a note from dan zanes
sea music was recorded in the fall of 2002 as a holiday present for friends and family. i love the traditional maritime songs and wanted to spread some of them around. the cd was a hit, so to speak, and i decided to release it on my festival five label in order to spread my enthusiasm as far as possible. these songs are well suited to communal music making and so they fit right in to the festival five message which is, roughly, try this at home.

the sound thanks largely to the soulful singing and playing of my many friends, these acoustic home recordings sound to me like sculptures on a beach, wild and lyrical figures made from frayed scrapes of rope, bent nails, and broken pieces of driftwood, perfectly balanced from a distance and, upon closer inspection, on the verge of collapse. when it comes to music, that's the way i like it.

a possible result these are historical songs of the men who worked on the sea but they're so full of vigor that they continually inspire spontaneous musical outbursts from people in all stations of life. the cd booklet includes words and chords so that you'll be well equipped for some outbursts of your own.

for more information there are many wonderful musicians and singers around the world performing and recording sea music. there are some links in the cool things section of this web site in case you want to dig a little deeper.