MARC GUNN: Marc Weeklies

Marc Gunn is Celtic American Musician and Podcaster. Good food, good drink and good company. Folk ballads, Irish drinking songs, fantasy, Sci Fi, and cats on the autoharp. Embrace independent Celtic music!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Marc's on tour, so Jamie's back!

And thinking about patterns and parallels between "Happy Songs of Death" and Frank McCourt. For those of you who have not heard, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Angela's Ashes" died yesterday at the age of 78.

I think he would have loved "Happy Songs."

McCourt was never maudlin or self-pitying about his horrific childhood. He saw the comic in the tragic, and light in the dark, the joy in the despair that is life and death. He would have listened to "Won't You Come With Me" and laughed in all the right places.

By the way - as wonderful as the book was - and I have read and re-read it often - even better is the audio book with McCourt reading his own prose with a Limerick accent that 50 years in America never diluted.

Frank McCourt also introduced me to an Ireland that was real and gritty and poor - not the over-romanticized, leprechaun-infested Hollywood version. it was an Ireland I could explore from a much firmer foundation. Still beautiful, still mystical, but real.

(And don't forget you can still go with Marc on the upcoming Celtic Invasion of the gorgeous Dingle peninsula - but not much time left - and the airfares are amazing right now.)

So, raise a glass with me in saluting Frank McCourt of Limerick and New York, and thanking him for sharing an amazing journey with us. Slainte, Frank!

Listen to the Song of the Week: "Won't You Come With Me" from Happy Songs of Death

Quote of the Week: "You feel a sense of urgency, especially at my advanced age, when you're staring into the grave."

Frank McCourt

CD of the Week: Float by Flogging Molly "Overall, Flogging Molly hit the spot with this album. More intimate and less epic than Within a Mile of Home, this represents a mature step for Flogging Molly and clearly indicates more great things to come."- Amazon Review

Book of the Week: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt "This powerful and heart-rending testament to the resiliency and determination of youth is populated with memorable characters and moments, and McCourt's interpretation of the narrative and the voices it contains will leave readers laughing through their tears."- Amazon Review

Review these iMixes: Irish Music Hits, Irish Music Gems, and Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. I've started messing with iMixes on iTunes as a promotional tool. I could really use your help. Go post review. And if you like some of the music, pick up a copy. It's filled with some of the songs and tunes from my extensive catalog of Celtic music.

Celtic Music Reviews and Features: The Danny Tanny Show played Marc's Don't Go Drinking with Hobbits. Check it out at: http://www.musicalley.com/music/listeners/podshow_details.php?ShowHash=784ad5e5f18f0fd6c239455f8b5f4843

UPCOMING GIGS. Don't forget to make a demand to see me perform. Want me to see where I plan to tour this summer?

7.25 (RESTON, VA) Fogel House Concert
7.30 (DENTON, MD) Market Street Public House
8.1 (BRONX, NY) An Beal Bocht Cafe
8.3 (BROOKLYN, NY) Ceol Irish Pub
8.5 (GREENBELT, MD) New Deal Cafe
8.12-16 (INDIANAPOLIS, IN) GenCon
9.4-7 (ATLANTA, GA) DragonCon
9.16-23 (DINGLE, IRELAND) Celtic Invasion of Ireland

9.24 (LONDON, ENGLAND) Islington Folk Club
10.23-25 (DENVER, CO) MileHiCon
10.30 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat Fan Club's "Blood and Gold" Ball
11.7-12.13 (ROBERT, LA) Louisiana Renaissance Festival
1.16.10 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) Concert with Jed Marum