If one male voice is great, then THIRTEEN of them must be great! An all-male drinking group (yeah, ladies!), we spend our days singing drinking song, madrigals, rounds and catches that has delighted crowds at the Renaissance fairs they've attended, the Boggards have a loyal, but poor, following. So, in order to make this music available, they must appeal to the Internet community. Try them, you might not hate them.

The current membership of The Poxy Boggards

The deceased membership of The Poxy Boggards

R.I.P.

In 1994, Stu Venable decided that he wanted an excuse to drink (and sing) at the local Renaissance fair. He called some friends and a few enemies and decided that a group of 6 men would be a fun way to start and a great way to attract girls. Thus were The Poxy Boggards born. Their boisterous manner and harmonious singing soon attracted a faithful group of fans, and at least one of them got a girl out of it. But not Stu.

Since then, the group has shifted around a bit and we're now up to 13 drinkers! And Stu finally has a girl. And another girl. And a boy.

The True History Of The Poxy Boggards

by J. Filacio Prowis

The Poxy Boggards were formed in 1703 in Stinkin-Under-Bush, England, by Blake Blackstone, a blacksmith and pastry chef. Blackstone, a tenor, frequented a small pub, The Wounded Cock. It was in April of 1703 that Blackstone met the five gentlemen who would become the Poxy Boggards. They toured the pubs and taverns of northern England over the next fifteen years. They became fairly popular in various local circles, until suddenly they were forced to flee England due to a lack of religious persecution.

Blackstone and the boys arrived in New York in the Summer of 1718. The Boggards quickly found work in various stables and taverns in and around the city. Within four months of their arrival in America, the Boggards were killed in the Dutch invasion, and brief occupation of New York. Martyrs, heroes, the original Poxy Boggards were perhaps the first casualties in the plight for American independence.

In 1779, the Poxy Boggards experienced their first reincarnation. Albert Erkwell, a barkeepe and baritone of some reknown in Boston, began singing with several of his regular customers. They chose the name "Poxy Boggards" after a particularly elderly patron of the bar suggested that they sounded like the original English group. The Boggards' reincarnation was short lived, however, when they were killed in a troop uprising in Lexington during their rendition of "God Save the King."

In 1859, a young cobbler, Johannes Kemmler, restarted the Poxy Boggards, and with the assistance of his two brothers Karl, tenor, and Heinrich, bass, he began to search the area for good male voices. In the Spring of 1862, the Kemmler brothers recruited four members and set out for Georgia to entertain the plantation workers. In the fall of the same year, the Boggards were tragically killed in the Cottontown Uprising, during their rendition of "De Camptown Ladies".

The latter half of the 19th century showed little activity for the Poxy Boggards, and there is no evidence to prove that the group even existed during this time.

In 1901, an Irish immigrant, Wee "Winkie" O'Toole, arrived in America. Having fled the Parsnip Blight in southern Ireland, O'Toole was desperate for any work he could find. After several months without work, his spirit broken, O'Toole resorted to music. In 1904, O'Toole found his way to Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. There he met Arlo Klepper, a student in music composition. The two men rediscovered the "Poxy Boggard" name and once again refounded the group. After O'Toole dies by asphyxiation during a bet that he couldn't hold his breath for fifteen minutes, Klepper renamed the group the Southern California Men's Vocal Chorale. By the start of World War I, the SCMVC had 47 members, all of whom were drafted, and subsequently killed in Galipoli. This particularly dark chapter of the SCMVC was followed by a long period of inactivity for the group.

In 1935, the SCMVC charter was dusted off and the group revived by a young Astronomy student at USC, Aaron Van Helsing. Under his reign, Van Helsing turned the SCMVC into one of Southern California's premier amateur singing groups. In January 1942, the SCMVC finally received the recognition they deserved. Van Helsing was approached by a representative of a major recording company. Unfortunately, just prior to their recording date, all 37 members of the SCMVC were drafted and subsequently killed in North Africa.

In 1966, the SCMVC was briefly revived, until the members realized that a war was on the horizon, and, knowing the history of the organization, they felt it would be judicious to quickly and quietly dissolve.

Surprisingly, the SCMVC was revived in the mid 1970's. Consisting of 12 members, the SCMVC changed their name back to The Poxy Boggards. Finally, The Poxy Boggards were about to reach the top. They were one of Southern California's premier Disco cover bands. They were ready to take on The Village People. Then disco died, and so did they.

In an exciting new age of peace and decadence, the Poxy Boggards have yet again returned. Consisting of only twelve members, the Poxy Boggards are now relegated to playing Renaissance Faires, Model T clubs, and lesbian bars.

Here are some good things people have said about beer.

Fine products by The Poxy Boggards

Anchor Management Barley Legal Bawdy Parts The Bawdy Parts Seedy Songbook Bawdy Parts/Barley Legal Lager Than Life Liver Let Die! Poxridden The Poxy Boggards Hymnal Whiskey Business