The Mongrel Bastard Pirate Orchestra… On all good pirate ships there existed a pirate orchestra. It was the orchestra's responsibility to chronicle in song the adventures of the pirates. Sforzando are a 6-piece pirate orchestra who blend ferocious punk, Western European folk melodies and classic sea shanties to create a soundscape for the ocean. They sing of sailors that can't swim, ships that won't sail, dangerous mermaids and sirens ravishing the waves, mutineers, the vengeance of the sea Gods, the fury of the ocean, the destruction of the shoreline, the poetry of waves and of course, pirates. Especially pirates.

Band members:
Quincy Hall: (Vocals) Established Melbourne playwright and performer, currently working on a series of pirate tales for teenagers..

Raju Sharma: (Percussion) Fat Pirate 2, Indian pirate who has played with such luminaries as Sting and Peter Gabriel in South-East Asia, and locally, with Howlin' Wind, Slava Gregorian and Eden.

Scott Jansen: (Violin) Fat Pirate 1, Melbourne pirate artist and violin master whose paintings adorn the walls of hundreds of the city's cafes and attractions (most notably, the Children's Hospital foyer).

Paul Tierney: (Drums) The only pirate drummer with a masters degree in Engineering.

Dave O'Reilly: (Guitar) Fat Pirate 3

Garth Heron: (Bass) Pirate Ship Engineer/Buchaneer

Major Festivals / Regular Venues Played:
Queenscliff Festival, 1998, 1999 (festival, and 'best of the fest'), 2000 (media launch), Mallacoota Arts Festival, 1999, 2001 (plus official invitation by council leading to performance at the 2000 New Year's Eve celebration), Port Fairy Folk Festival, 1999, St Kilda Festival, 1999, Moomba, 1999, Melbourne Festival / Melbourne Fringe Festival, 1999, 2000, 2001, Punters Club, regulars from 1997 onwards, The Empress Of India, regulars from 1999 onwards,Dan O'Connell Hotel, ten month residency in 1998, Plus regular appearances at: Esplanade Hotel, Ninth Ward, Corner Hotel.

Releases:
We Sail Away on Mabuhay Records (1997)
Midnight at the Lighthouse on pR8, live at Port Fairy (1999)
Hideous Sea Creatures (2002)
SFZ-EP (2005)

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