Woods Tea Company

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 its energy, musical talent and dry sense of humor between songs.

Wood's Tea Company
Group members of Wood's Tea Company
Group members of Wood's Tea Company
Background information
OriginVermont
GenresFolk, sea shanties
Years active1981[1] — present
LabelsIndependent
MembersHoward Wooden
Pete Sutherland
Patti Casey
Past membersMike Lussen
Chip Chase
Rusty Jacobs
Bruce Morgan
Tom MacKenzie
Websitewoodstea.net

History

Woods Tea Company was started in 1981 in Burlington, Vermont, by Bruce Morgan and Rusty Jacobs.[2] The band got its name from a wooden storage box owned by Jacobs that had "Woods Tea Co." printed on its side.[2] Mike Lussen joined the band several years later.

Morgan left the band in the early 1990s. Howard Wooden officially joined the band in 1992, and Tom MacKenzie a year later. In 2000, MacKenzie left, and was replaced by Chip Chase.

The band became a regular feature at Colgate University, where the students knew 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.[3]

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.[4] A year later, on August 15, 2007, Jacobs died of a heart attack.[5] In July 2018, Mike Lussen died after a long illness.[6]

Following the deaths, MacKenzie started touring with the group and eventually rejoined the band[7] full-time. In late 2008, Patti Casey became the band's newest member. In June 2010, Lussen retired from the group. MacKenzie left the band again in fall 2013 and was replaced by Pete Sutherland.

Members

There are currently three members of Woods Tea Company:

  • Howard Wooden - vocals, guitar, bass, bodhran
  • Pete Sutherland - vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, keyboard
  • Patti Casey - vocals, guitar, penny whistle, flute, bodhran[8]
Former members
  • Tom MacKenzie - vocals, hammered dulcimer, guitar, banjo, keyboards, ukulele
  • (D) Mike Lussen - vocals, banjo, guitar, bouzouki, bodhran
  • Bruce Morgan - vocals, guitar, mandolin, concertina[9]
  • (D) Chip Chase - vocals, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, bodhran
  • (D) Rusty Jacobs - vocals, guitar, tin whistle[10]

Discography

1983 - Where Am I To Go?
  1. Santy Anno
  2. Wild Mountain Thyme
  3. The Road To Boston
  4. Where Am I To Go?
  5. Panxty Fanny Poswers
  6. Blow Ye Winds
  7. Three Pounds Ten
  8. The Blarney Pilgrim
  9. The Irish Question
  10. Sally In The Garden
  11. No Mans Land
  12. Summertime - The Rights Of Man

1995 - Side By Each
  1. Irish Rain
  2. Lazy
  3. Clam Flats / Oyster River / The Bridge / Mud Walk
  4. Spotted Pony / Sugar Hill
  5. She Was
  6. Wayfaring Stranger
  7. Roll the Old Chariot / Green Willis
  8. Home Sweet Home
  9. April Wood
  10. Three Fishers
  11. Petticoat Whalers / Nantucket Sleigh Ride
  12. Chilly Winds
  13. The Trip
  14. Daughters and Sons

1995 - Journey Home
  1. Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore
  2. Boyne Water
  3. By The Hush
  4. Roll Highway
  5. Johnny Jump Up
  6. Take Your Pay
  7. Foolish Questions
  8. Talcahuano Girls
  9. Jenny-Lynne
  10. Ghost of Gloucester's Fleet
  11. Matthew 18:3
  12. Mist Covered Mountains
  13. Pull Down Your Vest
  14. Goin' Away

1999 - The Wood's Tea Co. - Live!
  1. Daughters & Sons
  2. The Wild Rover
  3. Banks of Newfoundland
  4. Wee Wee
  5. Jenny Glenn
  6. The Scotsman's Kilt
  7. The Folker
  8. 'Aargh!'
  9. Here I Am
  10. Blarney Pilgrim / Morpeth Rant
  11. Roll the Old Chariots
  12. The Dutchman
  13. Foolish Questions
  14. Alberta Bound
  15. The Cat Came Back
  16. Finnegan's Wake
  17. Somewhere Over the Rainbow
  18. There Were Roses
  19. Sandy River Bell / Soldiers Joy

2001 - This Side of the Sea
  1. Haul Away Joe
  2. St. Patrick's Day in America
  3. The Fireman
  4. Unst Wedding March
  5. The High Cost of Living
  6. This Side of the Sea
  7. The Morning Comes Early
  8. Farewell
  9. The Bullgine
  10. She Loves the Rain
  11. Little Birdie
  12. Ode to New Jersey
  13. Planxty Fanny Powers
  14. Bedford Harbor
  15. Lift & Tow

2003 - Standing Room Only
  1. Lonesome Traveller
  2. The Country Life
  3. Morning on the Clam Flats / Oyster River
  4. Girl of My Dreams
  5. Inspirational Moment
  6. RH Intro
  7. Robin Hood (written by first-graders in Burlington, Vermont)
  8. Olympic Audience Judging
  9. Lament for Henriette / St. Anne's Reel / Soldier's Joy
  10. Sweet Appreciation
  11. 18 Again
  12. Where Am I To Go
  13. Santuario
  14. Rock / O'Keef's Slide / Lord of The Dance
  15. The Schooner I'm Alone
  16. Don't Pet the Dog
  17. Give Me Just a Little More Time
  18. This Land is Your Land
  19. Speed The Plow / Mason's Apron / Devil's Dream
  20. Rolling Home

2003 - An Evening With Woods Tea Company (DVD)
  • Was aired on PBS a number of times.

2007 - The Passage
  1. The Passage / Whistle Jump
  2. All The Hard Days Are Gone
  3. December's Child
  4. Sink The Cheerio
  5. My Monday
  6. Before They Close The Minstrel Show
  7. The Coal Town Road
  8. Lovell the Robber
  9. The Old Dun Cow
  10. For Rusty
  11. Reuben James
  12. Round The Bend
  13. Gin Ye Marry Me or Birnie Bouzle
  14. On Board the Saratoga
  15. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / O'Carolyn Tune
  16. The Waterfall

2009 - A Lively Evening with The Woods Tea Co.

This album was released on February 20, 2009, as a DVD and CD combo.

  1. Where Am I To Go?
  2. The Old Dun Cow / Star of Munster / Temperance Reel
  3. The Remember Song
  4. Down From Canada
  5. The Wild Rover
  6. Glencoe Schottische / Lord Of The Dance
  7. Little Birdie
  8. Sink The Cheerio
  9. Ghost Of Pekin Brook
  10. The High Cost of Living
  11. Handsome Patrick
  12. Sandy River Belle / Soldier's Joy
  13. Old Man
  14. This Little Light Of Mine
  15. Rolling Home
  16. Patti's Dance

2010 - 10 For 10

This album was released at various times during 2010 for $10, and it has 10 songs on it, hence the name. It is the first CD released without Mike Lussen.

  1. Star of the County Down
  2. The Silver Caravan
  3. Give Me Just a Little More Time
  4. Gander In the Stubble
  5. Ste Joseph / Girl With the Blue Dress/Ste Antoine
  6. Spotted Pony / Sugar Hill
  7. Into This Night
  8. Old Woman / Ten Penny Bit
  9. The Grey Funnel Line
  10. The Dog's Complaint

References
  1. Irvin, C. Woodward (November 15, 2007). "Live!". Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
  2. Bartlett, Jean (March 5, 2009). "National Public Radio favorite Woods Tea Company plays Pacifica". Pacifica Tribune. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  3. Woods Tea Co. Live! CD. 1999. Tracks 7, 8.
  4. "Charles Chase". legacy.com. Retrieved November 5, 2006.
  5. "Rusty Jacobs". Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
  6. "Mike Lussen". vermont.funeral.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  7. "Tom MacKenzie - Links". Archived from the original on 2008-07-19. Retrieved December 7, 2007. Woods Tea Company: I'm back! I've rejoined the group full time. Couldn't get enough the first time.
  8. "Patti Casey Will Join Woods Tea in 2009". Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
  9. Woods Tea Company. Where Am I To Go? CD. 2000.
  10. "Rusty Jacobs". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
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