SOME SHIPROCK & ANCHORDOG BACKSTORY:

I met Shiprock and Anchordog many years ago, seemingly by chance. I was on break at work and was getting a bite to eat when I saw two dogs and asked to pet them. 

The dogs were accompanied by a man named Kiini. He told me all about how he found Shiprock and Anchordog in the Southwest desert on a Navajo reservation and took them in. Shiprock is named after the sacred Navajo monument, and Anchordog is the anchor-dog that holds the group together.

After hearing their story from their human companion, they stayed in my head. I began writing and singing about the dogs' adventures. I wanted to create a series of musicals, like a set of storybooks.

Kiini now knows about the project and is quite pleased with it, and has stated that the energy of the dogs is flowing through our music. He has attended our live performances and has even brought Shiprock and Anchordog, the real dogs themselves, to see several shows! 

A timeline of the Shiprock & Anchordog project shows that we've had a lot of collaborators. We like to get as many people involved as possible, and since the project is multimedia, there are a lot of ways to take part.

In the fall of 2010, my good friend Lolo and I performed a musical story about Shiprock & Anchordog at a small venue in Turner's Falls, Massachusetts. Jackie, a local director/farmer, saw the show and wanted to turn it into an adventure musical about food security.

In early 2011 with our assistant director named Sasha, we held a weekly after-school drama workshop at the Hilltown Charter School and rehearsed with a group of students. Then we staged a rock opera in May called Shiprock & Anchordog: an Adventure Musical for All Ages. Later in 2011 I teamed up with a group of versatile musicians to turn that musical production into a rock opera music record with songs and skits. Local kids provided the voices of the characters in the story for the recording.

In May 2012 we published the finished piece: the first Shiprock & Anchordog musical story album. In June 2012 we held a new drama workshop and staged the sequel to the our adventure musical called Shiprock and Anchordog Include Everyone, with 20 kids acting, singing and dancing.

In early 2013 we put out a S&A single produced by local music wiz Josh, called “I’m Just Like You”, and in the spring I teamed up with my old friend Greg and began the Shiprock & Anchordog comic book series. 

We stayed at Stone Soup Farm for two workshops in the summer of 2013, and staged two productions of a rock opera called Shiprock and Anchordog and the Monster Problem. Both rock opera productions featured large groups of kids acting, singing, and dancing in the barn at Stone Soup Farm, with a live electric rock band playing the backing music. Seana joined as theatre director for the first time. 

In April 2014 Greg and I printed the first Shiprock & Anchordog comic, which met with great critical acclaim. In the summer Seana and I staged a new summer rock opera show called Shiprock & Anchordog Meet the Dinosaurs, in which Courtney and I performed as a backing music duo with electronic beats. Late in 2014 I built this website, renovating the old S&A website, and started planning a crowdfunding campaign for a new album.

Our crowdfunding effort brought us a flurry of mini-grants by mid-2015, and we shipped out our crowdfunded rock opera album Include Everyone in December. We recorded and mixed the album with sampled voiceover phone recordings from over 30 fans. Our new summer rock opera show was called Shiprock & Anchordog in Space, and as usual featured a group of local children acting, singing and dancing while Courtney and I led the music performances over electronic beats.

In 2016 I released a new comic with my old friend Andrew. I storyboarded the comic, and then Andrew did everything else: the drawing, inking, coloring, and lettering. Seana and I staged a new rock opera about interdimensional travel and dreams, called Shiprock & Anchordog in Hyperspace, with a group of local kids and a live rock band, as usual. Throughout 2016, Courtney and I performed lots of energetic acoustic dog shows with occasional guest musicians.

In 2017 Seana and I staged Shiprock & Anchordog Get Energized, our 7th summer rock opera, at the Hilltown Charter School, a new venue for us. Keeping with earlier tradition, the show featured a live rock band and another big group of local kids performing the new story, which was about finding housing for animal refugees. Mimi and Sophie had vocal showcases in the show, backed by the band. Courtney and I began performing live shows with Kat. All year I worked on a new comic but didn’t finish it because I couldn’t settle on a visual style.

In 2018 I recorded and digitally released calm, ambient Shiprock & Anchordog music on the website to ease stress and facilitate relaxation, sleep, and meditation. Seana and I staged Shiprock & Anchordog Clean Up at the Hilltown Charter School, featuring robo-dogs. I finally finished and printed the third comic book in the S&A series and played lots of fun shows with Courtney and Kat. It was a great year for the pups.

2019 proved to be another big year for the project. We staged our ninth annual rock musical to the great delight of the masses. The story, called Shiprock & Anchordog: Origins, showcased the danger brought about by a rouge “Robodog” equipped with time traveling abilities.

2020 was a great year for staying in and working on the comic... issues 4,5,6,7, and 8 were finished and printed in 2020. No camp!

2021: And we’re back with another theatre production! The summer story in 2021 revolved around a large forest and an Animal Strike to save the ecosystem as the animals gather together to shut down all activities and Occupy All Trees…

2022: Shiprock and Anchordog had a glorious year, with a camp and musical for the ages. The summer show was all about a big trip to the Inner Earth to see the Fairy Dogs. Clara and Lucy joined the band on bass and drums and the show sounded great!

2023: This year’s summer musical was about mermaid cats in the ocean by popular request of the campers. In the story, Shiprock and Anchordog became involved in a search for the mythical city of Catlantis and a lost feline technology that could change the entire world… “On a boat trip, with my friends!”

2024: With another big group of campers, this summer we are set once again to stage a fabulous dog show. For our 2024 musical, Shiprock and Anchordog and their canine research group intend to travel forward in time to glean insights from advanced canine civilizations of the far future…

"My daughter has been obsessed with the Shiprock & Anchordog album since we got it. We've been listening to certain tracks on repeat for literally hours at a time. She has changed her name to Cari, for now." - J. T., local parent

"Shiprock & Anchordog isn't flashy or loud; it's gentle and sweet and engaging. It's testament to the fact that kids absolutely can appreciate subtle storytelling when it comes from a place of authenticity. It'll be fun to see what they do next." - Bill Childs, of Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child