Raven Boy Music is an independent record company. It started in 1988 when Ken Theriot (that's me) married Lisa and became involved in the medieval re-creation group she was a member of called the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). Lisa had been playing folk music as part of her activity in the SCA, and since I was a musician too, I began learning some of the songs that were popular

The First Recording

Then I combined my love of recording with this new kind of music and released a tape in 1988 of folk music that was mostly written by contemporary folk musicians from Scotland, Canada and the US, as well as a few original tunes. I tried to keep to a combination of SCA-appropriate (meaning the songs had to be about medieval or timeless themes) while pleasing to the modern ear. The songs are mostly acoustic guitars and singing with the occasional fiddle, piano or flute showing up. Anyway, after I did 2 tapes, "Outside of Time" and "Home From The Sea," we wanted to do a recording of Lisa. She chose some great songs that were more traditional (as in British Isles traditional balladry) and released another tape. That one was called "Up the Great North Road." Next I decided to expand a bit and do a CD, recorded mainly at other studios around town. The content was roughly of the same type, but the technology, and hence sound quality was a little better. So the result was a CD called "Everything that Matters." That release garnered a bit more attention in that it was reviewed in the folk magazine, Dirty Linen. Their review was positive except for the comment that my covers sound too much like the originals. That got me determined to do more original music.  So in 2008 he released "Human History," which contains the SCA hits "Agincourt," "the Feast Song," "Son of the Sea," and "Band of Brothers."  On the heels of that, Lisa recorded and released "The Keys of Canterbury," a collection of all original (plus a few traditional) songs themed around The Canterbury Tales.  "Tabard Inn,"  "Seek the Reaper," and "The Jew's Daughter" became instant SCA hits. 

Thomas Bordeaux

The next project was to record another artist's music for his first album. Thomas Bordeaux is a friend who had written several songs that he performed in SCA settings. Talk about going all original! So we recorded 13 of his songs and put out the tape called "Prodigal Bard." Though he writes some very powerful stuff, his most popular songs are the SCA-specific comedy songs called "Ban the Fencers" and "I'm A Duke and You're Not." Sometimes your audience determines your fate!

The Digital Addiction

I got my first digital recording workstation and some neat editing software for our computer in 1998. I was struck dumb by the capability I now possessed. Since many people wanted CDs instead of tapes we began the process of digitizing the tapes. But in the process I found myself wincing at the quality of the early stuff. So while we were making CDs of those tapes, we also improved upon the quality of the recordings. I couldn't help myself. But now everything is available in CD! Not only that, but we can now offer mass customization. I other words, people can ask for a CD with any of our songs in any combination (e-mail me for more information on this). I love technology.

Baldwin of Erebor

Before I came on the scene, Lisa had done a lot of singing with Baldwin of Erebor. After years of bugging him, we finally got him into the studio (or second non-family member artist!) and his CD has been hugely popular.  Talk about SCA standards...Baldwin is the guy who wrote "Burden of the Crown," "Welcome to the Current Middle Ages," "Flower of the Desert," and "The Herald's Complaint," just to name a few!  And they're all on this CD.

Samantha Moore

We met Samantha at Pennsic in 2000.  We became fast friends and quickly became aware of her enormous talent.  It turned out that the folks in Atlantia had known about it since she was a child:-P.  One thing led to another and we recorded "Songs From the White Hart."  And Samm wasn't done by any means.  She had become known for singing "war songs," and wanted to do a CD with that theme.  Thus sprang into life "Iron Hart," in 2008.  Now she has written more songs!  So look out for more great stuff from her!

So What's Next?

More projects than we have time for! Lisa is already working on her next album, and we're working on an album for our fourth non-family member artist, Michele Buzzbee. Keep watching for the latest stuff!