The Drunken Maidens

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Traditional Folk, by Un-traditional Folk. TheDrunkenMaidens@gmail.com 206-604-0158

Short Bio

The Drunken Maidens, an all-female acoustic band, specialize in tight vocal harmonies

which are inspired by performers such as Sweet Honey in the Rock, Mediaeval Baebes,

Great Big Sea & the Wailin’ Jennys. In addition to their voices, the band incorporates guitar,

fiddle, mandolin, whistles, mountain dulcimer and percussion. Threads from traditional

ballads, shanties, old­time and bluegrass, fiddle tunes and early music are woven together

to produce a colorful and varied blend of British and American music, old and new.

Discography

1. Byker Hill / Elsie Marley

2. Maids When You’re Young

3. Staten Island Hornpipe (instrumental)

4. Li’l Liza Jane

5. The Keeper

6. Maiden’s Choice (E. Bradtke)

7. S’ann An Ile

8. Tree (L. Waterfall)

9. The Cuckoo

10. The Drunken Maidens

11. Princess Royal

Samples

Music, Video and Photographs can be found at www.thedrunkenmaidens.com

Notable Performances

2015

o Tumbleweed Music Festival, Richland, WA

o Wooden Boat Festival, South Lake Union, Seattle, WA.

o Northwest Folklife, Seattle, WA.

o Maritime Festival, South Lake Union, Seattle, WA.

o Phinney Arts and Music Series Concert, at the Woodland Park

Presbyterian Church, Seattle, WA.

Aug 2014

o Princeton Traditional Music Festival, British Columbia, Canada

The Maidens

Lori Bellamy grew up listening to her father sing bluegrass

music, loudly and off key as they made frequent road trips to the

family homestead in east Tennessee. This led to her lifelong love

of traditional music.

After a longish stint in musical theatre, Lori is back singing the

music she loves. When she's not rehearsing and performing

with the Maidens, Lori moonlights as a tutor. Lori made her way

from Delaware back in 1996. She had a strong desire to stick her toes in the pacific ocean,

which she did. She met her true love and has been here ever since.

Liz Savage was raised in New York City but soon felt the call

of the open road and headed west. By day she teaches science

students while at night she transforms into a soulful blue grass

star. Through the past two decades Liz has been involved with

several bands in the Pacific Northwest including "Twins before

Birth" and the Folk/Americana group "Rodeo Lagoon".

Alongside Alicia Healey she opened for such greats as Art

Garfunkel, Cheryl Wheeler and Catie Curtis. They also played at

Folklife and Wintergrass where Liz has continued to work for many years.

Helen Gilbert hails from England where she developed a

strong passion for the music of her ancestors, which she too

inherited from her father. Descending from Miners, Mariners

and Farm Labourers she particularly enjoys lending her accented

vocals to stories of longing and hard times.

Helen traversed the globe in 1999, stopping in California before

arriving in Seattle where she quickly put down roots. Her

wanderlust satiated for a spell she has been known to lead the Seattle and Port Townsend

Shanty Sings and hosts a monthly Pub Sing at T.S. McHughs.

Elaine Bradtke is an accomplished musician, fiddle scraper,

mandolin plucker and semi-soprano. By day she is a music editor,

transcriber, researcher and cataloguer for the James Madison

Carpenter project and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library of

the English Folk Dance & Song Society.

Former groups include the "SOAS Ceilidh Band" in London and

the "Fab Girls Du Northwest" mostly in Seattle where you may

also catch her performing with the "Village Carolers".

Cat Fox began making musical instruments in 1981 by building

bodhrans, before progressing to dulcimers and guitars. In 1989,

after an impressive apprenticeship, she came to Seattle and

started her own shop where she still works on instruments of

the famous and the obscure.

Cat brings vocals and a number of instruments to The Maidens. Her first foray into music was playing classical piano, then Irish music, then Old Time music. She played with the fondly

remembered local band “The Wailing Strangers” and was also in the unlamented “Paddy Shillelagh”, Seattle’s Worst Irish Band. No one remembers them, and that’s a blessing. Cat also takes the blame for writing “Chipmunk with a Death Wish”. Sorry.

Long Bio

Once upon a time in the misty hills of Seattle, a group of women joined their voices in harmony and The Drunken Maidens, an entertaining acoustic band, was born. They specialize in tight vocal harmonies, inspired by performers such as Sweet Honey in the Rock, Mediaeval Baebes, and the Wailin’ Jennys. In addition to their voices, the band incorporates guitar, fiddle, mandolin, whistles, and percussion. Threads from traditional ballads, shanties, old-time and bluegrass, fiddle tunes and early music are woven together to produce their colorful and varied repertoire. Their blend of British and American, old and new material includes the wistful strains of Appalachian music, saucy English folksongs, ancient melodies and recently written songs, all arranged to showcase the intricate blend of their voices and instruments. The Drunken Maidens have an excellent rapport with their audiences, and the group’s joie de vivre and merry banter enliven their shows. Notable recent performances have included the seventh annual Princeton (BC) Traditional Music Festival, The Pacific Northwest Folklore Society’s Folk Musicians Showcase, Northwest Folklife and Tumbleweed Music Festival. The group recently released their first album “Maiden Voyage”, featuring some of their non-traditional arrangements of traditional songs. Selections include: “The Keeper” an allegorical ballad with roots in the seventeenth century, that somehow found its way to the Appalachian region in the twentieth; the classic Carter Family love song “Are You Tired of Me My Darling?”, the delightfully cheeky warning song “Maids, When You’re Young, Never Wed an Old Man”; “Maiden’s Choice”, an original instrumental with renaissance overtones; and of course, their infectiously syncopated interpretation of “Drunken Maidens”, the song that gave them their name.

Maiden Voyage – The Drunken Maidens -Liner notes

All songs and tunes are traditional unless otherwise noted

Byker Hill / Elsie Marley – A song about coal miners from Newcastle-Upon

Tyne. “Elsie Marley” is a tune associated with a popular nursery rhyme about a

real woman who ran a pub.

Maids, When You’re Young, Never Wed an Old Man – Found in both Ireland

and England, our advice to young women is loosely based on the version in the

New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs

Staten Island Hornpipe – A jaunty tune with a salty flavor and the slightest Irish

accent.

Li’l Liza Jane – Popularized as a southern dialect song a century ago, it was

probably an African-American folk song before then, and has been sung by

generations of children in the ensuing years.

The Keeper (To The Green-o) – Dating back to a mid 17th century broadside

called “The Huntsman’s Delight, or, The Forrester’s Pleasant Pastime” our

abridged version was sung by the Englishman Sam Bennett in 1933 to James

Madison Carpenter and his wax cylinder recording machine.

Maiden's Choice (by Elaine Bradtke) – written while driving on Maiden Choice

Lane in Paradise by the Beltway (on the southwest corner of Baltimore).

Written in the late 20th century in a renaissance style, it sounds much older than

it is.

Sann an Ile – an example of mouth music; dance tunes sung to inconsequential

lyrics, usually when there aren’t any instruments available. In this case the

words are about the beautiful Island of Islay (home of some very good

distilleries). None of us are Gaelic speakers, but we do our best.

Tree (by Linda Waterfall and a group of fifth graders) – The first time we sang

this song was in a snowy apple orchard. The rolling echoes of the Woodland

Park Presbyterian Church give it an especially atmospheric sound.

Cuckoo – Versions of this folksong are found on both sides of the Atlantic, ours

is from the Appalachian branch of the family and includes a lap dulcimer.

The Drunken Maidens - (also known as “Three Drunken Maidens”) about a

saucy group of women from the Isle of Wight; a place off the south coast of

England once famous for smugglers and cheap booze. We took our band name

from this song.

Vocals: Lori Bellamy, Liz Savage, Helen Gilbert, Backing vocals Cat Fox, Elaine

Bradtke.

Instruments: Liz Savage – Guitar, Helen Gilbert - whistle and percussion, Cat

Fox – whistle, percussion and lap dulcimer, Elaine Bradtke - fiddle and

mandolin.