Today was another day of mixing and recording for What Color Is Your Dragon?. Didn't feel nearly as productive. I have about four songs that are right on the edge of being finished, but are on hold. One, "Don't Go Drinking with Hobbits". I think I have to re-record. It's a very clean, sharp-sounding recording, but it sounds boring.

That's one of the reasons I like recording live. It usually captures a fresher, more energetic sound. Not cold and sterile. Course, this one was recorded live. But I think I recorded it too late at night.

If I get it done, I'll have 18-20 songs on the CD. The songs are a lot shorter overall, barely three minutes. But it sounds less freaky, like I expected it would. I think it's just "If I Were a Horse" that is freaky. So I'm debating whether I even want it on the album.

I am hoping to bring in my friend Clif Haley to record guitar on one song. Haven't seen him in forever. He used to play with Plow Monday. Fantastic guitarist and interestingly, he's playing more blues rather than rock these days.

Grr! For the past 24 hours, my Fans of Irish & Celtic Music web host has been completely down. Grr! So I decided to transfer the Renaissance Festival Podcast to a new server altogether. I'm still uploading stuff. I think I need to do the same for the Irish Songs & Lyrics website. Those are two of my most-popular sites on that server.

I spent much of the day mixing songs from What Color Is Your Dragon? It's coming along well. In fact, I only have about three more songs to mix and fifteen songs done. But this CD is definitely taking a twisted turn. Looking at the track list, I'll call this a comedy CD overall. But some of the songs strike as, well, bizarre.

I decided a while ago that this CD would include all those freaky songs I've written like "If I Were a Horse". I wrote it in college. It has just weird lyrics. My friend Johannes will testify to that unless he's blocked it out. Some are good fun. And I've had some gem lyrics sent to me that I've included like "The Lusty Young Sith". It makes me giggle.

Overall, I'm not sure what to think about this CD. You'll either love it or hate it. Either way, it's an amusing insight into the insanity of Marc Gunn.

Do you ever see something, or hear something that reminds you of something else, and then you have to go see, hear or do that something else?

Yesterday, I started posting the sad news that we're not doing a Brobdingnagian Bards Vacation Tour of Ireland next year. Today, I started writing about it some more to send a message to our mailing list. Now I'm jonesing for Ireland. I have so many great memories from last year. They keep flooding back to me every time I think of the trip.

Some of my highlights from last year's trip:

• Lisdoonvarna Pub Sing-A-Long. Me and twenty fans singing a mix of Irish and original songs, all together. Too cool!
• Cliffs of Moher. Especially when I ran along the restricted area. The water, the view, the drop, the birds, the thought of land breaking off and plummeting to my death. *sigh* How I miss it!
• Wandering the streets of Dublin. Odd, this. Because as much as I bitched about it, I have some fun memories, wandering Grafton Street or even the bastard bouncer at the Temple Bar.
• Stopping here and there. Seems like everywhere we stopped, and exited the bus for just a few minutes had this flood of wow-ness and longing.
• Friends. All the great people I had the pleasure of hanging out with, drinking with, sharing moments with. It was a total pleasure.

*sigh* Ah well... I can't wait to see what happens this year!

Several years ago, I started the Irish Songs & Lyrics website to help musicians like learn new songs by ear. The site features Irish song lyrics, chords, and streaming audio files so you can listen to the songs you want to learn.

Unfortunately, the website stopped growing because we stopped recording. I decided to expand the website in 2006 by recording a bunch of Irish pub songs under a different name--4 Irish Whiskey. To make it more "authentic", I recorded the songs with an Irish accent.

Then a year later, a fan sent me a book of sea shanties. I thought some of those songs would make nice additions to the website, so this time I took on a pirate persona and added new songs to the website.

Now I decided it is time to release the music officially under my own name. I remixed the songs and compiled the two CDs into one. It's called Going for Brogue: Irish Pub Songs and Sea Shanties with an Accent. The CD features 19 Irish pub songs and sea shanties performed by yours truly with a variety of bizarre Irish accents. There's over 68 minutes of music on one environmentally conscience CD. Going for Brogue is raucous fun that shines like the heart of Irish folk music.

Track Listing:

1. A Drop of Nelson's Blood
2. The Holy Ground
3. The Night that Paddy Murphy Died
4. Isn't It Grand, Boys?
5. Botany Bay
6. Old Fenian Gun
7. The Mermaid Song
8. Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye
9. Irish Rover
10. The Humours of Whiskey
11. Whisky in the Jar
12. Fiddler's Green
13. Haul Away Joe
14. All For Me Grog
15. Bonnie Ship the Diamond
16. The Foggy Dew
17. Rattlin' Bog
18. Whiskey, Johnny!
19. Mingulay Boat Song

PLUS, when you order the CD you'll have a link on the CD to download a digital pack of graphics for your computer, website and profile, and a 37-page ebook of song lyrics, chords and information about the album.

I paid final bill for the Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland to Celtic Ways. Eight days in one of the most-beautiful countries on the planet. Due to the weak American dollar and lower than expected attendance, we are losing money, but it's IRELAND. So I can't complain too much. Tickets are all booked up. We are ready to go!

Because of the low attendance, we came to a tough decision today. This is the last Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland. That's right bardic vacations are no longer in our foreseeable future. I was hoping to do Scotland and Europe in the future, but I'm forced to admit that it doesn't look the demand is strong enough to do these trips.

That said, we do still have room for about four more people on this final tour. So if you were wanting to join us in Ireland. This is indeed your last chance. Right now, the website says it'll cost you $2600 for the land travel and all meals. However, if you email me [marc at thebards dot net] before Friday, May 2nd, I'll knock off $100. But I need to know ASAP. So contact me soon!

Meantime, I'll be practicing my Irish songs for great music and craic!

Nothing like financial problems to motivate you to exceed.

This weekend was ultra productive. Saturday, I spent the day mixing some old recordings for Going for Brogue, and album of Irish Pub Songs and Sea Shanties all sung with an accent. It was relatively quick mix since all the recording was pretty much done many, many, many months ago. Then I took a break and had a photo shoot at Opal Divine's for the album cover. There were some beautiful shots that make me all giddy with vanity. hehe!

Sunday, I spent putting final touches on the CD. After watching Harold and Kumar, I took a look at some finances, cried a little, obsessed a lot, and then got motivated to try and fix my financial situation. How so? Recording.

One of the things I had on my To Do List for the weekend was to finish TWO CDs. The recording for the both albums was mostly completed. All I needed to do was mix. So after the finances, I started working on What Color Is Your Dragon?. There were a few tracks I wanted to record for this CD. So tonight I recorded the last of the tracks for the album. Now all that is left is mixing. And thanks to my recent mix of Going for Brogue, I have a bunch of presets to make that a breeze. W00t!

Now it's four in the morning, and I need some sleep because I have to take my car in the shop for maintenance. Why the heck did I ask for an 11am appointment? Ugh! Night.

Last night, I went to see Voltaire perform at Elysium. As always, he put on a fantastic show, and his opening act Ego Likeness had a good sound too. I must say I love going to Elysium. It's a very comfortable club for me, prolly cause I consider myself a Gothophile. I like the Goth culture.

While I waited for Voltaire to perform, I started compiling a list of things I want to get done this weekend. I have lots to do, if I can get motivated to work. Things on my list:

• Record a Renaissance Festival Podcast,
• Order Celtic Cat T-Shirts,
• Mixdown songs for Going for Brogue,
• Mixdown songs for What Color Is Your Dragon?
• Update business cards,
• Record a Pub Songs Podcast,
• Post new MarcSongs Podcast,
  
• And post a poll...

I am hoping to do some more solo shows here in Austin once I get back from Ireland. It got me thinking...

What songs that I sing would you like to hear live?

and What are your favorite songs by me?

After a busy day of working on finances, I decided to take a break and watch Sliders before Voltaire's show tonight at Elysium. The show is amusing enough. Admittedly, after a full run through, I don't think I'll watch it again, but for now, I enjoy it, except... when the Sliders are being stupid... which is most of the time.

The group supposedly as two geniuses and smart gal in the mix. Yet, it gets annoying when in every other show, they get themselves involved in a very stupid way, "We have to leave in five minutes, let's jeopardize that by trying to [fill in the blank]."

I mean, if you're entire goal is to get home, and if you DON'T go through in time, you're stuck forever... Seems to me, you have one option. Maybe I'm just a little more realistic? But it starts to reek of Three's Company's mistaken identity. Gets annoying and makes me pissed. Okay, let it go Marc.

*grumbles* Stupid Sliders! ;)

Okay, I'm sure someone else has come up with this game too, but I just got done playing Parachute Cat (yes, I made up the name too;). Do you remember playing with the parachute in gym class growing up? All the kids in gym would grab a side of the parachute and pull it taught. I always loved that game though I forget what happened next. Was it a ball on the parachute that we bounced all around? Or did we just run underneath it? I don't remember.

But a couple years ago, my tabby cat, Torre, fell in love with a similar game with bed sheets. Every time I wash my sheets and am about to put them on, Torre races in and pounces on the sheets. He runs underneath them, tackles corners, or jumps on top triumphantly. It's the cutest thing.

Sure, my arms wear out quicker than he does as I flap the sheet up into the air for another round of Parachute Cat, but for ten minutes we have a grand ol'time. Tiziano even joined the fun today. So now go try out the new game with your kitty and let me know if they enjoy the game too. For extra added fun, you can play my Cat songs while you and your cats enjoy the game.

It was a largely unproductive day, but I pulled in a wee bit o'productivity at the last minute while watching Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel. Yes, I'm that kind of guy. And it's a sweet movie. :)

Today's tasks:

• Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #49 completed. And started show #50.
  
• Celtic Music CD Store updated.
• I also finished the credits for Whiskers in the Jar... finally. Hope to get that to the printers tomorrow.
• And I got some great practice with Michelle Hedden. I've been working on some Celtic bluesy songs that are coming together, including a blues version of "Beer, Beer, Beer" that really grooves. It's fun playing with percussion.
• And... I also watched Sliders on Netflix. W00t!
• Happy Earth Day!
  

I had this big discussion a while back about the whys and what fors of kilt wearing. I love my kilt. I love the colors, the comfort factor. The only downside really is my boots, of which I need a better replacement. While I love it, I also recognized that a large number of women love to see me, and other men, in kilts.

Before I ask the psychological question "Why?", I thought I'd announce this new idea for a compilation CD--Kilted for Her Pleasure. Originally, I was just looking at creating t-shirts for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Then I thought, this too cool a title not to make into a full album. So I decided a CD of music by Kilt-wearing Celts was in order.

Like the CD idea?
Also, if you enjoy seeing people in kilts, why?

More on the album as it progresses. Meantime, Celtic bands can submit music here (if they haven't done so already).

The Gift of Cat Love is now on iTunes. This new CD single features three songs from my upcoming CD, Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers. The songs include: "What Shall We Do With a Catnipped Kitty", "Danny Boy", and "Molly Malone... The Cat's Perspective/Planxty Hewlett".

If you've already downloaded the songs for free, please consider adding a review to the iTunes site.

• I stayed up too late last night editing my CD Ordering page. Tried to simplify it a little bit. I also updated the merchandise page. We'll see if I make an more changes. Knowing me... I will. :)
  
  
• Thanks for everyone who's keeping up with me via my RSS feed. FYI. You an also get Get Marc Gunn's Blog delivered by email, cool little feature from feedburner.

I do this now and then. I get tired of cross-posting to a dozen blog sites. In the past I've been a big user of livejournal and occasionally post blogs to myspace. But what I learned from MP3.com years ago is to keep it at home. You never know when other people's websites will disappear. Mine will always be here.

So I decided to make a wee change. I will still use those two blogs, but the vast majority of my blogging is gonna stay at www.marcgunn.com. So go ahead and subscribe to this blog's feed ( http://www.marcgunn.com/blog.xml ) if you'd like to stay totally up with stuff. You can still comment to your heart's content. And I'd love to hear from you.

I'm not always a bright person. I do a lot of things, because I want to, instead of whether I should or shouldn't. It's partially vanity. But then sometimes, I do things to marketing test. They can be expensive tests.

For instance, if you heard my latest Pub Songs Podcast, that I've released a few solo projects under different names, mostly notably 4 Irish Whiskey. This was a marketing test to promote music on iTunes using keywords. I duplicated that test with Irish Stout, which was comparatively much less profitable. Thus, Irish Stout is going bye-bye, very soon.

The next step is releasing a compilation of some of these Irish brogue songs, called Going for Brogue, under my own name. That's slated for the next couple o'months too, as I finish up several other CD projects. Meantime, let me thank everyone who picked up a copy of those albums, as well as Live Songs from an Irish Pub. I hope you enjoy the music for years to come and especially the collector's aspect of these CDs, as they will never be available again.

What a wonderfully productive day! *sigh* I finally got down to some work. I finished two podcasts and one ezine. Planning to post another in a few minutes.

Today's Projects:

• Cat Lover's Podcast #16 - Shakespeare's Cat
  
• Marc Gunn's Pub Songs Podcast #3.05 - Band Name Marketing
• Song Henge, Celtic Music Downloads
• Celtic MP3s Music Magazine
• Re-ordered Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion
  

I woke up with last night's moodiness on my mind. So I decided I would try to fight it by getting some work done. First thing on my list, Song Henge. I didn't feel like putting it all together and thanks to Jan, I didn't have to. (thank you!) It was almost all done for me. I just had to add a few wee bits. And Voila! Ready to go!

Then there's Mike of Celtophilia. I asked him for graphics for a CD compilation I want to release, and woke up this morning with a test cover. Those little things really make a HUGE difference. I'm feeling much more chippery now. Chirp! Chirp!

Oops. That's chip, not chirp.

I don't know how many times I've heard that statement from fans wanting us to show up at this or that venue. It's sorta true. I *can* go to DragonCon, Scarborough Faire, Maryland Renaissance Festival, some Con in the mid-West, or whatever, but the problem is can I afford it? And the sad answer is "no".

Making a living with music is an interesting game. I don't make a lot of money. Every month is a struggle to make ends meat. Not to mention the price of gas is high.

Fortunately, I turned my career into one where I have paid 'vacations'. When I want to see a new part of the country, I try to book some gigs and go. That way, I'll at least break even and not send myself into horrible debt like I had in the 90s. But even that is not that easy. The cost of flying is expensive. Gas prices continue to climb. And many of the solo house concerts I book are poorly attended because most people still think of me as a member of the Brobdingnagian Bards and don't realize that I have my own music separate from that group.

Ultimately, unless I can turn my trip into a paid 'vacation', I really can't afford to take most trips at present. Not unless, I have an exceptionally good month selling CDs online to pay for the voyage.

I hate booking gigs. I really want to play more around Austin and Texas, but find myself with not enough time to book gigs. Not to mention, we need of gigs in Europe after our Tour of Ireland. I'm not getting that done, even though I own "How to Be Your Own Booking Agent".

One of the reasons I got on Eventful is I understand it's a great tool for measuring turnout of events. If you get enough demands, you can find an agent easier, because you are more likely to bring in an audience.

Instead of booking, it is easier to create my own gig, much like I did with the Celtic music scene. Not enough places to review and promote my music? I'll create websites galore to do just that. If someone else won't promote me, I'll do it myself. I guess it is time to research rooms where I can create my own event.

I was flamed today. And I deserved it.

A couple weeks ago, I made a post about Celtic Thunder. It's a new... let's say, show, because it's not really a band. It's a lot like Celtic Women, and I admit, I'm not a huge fan of theirs. So when I saw this latest... addition... to the Celtic music world, I was bit disappointed. Actually, that's not even it. There are two reasons why I didn't care for what I heard from Celtic Thunder: one, the production; and two, jealousy.

Before I get into the mundane human aspect, let me point out a common gripe that I made in my last post--production. I admit it, I can't stand the way music is produced these days. It's all about how much compression you can put on the music. Screw dynamics. Let's put it 'in your face'.

For instance, ever listen to classical music on the radio in your car? You'll notice sometimes you can barely hear the music over the road sounds. That's because the music has dynamics. Whereas on Top 40 radio, EVERYTHING is smacking you in the face, because there are no dynamics. Every instrument or vocal is as loud as everything else. It's like the trash compactor on the Death Star. "Were all gonna be a lot thinner."

Contemporary Celtic music, like much of the music industry is moving more and more towards over-production. Yes, I have no doubt that Phil Coulter and Sharon Browne are producing an amazing and even dynamic performance with Celtic Thunder and anything else they work on. It's even nice to see that the show includes contemporary Celtic songwriting from folks. But the production... the "forced" emotional appeal reminds me of... well George Lucas... or... no... Mel Gibson's movies. The Patriot and The Passion of Christ had a very fake "force" appeal to make you start sniffing. I enjoyed aspects of them, but not the sniffery. Watching the videos of Celtic Thunder on YouTube made me gag at the same inane tactics.

So when I posted "Celtic Karaoke... uh... I mean Celtic Thunder", I admit I was highly annoyed at the concept of another pop music extravaganza, setting on my preferred musical genre-Celtic music.

Yes, when I watched those videos on YouTube, I did see voices out of sync with the video. It is very likely that was an error in the conversion. The band probably is not lip syncing (or is it? I don't know). But annoyance with another pop icon and as I said jealousy made me post that vicious attack. You see, I am only human.

I wish it were me... well, not exactly. But I do wish I had someone to push my own music to insta-success like these artists received. Despite R. Turner's claims that "Each one is a recording artist and performer in his own right", only one of the individuals in the group seems to have had any prior attempt at a music career. Instead, they are entertainers, launched to the top of the Celtic music scene by people with money.

That's the way of it though. How do you make a hit record? You throw lots of money into it's creation and promotion. The more you have, the better it will do. It's just like politics and, well, most things. But when you have to scratch and claw your way to the top, it's tough. It's not like any of those artists are any better than 90% of the bands I play in the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. They aren't. Celtic Thunder just has more money behind it. And it could be Heather Dale, Mactalla Mor, Sligo Rags, Ceann, Athas, Kennedy's Kitchen, Bow Triplets, Boston Blackthorne, or whomever. You put enough cash behind them and they will rock the casbah.

As several people posted in a cross-post, I should commend the show. They are putting Celtic music into the limelight. I might not be able to stand the pomp, but someone else might love it. It's a fantasy. And with any luck they'll find that the latest Celtic Whatever production is just the tip of the iceberg and find new passion in this musical genre I love.

So for my last vicious statement, I apologize. My only defense is I'm human...

Really not much of a defense, is it?

RenSites.com, the web host for over 50 episodes of the Renaissance Festival Podcast, went down a couple months back. The site got really popular and it ran out of bandwidth. Since February, we've received email from people letting us know about the missing MP3s, and I kept forgetting to mention it in the show.

Well, today, I started re-uploading all the MP3s to Libsyn, where I now host all of my shows. I have most of the files up. But the remainder will have to wait until next month, methinks. My apologies for the delay. But I am on top of it. Thanks for your patience!

MARC'S MUSINGS -- April 15, 2008

- Marc's Music News
- Austin Music Award Winners
- Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers
- New MP3 - "Molly Malone... The Cat's Perspective "
- Join My Street Team

Published 1-4 times per month. To manage your subscription, go to the end of this newsletter. Visit My Store Now!

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Marc's Musings

Greetings,

A lot has happened since my last email. March was a busy month. I had gigs and was podcasting like crazy while promoting for St. Patrick's Day. I finished my new CD, "Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers". I also got the flu.

The biggest news is we scored our THIRD win in the Austin Music Awards. And it was the big one!

MARC'S MUSIC NEWS
Austin is known as the Live Music Capitol of the World. So I was thrilled in 2004 when Brobdingnagian Bards won 'Best Novelty Band' in the Austin Music Awards. It was a huge honor. We were the first Celtic band in Austin to EVER win in the AMAs. My first solo CD, "Soul of a Harper" also won Best Album Cover thanks to the photography of Nancy e. Pearsall.

Then in 2006, we followed up our win with 'Best None of the Above' in the Austin Music Awards. I was blown away with delight. We were getting recognized as more than a 'novelty band'. Our music is folk music though. So that's really what I was hoping to win. And this year, we finally did it. We won "Best Folk Act!

So I want to thank EVERYONE who voted for us in the Austin Music Awards. We placed really well throughout the awards and even helped some of our friends to place well in the awards. See more results. Maybe next year, we can win Best Band! ;)

A week after receiving our win in the Austin Music Awards, Rich Brotherton finished mastering my new CD, "Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers". I got the graphics back from Ingrid Houwers a couple days ago. The new cover looks fantastic. But then, I expect nothing less from Ingrid! I'm sending it off to the printers this week. You can now adopt "Whiskers in the Jar" and you'll own your copy before it hits the streets.

You can now listen to the entire album online and hear just how cool Rich is as a producer. You can also download "Molly Malone... The Cat's Perspective". Email it to your friends. Burn it to a CD. Make a video and post it on YouTube. And help me get the word out about "Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers" and don't forget to add a link to www.catdrinkingsongs.com.

MARC GUNN LIVE!
April started out at I-Con. That was the first Sci Fi Con I ever went to, and I love going there. But something odd happened during the Cabaret. I got a nosebleed. I think it was in response to the meds I was still taking to get over the flu, but it made for an interesting closing to Cabaret and to our last show of the weekend as I played on with toilet paper shoved up my nose. Go to YouTube if you want a mild laugh. It was... um... interesting.

Now we have a couple weeks off before the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival. During that time, I hope to work on some new songs and start looking for some more venues to book here in Austin. I really want to perform in Austin more. So keep an eye open for some of that on my tour schedule. It gets busy once we're off to Ireland.

OH! HEY! That reminds me. We are looking for gigs in Europe in mid-June after the Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland. Right now, we don't have any gigs planned, but we need some. So if you know of any paid venues in Europe or can help us get booked in places where we can't speak the language, that'd be brilliant!!!! Email me.

Meantime, keep an eye open to my calendar and don't forget to sign up at eventful to find the latest shows.

JOIN MY STREET TEAM
Thanks to everyone who helped me promote away for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast over St. Patrick's Day. The numbers were down a little bit this year, but the show still climbed to the #1 Music Podcast and a top 20 of all iTunes podcasts. Brilliant!

I'm excited to see everyone so passionate about the show. The number of fan emails I get from the podcast grows every day. I even started a Street Team to help promote the podcast as well as my many Mage projects. If you want to lend a helping hand, sign up. I hope to offer some unique freebies to members of my Street Team in the near future.

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Thanks for all your love and support of my music. It means the world to me! Please stay in touch. Slainte!
- Marc Gunn

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Quick Links to Marc Gunn

• CD, MP3, and Merchandise Store
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• MarcSongs Podcast
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• Marc's Musings Archive

---

About Marc Gunn

Please add "marc@thebards.net" to your whitelist or email address
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Share with others, and I'll keep sharing songs.

Marc Gunn is Celtic Geek songwriter from Austin, Texas with a strange affinity for ballads, Irish drinking songs, acoustic Alternative Folk, podcasting, Sci Fi, and cats.

The world is dominated by massive organizations that strangle the life out of the independent arts. You can stop it at the source. Your good will and support of the arts through kind donations, purchases, and friendly word of mouse will make your feel great!

I went to the acupuncturist today to help me fight off a sinus infection I feel is trying to make headway in me. While being filled with needles, I realized a couple of synchronistic things about my life.

My Celtic heritage:

1. I was born March 17, St. Patrick's Day.
2. I belong to the Scottish Clan Gunn, but learned I was also part Irish.
3. I never listened to Irish music until I started Brobdingnagian Bards.
   

My Cat heritage:

1. I never grew up with cats. I had Pekingeses as a child.
   
2. My ex-fiancee introduced me to cats. A couple years later, I started rewriting Irish songs about cats.
3. I then learned March 17th is also St. Gertrude's Day, the Patron Saint of Cats.

Now the final bit of synchronicity--my sinus heritage:

1. I've had poor sinuses all my life. Though it wasn't until the last ten years that I started having chronic sinus infections.
   
   
2. The pressure points, aka needle insertion points, to help with my sinuses surround my nose. In fact, I realized today, they were kind of like whiskers. Am I an Irish Cat? ;)
   

Sorry. Long build, for a poor joke. Hehe! The cat CD is now posted on SoundClick. You can now listen to "Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers" below. If you like the album, please...

Buy the CD!
$15. The take-it-with-you version.

Listen to it free online
Absolutely free. The complete CD. All 14 tracks. Completely free to listen to online.

Now playing: marcgunn's station - Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers

The English word "cat" is very similar to the word used for our feline pets in other languages spoken in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The table below lists the word for cat and the language:

• Kat Dutch
• chat French
• Katze German
• gatta Greek
• kottur Icelandic
• gatto Italian
• qattus Maltean
• katt Norwegian
• kot Polish
• gato Spanish
• katt Swedish

Clearly "cat" is an ancient word that spread into many regions from a single source. The source appears to be Arabic because the oldest use of "cat" is in North Africa where the term is "quttah".

A few other terms relating to cats originate from the Mediterranean. One is the word "tabby", which is derived from the Turkish word "utabi". And the general word for a cat in Turkey is "kedi", which may be the ancestor term for the English word "kitty".

From the Cat Nips newsletter.

You can check out my new CD "Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers" for some great cat music.

From Doc Grauzer:

Hello all!

Thought I'd send out the word about a new music shop called "Fiddler's Green", which is at 1809 West 35th Street, pretty much across the street from Things Celtic. They just opened up on Monday, and I found them just today when I went to see Kimberly at work. So--a long-overdue folk-music shop that our musical city was sadly lacking! The folks running the store are from Memphis, and quite friendly and easy to talk to. They have a good range of entry-level instruments and supplies--nothing terribly high-dollar, but a great place for new players to begin. The place is definitely worth checking out. Here's a link to its website.

But best of all, there is definitely some music space in there. There's a fine room in the back which might be well-suited to a session. See what you might think about it. For those of us who remember the lamented Senor O'Brien's--this place has similar wooden floors, low ceilings and is only a few blocks from the old place on 34th Street! The shop staff is very interested in getting some sessions happening--be they bluegrass, old-timey or Celtic. Especially for the Irish musicians who might not get out to session much any more (self included!), this might be a comfortable place for us to gather again.

I don't have very many e-mail addresses for our local Celtic and old-timey players, but I'll ask all of you who get this to check the place out, and help me spread the word about it. I'm delighted that we have such a place now, and I want to do what I can to get it off to a good start. Go check it out!

--Doc


Beagán a rá agus é a rá go maith.
Say little but say it well.

http://www.docgrauzer.com
http://www.myspace.com/docgrauzer 

The new CD cover for "Whiskers in the Jar". It was designed by the amazingly talented Ingrid Houwers. If you want some amazing Celtic art (among other things), check out her website! You can currently pre-order the CD at CatDrinkingSongs.com.

Looks like my single is now available on CD Baby--The Gift Of Cat Love. It features three songs from the upcoming CD, Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers.

Introducing Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers! If you love cats and Celtic music, you will love this latest offering from Marc Gunn & The Dubliners' Tabby Cats.

It all began with a phone call. I started meowing in the middle of "Wild Rover". Then I wrote my first cat song. Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers was born. The CD was wildly popular. Before I knew it I had people asking when I would release my next Cat CD. Sure, I had a few songs already written, but not enough for a second CD. I spent the next two years writing some songs and asking fans of the first album to submit some lyrics. The results are now here!

The album features twelve songs and two sets of Irish tunes. The songs are a mix of Irish and Scottish songs rewritten about cats. You'll hear songs about cats eating catnip, waking you up in the middle of the night, staring off into nothingness. You'll laugh as cats take over a dairy farm, splashing milk all over the place or a nice feline friendly twist to the Sylvester and Tweety Bird cartoon. Cats fight off canine pack recruitment and Harry Potter makes an appearance as does cat cloning. No really! It's twisted, but amazing fun.

The CD was produced by Celtic music lover, Rich Brotherton, and it shows. Whiskers in the Jar is an album of purrlicious fun for cat lovers everywhere.

1. What Shall We Do With a Catnipped Kitty
2. Molly Malone, the Cat's Perspective/Planxty Hewlett
3. Kitty at the Door
4. Danny Boy
5. To Catch a Cat
6. Big Strong Cat (My Puddy Tat, Sylvester)
7. Cuddles McGish
8. When the Dairy Farm Caught Fire
9. Kitty's Rambles/Dowd's 9 Lives/Jenny's Chickens
10. The Old Woman and Her Cat (Dundee Cat)
11. Kitty Martin
    
12. Harry Potter and the Rising of the Moon
13. Orange Kitten's Mew
14. Whiskers in the Jar
    

The graphics were designed by Celtic artist, Ingrid Houwers. The final album is coming soon.


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Now playing: marcgunn's station - Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers

by Chris Cooper

Heres a story, a little bit gory, a little bit happy, a little bit sad
A long time ago, in a pub far away,
I sat on a barstool, just drinking away,

I had one pint of beer, and one shot of scotch
and I drank one to many shots with Darth Maul.

The next morning my head felt heavy which made me shake,
I Fell from a ladder and broke me skull, and they carried me home my corpse to wake.

I arose and had a million ducats, so I bought my lovely Lily the Pink a big coach, with all the pretty fringe on the top.

One day, riding in her coach, Lily was approached by a Dragon who invited her for lunch.
First he brought in tay and cake, then pipes, tobacco and brandy punch.

Someone heard the dragon exclaim:
Well, I'm really quite kind almost all through the year.
Vegetarian ways are now mine out of fear.
But a birthday needs sweets as I'm sure you'll agree.
And barbecued wench tastes like candy to me

as he gulped down Lily
Lily died and went up to heaven.
Oh, the church bells they did ring.

Twas about 12 o'clock and the beer was high
Lily sits up and says with a sigh
I can't get to heaven, they won't let me up
Til I bring them a quart of the Johnny Jump Up!

Every three months, I do so something rather atypical for struggling, indie musicians, I give away a lot of money.

Now I don't do so lightly. It's not like I can afford to dig into my pockets and pull out a ton of cash. I'm still struggling to make ends meat like the next musician. However, I created a way to do so without hurting my own pocketbook, I release compilations CDs that benefit non-profits. Yup! By framing it as "this is their money", I'm not losing any. Instead, I have the pleasure of giving away a hefty sum of money several times a year.

Last Quarter, I made a nice-sized donation to the Arkansas Celtic Music Society. What was interesting to me about it was the response. I've given away thousands of dollars to some really good non-profits, but this one was different. From a few of the Celtic non-profits, I have received nothing in return. It's not like I'm looking for anything special. But that is what made this donation so special. This was the first organization that I received a thank you note from, I think, every member of their Board! And today from a Celtic group out of Little Rock.

That really got me thinking.

Every time, I get a donation from someone through my podcasts or website, I try to send send a thank you. Sometimes, I don't even know what to say, so it's short. But I thank you anyway. Like Diane in Louisiana, who regularly makes donations to support mine and The Bards music. It blows me away when people like Thomas M., William A., Jennifer B., Christopher C., Miranda V., Albert M, Pawel P., and Glenn W. all donate a few bucks to help me continue my trade. The Arkansas Celtic Music Society kinda helped me to see just how important it is to say thank you.

Just imagine how you'd feel if you had a personal email or phone call from your local public radio station, an environmental non-profit, or even your local church.

As I said, it's not easy to do. But I so very much appreciate it more than not even recognition of receipt of my donation. It makes me feel good to give, glad to give. And it makes me realize just how important it is for me to give thanks and to continue releasing compilation CDs that benefit non-profit organizations.

If you'd like to find out more about these compilations, check out my Celtic Music CD Store for albums like The Secret World of Celtic Rock, Victims of Irish Music, Coventina's Well, and Renaissance Festival Podcast Compilation that give away 10-100% of the profits to Celtic or Renaissance festival non-profit organizations.