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  THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND
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Three Sheets to the Wind Voted BEST LOCAL BAND!

7/30/2014

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The copy below was originally published in Richmond Magazine's August 2014 "Best & Worst" issue.

BEST LOCAL BAND

Three Sheets to the Wind
Richmond's favorite yacht rockers have won this category for three years running [Captain's Note: If you count the year Three Sheets won "Best Band That Always Gets the Party Going," this makes four-in-a-row!]. They've even played for Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M., although they didn't know it at the time.  Drummer Danny Marnier notes that they performed an R.E.M. song--"It's the End of the World as We Know It," by request--and later saw Stipe, who silently nodded in their direction.
2. No BS! Brass Band
3. Black Girls

We are extremely grateful for everyone who took the time to vote for our little yacht rock cover band! We will gladly renew our pledge to reach new heights in tongue-in-cheek musical showmanship!

So as long as the subject has been raised, it might be fun to relate the Michael Stipe story in more detail here on the Ship's Log:

We were in NYC in March of 2013, playing a birthday party at The Wooly, a soda-counter-converted bar in the former Woolworth's Department building downtown. Somehow we fit the band on the postage-stamp-sized stage, and played to a great crowd of yacht rock folks who "got" what we were doing. I recall that we also played Pulp's "Help the Aged" as a special request for the birthday boy. Anyway, the scene was cool--good low-level lighting, excellent cocktails, half party room, half lounge. We're playing our usual repertoire when someone asks us whether we play any R.E.M. tunes. Well, it so happens that we are R.E.M. fans--Danny and Topper especially so--and have, from time to time, played "It's the End of the World as We Know It" at private events because even though it's not yacht rock, it's a fun song from the '80s. We play the tune; Topper probably got most of the lyrics correct, and we think nothing of it until after we're done.

It was only then that we learned the truth--Michael Stipe was, in fact, in the room.  

We were so pumped at first! I mean, THE Michael Stipe is at the party! After about a minute, however, we realized what we had done. 

We had played (Shiny Happy People excepted) probably the least cool R.E.M. song to play in front of Michael Stipe. #facepalm. We worried whether the people who knew he was there thought we were playing it in order to get his attention. Then we wondered whether the song requester was trying to set us up all along. We suddenly all felt very uncool. I mean, why couldn't we have played Gardening at Night or something really obscure?  

The angst quickly dissipated into laughter, however, as we remembered we were being paid to play yacht rock in New York, after all. As we joked around and rolled the road cases back to the Steely Van, Stipe and friend walked right by the bus. No one said a word. Perhaps, in view of what had happened, it was all for the best.


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Norfolk Yacht Club Wedding

6/28/2014

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p: Echard Wheeler Photography
Our clients embrace Yacht Rock to varying degrees. Some love the music, while others go a step further to incorporate nautical imagery into their decor. Lauren and Phil, however, went the distance. We got to know this stylish couple quite well in the year leading up to their wedding as we kept running in to them everywhere we played! Despite their being stalkers of the first order, as well as being unsettlingly tall and elegant, we became big fans of theirs from minute one. 

Not only did they hire America's #1 Tribute to Yacht Rock, they had their reception at Norfolk Yacht & Country Club--a wonderful venue staffed by friendly folks we've enjoyed getting to know the past few years. You'll also notice in the excellent Echard Wheeler images below that picking Captain Max out of the sea of Captain's hats is a little more difficult than usual!

Though we'd like to take all the credit for the smiling faces herein, we're proud to share it with our gracious hosts, the excellent team of professionals involved, and with Phil's aunts' baklava. What a treat!
All photography by Echard Wheeler 
Event planning and design by Antonia Christianson Events
Lighting Design by Blue Steel Lighting
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Demand Success 2014 at National Harbor

6/5/2014

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We see a lot of nautical themes at the events we play, but we have to tip our Captain's hats to VOCUS.  Their reception for participants of the Demand Success 2014 conference featured a bar with an anchor-shaped ice sculpture, portholes and working fish tanks, with nautical signal flags lining the boat-inspired event lighting--all designed and delivered by Ampa Events.

Although Adrian Grenier passed on our invitation to sit in--or maybe just didn't get Topper's message at the hotel--we had a blast playing. And perhaps due to the enthusiasm at the open bar, we were cheered on to perform a half hour of overtime, and even got the hashtag #DemandThreeSheets to show up as "trending" on twitter for a few minutes locally.  We were told that last bit by one of the conference attendees, and we've chosen to take her word for it.  The energy was so good that night, in fact, that patrons of a nearby bar were subjected to our a cappella renditions of yacht rock classics long after the Steely Van was packed and parked. 

We'll have to add some of these pics to our Pinterest page, once we figure out how to do that.
All photography below is the property of Matt Ryb Pictures.
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"Once, Twice, Four Times a Lady": The Dream Run Continues.

5/21/2014

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The readers of STYLE Weekly sure have been good to our five-years-and-counting experiment in yacht rock. This marks the fourth year in a row for our writing a grateful blog post / thank-you note to everyone who took time to write our name in as BEST COVER BAND!  We'll let you in on a little secret here: we never thought we'd get here even once, much less four years in a row! Having said that, we happily share this honor with all the kickass voters who--like us--have a slightly unexplainable love for '70s soft rock. We are all in this thing together, and we thank you from the bottoms of our (empty) cocktail glasses!  

The five of us who make up the core of the band--messrs. Marnier, Pockett, Ego, Dandy, and Power--want to shine the light on our front-of-house sound engineer, AC Fader, and our CEO of merchandise, Amy Gold. Their underrated offstage efforts play a critical role in our continual striving to create a showgoer experience that is second-to-none. We'd also like to recognize the killer musicians with whom we have shared the stage this past year. We are proud to raise our (now refilled) glasses with The Rounding Cape Horns, JC "Mr. Casual" Kuhl, Bobby Bravado, Swabby Steve, Admiral Hal F. Power, Guy Centennial, and Tico Rubs! Cheers, y'all! This next round's on us!
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BEST RICHMOND COVER BAND
Three Sheets to the Wind
yachtrock.biz

SECOND PLACE: Honkytonk Heroes
THIRD PLACE: Rosie Soul and the Rock and Roll Cowboys
They may not have coined the term "yacht rock" which refers to the easy listening hits of the '70s and '80s -- but the leisure- and lady-loving characters in Three Sheets to the Wind are one of the country's best living yacht rock groups. From their swanky sailor's outfits to their oh-so-smooth vocal delivery, Three Sheets stokes the fires with such artists as Loggins and Messina, Hall and Oates and Steely Dan, making the women swoon and the men drink heavily."

reprinted from STYLE Weekly Best of Richmond, 21 May, 2014
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Make a date for "Gettin' Frisky on the Wisky"

4/24/2014

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originally published here 
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 24, 2014NORFOLK

The first "Gettin' Frisky on the Wisky," an evening of Yacht Rock and boat shoes to benefit Sail Nauticus, will be held 7 p.m. May 17 on the fantail of the Battleship Wisconsin. 

Yacht Rock tribute band Three Sheets to the Wind will perform, and a dance floor will be made of the battleship's helipad. Food and drinks, including a signature drink, will be served. 

Attendees, who must be 21 or older, are encouraged to wear "Nautical Chic Attire." Boat shoes or flats are strongly recommended. 

Tickets are $75 per person at sailnauticus.org. For more information, call 757-664-1046. 


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The 1970s - perhaps the pinnacle of advertising in America

4/4/2014

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Thanks as always to our advertising guru, Adam Stockton, and photographer Dave Parrish for the 1970s ad parody that will grace the pages of STYLE Weekly next week!  

We are excited for our upcoming public performances listed in the ad. For more information follow these links:
A Celebration of The Vine - April 12 - 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
RVA Earth Day Fest - April 26 - 
Fridays After Five - May 2 - 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
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Love Boat Land Cruise 2014

2/19/2014

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Spanning a full three-hour performance, The Love Boat Land Cruise was our metaphorical candy-gram to / cologne-soaked-make-out -session with our beloved Richmond Sheethearts! Debuting new versions of songs from Glen Frey, Huey Lewis & The News, Prince, and the unmatchable King Harvest, Three Sheets also unearthed some favorites that had fallen out of the regular rotation over the past year.  

Having retired our monthly Third Thursday residency, it was so great to see so many familiar faces / dance moves in the front rows. We missed y'all! With sunglasses on, and lights in our eyes, we didn't get to see everybody, but we can't wait to see you at Southern Railway Taphouse on March 15th for the next holiday yacht rock event!  Tell your friends!

venue: The National
promotional partner: Nightlife Virginia
photography: Charlie Gibbs
poster art: Adam Stockton

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Richmond Bride Magazine Recognizes Three Sheets

1/20/2014

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PictureThis is a mock up of a plaque we're not going to buy, but we do appreciate the efforts of the plaque company for letting us know we won something!
Thanks to the readers of Richmond Bride Magazine for naming Three Sheets to the Wind to their 2014 A-List of top wedding professionals! We're proud to be a share this list with three veteran Richmond bands--Attraction, Jangling Reinharts, and Casper. Interestingly enough, two of the bands (Attraction and Jangling Reinharts) were formed by former members of B,S,&M! Special shout out to our friend Dave Barton from Attraction--a band leader with whom Topper shares ideas from time to time. From in-ear monitor systems to iPad front-of-house mixing to drum risers, Dave shares our passion for employing systems that improve the client experience. As the new kids on the block--relatively speaking--we are grateful to be able to bounce ideas off other bands in our never-ending quest to be the cheesiest, yet best, band we can be. 

We are especially pumped to be on this list because it means that people voted for us--The Wedding Band For People Who Hate Wedding Bands--for a best of Wedding Band list! We enjoy the irony, and we enjoy our reputation as the preppy, tongue-in-cheek alternative to traditional wedding bands. We hope to see everyone out at the National on Valentine's Day for a decidedly un-wedding-y set of Yacht Rock hits. Sonny Pockett will be glad to autograph your copy of Richmond Bride Magazine at the merch booth after the show.

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Wedding Wire Couple's Choice Award Winners 2014!

1/6/2014

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Well that's two years in a row that we've been recognized as being in the top 5% of wedding professionals in the US. As always, we view our inclusion in such an impressive group as a responsibility--not only to our clients, but to our fellow WeddingWire vendors--to set and maintain high standards. Five years into our existence as a band, we are still  motivated to improve our performances, technology, and customer service. 2013 was our best year to date, and we look forward to hitting new heights in 2014 and beyond!  Thanks to all the members of our exclusive Club Wed™ who submitted such nice reviews over the past year! 

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More from Florida...

12/8/2013

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