We are often asked about our name, what it means and why we chose it…  

We chose it primarily because it is the name of a specific type of guitar tuning, namely open D-tuning.  This tuning was so named, in turn, due to the popularity of an instrumental guitar piece, written in 1856, called The Siege of Sevastopol, which was inspired by an 11 month siege of the Russian naval base at Sevastopol on the Black Sea in the Ukraine during the Crimean War. 

 For many, especially early blues artists, this tuning was known as “Vestapol,” which is a shortening of Sevastopol .  We like the full name Sevastopol and think it sounds cool.  It’s got a nice old world feel to it, which we like.

 Other reasons we like “ Sevastopol ”

 “The Siege of Sevastopol ” has been recorded by John Fahey, a master of finger-style guitar, whom we admire.

 There’s a Sevastopol township in Wisconsin (Southern Door County).

 There’s a city of Sebastopol (a variation of Sevastopol ) in California wine country.  We like wine a lot.

 Jay Farrar, of Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo , has an album called “ Sebastopol .”  We think he’s pretty cool, too. 

 Se-VAS-to-pol 

Would you like to know how to pronounce “ Sevastopol ?”  We’d like you to know how, too.  The Merriam-Webster online dictionary actually has a recording of the pronunciation if you follow this link:

 http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/sevastopol

 (Just remember to accent that second syllable)

 Articles about the actual Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War:

 http://www.britishbattles.com/crimean-war/sevastopol.htm

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sevastopol_(1854-1855)

 Articles about Sevastopol or “Vestapol” guitar tuning

 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/001664.html

 An article about the composer of The Siege of Sevastopol, Henry Worrall

 http://www.kshs.org/research/collections/documents/personalpapers/findingaids/worrall_henry.htm