A Bard's Real World Blog
Journal, Blog, News, and Diary

A Constitutional Ammendment???
Okay, tha'ts just screwy! I just saw that our "good" president said he supported a Constitutional Ammendment to ban same-sex marriages. That's just stupid.

As a continuation from yesterday's post, let me say that I'm an American and Christian. Quite honestly, I'm not big supporter of same-sex marriages in the Christian context. But one of the great things I love about this country is the respect for ALL peoples... division of church and state... all that jazz.

Quite honestly, there is NO good reason to put it in the Constitution. For that matter, that goes against EVERYTHING the Constitution stands for!!! Don't block our rights!

As a result, I've decided to add to the Constitution a ban on Bloggers. Sorry, everyone STOP BLOGGING. You're not allowed to think dammit!

That pisses me off. If I ever had any doubt the GW Jr was an idiot, it just disappeared.

The Return of Autoharp Radio!!!
Okay, at lonnnnnng last, I finally got my Autoharp Radio up and running on Live365. I don't have everything uploaded yet, but I added a LOT of music this weekend, starting with a lot of the people who first submitted music to me.

You can now find the station at Autoharp Radio.com . My Autoharp Music Tips page is still active though, and I even updated the recent flood of dead links. Feel free to let me know if there's anything missing.

I'd also like to add some other features like mayhaps some interviews, stations IDs, speciality programs, etc. Right now, it's just sorta basic though (as is the website).

Right now, only 25 folks can listen at a time, and I'm greatly enjoying the music now, so that leaves 24 right now. :)

If you have music you want on the station, check out the webpage.

Hope ye enjoy!

PS. Oh, I might oughta mention that there are only a few bard and solo songs. This is autoharp music by some of the best in the world! You've never heard anything till you hear someone play traditional Irish tune... at speed... on the autoharp.

Missing the point
I was chatting today with a friend an interesting point that I thought worth sharing.

I am a Christian, but the vast number of our fans are not. We have a huge pagan following, many of whom were raised with the Christian faith, but turned away for whatever reasonings. Talking with another friend the other day, one of those is the very un-"Christian"-like attitude of many Christians.

Yeah, that's a continual problem among many faiths. And many who've adopted Christianity because they were "raised" Christians IMO have kinda missed the point.

There's more to Christianity than just believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a way of life. And it's also a choice.

Yes, believe it or not, but Christians choose to believe in the Gospel. If you're just believing cuz that's what you were raised to believe, you've again missed the point.

God gave us the right to choose whatever we want to believe in. Yeah, we could talk consequences of choices, but those are unimportant when it comes to the fact that He gave us a choice.

It bothers me a lot to see people trying threatening people with damnation. I don't know. Maybe it works for some people, but it sure doesn't work for me. I want to see and feel God's love. And I want to try my best to share it in whatever we God has enabled me to do so. So that when people think of God, they don't think of some fool yelling about fire and brimstone, but rather, they see the smile, the glow radiating inside me, as a product of God.

God is love. Yeah, He's had his fits as any father does. But ultimately, all He wants is your love in return. So make your choice.

Okay, so you don't believe in God. Well, that's your choice. My choice is to believe there is that there is a God, and he had an earthly son who died so that human-kind could live out God's will. If you don't agree with my choice, that too is your choice.

Whatever your choice, I pray God blesses you.

Bards Out on the Porch
Last week at the Excalibur Fantasy Faire, we were interviewed by Jim Swift on KXAN News 36. Last night (and this morning), they broadcast the program on the news. It should be available online in a days.

Why interview us?

Last year, we released our CD, Memories of Middle Earth. That CD and our performance at Dragon*Con in September got us the attention we needed to be invited to the Into the West LOTR Oscar Party. We leave on Friday and are looking forward to having an awesome vacation before performing for this killer Oscar Party.

This'll be a great event. If you're out on the West Coast, make sure ye get your tickets asap.

If you like our Lord of the Rings music, you might be interested to know that we also have a limited edition Memories of Middle Earth CD set that we sell. It's not entirely done, but it features a signed and numbered copy of the CD in a special container with a bunch of bonus stuff. Check it out when ye get a chance.

Interesting Paradox

Well, I started reviewing some of the music submitted to my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, and an intriguing thought occurred.

I've contacted a lot of professional bands inviting them to offer Celtic MP3s. I've offered advice and guidance to make them hits, but few take me up on it. Many seem deadgone set against MP3s. Few bands seem to accept them as a brilliant way to promote themselves, and with all the negative publicity the've gotten from the RIAA, I guess I don't blame them. Ye know, they're really missing out.

Actually, Dervish is the only band that's ever been kind enough to offer even reciprocal link. Course that's really no indication, since most folks don't seem to link back, but still.

So any case, the thought that came to me was it seemed that in many case, the better the musicians, the less likely they were to embrace the technology. Conversely, the more likely they were to embrace the technology, the faster they progressed in notoriety. It'd be kinda interesting to see a graph.

Actually, more appropriately, it seems the more traditional the music, they less likely to embrace the technology, but sometimes it seems the other way around.

I'd be very interested in to see how well Natalie MacMaster does. She has a number of free MP3s on Amazon.com. It'd be really cool to see the comparison in growth rates.

I would imagine that if a really popular traditional Celtic band embraced MP3s and promote themselves extensively, they could totally dominate the online market... Nevertheless, I guess, I'm thankful that none have. :) Leaves more room for us independents.

Bing, bam, at long last!
Well, this time, the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine is STAYING in the Top 10 when ye search for "celtic music". Whew! About time!

I'm seeing a huge number of folks hitting my site. I guess the changes I made actually did help. If I can get a few more links to the site, especially from similar style sites, I could possibly really increase my Google rankings.

I also got at least one email from someone asking about how to become a preferred fan of the zine. Basically, I added links to all of my top ezine supporters. Well, those and of course many of the bands I love.

I figure as long as I have a popular site, I can help out a few other folks, even if they'll probably never appreciate it.

One thing that's gotten me kinda excited though is that, esp, due to the success of the charting is I've songs rocketing up the charts on Amazon.com.

Meanwhile, I learned a cool new way to promote music on Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer. You can read about my next Nagian Promo Tip before it hits The Crier.

Elf Only Inn

Okay, this is for the elf-lovers out there... well that D&D folks. A comic strip about elves... or rather about D&D folks playing elves in a chatroom setting. Or something like that.

The Elf Only Inn is just something you'll have to experience for yourself.

Excalibur Fantasy Faire presents... Songs of the Faire Folk

What smashing evening we had last night at Mother Egan's Irish Pub. I didn't really know what to expect of the evening, but I was absolutely delighted with the result.

About a eighty folks came out mostly in garb to kick-off the promotional events for Excalibur Fantasy Faire's sixth year. We started off the evening at 7pm and played an almost "best of" set of bard songs which warmed the way for the evening.

Lo and behold, a camera crew came out. I wasn't entirely sure why, but thanks to Hagar, they came out when he emailed them about our trip to Hollywood for the LOTR Oscar Party which I was surprised to realize is NEXT WEEK!

Well, we made do as they got right in our faces videotaping our show, bumping cameras and Andrew making some hilarious wisecracks, then out we went to chat with them about the event as O'Malarkey got setup.

The interview was a lot of fun and exciting. And we're told it will air This Sunday on KXAN News 36 (though there's a possibility it won't air until Tuesday). We'll be video taping the news program, and I'd appreciate it if you would too in case we miss it.

We got back inside with the last couple songs of O'Malarkey. I was a bit disappointed I missed their set, but they really seemed to get the crowd raging. They've a sound a lot like Gaelic Storm. The size of the band grew since I recorded tracks for them last fall. Very cool music.

Then, along came one of my personal favorites, the Bedlam Bards. To some degree, I consider the Bedlam Bards our mentors. We learned a lot from them in our first couple years at Excalibur. They taught us a lot about putting on a good performance, and we learned a few songs from them as well.

Cedric was a bit under the weather from a throat infection, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but they put on a great show as usual. Cedric is such an amazing fiddler and mandolinist. It really kinda boggles my mind cuz he's come such a long way since we started out.

They laid low on the bawdy stuff last night, instead favoring the Celtic faire music that makes their latest album, "Furious Fancies" such an awesome piece of work, which I hear actually even impressed a few of the local traditional Celtic musicians this past year.

Finally, Hands of Fatima danced up on the stage and mesmerized me eyes, for one. It was a great show all around. The main point was to promote the faire, and although there were a few minor problems in the publicity aspect, overall, I think it was a tremendous success. We gave out a lot of flyers to help promote the festival and got folks excited about this year's faire.

But probably, the most amazing thing of all was that it was on a Wednesday night! Just imagine if we held it on a Saturday or Sunday?!?

Well, I'm really hoping that we'll be able to do that. Andrew and I are throwing around the idea of putting on other big events like this in the summer and maybe a couple more times through the year. Let us know what you think of this idea.

And don't forget to head over to Excalibur Fantasy Faire to pick up season passes that are now on sale for the amazingly low price of just $40!

See ye at the faire!

The Be Good Tanyas

Sweet. A friend just introduced me to this band, The Be Good Tanyas. They're a band outta Canada. Great sound. It's very folky with some almost R&B type-impassioned vocals... but not like the crap you'd hear on Disney. This music grooves. Folk instrumentations, gorgeous harmonies. Sweet music!

"Their music has been described as beguiling, haunting, rustic, ambient, hobo-erotica, and goth-folk. They are Frazey Ford, Trish Klein, and Samantha Parton."

Check out The Be Good Tanyas on their website.

Feeling better at last
Well, I'm happy to say, I'm feeling mucho better, special thanks to Andrew for being the goofball that he is and making me relax and laugh and Kyara for chatting. Oh and Titania for the lavendar soap she gave me for Christmas... mmm... lavendar.

I'm a lucky person. (Look how my optimism returns when my infection dissipates).

Now I just need to learn how to keep from getting sick, and mayhaps I can live a happy, stress-free life. Lack of stress... while still working on a computer? Can it be done? God, I hope so. At least for one more year.

Buttercup's Lament climbs the charts of Amazon.com

Several of my songs are climbing the charts on Amazon.com. Most notably, is "Buttercup's Lament."

Interestingly, I wrote that song, sheesh, I guess it was the Winter of 2000. I had just gotten a Tascam 4-track for Christmas. I was visiting family in El Paso, locked up in a room recording music. I didn't have any effects at the time... except a flanger from years and years ago when I played guitar. I used it to fake some reverb.

The original version did really well on MP3.com, but when I decided to remix and master, there were a few things I wanted to fix. So I rerecorded the vocals, but I couldn't get the autoharp to sound as cool, so I recorded to that original autoharp track.

The song was an early attempt of mine to write a traditional folk song song. I was trying to think of a good name. I think about that time, I "Tolkien" was totally rocking so I decided to continue the movie-naming theme, even though the song's story is slightly different from the book and movie of The Princess Bride. But the song was about a woman who lost her love to the ocean, so it seemed fitting. Consequently, the Princess Bride addition has kinda stuck.

LOL, wouldn't ye know it!
As soon as I post that my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine is top 10, it drops!!! Ah well...

Wow! Ye never know what to expect.
Here, I thought my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine would drop its Google ranking, but I checked it today and it broke the Top 10 for the first when searching for celtic music. Guess, it just goes to show I know nothing about search engine marketing... aka 'my specialty'. Boy, that doesn't say much about me, does it? Ah well...

Sinuses are still doing horrible. Starting a new antibiotic today. Feeling wiped out, but I'm also out of sick leave. Argh...

Funny, how when you're sick, you can't really think of anything but your own sickness... Well, except when I'm trying to sleep at night. *snicker* Then, my mind won't Shut Up!

Yeah, last night again, I went to bed at 10pm, feel asleep sometime after midnight. What I'd give for a decent night's sleep!

Actually, last night's wasn't too bad. I woke up okay this morning, but still the sinus pressure. Mayhaps, tonight I'll catch up at last. Okay, now time to listen to Songs of Ireland. We finally pressed the CD!

Meanderings on the weekend, Celtic MP3s, linking and all that stuff

Fairly nice weekend. Friday, I got to watch Under the Tuscan Sun that a friend had. Saturday, we had a fun show Things Celtic (read about it). And yesterday, I got lounge a wee bit, watch some movies, pack up some CDs for mailing, and head to the session.

Course, I'm still fighting my sinus infection. Don't think it's left yet, but it's not totally zonking me. If only, i could get a decent night's sleep, but my body never seems to want to fall asleep until late, late.

I also had an invite to perform in a play. Kinda throws me askew a wee bit. It'd be fun, for sure, but do I really have the time. Doesn't take place till next year, but it's a big role. Have to be weighing all the consequences since it'd probably affect bardic performances next spring. But sure would make a nice change of scenery. Hmm....

Also been making a lot o'changes to my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. The big thing I've done is update the homepage and fix all the links that lead to other bands.

Ye know what's frustrating though is the lack of reciprocal links. I was visiting a few websites of bands we know online, and admittedly, it bothers me that some folks don't link to us especially considering how much I try to help them out online. I know, I really shouldn't expect links, and really, I don't, but it's a nice friendly gesture. It makes me feel like I don't mean as much to them as they do to me...

But I keep helping them. But then if I think on the reverse angle, there are bands that I don't care as much for who probably help promote us that I don't think about as much. Maybe I just need to identify them.

Seems a common challenge among bands... try not to get too arrogant. I think many folks, when they achieve any degree of success, forget to help out those around them. Or they focus on helping out more successful bands instead of helping out the less successful. You really need a nice balance.

I try to remember that, but then it's tough for me. I think the folks I've been most successful with I've done, really, just freely and have gotten a great response. Take The Rogues as an example. I love their music, and I'm one of the folks responsible for pushing up the charts on MP3.com. And I got no financial reward for doing so. Consequently, we've a good relationship of helping one another.

That must be the ultimate trick, I guess. Doing it selflessly, but it really is tough.

That's one of the reasons I rearranged the Celtic MP3s website. I added links to all the top folks linking to me. I'm afraid it'll probably hurt my google ranking, but ye know, who cares! It's my ever-so-miniscule way of saying "thanks."

An Inch of snow in Central Texas... at night!

Ah well, I'll take it. I mean, it's the best we'll probably get this year. Let's just hope it's snowing in New York when we head up to I-Con in March. Did last year. If so, LOOK OUT! There's gonna be a bardic snow fight!

I just wish I coulda seen the snow come down last night, but at the very least, there was a wee bit on my porch that I was able to toss at my wee kitties. ;-)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Snow in Austin? Close, but no cigar

Well, we got sleet this morning. That was pretty cool, but it's still not snow. Though, there is a possibility of snow flurries this afternoon, so I can't complain too much, I guess.

I think I figured out why I have insomnia every night when I try to go to bed. I'm guessing it's some medicine I'm taking. Not sure if it's the Astelin or the Guafinex, but I'll read up on 'em today and try to figure that out. It really sucks to go to bed at 10:30pm and fall asleep at 1:30am!

Bards featured in Austin Chronicle's TCB

We just got another wee write-up in the Austin Chronicle's TCB section today.

Bards of the Ring

How's this for a gig? Austin traditional Celtic duo and unabashed Tolkien-lovers the Brobdingnagian Bards have already released the Lord of the Rings-themed album Memories of Middle Earth, and had their song "Tolkien (Lord of the Rings)" downloaded from MP3.com more than a million times. Now they've been tapped to play the official Oscar-night party for New Line Cinema's LOTR fan club Feb. 29. Bards Marc Gunn and Andrew McKee are currently scouting for sponsors for the trip, which will find them entertaining hobbits, Ents, and elves at the famous Hollywood Athletic Club on Sunset Boulevard. With Return of the King the odds-on Best Picture favorite, Gunn says he expects to have plenty of hobbits dancing on tables, but that the Bards will stick to their traditional kilts instead of more Middle-earth-like garb. "I was contemplating putting on elf ears, but I don't know how well they'll go with my goatee," he muses.

Sinusitis Blues

Ye know the worst thing about a sinus infection these pass couple days is that it's been raining. It's absolutely beautiful outside... cool and wet and I'm too sick to enjoy it. Though I did pek up with a bright smile when "Singing the Rain" came on Ekklektikos on KUT. John Aielli sooo has the coolest radio program.

TRF and other pictures

I did get a gallery installed on my computer several months ago, but it wasn't until today I figured out how to customize it. Yippeee!

And this weekend, I finally added some pictures from Texas Renaissance Festival 2003. I'd love to get some feedback as far as pictures ye like and whatnot.

Fairly productive day
Aside from staying up Wayyyy too late last night, it was a good day. Had some good studio rehearsal time and a good time at the session. I was happy to see several of the musicians stop by and say hi. It was definitely reassuring, esp since my only instrument were my finger picks on a pub table since I didn't bring my autoharp out. Always more to learn.

I'll see how I'm doing tomorrow and mayhaps make my way back out next week... while I still CAN go since we don't have too many gigs right now. Certainly inspiring... But I still need to setup one of my autoharps for a tune session. Another goal to work on. Well, time to catch up on sleep. Night!

A full session confession

Not to long ago, a fellow Celtic musician asked why I don't go to sessions in Austin. Ye see, sessions seem to be a very communal experience for the Celtic community, so in some people's minds, I think people get upset with you if you don't join the fellowship.

Course, there are many reasons, but it doesn't detract from the fact that I love the music.

Then...
When the Brobdingnagian Bards started playing music five years ago, I started going to sessions, because I wanted to learn more about the music we were learning. Now there was at least one person in the community who kinda snubbed me, but for the most part the sessions were a lot of fun. The only problem was that I was playing an autoharp.

Interestingly, many autoharpists play fiddle tunes and whatnot, but as a new autoharpist, I really couldn't. This meant I was left playing chords. Well, quite honestly, strumming chord progressions that are mostly the same gets kinda old after a while. Add to that that I couldn't play some of the progressions, either from lack of understanding of the Irish music progressions or because my fifteen chord autoharp didn't have several prominent traditional chords like the E, Em, and A. That made it very difficult to play anything.

To top it off, Fado's Irish Pub was a very smokey place and at the time, I had a LOT of allergies, and I hated smelling like smoke at the end of the evening. Eventually, I just stopped going.

Now...
Things are a bit different now. The current Irish session is held at B.D. Riley's Irish Pub, which isn't too bad with the smoke stench though it's still there. My allergies aren't as bad thanks to allergy shots. And I'm a much better musician than when I started. But I still don't go much to the sessions.

Well, the reasons have largely changed. These days, I usually forget that I will come away smelling of smoke, since we play smokey pubs too often as it is. But when I do go, I don't even bother bringing my autoharp. I go to listen and enjoy some magical music. So what's new?

Well, nowadays, we spend half our weekends out of town with gigs. This has made me extremely anti-social when I am at home. I barely want to leave my apartment for any reason. My skill is better, but I'm still not that good at playing tunes, especially at the speeds they play. T'would be nice to have a good slow session around, but considering I don't know if I'd make the time to go to that, I'm sure not gonna start it.

My 21-chord autoharp is a wee bit better for sessions. I still don't have a decent sounding E chord, but the others are okay. Still pretty weak-sounding chords for my autoharp, and I have yet to setup an autoharp for playing tunes. That's been on my mind for a couple years, just hasn't been a huge priority. And still the speed of the tunes and my own inadequacies as a musician make it difficult for me to keep up with much more than basic strums and that gets old after a while.

So when I do have time to go, it's pretty just for listening. Yeah, I'd love to be able jump into a session and play those tunes with the best of them. I even started learning the penny whistle to give me a melody instrument to play. (Though I haven't done much since I found out how out of tune it was. Anyone know where to get a decent penny whistle?).

And ashamedly, there's still a LOT about traditional Irish music that I don't know. I think a lot of it is stuff you don't really learn from books, though it'd be nice to have someone step forward and educate the newbies once a month or something. What can I say, I've spent most of my time learning folk songs since my partner plays the melody instrument and hasn't actively sought out tunes. Course, our music is still a lot of fun, but I admit, I sure would love to be able to play some rousing dance tunes.

Something, I'm working on, but it'll be a while yet. For now, you can catch me at this week's session tonight.

Inspired by a Celtic Woman

Last night, I went to a meeting with Sarah Dinan who asked for advice on promoting her band online. Considering I was fighting another sinus infection, it was a bit o'a challenge to get out there. Very tired. But I did and I'm very happy I did.

I don't know how useful I was to her, but I gotta say she's a very inspiring person. She's only been singing professionally for about a year and during that time, her band has moved to the forefront of the Celtic music scene in Austin and for good reason. Not only does the band feature some of the best Celtic musicians in town, like Heather Gilmer and Jeff Moore, but ye also have Sarah's incredible vocals. I'm hoping, at the very least, to feature Sarah in an upcoming edition of the my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine once they finish the album their currently working on.

Any case, after an inspiring discussion, I did decide at least this week, since I'm free, I'm gonna head down to B.D. Riley's Irish Pub downtown on Sixth Street this Sunday to listen to the tune session. It's at 8pm, free and Sundays the parking isn't too bad. If anyone out there'd like to join me, I'd love the company. I don't know the folks that play the sessions, so it'd be nice to hang with folks I know.

Oh, and best o'all, my sinuses aren't doin' too bad today.

Subconscience desire to be miserable

I can't help, but wonder if I have such a subscience desire. Feeling very depressed. My guess is it has to do with me fighting a sinus infection, but I'm not sure.

I'm finding myself very lonely right now. Last night, I was even considering getting a roommate at long last. It'll save me some money, and I'll also have built in company. But then, that sounds to me more like a fear of being alone.

Trouble is that I spend every day in solitude. I chat online occasionally, but for the most part. I try to walk at lunch and whatnot. Even tried to change things up today. But still just not clicking. I need to get out and meet more people methinks... or find a community to belong to.

But then other probs hit my mind. Dealing with the political b.s. of any community. Ugh! Je ne sais pas!?

I think I also left my scarf at my board meeting last night. That really sucks. Hopefully, I can recover it. I love that scarf, and it was a handmade gift from the Lady in Green. Shoot!

Well, tonight, I'll get a wee bit o'socialization. Really NEED some more interaction though. Gotta start forcing myself or something. Just tough to do without staying out every night and spending money on dinner EVERY night while food at home rots.

Maybe if I get outta the mindset that I HAVE to eat? That might help... Tired... and my mind is rambling too much. I'll stop here.

Pleasantly surprised by a Liar, Rie Sheridan Book Review

Ye know, a couple nights ago, I was reading a book and something occurred to me. I don't expect much from people I know. I mean... successwise.

Sure they might succeed, but I guess I really just don't expect they will. This goes the same with our music. Andrew and I are still surprised by the overwhelming responses we get from our music. I don't know what that is, but it is.

This made it all the more surprising when I realized how good this book I was reading really was.

I remember back in 5th grade I took one of those assessment tests. The results came back and said I was reading below my age. I always loved watching TV or playing with Star Wars figures more than reading growing up. But this was a bad sign, so my dad sat down with me every night and had me read with him.

The first book I read was a Star Trek novel. It was captivating. I remember an explosion on the Enterprise that left a metal shard lodged in Spock's green blood. I forget all the details, really. But it got me started at least.

My reading has wavered on and off, but last year, I started reading Lord of the Rings again to help me write music for Memories of Middle Earth. That too has gone on and off, but I've been back in the habit of reading at bedtime to help distract/relax my mind from business-filled evenings.

I just finished reading the first Harry Potter book. Thing I love about it is how easy it is to read. That's something I consider important. Even LOTR is a wee bit slow reading for me though much better than the first time I read it. There were some Forgotten Realms books that I really Loved. The Crystal Shard series was way cool and EASY to read.

Any case, having just finished Harry Potter, I decided... timidly... to start a new book I bought. The timid part was because the book, The Lute and The Liar was written by a friend, Rie Sheridan.

I mean, I always like helping folks out, but sometimes I help them out without having really read the works or been a fan of their art. That makes it difficult to write about with passion.

I'm really only halfway through the book, but I love it so far. The story flows quickly as we meet the thoughtful bard, Mordigan Bryre, who is a compulsive liar until he meets a witch on the road who offers him a magical instrument, but he is not allowed to lie.

So he goes on a quest to recover it and is beset with poverty and peril. Last I learned, everyone seems to know his father... Haven't figured that one out, though I'm guessing it's Talthos, the wizard who's making the magical instrument.

Any case, I'm very impressed. The Lute and The Liar flows easily. Rie does a fantastic job at describing... using metaphors and similies with her own magic. A couple times, I've thought, there's a wee bit too much description, but honestly, considering how easily the book flows, it's hard to complain.

Guess this should wake me up to the fact that, well, there are friends out there with remarkable talent. Rie Sheridan is definitely one of them. And I really need to open myself up to that with other friends as well.

To fight against my own self-serving interests

It's a constant fight. I would imagine many folks go through this same struggle. For me, I know it's tough. I spent the last ten years scrapping and fighting my way to achieve some measure of "success" with music. And every time, I encounter some less than favorable response, it's like a slap in the face that makes me want to climb in a hole and stop trying to help people.

Fortunately, I know better. And sometimes, against my better judgement, I climb back out and take more abuse with the hope and prayer that I will reap the rewards.

I believe that helping people is an essential part of your success in any field. So now and then, I have to squinch and accept the fact that I may not profit from something. In fact, I may Lose money or self-esteem, but I know that somehow... some way, I'll be rewarded. Some odd sense of what my mother always says, "what goes around, comes around."

This is kinda the case with my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. Sure there's a wee bit o'prestige, a tiny bit'o'money and whatnot that comes out of that ezine, but mostly, I run that site to help out bands.

I've been debating what to do about compilation CDs. We're almost out of Songs of the Faire Folk. I've tried to get in touch with Cedric who's managing the CD, but still no response. Thus, I've been debating compiling my own Faire compilation CD, in addition to my Celtic compilation CDs that run with the same idea--a five buck CD to help introduce Celtic groups to the public.

Seems to me that's really the only way compilation CDs really sell... especially when the bands are barely known. Course the toughest thing about compiling these CDs is raising the money to pay for it esp when I know it won't be a hugely profitable seller.

Speaking of which, I have a question. What about you? Would you be interested in an hour-long Celtic compilation CD for just five bucks even if the bands are pretty much unknown?

Well, I'm planning on putting together Coventina's Well this weekend to be printed and see what people think about it. If it sells decently, then I'll consider expanding out from there and finally finishing some of these other compilation CD ideas I've had.

Flyer Help
Anyone out there interested in helping me make a flyer for my Cafe Mundi gig? My past flyers have bit IMO. Need some bardic help too.

Happy Groundhog Day!!!! Quotes from the movie

First D.J.: Rise and shine, campers, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.
Second D.J.: It's cold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach?
First D.J.: Not hardly.

Happy Groundhog Day!!!!
I have no clue whether he saw his shadow or not, but you can bet tonight I'll be watching Bill Murray in my annual tradition of watching, Groundhog Day (gotta get that DVD). This is by-far one of my favorite films. I watch it over and over and over....

Don't drive angry. Don't drive angry!

Phil: It's the same things your whole life. "Clean up your room.", "Stand up straight.", "Pick up your feet.", "Take it like a man.", "Be nice to your sister.", "Don't mix beer and wine, ever.". Oh yeah, "Don't drive on the railroad track."
Gus: Eh, Phil. That's one I happen to agree with.

latest | archives > >

Well if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer those as well.