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.

History

Woods Tea Company was started in 1981 in Burlington, Vermont, by Bruce Morgan and Rusty Jacobs. 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.

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.

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

Following the deaths, MacKenzie started touring with the group and eventually rejoined the band 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

;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
*(D) Chip Chase - vocals, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, bodhran
*(D) Rusty Jacobs - vocals, guitar, tin whistle

Discography

1983 - Where Am I To Go?

# Santy Anno
# Wild Mountain Thyme
# The Road To Boston
# Where Am I To Go?
# Panxty Fanny Poswers
# Blow Ye Winds
# Three Pounds Ten
# The Blarney Pilgrim
# The Irish Question
# Sally In The Garden
# No Mans Land
# Summertime - The Rights Of Man

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

1995 - Journey Home

# Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore
# Boyne Water
# By The Hush
# Roll Highway
# Johnny Jump Up
# Take Your Pay
# Foolish Questions
# Talcahuano Girls
# Jenny-Lynne
# Ghost of Gloucester's Fleet
# Matthew 18:3
# Mist Covered Mountains
# Pull Down Your Vest
# Goin' Away

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 Lively 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

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.

# Star of the County Down
# The Silver Caravan
# Give Me Just a Little More Time
# Gander In the Stubble
# Ste Joseph / Girl With the Blue Dress/Ste Antoine
# Spotted Pony / Sugar Hill
# Into This Night
# Old Woman / Ten Penny Bit
# The Grey Funnel Line
# The Dog's Complaint

References

External links

Official website

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American folk musical groups
Celtic music groups