Jason and Christie were in for a lazy night in 2012 when their friend Kristin called from a DC club telling them that they had to get up, get dressed, and come out to see Three Sheets to the Wind. They did, and their lives changed forever because that was the night they found the band they wanted to play their wedding! Fast forward to their December 2013 wedding in Islamorada, FL for the images below. They had it all. Just like Bogie and Bacall, starring in their own late late show, sailing away to (an island near) Key Largo.  Our best wishes to the happy couple!

Here's looking at you, kids...

When you're the 'wedding band for people who hate wedding bands,' you see a lot of different kinds of events. After you click here, and scroll down through the incredible images from Susan Kalergis Photography, you'll see pictures of people dancing, followed by pictures of people dancing with sombreros on. The appearance of the sombreros coincided with what still remains my favorite announcement I've ever been asked to make over a microphone. Having read the note passed to me by Julianne of SOIREE., I gleefully reported, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the tequila bar is now open in the corner of the tent!" Meagan and Buck are now two treasured members of our exclusive Three Sheets to the Wind "Club Wed."  Seeing this wedding feature from Borrowed and Blue was a great reminder of that beautiful day. We wish them all the best!

Complete feature can be viewed here.  

All images below, reposted from Borrowed and Blue, are the property of Susan Kalergis Photography. 

"I thought we made this abundantly clear. We were only blessing the rains down in Africa. We were not in favor of rains soaking stages in Richmond tonight" - Walter Ego

Our fourth appearance at Massey On The River was, in many ways, the best. The Massey Alliance raised over $60,000, eclipsing last year's record-breaking sum. We were joined on stage by our jangle-pop-playing friends from Party of Four. Our sound engineer, AC Fader, was the hero of the night--playing the role of crisis electrician.  (It turns out that water and electricity don't go well together.)  We played beyond our allotted time, and Topper learned what it was like to play without his trusty stage fan when circuits had to be re-routed.  'The show must go on' became our mantra, and when the last wet road case was opened to dry in the studio at the end of the night, we could look back at a night of achievement--challenges met, cancers bested, and obstacles overcome. What makes a band? Is it playing your hearts out and staring electrocution in the face, whatever the cost?

Sure, that and a bunch of soft rock cover tunes...

Thanks to all who braved the weather for a great cause!  All photo credits to Sam Allen.

We were honored when Jason and Cristine booked us to be their wedding band back in April of 2012--not only because the date was more than a year out, but because Jason is the lead singer of Wander East, a killer rock cover band from the DC area. It's a special responsibility to play a musician's wedding. What we didn't know at the time was that Cristine was a rock star herself! She led the dancing crew all night, kept the party moving, and even "iced" the groom as he was searching for her garter! Jason joined us on stage as the lead vocalist for a couple of 80s classics. This party went to 11, but we're including a few of the tamer photographs below.  Best wishes Cristine and Jason!

Best Local Band
Three Sheets to the Wind
yachtrock.biz

Band leader Topper Dandy sums up Three Sheets to the Wind's appeal thusly: "The real secret of the band's success is that we play the greatest style of music that has ever existed--the hits of the '70s and '80s."  Three Sheets drummer / fashion icon Danny Marnier muses, "It's often said that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. This band has had the opportunity to be very lucky with our preparation."
2. NoBS Brass Band
3. Black Girls

Reposted from August 2013 issue of Richmond Magazine.  

(Reposted from www.HamptonRoads.com)

By Cathy Carter
Virginian-Pilot correspondent
© July 18, 2013

When Topper Dandy ties his ascot and slips on his boat shoes, the guitarist for the Richmond-based band Three Sheets to the Wind is transported back in time.

He's taken to an era when men with beards and windswept hair sang of drinking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. It's the late '70s and early '80s, a time when the nation's radio airwaves rocked us gently with songs about sailing, sunsets and summer breezes.

Welcome to the world of yacht rock, a genre sparked by the popular online video series of the same name. The 2005 show, which spoofed the fictionalized lives of soft rock stars like Michael McDonald and Christopher Cross, was canceled after just 12 episodes, but it inspired a nostalgic musical movement that has yet to drop anchor.

Jimmy Fallon has hosted several yacht rock parties on his late-night TV show, and across the nation a handful of soft rock cover bands pay tribute to the musical style.

Three Sheets to the Wind, which sails into The NorVa on Friday, is one of the more popular tribute acts, thanks in no small part to its playful approach to the aesthetics. Dandy recently poured himself a Jack and Tab for a freewheeling phone chat of all things yacht rock.

You've said that one of your favorite audiences is right here in Hampton Roads.
For whatever reason, Norfolk is really the best when it comes to people just getting into the whole nautical spirit and getting dressed up for our shows. We're always impressed by the number of people dressed up in yacht wear. We see a lot of boat shoes and fake mustaches and people just getting into the whole spirit of the era. Norfolk and the whole Tidewater region, in general, really embraced us from the very beginning.

How can someone incorporate the yacht rock lifestyle into their daily routine?
One part dark rum, one part ginger beer and a lime. That's a good starting place.

If the Doobie Brothers and Toto were to rumble, which band would emerge the victor?
Well, if you're talking hand-to-hand combat, then you have to give it to the Doobies. Not a lot of people know this, but their guitarist, Skunk Baxter, is a judo expert, so they obviously have the advantage.

Besides the music, what cultural aspect of the yacht rock era is poised for a comeback?
I'm going to say macho-ness. America was so much more manly back then. When Richard Roundtree as "Shaft" and Clint Eastwood as "Dirty Harry" were ruling the box office, you knew America was at its best. Now the thing to do is shave your chest hair, pluck your eyebrows and be a guest star on "Glee."  I'm so glad I can watch reruns of "Simon & Simon" below deck on our sailboat, the Tranquility, and remember the good ole days.

You were just a kid back then. What's one of your fonder memories of the era?
Certainly you have to admire the ingenuity of metal lunchboxes. Because oil was so expensive due to the (1973 OPEC oil embargo), many of the cheap plastic items we use today were routinely made of metal back then. America was so rich in metal in the '70s that it made sense to protect our sandwiches from the Soviets in all-metal lunchboxes. The fact that they were embossed and further decorated with toxic lead-based paint only made us tougher as a nation.

To what do you attribute the renewed appeal of '70s-era soft rock?
Well, besides the obvious allure of all that chest hair, the music of the yacht rock period provides an escape from the mundane. The music is a guilty pleasure, but honestly we don't really feel that guilty about it anymore.

Cathy Carter, cathycarter@verizon.net

IF YOU GO

Who Three Sheets to the Wind
When 8 p.m. Friday
Where The NorVa, 317 Monticello Ave., Norfolk
Cost $12.50 
More Info www.thenorva.com

Thanks to the readers of Richmond Bride Magazine for naming Three Sheets to the Wind as Best Wedding Band and as one of the Top-Tier Wedding Professionals in the River City.

We'd also like to thank the plaque company that has emailed us every day for the past six months for including such a nice mock-up of what our plaque would look like were we to buy one.  (If we were to buy one by tomorrow, we would save $40.00!)  Although we're not going to buy a plaque, we thought we'd share it here on the Ship's Log with all the awesome wedding clients and fellow vendors with whom we have worked over the past year!

We hope to merit this distinction as we continue to invest in the time and technology required to deliver high-level experiences for all clients who hire "the wedding band for people who hate wedding bands."

It's wedding season. It's festival season. It's a busy time of year for Three Sheets to the Wind, America's #1 Tribute to Yacht Rock!

We had a great time while Danny was out of town for vacation, playing with two excellent drummers on two different nights. This band is spoiled with a wealth of talented drummers who are rehearsed and road-tested, despite the dark history we've had with our drum chair. Not only are AC Fader and Bobby Bravado excellent drummers, they are obviously brave to cover for Danny when he's traveling the world. 

We have also enjoyed a great working relationship over the years with our talented friends at Mosaic Catering and Special Events. We've already shared the loading dock with Mosaic three times since the start of June for a college reunion, a wedding, and the member/guest country club event pictured below! Although we didn't get pictures of the nautical table decorations they provided for the event, we hope you'll take the time to appreciate Patrick McBride's nautical stage design shown in the first picture below.

This post also give us an opportunity to give props to our talented production team. AC Fader and Guy Centennial always have us sounding great, but because the client below opted for our tier two lighting package, we were able to bring Patrick Kraehenbuehl (pictured working the lighting board below) to enhance and control all the stage lighting.

All in all, it was a nautical night to remember, and we look forward to the return voyage!

[All photography credits for the images below: Mary-Catherine Berry.]

We have a lot of love for Norfolk, VA.  

Some of our favorite people and most enthusiastic Sheethearts reside there.  We are always introduced to amazing restaurants when we're in town, and Norfolk shows consistently boast the most-nautically-dressed crowds we entertain. If you're not sporting boat shoes, sunglasses, and yachting attire at a Three Sheets show in Norfolk, you're going to be in the minority.

So we're beyond bummed to miss out on closing the night at Harborfest tonight due to the tropical storm.  As we're already in a Norfolk state of mind, however, we thought today would be a great day to post the pics from our last trip down I-64. All pictures in this post were taken by Lyle Beckner for AltDaily.  The full gallery is included below, but definitely check out this article by Bryant Thomas that accompanied some of the pics when we headlined the NorVA with our Hall & Oates Tribute show in March.

Although we won't see you tonight, we are proud to announce that we will be returning to the NorVA on July 19th! Can't wait to see y'all!