Biography
Captain Dirt & The Skirt is a musical collaboration between singer-songwriter-guitarist Kristin Sweetland and bassist-violinist Lyndell Montgomery. Their album The Adventures of Captain Dirt & The Skirt is a multi-genre instrumental journey produced by Juno award-winner David Travers-Smith (Wailin’ Jennys, Oh Susanna) and features the musical musings of such accomplished players as Ken Whiteley, Kevin Fox and Gary Craig.
Coming from their own independently successful music careers, Sweetland and Montgomery are seasoned road-warriors, having toured extensively nationally and internationally for more than a decade. Now they have joined forces with all their experience to create unique and original music together.
The Adventures of Captain Dirt & The Skirt is an entirely instrumental project, showcasing their skills as composers, arrangers, and instrumentalists. The songs are exceptionally diverse in style, drawing from genres such as traditional folk, Eastern-European folk, bluegrass, hymnal, Parisian café music, gypsy-jazz, and pop-rock. All this, united through the unparalleled prowess of their signature style, which combines the precision of classical music with the edge of rock ‘n’ roll, and the romantic flair of French cabaret.
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Press & Quotes
“One of the top 5 folk bands to watch.”
“Beautiful from top to bottom.”
“…a big, lush album that would make a fine soundtrack for a Sundance indie film.”
Order
The Adventures of Captain Dirt & the Skirt (CD)
Abora Vita Music, 2013
www.dirtandskirt.com
iTunes | CDbaby
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Notes and Credits
1. The Androgynous Cobra
Two words… Daniel Handler. Look him up, revel in his genius and savour the delightful offerings known to the world at large as “Lemony Snicket.”
And as art inspires art, this song is a musical response to Snicket’s outrageously eccentric character, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery. Naturally, our dear Monty has a reptile room wherein he has a vast, vibrant and variant collection of slithery snaky snakes… one of which is the infamous Androgynous Cobra.
– Lyndell
Kristin Sweetland: electric guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: bass, violin
Gary Craig: drums, percussion
2. Spiders In the Storm
It was a dark and stormy night in South-Eastern Ontario, 16 stories above bedrock. Howling winds were thoroughly testing the engineering and structural integrity of a colony of Achaeranea tepidariorum, a.k.a. “house spiders.” The Skirt and The Captain intently watched hundreds upon hundreds of leggy arachnids clustered in solidarity, like emperor penguins huddled to face the brutality of nature. The small and mighty creatures shook in their exoskeletons, trembling yet holding their position. As the storm raged on, they showed no signs of letting up, and it became obvious that these fierce spiders required a song in their honour.
– Lyndell
Kristin Sweetland: classical guitar, electric guitar, castanets
Lyndell Montgomery: bass, violin
David Travers-Smith: peck horn
Ken Whiteley: accordion
3. Soul Captain
“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” reads the last two lines of William Ernest Henley’s great poem “Invictus.” So inspired was I by this grand verse, that I decided to make it my latest experiment in the ancient Aristotelean art of mnemotechnics. And thus, I will never forget: I am the only one responsible for my success or failure in life. The road is wide open, and the possibilities are endless.
– Kristin
Kristin Sweetland: classical guitar, electric guitar, hammertone guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: bass
DarlenYa: vocals
Gary Craig: drums, percussion
La Petite Suite:
suite (swt)
n.
1. A collection of things that belong together.
2. A series of connected rooms, or fancy chambers (as in a hotel.)
3. A staff of attendants, followers, or minions – a retinue, or entourage.
4. An instrumental composition especially of the 17 th or 18 th century consisting of a succession of dances in the same or related keys. Traditionally opens with a prelude or overture and ends with a gigue. Once commonly referred to as a “suite des danses,” the fine people would put on their finery and cut the proverbial rug…
– La Petite Sweet
4. L’Ouverture
Kristin Sweetland: acoustic guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: violin
5. La Danse
Kristin Sweetland: electric guitar, hammertone guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: bass
Gary Craig: drums
6. Le Jig
Kristin Sweetland: electric guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: bass, violin
Grier Coppins: Highland bagpipes
7. Les and the 30 Heads
It was the kind of travelling day where you could play scrabble on the dashboard without any fear of the tiles scattering from a turn or a bump. It was Saskatchewan, Trans-Canada highway, late summer afternoon, CBC Radio 2 as the soundtrack to a quiet, steady world outside the window. Forever wheat fields interspersed with small prairie towns. Names painted on silos that sat perched out by the train tracks at the town’s dusty perimeter. It was an afternoon meant especially for languid staring, for letting the edges go fuzzy. And then… BAMMMMMMMM.
– Lyndell
Kristin Sweetland: electric guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: bass, violin
Aurora Jane: electric guitar
Gary Craig: drums
8. Tight Little Sweater
Fact: I grew up sans TV, never set foot in theatres or watched movies, and for the most part I am immensely grateful to my parents dedication, ensuring I filled my time with music, music, music and outside, outside, outside!
Fact: While playing ‘outside’ I would to sneak up to my friends place go ‘inside’ and watch Scooby Doo, The Young and The Restless or whatever inappropriate show happened to be on the neighbours’ various TV sets.
Fact: Up until 2011, I had still never watched the movie Grease, or Grease 2 for that matter. And so it goes that one tremendously wintery night, while the wood stove plumed, The Skirt announced rehearsal was to consist of a band viewing of Grease 2. Agreeably I hunkered in on the couch, thoroughly entertained by the movie and tremendously humoured by the fact that The Skirt knew every lyric of every song. I was thusly stationary until the song “Reproduction” hit the screen. With choreographed dance moves in my head, I leapt up, ran to the rehearsal space, plugged in a bass and out of my fingers and into the fret board spilled what has now become CD&TS’s theme song.
– Lyndell
Kristin Sweetland: electric guitar, hammertone guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: bass
Gary Craig: drums
9. Branches
you suggested that we put you on the soles of our feet
and walk where we know peace to be
or let you hang from a branch of a tree for the birds to pick at, for the wind and rain to was
away any trace of your body
it was chosen instead that you be burned up
returned to this earth as ash and dust
now I can cup you in my shaking hands
all powdery bones and iron will
the sum of you doesn't equal much
you used to appear largely at random
but since you became this small you started showing up everywhere
shape shifting with ease from a mountain to a fox to a gull dip-diving in a starboard breeze
since the day your sounds ceased, silence started talking
it sounds a lot like you, pages and pages of truth
maybe I wasn't listening closely before
maybe my door was closed to the thought of you
becoming only thought
is it too late to say
I think of you a lot
– Lyndell
Kristin Sweetland: electric guitar, spoken word
Lyndell Montgomery: bass, violin, viola
Gary Craig: drums
10. Road Soda
Some tours are best left to audio whimsy, while others require a well-planned play list – a collection of heavy-hitting mixtapes to get from point A to point B. And no matter how long and winding the ride, those mixtapes never get boring, tired or old. The chosen songs become stalwart in their purpose to keep the faith and the motor running, to outlast tires and oil changes, to gut it out across prairies and mountain ranges alike.
This track started out as a lone voice, one violin casually etching a melody, as rambling and unfettered as the ever-changing view from the ever-changing window. As it toured across this wild and stunning Canadian landscape in vans, buses, planes, ferries, trains, dog sleds, bicycles and sidecars, it evolved as music and friendships tend to do.
The result – an all-Canadian traditional kitchen party… in a van!
– Lyndell
Kristin Sweetland: acoustic guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: violin, bass
Ken Whiteley: banjo, mandolin
11. Badger In the Bag
Once upon a time, in ancient Welsh mythology there lived a fine and most likely handsome prince named Pwyll (however you pronounce that.) One day our hero was gallivanting about a great moor when he came upon the beautiful white horse lady, Rhiannon. Let’s just say that one thing led to another, and a year and day later he still could not stop thinking about her. But unfortunately, she seemed to be marrying another man… Thus, he took it upon himself to crash her wedding feast dressed up like an old beggar. With him he carried nothing but one magical bottomless bag – It was all part of his master plan. As the evening progressed there was some drama, and I’m not sure you even want to know what happened next…
Kristin Sweetland: acoustic guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: violin
12. Hello Sailor
I always knew I had the sea within me. Even though I grew up a daughter of the land, sailing my shiny van back and forth across the Trans-Canada Highway. For I was born with an inner compass –the invisible lodestone– Mistress of Navigation. You can blindfold me, spin me around, and I will pin the tail on the North Star donkey any day of the week. For the sea is but a metaphor, and sometimes “hello” really means “goodbye…”
– Kristin
Kristin Sweetland: classical guitar, electric guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: bass, violin
David Travers-Smith: muted trumpets
Gary Craig: drums
Kevin Fox: cello
13. Hymn For The Small
When you can't see a way out, when the fog is too thick you must listen for the land. It has always been this way – music as a foghorn, a flare, a trap door, the tiniest of cracks in the darkest of rooms where slivers of light and air come in.
Hymn for the Small was written for all the kids who are listening for the foghorn.
– Lyndell
Kristin Sweetland: classical guitar
Lyndell Montgomery: bass, violin
14. Sunshine (You Were My)
Behold the golden chariot of the gods, centre of our solar system, almost perfectly spherical, category G2V star comprised of various plasmas undergoing the exciting process of “nuclear fusion.” Get too close and we shall burn, but get too far away and we shall freeze. In life, as in love, isn’t it always so…
– Kristin
Kristin Sweetland: hammertone guitar, Little Lady harmonica
Lyndell Montgomery: bass
Gary Craig: percussion
Michael Johnston: piano
All songs written by Lyndell Montgomery and Kristin Sweetland except “Sunshine (You Were My)” inspired by “You Are My Sunshine” by Jimmie Davis.
Produced by David Travers-Smith and Captain Dirt & The Skirt
Recorded, mixed and mastered by David Travers-Smith at Found Sound, Toronto, ON
© Arbora Vita Music 2013
The Captain tips her hat:
The list is long, not only because I’ve never made one, but also because I’m congenial and find people fascinating… the result: outstanding friendships, mentorships, opportunities, experiences, travels, gigs, records and such a long list of people to thank that I find myself here today contemplating a long list of people to thank.
Let’s start it here – Mom, thanks for setting the course with your courage. Mum and Dad, thank you for keeping that flame alive. Let’s end it here – Some things we are born with yes, but it’s also true that they only survive if nurtured. Luck and providence, magic and awe and all the people in between… thank you.
Let the record also state this project would be only half of what it is without the talent, vision, commitment and friendship of The Skirt.
The Skirt tips her skirt:
The list is short, but sweet. Thank you and a million Sweetlandish kisses to my mom, dad, little Ursa, my grandmother, and my amazing friends for their support, David for going magnificently beyond the call of duty, Darlene and Aurora Jane for donating their time and glory, Peter Janes, W.E. Henley, Lemony Snicket, and Aphrodite… Je t’aime.
And aye, my Captain, thank you the most!
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