Pirate Jenny rocks the seven seas

It's rare to come across a local group that is both bold enough to escape the expectations of the modern rock scene and talented enough to warrant forking over some pieces of eight, but Pirate Jenny somehow manages both at once. As the world's premiere (and perhaps only) pirate rock band, the buccaneers of Pirate Jenny are savvy sea dogs, swashbuckling and singing their way through their interpretation of what classical sea shanties might have sounded like if pirates had been the ones writing them.

The members of Pirate Jenny might spend their free time singing about pillaging seaports and walking planks, but their talent is still remarkable. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the group was officially founded in 1997.

Brought about by founder Kevin Hendrickson, who had been experimenting with a unique format of music for years before recording "Scabby the Seaman" in 1991, the group has produced two full CDs and a collection of shorter albums, each with several unique pieces of their own. Hendrickson, a guitarist, was joined by fellow band members bassist Ron Lee, xylophonist Paul "Keel-haul" Ianotti, and drummer John Morgan in 1998 to create the latest edition of this far-spanning saga, and the quartet went on to record their most recent production, "Once Upon a Wave," in April 1999.

The group takes its name from a song of the same title from Kurt Weill's1928 Three Penny Opera about a wench who worked at a portside tavern, and does her best never to forget her roots.

Pirate Jenny refuses to let itself be easily defined even as it transverses the Spanish Main with its collection of pieces, both for and about pirates. Their musical style ranges from more traditional buccaneer songs, complete with the prerequisite piratical percussion, to modern day rock songs that detail the deeds of the scurviest scum ever to sail the seven seas.

Fantastical characters lurk in their lyrics -- these pirates don't just sing yo ho ho and drink rum, but prefer to spend their time fighting evil spies and saving the world from aliens. As out of this world as their subjects can be, Pirate Jenny still saves the odd number to capture the rolling waves of the sea and the beat of the drum on board the deck, forever immortalized in their frolicsome refrains.

The band's lyrical proclamations are anything but mundane. Whether declaring that "a pirate's life is peaceful (until he cuts you up)" or racing their galleons to war, what the band's listeners realize above all else is that its show is unique among the modern-day music scene. It seems odd upon first hearkening, but the transition from cheerfully light xylophone to pounding rock rhythms, or from ballad to hard-core, is never forced. In a way, the lyrics manage to transcend even the music -- two of the best pieces on their CD are different versions of the same song, one, a slow sea chanty, and the other a pounding cacophony of rock.

The idea of pirates, men who barter in rum instead of abiding by the rules, has almost become a transcendent theme of our culture, with the buccaneers of ancient day taking their place in modern tradition as the ultimate rebel. In its own way, this group manages to stay true to the spirit of the pirates of yesteryear, paying tribute to the lawless raiders who passed before. Whatever you expect when you put on their CD, Pirate Jenny promises to surprise you. Though it may not be as baneful as Blackbeard or as clever as Kidd, the group has its own unique style that makes listening to it far more fun than a barrel of rum.