In mid-February, I went to see a show at the Empty Bottle, a pirate show. I didn't really know what to expect, however, I got exactly that: a pirate. The William Young consists of one man, Alex Barnett, on stage dressed in a white shirt, an eye patch and a bandana.

“I've been a pirate since around July last year,” Barnett said as I sat down with him after the show. “The William Young is a band that goes back even further than that, about six months or so. I like pirate music.”

Barnett opened up his harmonium – an instrument similar to an accordion, but contained in a wooden, piano-like box – on stage and started his show. He commanded the space with a somber yet playful presence, and had a raspy, Tom Waits-esque voice.

“I'm really into developing a concept and making music around that,” he said. “It was a rough concept, but I developed it into a pirate.”

Barnett explained the allure of a pirate's life. “There is a modern pirate who's going about the sea taking over boats and really stealing cargo, like pirates used to do. But there is also the idea of not buying into the set way of getting things.” he continues, “That is more like being a pirate, not just musically. I don't want to work an office job for the rest of my life, or buy into the American dream as its been told to me. I believe in something else.”

The audience arched around the stage, creating an elusive intimacy within the world of his tragic sea shanties, or sailor songs, as the landlubbers call them. When a song beckoned participation, the audience was quick to respond. A makeshift community was created.

“If anybody is going to write songs, it is going to be partly about what they believe in, no matter what they are writing songs about,” he said. “Their beliefs are going to be an influence on it. It's really great to create your own universe. I really do like stories of pirates and the whole culture that surrounds them.”

The audience sat around drinking their booze, clinging to their booty. The ambience created by The William Young suspended disbelief and enticed those listening to surrender to the volatile and audacious world of the pirate. Warm golden beer guzzled down throats as some members of the audience swayed and dreamed of the sea.

At the end of the set, my glass of beer was finished, and the transition of mood was abrupt. I wanted to bask in the sea shanty, and possibly steal beer from someone standing around me. I was feeling brazen. The pirate's life was the life for me. Aarrr.

Pick up The William Young's album on cassette at Quimby's bookstore.
see more photos by c. taylor at happyplayground.com